11   of   the   Best   Free   Sheet   Music   Sites 
 

11   of   the   Best   Sheet   Music   Sites 
This post was updated 8 September 2016 

If you’re a music teacher on a tight budget it can be difficult to find the money to purchase sheet music for 
the myriad of music ensembles, instrumental and vocal students you may have at your school. It’s good 
to know that these days there are literally hundreds of websites that offer free sheet music and a large 
percent of the titles are also copyright-free so you can arrange, transpose or transform the original to your 
heart’s content. I’ve listed a few sites below, but if you’d like to find more, just search Google for “free 
sheet music”. 

1. International Music Score Library Project 

The IMSLP (Petrucci Music Library) website houses a collection of public domain scores and Creative 
Commons licensed scores from a range of composers. There are more than 110,400 works by more than 
14,400 composers and the site also includes some MP3 recordings of performances that are available to 
download. 

2. Mutopia 

A collection of classical sheet music in the public domain. Their collection of modern editions and 
arrangements is also growing. All the music on Mutopia has been typeset using Lilypond notation 
software and the Lilypond files are freely available, alongside the PDF version of the score. 

3. The Gutenberg Sheet Music Project 

The Gutenberg Sheet Music Project was a sister project of the electronic book-sharing site Project 
Gutenberg from approximately 2001-2006. Although it is no longer active, there is still an accessible 
collection of completed scores on the site. 

4. Choral Music Public Domain 

Founded in 1998, the Choral Music Public Domain site focuses on sharing free choral and vocal scores as 
well as texts, translations and other useful information. There are currently more than 3600 choral and 
vocal works by at least 2754 composers. 

 
  

5. Band Music PDF Library 

Described as a collection of “music from the Golden Age of the American town band”, the Band Music 
PDF Library includes marches, waltzes, rags, theater music, solo works and more. 

6. Sheet Music Fox 

An advert-heavy site that has public domain music as well as links to other sites containing copyrighted 
music (available for purchase). 

7. Free Scores 

Like some of the other sites listed above, this one contains a variety of public domain scores and also 
scores from current composers. Check the licence page for details of how each piece can be used. 

8. EZ Folk 

Folk songbooks from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s printed in their entirety for ukulele, guitar, banjo and 
harmonica. The site also includes “how to play” tutorials and courses. 

9. 8-Notes 

8Notes.com offers original arrangements of free public domain songs and instrumental pieces. The sheet 
music is provided in a GIF format (lower quality image format). You can pay $20 to subscribe for a year 
which gives you access to the PDF versions of scores and removes the ads from the site. They also have 
a useful riffs/licks section if you just want to know the basic main riff of a pop song 

10. Mus Open 

Mus Open is a non-profit focused on increasing access to music by creating free resources and 
educational materials. The site has a collection of recordings, sheet music, and textbooks. 

11. Public Domain Sherpa 

Although the sites above offer free sheet music it’s wise to be aware that not all titles are completely 
copyright-free. Public Domain Sherpa offers a run-down of many sheet music sites (including ones not 
listed here) and lets you know whether the music may be subject to copyright restrictions. 

 
 

 
  

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About Katie 
Hello! I’m Katie Wardrobe – a music technology trainer and consultant with a passion for helping music 
teachers. I’m a qualified teacher (but no, I don’t currently teach in a school) and I run hands-on 
professional development workshops in Australia and overseas. I have a series of online courses and 
digital products that help support music teachers and I have presented at more than 50 conferences and 
other music education events.  

My workshops, courses and presentations focus on easy ways to incorporate technology through a range 
of creative projects into what you are already doing in your music curriculum. I write regularly on my blog 
and focus on practical ideas and resources that can be used in the classroom or teaching studio.   

You can find out more about what I do on the Midnight Music website.