@Gordon Shumway 

I am not as educated in reading music and musical terms as you are, but I think I know what you are talking about.

My teacher does not like the fingering in Suzuki. He does not like the progression of songs in the series, either. He uses sheet music that covers the next logical step in my progress, sometimes a Suzuki song, sometimes an Essential Elements for Cello, sometimes from somewhere else.

When he uses a Suzuki, he says he does not like the fingering marked for at least two sections all the time. We then remark it with pencil, never ink.

I make a copy of his lesson mark up to make his marks permanent and I can put whatever marks I need on it. I can erase mine later if they are wrong or I no longer need a reminder and it is clutter on the sheet music. I always have the book to go back to for a copy without his markings.

If I know ahead of time what piece he is going to do, and I have it, I make a copy unmarked so that I can always start from scratch. After the first lesson, I make a copy with his mark ups, to make them permanent.

I think that if you can find a piece of music without someone else’s fingerings and interpretation notes, you are much better off. At least for me, more clutter than I need is a hindrance.

We are starting Tenor Clef on my cello next week. I know what song we will be doing because he asked me to figure out what notes they are and put them over the notes, plus I have a scale in Tenor Clef to do. I am enjoying it, by the way. I also found the piece played by Cellopedia. It is, without doubt, the most beautiful piece I have heard in a lesson so far.  But I do need the notes above right now. Later, I hope to be able to use the uncluttered clean copy. Then I can also play around and make my own interpretation notes.

That said, my instructor told me not to try to play it because the fingering will not be the same as the Suzuki book has done and he does not want a bad fingering habit ingrained in my mind, he knows me well!

So, if I was you, I would find a copy as clean as you can. I would think that even a Suzuki copy, unmarked would be better than what you found online.

I hope I got the gist of your post, you were asking about finding a clean copy as opposed to using a copy with someone else’s fingering and interpretations marked all over it?

Again, I am not anywhere near at the level of pretty much anyone here because I do lack music theory.