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Hi all!!
I did not see a good category for this topic and I did find anything in a search in the forums. I am not quite sure where to post this question.
I would like to order sheet music from time to time but I do not know the best place to go. I don't mind downloading a score and printing it myself, but I would also like the option to order printed sheet music as well.
One issue I have run into in the past when looking for sheet music is that "free" sheet music is not usually original sheet music. In other words, what you often find online is someone's rendition, usually modified from the original score. Sometimes I would like the composer's original. I don't mind someone else's arrangements, but I do like finding music written as close to original as possible.
Does anyone know of sheet music websites where you can find original scores? Or at least compositions that are from the original score?
Sites I have looked at:
- sheetmusicplus.com
- sheetmusicdirect.com
- musicnotes.com
- virtualsheetmusic.com
Thank you.
- Pete -
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Not sure what you are looking for, but try Googling, “original violin sheet music”. 8notes comes up and some others you did not mention. Not sure if 8notes has what you are looking for.
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musescore is great but mostly the same thing that you referred to above. Someones arrangement.
Imslp.org is a great place to find free shuetmusic as well but it has changed a lot over the years.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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IMSLP is the first place I look for anything composed before the 1920s. If it's available for free anywhere, it's almost certainly there -- I look for scores regularly (100+ per year), and in the last five years, I've only found one free score elsewhere that wasn't on IMSLP.
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Have you tried flea markets? They often have sheet music dealers. I know at the Pageant of Steam flea market sort of in our area has a lot of those type dealers. Maybe flea market dealers at county or state fairs? Antique dealers? They don’t always just have antiques. Just some avenues to think about.
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cid said
Not sure what you are looking for, but try Googling, “original violin sheet music”. 8notes comes up and some others you did not mention. Not sure if 8notes has what you are looking for.
I will try to explain.
So I have been looking for the music for "May It Be" by Enya, which is part of the score for The Lord of the Rings. I believe part of what makes this difficult is the original score is orchestral. I think at best I may find someone's rendition of a violin cover for this.
Still, I would like to have the music at least written in the original key. The most likely key is A major, but I don't know for sure.
I understand that a violin part does not have to match a voice part exactly. I do like the way the grace notes are sung. Sheetmusicplus.com does have an arrangement for this which I like (May It Be Sheet Music Plus). This is titled as a piano accompaniment and it is written in A major. Again, I do not know if this is even the right key.
The original score is rather difficult to locate from a Google search. According to the incredibly accurate Wikipedia.com (total sarcasm) the part of May It Be is in Part 2 in the score of The Road Goes Ever On, composed by Howard Shore. My Google searches for this comes up with many lyric pages and some scores of parts of the orignal, but I have yet to find specifically the string part of May It Be.
So finding specific parts of a score in a Google search is not as easy as it may seem.
It has occurred to me that purchasing the entire score would be a little expensive and may not even have a violin part that I want to use. It would, however, have the original key in which the piece is written. I probably will just use the $4.99 downloadable sheet music at sheetmusicplus.com.
My original question for anyone, however, is still to get suggestions for online resources to obtain original scores. I am now wondering if it would be worth asking a local music store if they know good resources for music. There are times when I would probably like to find printed music as well as downloadable files.
I hope this clears up what I am asking a little better. I apologize for any confusion.
- Pete -
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@Pete_Violin No problem. Asking a music store for advice is a good idea. They have books of lists of providers.
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@Pete_Violin I tried an odd Google search. This is one of the hits. Thought it might
help if the key information is correct. I am attaching a screenshot. It says the original key is F#m. I have no idea if it is right. The amazon link js a bust, though.
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Here is another hit from a search. Iused this as my google search:
what is the original key for may it be by enya
Not sure if this will help you find the original.
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This looks good @Mouse
Thank you for looking into this.
I have no idea what they mean by F#m Dflat
But this is precisely why I am looking for better sources of music.
However, this is great news because F#m is the relative key to A major, which means I have been playing approximately in the correct key.
Thank You!
- Pete -
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You are welcome.
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Damn, IMSLP failed me. I tried searching for G. W. Ritter's Sinfonia Concertante for 2 bassons, and didn't find it, so I expect it's nowhere downloadable.
In any case they'll give it to me at the orchestra… but would've liked to take a look at it beforehand 
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Sorry to hear it.
New York Phil archives didn't have it either. 😒
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but the one who needs the least."
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