Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with sheetmusic

Sheet music for Eileen Ivers' Bygone Days

jaden — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:59:00 -0800

My Mom loves the Thanksgiving: A Windham Hill Collection and would like the piano accompaniment for track 2, Bygone Days by Eileen Ivers. Her birthday is in late December and I'd like to buy it for her, if I can find it. I've searched all the sheet music sites I've found but my Google/Bing-fu has failed me. All I've located is the same song (track 3) on Crossing the Bridge and a live version of the song on YouTube.

It's possible the song was written by someone else and only performed by Ivers, but the only alternate version I've found by Rudolf Friml is a different song.

Does anyone know where I could look (or if it exists)?

Looking for piano music

crush-onastick — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:50:41 -0800

Please help me find some sheet music. The piano is finally out of storage, tuned, ready to play and I cannot find my favorite sheet music. ARGH. The Gayaneh Ballet Suite; by Aram Khatchurian (I've tried various spellings of the last name and of the ballet name), arranged for solo piano. A friend gave me a Russian language edition in high school. it's missing and I cannot find a publisher. There's a shop in town that can order it, if I can find a publisher. I am specifically looking for the suite that includes the adagio (which was used as part of the soundtrack in 2001). It's either suite 1 or suite 3. It is NOT suite 2. I am NOT looking for the Sabre Dance. I've been able to locate full concert band scores and a score for trumpet and piano, but that's not what I need. At this point, I'd be willing to shell out for the whole damn ballet if that's what it takes to get another copy of this sheet music.

If it's completely out of print, which is more than possible, does anyone know a good source for out of print sheet music?

Where can I get Bic Runga sheet music?

Nugget — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:24:05 -0800

Looking for Bic Runga sheet music.. Does anyone know where I can get sheet music for the Bic Runga song "When I see you smile"?

We have a harpist at our wedding later in the year and the song has special meaning to the wee wifey to be and myself. We can find the guitar chords, but being completely non-musical we don't know if these are enough.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Software to generate notated music from singing?

Flunkie — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:41:57 -0800

Can I sing (or hum or whistle) into my computer and have it produce notated music? I would like to sing (or hum or whistle) into my computer and have it produce some form of notated music - sheet music notation, MIDI, or preferably both. I figure there might be some software out there that would let me do this, given the existence of games like Rock Band (which detects the pitch you're singing at).

Assume (as I do) that I am not tone deaf, and that I have a halfway decent singing voice.

Windows, please; freeware is preferred but not required.

Thanks in advance.

Help me ID this piece.

pseudonymph — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:09:32 -0800

Help me identify this piano piece? (Audio/sheet music inside) I'm trying to track down a piano piece I used to play, years and years ago. I can only remember the first few bars, which i've written here. (There's an option to listen, rather than read. I'm covering all possible bases!)
The note lengths are approximate, but to my ear seem fairly accurate.

Can anyone ID it? Failing that, could you point me to someone/somewhere that might?

Hallelujah sheet music

Flying Squirrel — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:05:31 -0800

Does anyone know where can I buy piano sheet music for Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah? I'm not sure if the sheet music is out there, but my mum would like to play this on the piano and I am looking for the sheet music. Are there reputable sites online to buy it from? I'm not sure if it is even available but if anyone knows, I'd appreciate it!

Free Violin Music for They Might Be Giant's Istanbul (Not Constantinople)?

lunit — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 15:54:19 -0800

Where can I find free sheet music for the violin part in They Might Be Giant's Istanbul (Not Constantinople)?

Strings and String Theory

sleep_walker — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 06:33:33 -0800

I'm after violin sheet music that has been inspired by physics - any suggestions or recommendations? I've been reading about superstring theory lately, and was curious if anyone knew of composers who had/have written music inspired by aspects of physics.

I don't mind if it's not specifically for violin (though that would be great) as I am happy to adapt/transpose it. Having said that, I want to emphasise that I am just a dabbler, so my knowledge of contemporary/historical composers is very basic - my apologies if I've missed the obvious.

Casual flute self-study to Beatles and downtempo pop?

cowbellemoo — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 01:56:47 -0800

I want a casual beginner's flute regimen that won't bore me to tears. My goal is to be able to play a collection of simple pop melodies that I enjoy (Beatles, Zero 7, Air) and have enough skill in notation to write down simple melodies that get stuck in my head. You see, I'm an avid whistler and I am wonderfully happy repeating short phrases from whatever song I'm obsessing over at the time. I would like to parlay this into a meager aptitude for, and comfort with, my flute.

I had a small measure of success with one of the 50s era beginners books, enough to produce a handful of notes in the easiest register and get comfortable with the mouthpiece, but I gave up in short order since I have zero patience for those dated and unmoving songs. I'm willing to go through scales and other wrote exercises, but I'd like to be able to jump into "Hey, Jude" or whatever if my interest wanders. I'm also eager to get some private lessons, but I'd like to have a grip on music that's familiar and beautiful to me first. Where do I start? Better beginner's books? Blank sheet music journals and sound everything out? Look for piano sheet music to bands I like?

Some details on my background if it helps: 2 years of clarinet in HS; I can read and hum a simple piece of sheet music, but can't reliably recognize notes audibly. I own a new Gemeinhardt SP2 (closed hole, key of C) student flute.

does whatever a spider pig does

meijusa — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 12:43:20 -0800

spider pig, spider pig: where can I get the sheet music for piano and the choir libretto for this simpsons movie song? My google searches haven't turned up anything useful with these keywords. I tried to just play it until it sounds about right, but so far it doesn't. Also, I'd like to get the instructions for the choir. Oh, and then, eventually, I'd like to get it out of my head.

Where can I get cool violin sheet music?

theiconoclast31 — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 23:25:59 -0800

I've taken up the violin. Where can I find the coolest sheet music? 1. I've been searching for Andrew Bird sheet music, or artists that sound like him.
2. Where do the best violinists hang out on the net? Are there any good net databases of sheet music?
3. What books do you use?
*Bonus points for simple music. Bonus points for free music.

Light explosives now

cogat — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 05:48:40 -0800

Does anyone know the origin of this delightful piece of sheet music nonsense? I'd love to get a print of it. (via)

Do we have a (St. Francis') prayer?

lleachie — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:10:27 -0800

Weddingmusicfilter: Can anyone help us locate sheet music for the Sarah McLachlan version of "Prayer of St. Francis"? We want a soloist to sing this number for our wedding in March. We found a tablature (sp?) version, but as we'd like piano or some other accompaniment, real sheet music would be nice.

Looking to collect signed film score sheet music

eric-neg — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 14:06:37 -0800

I'm looking for nice looking sheet music to start a signed collection. Don't worry, there is I'm looking for nice looking sheet music to start a signed collection. More specifically, I'm looking to buy nice looking film scores in hopes of having it signed by the original composer.

I know where to find sheet music online but ideally I'd like either:

-Actual music used during scoring
OR
-Original composition not arranged by anyone else

I'm looking for classic/contemporary film scores so there really isn't any limit to what I'm interested in. Anyone know of any place where you can buy the actual sheet music used in scoring sessions? Any suggestions on finding the original arrangement and not a middle school band version?

(this is my first question btw, so I'm sorry if I jump around a bit.)

How to do on-the-fly MMO for chorus practice?

baylink — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 15:28:12 -0800

Is there a multi-track audio format suitable for chorus practice? That and I've recently joined a chorus, and in my continuing (and usually futile) attempts to leverage technology to make my life easier (since I don't read music that well), I'm wondering if there's a standardized way that you could assemble 5 independent synchronized audio tracks (likely mp3 format) -- accompaniment, and the 4 individual vocal tracks -- in such a fashion that the practicing singer could play it back and either punch out the three voices they don't sing (for learning your part) or punch out the voice they *do* sing (for practice).

I realize that this could be done with something like Multiquence or Cakewalk, but that would entail shipping something like a zip file around with all the tracks in it, which I'd like to avoid, not to mention requiring special playback software (it'd be nice if these files could be played back with J Random Player -- even if that player had to be Quicktime).

Any suggestions?

In a related story, I'd also like to carry my sheet music (and maybe these audio tracks) around on an eBook reader of some flavor; anyone got any experience with those -- particularly as they relate to sheet music?

Cello Sheet Music

plinth — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 11:20:50 -0800

Looking for interesting cello sheet music I would like to get my sister-in-law, a cellist, some sheet music as a Christmas gift. I'm a musician as well and know the difficulty in buying for a different specialty. I would like to avoid staple repertoire pieces, but rather some intriguing pieces. Looking at the previous thread about interestin cello music to listen to, the music to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon might be just the thing - except that I was unable to find it for solo cello. Closest I found was junior band (brrrr).

If your google-fu is better than mine or you could offer another suggestion, I welcome the help.

Help a poor student play nice music

twirlypen — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 17:57:16 -0800

I'm looking for sheet music for piano. My student bank account requests that it is free, or at least very cheap. One piece by Chopin, one by Yann Tierson (from Amelie) and one by Duke Ellington. The Chopin is his Nocturne No.1, Op.9/1 in B minor.

The Yann Tierson one is "Comptini d'un autre ete: L'apres midi"
(with little accenty things above the 'e's in 'ete' and 'L'apres')

The Duke Ellington piece is "The Single Petal of a Rose"

I've looked around but nothing is free, and the cheapest I can find is >$20, which is a bit much for me. Anything under ten dollars would be nice, but free would be wonderful.

Thanks for the help.

How do I get Sibelius Scorch to play more than one page of sheet music?

zembla3 — Mon, 22 May 2006 18:36:05 -0800

I've downloaded the Sibelius Scorch sheet music plugin for both Firefox and IE. When I purchase Scorch sheet music, Scorch only plays the first page, even though I've purchased the entire song. The back/forward page buttons are grayed out. I've downloaded several songs from different Web sites, and I always get the same result. This happens with both browsers. Any ideas?

The Badger Sheet Music

blue_beetle — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 19:08:18 -0800

Sheet music for The Badger by the Tea party? I'm trying to track down sheet music, in PDF form, or in a book that I can buy for this song. I'm not looking for guitar tabs or random music books featuring the Tea Party, but for this actual song. I will be playing this on guitar if that helps. I haven't been able to find it anywhere. Please hope me!

Piano for Drop-outs

xanthippe — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 14:28:45 -0800

Help me remember how to play the piano. I played for about eight years, and haven't for nearly as many. When i quit, i knew most of what i needed to know to pick up anything and learn to play it well; sadly, this is no longer quite the case. I'd love some advice on:

1) How to quickly and painlessly jog my memory on music theory (I can still read music - notes, that is - and know my scales, but everything else is like pulling teeth). I can't take lessons, so i'd like to find, in addition to/instead of a book of exercises, some text that will tell me all the things my teacher did so long ago (and, optimally, weighs less than my cat). Like what all those numbers on the left side mean, and what kind of chord that is. And,

2) What composers/pieces i should start with: I will probably grab some flashcards, and some of the recommendations in this thread. What next, and more importantly, how does one generally go about finding pieces that suit one's taste and ability? I used to love playing Bach inventions and sonatinas at super-sonic speeds when i was 14, but i'd like to start with some more mature material while i'm still refreshing my memory. What composers/pieces do you most enjoy playing?

Also, i'm poor and have to have most books that are in English expensively shipped to where i live, so bonus points for online resources. Any websites from which i can print out sheet music?

Downloadable sheet music of duets for two soprano recorders

soyjoy — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 19:37:50 -0800

I'm looking for something pretty specific, but not all that bizarre: Downloadable sheet music (say, PDFs or GIFs) of duets (public-domain music) for two soprano recorders. Where? I've searched AskMefi and Google, and unfortunately the homonym on "recorder" which is used with "music" a lot gets in the way of a completely clean search. My wife and I spent an hour or so trolling through "free sheet music" sites and found one paltry example of this particular instrumentation. There must be more. Anybody?

Why do I favour some names of notes in the chromatic scale over their other names?

goodnewsfortheinsane — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 13:53:18 -0800

MusicianFilter: Why do I favour some names of notes in the chromatic scale over their other names? To me, when mentioning the 'black' notes in the chromatic scale in speech, they're always:

C# - Eb - F# - G# - Bb

and never:

Db - D# - Gb - Ab - A#

My question is two-fold:

1) Why do you think this is?
2) Do you have/do this as well?

Please also state which is your primary instrument. Mine is guitar, and I'm wondering if that could have an influence, even if I can't directly tell how. I also play a little piano.

Is there a Project Gutenberg for public domain sheet music?

PinkStainlessTail — Sun, 20 Jun 2004 06:48:57 -0800

Is there something like Project Gutenberg for public domain sheet music? I'm specifically interested in classical, particularly orchestral scores. Dover Books do some very cheap ones, but I'm a big fan of free whenever possible!

Should I keep this old sheet music?

emelenjr — Sun, 06 Jun 2004 14:38:41 -0800

Trying to decide whether or not to keep some old sheet music. Based on the composer, is it at all valuable? [more] My parents are in the middle of de-molding their house, and so have been cleaning out storage spaces and such. They found a collection of sheet music from my great-grandmother's house. Most of the collection is show tunes or Christmas carols, but I'd like to find out some information about two pieces of music from the collection—or, rather, the composers. But there's one copy of the Blue Danube arranged for two pianos by a Mario Braggiotti, featuring a nice hand-written note from Braggiotti to my great-grandmother. Another item is a very long piece of music, several movements, hand-written by John Lessard. There's a note from him, too, thanking my great-grandmother for giving him the means to write it.

I know what Google has to say about both Mario Braggiotti and John Lessard, which isn't very much beyond confirming that they were composers/arrangers. Are any musical MeFites aware of either of them?

Learning to Read Music

icetaco — Wed, 12 May 2004 14:48:42 -0800

Any tips/tutorials/sekrets on learning how to sight read sheet music for piano? [MI™] I've got a baby grand piano, and feel that I owe it to myself to stop noodling and start really learning how to decipher the little dots. Problem is, I've learned to play piano by ear and have refused to look at sheet music all my life. I'm usually quite good at picking up new skills, but I can't seem to wrap my head around this, even on a basic level. Which it quite frustrating—I can recite most anything by ear.

Outside of Every Good Boy Does Fine, have you any sight reading hints?