Sheet music is written representation of music. This is a homorhythmic (i.e., hymn-style) arrangement of a traditional piece entitled Adeste Fideles, in standard two-stave format for mixed voices.

Tibetan musical score from the 19th century.

Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of musical notation; like its analogs -- books, pamphlets, etc. -- the medium of sheet music typically is paper (or, in earlier times, parchment), although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens. Use of the term "sheet" is intended to differentiate music on paper from an audio presentation, which would ensue from a sound recording, broadcast, or live performance, which may involve video as well. In everyday use, "sheet music" (or simply "music") can refer to the print publication of commercial music in conjunction with the release of a new film, show, record album, or other special or popular event which involves music. Screenshot of Lilypond-generated score for Adeste Fideles. ... Screenshot of Lilypond-generated score for Adeste Fideles. ... In music, homorhythm is a texture where there is a sameness of rhythm in all parts (Griffiths 2005, p. ... A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a god or other religiously significant figure. ... Sex and the City episode, see Oh Come All Ye Faithful (SATC episode). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Tibet (see Name section below for other spellings) is a plateau region in Central Asia and the indigenous home to the Tibetan people. ... Sheet music is musical notation written on paper. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

A common alternative (and more generic) term for sheet music is score, and there are several types of scores, as discussed below. (Note: the term score can also refer to incidental music written for a play, television programme, or film; for the last of these, see film score.) Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program or some other form not primarily musical. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... A film score is a set of musical compositions written to accompany a film. ...

Purpose and use

Sheet music can be used as a record of, a guide to, or a means to perform, a piece of music. Although it does not take the place of the sound of a performed work, sheet music can be studied to create a performance and to elucidate aspects of the music that may not be obvious from mere listening. Authoritative musical information about a piece can be gained by studying the written sketches and early versions of compositions that the composer might have retained, as well as the final autograph score and personal markings on proofs and printed scores. The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ...

Comprehending sheet music requires a special form of literacy: the ability to read musical notation. Nevertheless, an ability to read or write music is not a requirement to compose music. Many composers have been capable of producing music in printed form without the capacity themselves to read or write in musical notation -- as long as an amanuensis of some sort is available. Examples include the blind 18th-century composer John Stanley and the 20th-century composer/lyricist Lionel Bart. World literacy rates by country The traditional definition of literacy is considered to be the ability to read and write, or the ability to use language to read, write, listen, and speak. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A secretary is a person who performs routine, administrative, or personal tasks for a superior. ... Charles John Stanley (January 17, 1712 – May 19, 1786) was an English composer and organist. ... Lionel Bart (1930-1999) was a British composer of songs musicals, best known for Oliver! Bart was born Lionel Begleiter in London to Galician Jews, and grew up in Stepney. ...

The skill of sight reading is the ability of a musician to perform an unfamiliar work of music upon viewing the sheet music for the first time. Sight reading ability is expected of professional musicians and serious amateurs who play classical music and related forms. An even more refined skill is the ability to look at a new piece of music and hear most or all of the sounds (melodies, harmonies, timbres, etc.) in one's head without having to play the piece. Sight reading is reading and performing a work of music without having seen it before. ... Look up melody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Harmony is the use and study of pitch simultaneity, and therefore chords, actual or implied, in music. ... In music, timbre, also timber (from Fr. ...

With the exception of solo performances, where memorization is expected, classical musicians ordinarily have the sheet music at hand when performing. Even in jazz music, which is mostly improvised, sheet music is used to give basic indications of melodies, chord changes, and arrangements. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Improvisation is the practice of acting and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of ones immediate environment. ... Look up melody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Typical fingering for a second inversion C major chord on a guitar. ... In music, an arrangement refers either to a rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material or to a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch, such as a lead sheet. ...

Handwritten or printed music is less important in other traditions of musical practice, however. Although much popular music is published in notation of some sort, it is quite common for people to learn a piece by ear. This is also the case in most forms of western folk music, where songs and dances are passed down by oral -- and aural -- tradition. Music of other cultures, both folk and classical, is often transmitted orally, though some non-western cultures developed their own forms of musical notation and sheet music as well. Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more of the mass media. ... Learning music by ear is done by repeatedly listening to other musicians and then attempting to recreate what one hears. ... Folk music can have a number of different meanings, including: Traditional music: The original meaning of the term folk music was synonymous with the term Traditional music, also often including World Music and Roots music; the term Traditional music was given its more specific meaning to distinguish it from the... A song is a relatively short musical composition. ... Dance as a musical form is a smaller musical composition intended for the presentation of dance. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Although sheet music is often thought of as being a platform for new music and an aid to composition (i.e., the composer writes the music down), it can also serve as a visual record of music that already exists. Scholars and others have made transcriptions of western and non-western musics so as to render them in readable form for study, analysis, and re-creative performance. This has been done not only with folk or traditional music (e.g., Bartók's volumes of Magyar and Romanian folk music), but also with sound recordings of improvisations by musicians (e.g., jazz piano) and performances that may only partially be based on notation. An exhaustive example of the latter in recent times is the collection The Beatles: Complete Scores (London: Wise Publications, c1993), which seeks to transcribe into staves and tablature all the songs as recorded by the Beatles in instrumental and vocal detail. Béla Bartók in 1927 Béla Viktor János Bartók (March 25, 1881 – September 26, 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and collector of Eastern European and Middle Eastern folk music. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In musical notation, the staff or stave is a set of five horizontal lines on which note symbols are placed to indicate pitch and rhythm. ... Example of numeric vihuela tablature from the book Orphenica Lyra by Miguel de Fuenllana (1554). ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ...

Types of sheet music

Modern sheet music may come in different formats. If a piece is composed for just one instrument or voice (such as a piano or an a cappella song), the whole work may be written or printed as one piece of sheet music. If an instrumental piece is intended to be performed by more than one person, each performer will usually have a separate piece of sheet music, called a part, to play from. This is especially the case in the publication of works requiring more than four or so performers, though invariably a full score is published as well. The sung parts in a vocal work are not usually issued separately today, although this was historically the case, especially before music printing made sheet music widely available. A short grand piano, with the top up. ... A cappella music is vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. ... A song is a relatively short musical composition. ...

Sheet music can be issued as individual pieces or works (for example a popular song or a Beethoven sonata), in collections (for example works by one or several composers), as pieces performed by a given artist, etc. A portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820 Ludwig van Beethoven (IPA: ), (baptized December 17, 1770[1] – March 26, 1827) was a German composer and one of the pillars of European classical music. ...

When the separate instrumental and vocal parts of a musical work are printed together, the resulting sheet music is called a score. Conventionally, a score consists of musical notation with each instrumental or vocal part in vertical alignment (meaning that concurrent events in the notation for each part are orthographically arranged). The term score has also been used to refer to sheet music written for only one performer. The distinction between score and part applies when there is more than one part needed for performance. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Scores come in various formats, as follows:

A conductor's score

• A full score is a large book showing the music of all instruments and voices in a composition lined up in a fixed order. It is large enough for a conductor to be able to read it while directing rehearsals and performances.
• A miniature score is like a full score but much reduced in size. It is too small for practical use but handy for studying a piece of music, whether it be for a large ensemble or a solo performer. A miniature score may contain some introductory remarks.
• A study score is sometimes the same size as, and often indistinguishable from, a miniature score, except in name. Some study scores are octavo size and are thus somewhere between full and miniature score sizes. A study score, especially when part of an anthology for academic study, may include extra comments about the music and markings for learning purposes.
• A piano score (or piano reduction) is a more or less literal transcription for piano of a piece intended for many performing parts, especially orchestral works; this can include purely instrumental sections within large vocal works (see vocal score immediately below). Such arrangements are made for either piano solo (two hands) or piano duet (one or two pianos, four hands). Extra small staves are sometimes added at certain points in piano scores for two hands in order to make the presentation more nearly complete, though it is usually impractical or impossible to include them while playing. As with vocal score (immediately below), it takes considerable skill to reduce an orchestral score to such smaller forces because the reduction needs to be not only playable on the keyboard but also thorough enough in its presentation of the intended harmonies, textures, figurations, etc. Sometimes markings are included to show which instruments are playing at given points. While piano scores are usually not meant for performance outside of study and pleasure (Liszt's concert transcriptions of Beethoven's symphonies being a notable exception), ballets get the most practical benefit most from piano scores because with one or two pianists they allow unlimited rehearsal before the orchestra is absolutely needed. They can be used also to train beginning conductors. Piano scores of operas do not include separate staves for the vocal parts, but they may add the sung text and stage directions above the music.

Excerpt of a piano-vocal score (from the opera William Ratcliff, by César Cui).

• A vocal score (or, more properly, piano-vocal score) is a reduction of the full score of a vocal work (e.g., opera, musical, oratorio, cantata, etc.) to show the vocal parts (solo and choral) on their staves and the orchestral parts in a piano reduction (usually for two hands) underneath the vocal parts; the purely orchestral sections of the score are also reduced for piano. If a portion of the work is a cappella, a piano reduction of the vocal parts is often added to aid in rehearsal (this often is the case with a cappella religious sheet music). While not meant for performance, vocal scores serve as a convenient way for vocal soloists and choristers to learn the music and rehearse separately from the instrumental ensemble. The vocal score of a musical typically does not include the spoken dialogue, except for cues.
  • The related but less common choral score contains the choral parts with no accompaniment.
  • The comparable organ score exists as well, usually in association with church music for voices and orchestra, such as arrangements (by later hands) of Handel's Messiah. It is like the piano-vocal score in that it includes staves for the vocal parts and reduces the orchestral parts to be performed by one person. Unlike the vocal score, the organ score is sometimes intended by the arranger to substitute for the orchestra in performance if necessary.
  • A collection of songs from a given musical is usually printed under the label vocal selections. This is different from the vocal score from the same show in that it does not present the complete music, and the piano accompaniment usually is simplified and includes the melody line.
• A short score is a reduction of a work for many instruments to just a few staves. Rather than composing directly in full score, many composers work out some type of short score while they are composing and later expand the complete orchestration. (An opera, for instance, may be written first in a short score, then in full score, then reduced to a vocal score for rehearsal.) Short scores are often not published; they may be more common for some performance venues (e.g., band) than in others.
• A lead sheet specifies only the melody, lyrics and harmony, using one staff with chord symbols placed above and lyrics below. It is commonly used in popular music to capture the essential elements of song without specifying how the song should be arranged or performed.
• A chord chart or "chart" contains little or no melodic information at all but provides detailed harmonic and rhythmic information. This is the most common kind of written music used by professional session musicians playing jazz or other forms of popular music and is intended primarily for the rhythm section (usually containing piano,guitar,bass and drums).

Download high resolution version (1557x927, 153 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Sheet music Conducting Categories: GFDL images ... Download high resolution version (1557x927, 153 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Sheet music Conducting Categories: GFDL images ... A conductor conducting at a ceremony A conductors score and batons Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. ... Old book binding and cover Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book from a number of folded or unfolded sheets of paper or other material. ... A Piano Reduction is sheet music for the piano (a Piano Score) that was once music for other instruments that was reduced to its most basic components within a two line staff for piano. ... In music, transcription is the act of notating a piece or a sound which was previously unnotated. ... Duet may refer to: Duet, musical form Duet, Fox sitcom This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Portrait by Henri Lehmann, 1839 Franz Liszt (Hungarian: Liszt Ferenc; pronounced , in English: list) (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a Hungarian [1] virtuoso pianist and composer of the Romantic period. ... A portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820 Ludwig van Beethoven (IPA: ), (baptized December 17, 1770[1] – March 26, 1827) was a German composer and one of the pillars of European classical music. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Image File history File links CuiVil3_2p204. ... Image File history File links CuiVil3_2p204. ... William Ratcliff (Вилльям Ратклифф or Вильям Ратклиф in Cyrillic; Villjam Ratkliff or Viljam Ratklif in transliteration) is an opera in three acts, composed by César Cui during 1861-1868; it was premiered on 14 February 1869 (Old Style) at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg under the conductorship of Eduard N... César Antonovitch Cui (Russian: Цезарь Антонович Кюи) (January 6/18, 1835 – March 13, 1918) was a Russian composer and music critic of French and Lithuanian descent. ... The Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. ... The Fantasticks is the longest-running musical in history Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. ... An oratorio is a large musical composition for orchestra, vocal soloists and chorus. ... A cantata (Italian, sung) is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment and generally containing more than one movement. ... In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer (solo is an Italian word literally meaning alone). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... In musical notation, the staff or stave is a set of five horizontal lines on which note symbols are placed to indicate pitch and time. ... A cappella music is vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. ... The Fantasticks is the longest-running musical in history Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. ... George Frideric Handel, 1733 George Frideric Handel (23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-born British Baroque composer who was a leading composer of concerti grossi, operas and oratorios. ... Messiah (HWV 56), is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel based on a libretto by Charles Jennens. ... The Fantasticks is the longest-running musical in history Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. ... In music, a band is a company of musicians, or musical ensemble, usually popular or folk, playing parts of or improvising a musical arrangement on different musical instruments. ... A lead sheet is form of music notation the describes the melody, lyrics and harmony of a popular song. ... In music a chord symbol is an abbreviated notation for chord names and qualities, using letters, numbers, and other symbols. ... Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more of the mass media. ... A chord chart is a simplified text document that typically represents lyrics with ASCII chord (music) placed above the appropriate syllables of the lyrics to associate the relative timing of the chord changes to the words of a song. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Sideman. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Popular music dates at least as far back as the mid 19th century. ... Rhythm section refers to the musicians whose primary jobs in a jazz or popular music band or ensemble is to establish the rhythm of a song or musical piece, often via repeated riffs or ostinati. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... The electric bass guitar (or electric bass) is a bass string instrument played with the fingers by plucking, slapping, or using a pick. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ...

History

Excerpt from a 13-century Dominican missal (parchment manuscript)

Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 400 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2912 × 4368 pixel, file size: 5. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 400 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2912 × 4368 pixel, file size: 5. ...

Manuscripts

Before the 15th century, western music was written by hand and preserved in manuscripts, usually bound in large volumes. The best known examples of these are medieval manuscripts of monophonic chant. In the case of medieval polyphony, such as the motet, writing space was economized by copying the parts in separate portions of facing pages, thus making possible performance by the fewest number of soloists needed. (This process was aided by the advent of mensural notation to clarify rhythm and was paralleled by the medieval practice of composing parts of polyphony sequentially, rather than simultaneously as in later times.) Manuscripts showing parts together in score format were rare, and limited mostly to organum, especially that of the Notre Dame school. (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus, written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ... In music, the word texture is often used in a rather vague way in reference to the overall sound of a piece of music. ... Chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting tones. ... Polyphony is a musical texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony). ... In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions. ... Menstrual notation is the musical notation system which was used from the later part of the 13th century until about 1600. ... Rhythm (Greek = flow, or in Modern Greek, style) is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events. ... Polyphony is a musical texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony). ... Organum (pronounced , though the stress is now sometimes incorrectly put on the second syllable) is a technique of singing developed in the Middle Ages, and is an early form of polyphonic music. ... The group of composers working at or near the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris from about 1170 to 1250, along with the music they produced, is referred to as the Notre Dame school, or the Notre Dame School of Polyphony. ...

Even after the advent of music printing, much music continued to exist solely in manuscripts well into the 18th century. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...

Printing

There were several difficulties in translating the new technology of printing to music. The first printed book to include music, the Mainz psalter (1457), had to have the notation added in by hand. This is similar to the room left in other incunabulae for capitals. The psalter was printed in Mainz, Germany by Johann Fust and Peter Schöffer, and one now resides in Windsor Castle and another at the British Library. Later staff lines were printed, but scribes still added in the rest of the music by hand. The greatest difficulty in using movable type to print music is that all the elements must line up - the notehead must be properly aligned with the staff, or else it means something other than it should. In vocal music text must be aligned with the proper notes (although at this time even in manuscripts this was not a high priority). A page from a rare Blackletter Bible (1497) printed in Strasbourg by J.R. Grueninger. ... Capital letters or majuscules (in the Roman alphabet: A, B, C, ...) are one type of case in a writing system. ... Mainz is a city in Germany and the capital of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. ... Johann Fust ( died 1466) was an early German printer. ... Peter Schöffer or Petrus Schoiffer (born circa 1425 in Gernsheim, Groß-Gerau, died 1502 in Mainz) was an early German book printer. ... Windsor castle, a thousand-year-old fortress transformed into a royal palace. ... British Library main building, London The British Library (BL) is the national library of the United Kingdom. ...

The first machine-printed music appeared around 1473, approximately 20 years after Gutenberg introduced the printing press. In 1501, Ottaviano Petrucci published Harmonice Musices Odhecaton A, which contained 96 pieces of printed music. Petrucci's printing method produced clean, readable, elegant music, but it was a long, difficult process that required three separate passes through the printing press. Petrucci later developed a process which required only two passes through the press, but was still taxing since each pass required very precise alignment in order for the result to be legible. This was the first well distributed printed polyphonic music. Petrucci also printed the first tablature with movable type. Single impression printing first appeared in London around 1520. Pierre Attaingnant brought the technique into wide use in 1528, and remained little changed for 200 years. Events Ottoman sultan Mehmed II defeats the White Sheep Turkmens lead by Uzun Hasan at Otlukbeli Axayacatl, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan invades the territory of neighboring Aztec city of Tlatelolco. ... Movable metal type, and composing stick, descended from Gutenbergs invention Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (c. ... The printing press is a mechanical device for printing many copies of a text on rectangular sheets of paper. ... 1501 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Frontispiece to the Odhecaton. ... Example of numeric vihuela tablature from the book Orphenica Lyra by Miguel de Fuenllana (1554). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Year 1520 (MDXX) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... French Music printer, active in Paris, b. ... Events June 19 - Battle of Landriano - A French army in Italy under Marshal St. ...

Frontispiece to Petrucci's Odhecaton

A common format for issuing multi-part, polyphonic music during the Renaissance was part-books. In this format, each voice-part for a collection of 5-part madrigals, for instance, would be printed separately in its own book, such that all five part-books would be needed to perform the music. (The same part books could be used by singers or instrumentalists.) Scores for multi-part music were rarely printed in the Renaissance, although the use of score format as a means to compose parts simultaneously (rather than successively, as in the late Middle Ages) is credited to Josquin Des Prez. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1652x1580, 222 KB) Summary from http://ieee. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1652x1580, 222 KB) Summary from http://ieee. ... A madrigal is a setting for two or more voices of a secular text, often in Italian. ... Josquin des Prez Josquin Des Prez (French rendering of Dutch Josken, diminutive of Joseph; latinized Josquinus Pratensis, alternatively Jodocus Pratensis) (c. ...

The effect of printed music was similar to the effect of the printed word, in that information spread faster, more efficiently, and to more people than it could through manuscripts. It had the additional effect of encouraging amateur musicians of sufficient means, who could now afford music to perform. This in many ways affected the entire music industry. Composers could now write more music for amateur performers, knowing that it could be distributed. Professional players could have more music at their disposal. It increased the number of amateurs, from whom professional players could then earn money by teaching them. Nevertheless, in the early years the cost of printed music limited its distribution. The music industry is the industry that creates, performs, promotes, and preserves music. ...

In many places the right to print music was granted by the monarch, and only those with a special dispensation were allowed to do so. This was often an honour (and economic boon) granted to favoured court musicians.

In the 19th century the music industry was dominated by sheet music publishers. In the United States, the sheet music industry rose in tandem with blackface minstrelsy, and the group of New York City-based publishers and composers dominating the industry was known as "Tin Pan Alley". The late 19th century saw a massive explosion of parlour music, with a piano becoming de rigeur for the middle class home, but in the early 20th century the phonograph and recorded music grew greatly in importance. This, joined by the growth in popularity of radio from the 1920s on, lessened the importance of the sheet music publishers. The record industry eventually replaced the sheet music publishers as the music industry's largest force. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The music industry is the industry that creates, performs, promotes, and preserves music. ... This reproduction of a 1900 minstrel show poster, originally published by the Strobridge Litho Co. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Tin Pan Alley was the name given to the collection of New York City-centered music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. ... Parlor music was a type of popular music associated with the period between the 19th century rise of the sheet music industry and the advent of recorded music. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Edison cylinder phonograph ca. ... The 1920s is a decade that is sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... The record industry is the part of the music industry that earns profit by selling sound recordings of music. ...

Current developments

In the late 20th and into the 21st century, significant interest has developed in representing sheet music in a computer-readable format (see Music Notation Software), as well as downloadable files. Music OCR, software to "read" scanned sheet music so that the results can be manipulated, has been available since 1991. In 1998, Virtual Sheet Music evolved further into what was to be termed Digital Sheet Music, which for the first time allowed for copyright sheet music to be made available for purchase online by the publishers. Unlike their hard copy counterparts these files allowed for manipulation such as instrument changes, transposition and even midi playback. The popularity of this instant delivery system among musicians appears to be acting as a catalyst of new growth for the industry well into the foreseeable future. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... The 21st century is the present century of the Anno Domini (common) era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... The NASA Columbia Supercomputer. ... Music notation software are computer programs that are used to create and print sheet music. ... Music OCR is the application of optical character recognition to interpret sheet music or printed scores into editable and, often, playable form. ... Digital Sheet Music gives to the modern musician endless possibilities. ...

Harry Connick, Jr. invented in 1999, a system and method for coordinating music display among players in an orchestra. [1] An electronic system, a device with a screen, used to show the sheet music for the musicians in an orchestra, while they're playing, instead of the more commonly used paper. Harry Connick Jr. uses this system for example when he's touring with his big band. [2] ‹ The template below (Taginfo) is being considered for deletion. ...

Of special practical interest for the general public is the Mutopia project, an effort to create a library of public domain sheet music, comparable to Project Gutenberg's library of public domain books. The IMSLP (International Music Score Library Project) is attempting to create a virtual library containing all public domain musical scores, as well as scores from composers who are willing to share their music with the world free of charge. The Mutopia project is a volunteer-run effort to create a library of public domain sheet music, in a way similar to Project Gutenbergs library of public domain books. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive, and distribute cultural works. ... The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) is a project for the creation of a virtual library of public domain music scores, based on the wiki principle. ...

See also

• Manuscript paper
• Music theory
• Musical composition
• Musical notation
• Public domain
• Music markup - Meta
• Eye movement in music reading
• List of sheet music publishers
• Shorthand for orchestra instrumentation

Manuscript paper typically has six double staves on a single sheet Manuscript paper (sometimes staff paper in U.S. English, or just music paper) is paper preprinted with staves ready for musical notation. ... Music theory is a field of study that investigates the nature or mechanics of music. ... Musical composition is: a piece of music the structure of a musical piece the process of creating a new piece of music // A piece of music exists in the form of a written composition in musical notation or as a single acoustic event (a live performance or recorded track). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... A string trio comprising a pianist, violinist and cellist. ... This is a list of publishers of sheet music, organized by country. ... The shorthand for the orchestration of a classical symphony orchestra is used to outline which and how many instruments, especially wind instruments, are called for in a given piece of music. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Sheet music

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...

Archives of Scanned Works

• Sheet Music Consortium - Metasearch using OAI-PMH.
• International Music Score Library Project - a public domain sheet music library featuring original scores scanned to PDF.
• Music for the Nation - American sheet music archive.
• Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music – sheet music project of The Sheridan Libraries of The Johns Hopkins University.
• University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Pacific Northwest Sheet Music Collection This collection contains historical sheet music from and about Washington State, the Pacific Northwest and the University of Washington.
• Free-scores.com – Huge database of free sheet music in PDF / MIDI / MP3.

A protocol developed by the Open Archives Initiative. ... The Portable Document Format (PDF) is the file format created by Adobe Systems, in 1993, for document exchange. ... The Johns Hopkins University is an internationally prestigious private institution of higher learning located in Baltimore, Maryland. ...

Archives of Works in Other Formats

• Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki) – free sheet music archive with emphasis on choral music; contains works in PDF and also other formats.
• Mutopia project – free sheet music archive in which all pieces have been newly typeset with GNU LilyPond as PDF and PostScript.
• Project Gutenberg – sheet music section of Project Gutenberg containing works in Finale and/or MusicXML format.
• Three examples of sheet music as interactive hypermedia at the BinAural Collaborative Hypertext.
• A collection of public domain sheet music for classical guitar Both in quantity and quality