Web Resources

Web Resources - Songs

The web resources included here are limitted to those that are popular music oriented.
Return to the Song Index.

Web Directories
Indexes to Songs Books and other Collections
Song Databases
Sheet Music Online
Sheet Music Retailers
Web pages with links to other sources

Web Directories

Librarians' Index to the Internet: "Music"
The Center for Popular Music: Links

Indexes to Song Books and other Collections

Local:

The California Library Systems Cooperative Song Index: 135,000+ song titles, 1,300+ items indexed (song books, magazines, and other collections). Compiled from the collections of SJVLS Libraries and California Library System Reference Centers. Maintained by the San Joaquin Valley Information Service.
Los Angeles Public Library: Search for songs in books owned by LAPL.
Henry Madden Library: California State University, Fresno. Go to the ALIS Library Catalogue, then select "Music Scores".

Other:

Santa Cruz Public Libraries: The Santa Cruz Public Libraries' sheet music collection contains more than 12,000 individual pieces of popular and folk/traditional music, issues of Sheet Music Magazine from 1977 up to the present, and songbooks in the Central Branch reference department.
Patchogue-Medford Library: "This is an index to selected books of popular songs in the collection of the Patchogue-Medford Library. There are approximately 102,786 entries from 1,118 books which have been indexed."
Indiana State Library "Kirk Collection": Contains an emphasis on popular music in scores and sheet music, including arrangements, primarily from ca. 1900-1972. Included in the more than 14,000 items are approximately 7,500 dance band sets, country music, and performance music. Indexes can be found at the Cunningham Memorial Library, Rare Books & Special Collections web site by following the Quick Links link.
CENTER FOR POPULAR MUSIC: "The Center has a strong collection of song books and hymnals which illustrate the breadth of American vernacular music from the 18th century to the present. The collection includes approximately 6000 items and is searchable online." Go directly to the search page.
Hal Leonard Online: "Your resource for information on Hal Leonard sheet music, music books, software and videos." Helpful as an index to song books, and also as a song title search. Go to "Product Search".
MusicExpert

Song Databases

These websites may not tell you where to find the sheet music for a song in a book, but they will tell you all sorts of other things about the song, like the writer, the performers, and the publishers. if nothing else, it is a good way to verify that a song actually exists.

BMI HyperRepertoire Internet Song Title Database: The HyperRepertoire has access to the song title registration information contained in the BMI repertoire, including foreign works registered with BMI for performance in the United States and arrangements of works in the public domain.
ACE on the Web: ASCAP, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. The Database contains information on all compositions in the ASCAP repertory which have appeared in any of ASCAP's domestic surveys, including foreign compositions licensed by ASCAP in the United States.
All Music Guide: "All Media Guide is the world's largest and most comprehensive entertainment information database for music, movies and video games. A massive archive licensed for commercial use and available to the public through proprietary Web sites, All Media Guide's extensive data includes expert reviews, biographies, ratings, images, titles, credits, essays and thousands of descriptive categories." More...
HFA Song List: "The HFA Song List contains the song title and writer (as provided to HFA by its music publisher principals), and HFA song code information for titles licensed by HFA, including copyrighted arrangements of songs in the public domain."

Sheet Music Online

The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music: "...over 29,000 pieces of music and focuses on popular American music spanning the period 1780 to 1960."
Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music, 1870-1885
African-American Sheet Music, 1850-1920
Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920
19th-Century California Sheet Music
Historic American Sheet Music: Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library at Duke University
University of Colorado Digital Sheet Music Collection

Sheet Music Retailers

Pepper Music Network: "World's Largest Sheet Music Retailer". One way to purchase sheet music that cannot otherwise be obtained. May sometimes function as an index to song books in the same way as the Hal Leonard site (above). It also has some sheet music available in PDF format. If nothing else, a good source for song information.
Sheet Music Plus: Online retailer of sheet music with a searchable catalog of music.
Warner Bros. Publications: Search a database of sheet music published by Warner Bros. Publications.

Web pages with links to other sources

Music Library Association: Sheet Music Collections: Links to libraries and archives with significant holdings of sheet music maintained the Music Library Association.

September 1, 2005