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Whether you are a piano teacher looking for music for your students, or a pianist looking for something new to study or play for an upcoming performance, there are a growing number of resources for free music on the Internet. Generally, “free” music falls under the auspices of what is in the public domain - music that is out of copyright because it meets your country’s requirements for X years past the publication date. However, there are some generous folks who have made their arrangements for beginner-intermediate students available for free download. Below are some of my favorite resources:
Chrissy Ricker has a number of pre-reading and elementary arrangements, as well as a few intermediate selections on her Free Stuff page. You’ll also find quite a few teaching resources on the page as well! (And if you would like to support her work financially, check out her music on PopMusicPlus which has fabulous arrangements of popular songs at every level.)
Gilbert DeBenedetti generously offers his arrangements of classical music and folk tunes, as well as some original tunes, on his site, G major theory. Browse by level.
Making Music Fun is a wonderful place to find music history resources. Did you know you can also download their free sheet music arrangements? Browse by classical, patriotic, Christian, jazz, Christmas, celtic, or nursery rhyme categories, or find by level (1-5).
And, of course, everyone should know of the Petrucci Music Library, where you can find a huge assortment of classical music in the public domain. Search by composer, nationality, time period, or instrument difficulty (Piano levels are ordered by the RCM levelling system, which generally starts at year 2-3 of piano study. No pre-reading music here.).
Choral pianists and conductors in search of choral-only music can check out the Choral Wiki, where you can search by voice part. If you’re looking to strengthen your open score sightreading skills, this could be a great resource for you.
Recently, I took advantage of several of these websites as I am preparing summer music for my students. I always like to have something a little out of our “norm” for the summer to keep things fun!
What is your go-to resource for sheet music? Do you take advantage of any of these free resources, pay for a monthly subscription for access, or write your own? Let me know in the comments.