Online sheet music?

[allenr]

G'day, does anybody know where to find online sheet music - preferably free , but doesn't have to be?

I can find a good choice of guitar tabs and chords online, but actual notes for piano are hard to come by.

I was looking this arvo for Neon Moon by Brooks & Dunn and Gulf of Mexico by Clint Black.

I realize country music is often a less shared than other genre but why should the actual sheet music be so much more difficult to find than guitar tab? Is it a copyright thing?

 

[keegs]

Patelson Music House
http://www.carlfischer.com

 

[Tig]

Copyright laws will keep Brooks & Dunn and Clint Black sheet music from being freely distributed. Anything newer than Big Rock Candy Mountain seems to be protected.

 

[charlz]

Copyright is pretty much a disaster for the public domain:

"# Works created after 1/1/1978 - life of the longest surviving author plus 70 years - earliest possible public domain date is 1/1/2048
# Works registered before 1/1/1978 - 95 years from the date copyright was secured."

Anything created before 1923 is in the public domain.

Note that 1/1/1978 was the date you no longer had to register your copyrights.... or even say 'copyright (date)' thus the difference between the two date ranges.

Looks like Clint Black was born in 1962 and assuming he alone has the copyrights (not likely) and if he lives to the current 74 year 'average life span' that will be 2036. Plus 70 years for the current copyright law to expire (if they don't extend it again) means you should have free access to his music in the year 2106.... hope you didn't plan on holding your breath

 

[2manyrocks]

I get the impression that maybe they don't write sheet music for Country Music. My wife used a Nashville guitar player for something last year and came home with some scribbles on a piece of paper that she had to explain to me. Whatever it was told him he played this for that many times and played that for this many times. It sure wasn't staff and note paper.

 

[allenr]

Thanks guys, for your replies.

It seems odd that the actual music (mp3 files) are unable to be effectively protected but the sheet music is.

I don't begrudge writers their royalties - music certainly adds to the enjoyment of my life. I've never composed a thing.

Keegs, Patelson appear to be going out of business and I can't find any country at carlfischer.

Anybody know where else country sheet music can be bought?

 

[DocHeb]

Most professional musicians don't follow sheet music as non-professionals know it. If you do find sheet music (e.g. in compilation books) it is usually someone's arrangement that has been written after the fact for very popular tunes. You might have more luck finding "lead sheets" that give the basic chord progression and the notes for the lead melody - what musicians do is "fill in the gaps".

 

[keegs]

Thanks guys, for your replies.

It seems odd that the actual music (mp3 files) are unable to be effectively protected but the sheet music is.

I don't begrudge writers their royalties - music certainly adds to the enjoyment of my life. I've never composed a thing.

Keegs, Patelson appear to be going out of business and I can't find any country at carlfischer.

Anybody know where else country sheet music can be bought?

Allen,

The two I mentioned earlier are great sources for classical sheet music but I've never purchased C&W music there (or anywhere else really).

You can try this place out of Nashville that seems to have a pretty good C&W selection: Sheet Music Nashville - Shop By Artists/Composers

 

[allenr]

Thanks Chris and Keegs.

I'm not a professional musician.

But yes, Sheet Music Nashville looks very promising.