Music suitable for printing can be found in many places on the web, in a dizzying array of formats. Some of these formats can be viewed in any browser, while others require special plug-in software. Below is a guide to some of the most commonly found music printing formats on the web. Each is accompanied by sample sites that employ this format, and that allow music to be printed or downloaded free of charge. There are many more sites out there than are listed here; these were chosen based on extent of content and to demonstrate the format.

JPEGs, GIFs and TIFFs: "Photographic" image formats viewable in any browser. Used on many archival sheet music sites, such as Music for the Nation (Library of Congress), The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music (Johns Hopkins) and Historic American Sheet Music (Duke). Music from these sites can be printed, but result may be dark if original paper is yellowed or brown.
Sites providing access to standard repertoire and solo music in GIF format include:

• Variations (Indiana University) Scores to accompany recordings digitized as part of the Variations Project. Lots of standard repertoire, grouped into pages for: opera; song; orchestral and choral; chamber; piano.
• Musica Viva: "The Internet guide for free sheet music downloads." A one-man operation, it contains ca. 4000 classical and traditional pieces, organized by instrumentation. Also has links to 750+ other sites.

Portable Document Format (PDF) files: A scanning format familiar from our online journals and course reserves, also works well for music. Requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in, which comes bundled with most browsers, and is available on all Libraries computers. Free music sites that use PDF format include:

• Choral Public Domain Library: A collaborative project to make public domain choral music freely accessible. Over 2800 scores available in PDF format; some also available in notation formats. Good list of other free sites on "contributors" link.
• Sheet Music Online: Commercial site aimed at music teachers; includes free downloads of public domain piano music, under "The Music Racks."

PostScript files: Scores meant for a PostScript printer or typesetter. May be viewed and printed in other systems using free Ghostscript/GhostView software. A large collection of PostScript scores can be found at:

• Werner Icking Music Archive: Sheet Music: Vocal and instrumental pieces by over 200 composers, both well-known and obscure. A growing number of files on this site are also available in PDF format.

DjVu files: DjVu is an image compression technology designed to provide high-resolution scans of text and images at a file size that allows fast downloads. Use requires downloading a browser plug-in, but the plug-in loads in seconds and does not require a restart before use. More detailed information can be found at the DjVuZone. A major part of their new marketing approach is providing free licenses to some non-profit and educational institutions. There are not yet many practical archives of music available in DjVu format. The examples below serve mainly to show the power and potential of this particular technology:

• Charles H. Templeton Sheet Music Collection (Mississippi State University): A collection of popular American sheet music from the early 1900s, being digitized in both PDF and DjVu formats.
• Tri-College Digital Music Initiative: Examples in a pilot project to develop integrated learning objects for college music instruction.
• Czech National Library: This links to a piano sonata by Dussek, one of a few scores scanned in DjVu in a test project.
• Mozart's Symphony No. 40: A demonstration document from the Indiana University Variations Project, comparing scans of this symphony in various viewers, including DjVu.

Notation software formats: Most notation packages are promoting exchange of scores via the web, and some have developed free browser plug-ins for viewing/listening/printing.

• Sibelius: Scorch is a browser plug-in which allows users to view, play, customize and print Sibelius scores on the net. Notable sites using Scorch include:
  • Schubertline: "The online score service for singers." A "comprehensive" library of Schubert lieder, "extensive" collections of other German and French songs and arias, Italian arias and Arie Antiche.
  • Anglican CyberHymnal: Cross referenced to the 1940 and 1982 Episcopal Hymnals.
  • SibeliusMusic: This self-publishing site for users of the Sibelius notation software includes over 5500 works, both original compositions and arrangements of music from all periods. Most works must be purchased, but many are available free.
• Finale: SmartMusic Viewer is their browser plug-in, which allows Finale files to be viewed, played, transposed and printed. Examples can be seen at Finale Showcase.
• Score: "The original fully computerized music printing system," in use since 1971. Scores may be viewed and printed using Score Preview software. A large collection of Score files is at the Perth Score Archive (ftp site).
• MusEdit: A notation program strong on pop music, guitar tab and chord formats. A free viewer/printer is available. Examples may be found at the MusEdit Music Library.
• NoteWorthy Composer: A shareware notation program. Free view/print software is available. A site making exclusive use of this software is Cyber Hymnal, with over 3300 Christian hymns and gospel songs from many denominations. Includes scores, midi files, texts, and history.

ASCII formats: Languages that have been created for representing music using plain ASCII text.

• abc: Developed for transcribing tunes in treble clef only, although one user has coded the entire second movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in abc. Many examples can be found at abc collections.
• MuseData: Developed by the Center for Computer Assisted Research in the Humanities. Pieces are encoded from printed scores, including early editions of composers' collected works.
• LilyPond: Part of the GNU open source project; creates music notation from ASCII description. A collection of LilyPond scores may be found at Mutopia.

Some guides: Finding a particular piece on the web is very much a hit-or-miss proposition at this point. Even if a piece is out there, if it resides inside a database it will not turn up in a search on Google or Yahoo. But those search engines are a good place to start. Below are some guides that have many links, and also provide some advice on searching for sheet music.

• Online Music Scores (Acadia University): An excellent overview of what is available in the various formats.
• The Free Sheet Music Guide: Includes a helpful page on how to find sheet music on the internet
• Databases Including Scores/Sheet Music (Indiana): Another handy collection of links.