Photo: Nur Yilmaz

Is free sheet music legal?

But here's the good news ... With public domain sheet music you don't have to worry about any of this. If the music is in the public domain, you can perform it publicly — wherever you like, without paying any fees at all.

publicdomainsherpa.com - Is it public domain sheet music or is it copyrighted?

Is it expensive to replace piano keys?

The cost of doing this procedure is about $475.00 for upright pianos and $575.00 for grand pianos. The other way to solve the problems is by...

Last updated Mar 9, 2020

How do you know which fingers to use when playing the piano?

Piano finger numbers are found in piano sheet music and indicate which finger to use on a specific note. The number one represents the thumb, two...

Last updated May 22, 2020

Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide

Promotion

Making sure it’s public domain sheet music

If you’re a choir or chorus director, can you photocopy an arrangement of public domain sheet music or must you purchase multiple copies of the music? What if you’ve found a new, beautifully typeset edition that includes minor corrections? It has a copyright notice on it, right? But is it really protected by copyright? How can you tell?

If knowing more about public domain sheet music — what you can do with it and some things to be careful of when using it — would help you, you’ve landed on the right page. Before we get started — if you’re just looking for places to find public domain sheet music, see the free sheet music page. Okay now ...

If it’s public domain sheet music, here’s what you can do

When sheet music is in the public domain, you can freely:

record it

remix it

copy and distribute it

perform it in public

Many artists have been inspired by those who have come before them and have used public domain music to create new works. For example, see this Wikipedia list of popular songs based on classical music.

If it’s not public domain sheet music, watch out

When sheet music is not in the public domain you must deal with things like these (depending on how you want to use the work): performance royalties These are the fees you must pay the copyright owner for permission to perform copyrighted sheet music in public (except at religious services or nonprofit functions). The copyright owner is usually the music publisher. Performing rights societies collect performance royalties through license agreements. In the US, there are three performing rights societies: ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. How much of a fee you must pay depends on your use. mechanical royalties These are the recording fees you must pay to record copyrighted sheet music. In the US, the Harry Fox Agency collects these royalties. Mechanical royalties currently range from 9.10 cents per copy for songs of 5 minutes or less, or 1.75 cents per minute of playing time for songs over 5 minutes. synchronization licenses If you want to use a copyrighted musical composition in connection with an audiovisual work (including works on the Internet), you’ll need a synchronization license. Synchronization licenses apply anywhere you’re reproducing music in connection (usually in timed relation) with visual images. The Harry Fox Agency used to handle synchronization licenses. They don’t anymore. Now you must contact the copyright owner directly. As I mentioned above, that’s usually the music publisher.

What note do most songs end on?

Most of us know that songs usually end on I chords. I say “usually” because in recent years, that is changing.

Last updated Mar 27, 2021

Is D# and EB the same?

Technically a D# and an Eb are exactly the same, they just appear in different contexts. Hence why is you take a look at the scales above, each...

Last updated Mar 17, 2018

Promotion

master recording license A synchronization license grants you the authority to reproduce a musical composition only. If you wanted to reproduce a specific recording of a composition, you would need to get a master recording license. Master recording rights are held by whoever controls the recorded version of a song — usually a record label. reproduction rights You would also need the copyright owner’s permission to reproduce sheet music. Yet another reason to be sure whether the original sheet music you’re using is in the public domain or not. adaptation rights If you wanted to remix the music — that is, adapt the melody or the lyrics for use in a new composition of your own — you’d need the copyright owner’s permission. As you can imagine, a music licensing scenario can get pretty hairy, depending on what you want to do with the copyrighted music. You might need a synchronization license and a master recording license, or maybe just a synchronization license. Or maybe just a mechanical license. Confusing? You bet, to say nothing of expensive. But here’s the good news ... With public domain sheet music you don’t have to worry about any of this. If the music is in the public domain, you can perform it publicly — wherever you like, without paying any fees at all. You can make copies of it, record it, remix it, use it in a film or on a web site ... it’s up to you. You do have to establish that the sheet music really is public domain, though. And you should know about a few things that might trip you up — more on that in a minute.

What is the number 1 BTS song?

According to Billboard's record of BTS' chart history, BTS first topped the Hot 100 in 2020 with their collaboration with Jason Derulo on a remix...

Last updated Jan 8, 2020

What are the most common blues scales?

The major blues scale pattern is 1 - 2 - b3 - 3 - 5 - 6. There are major and minor blues scales and they're used in blues music but are often used...

Last updated May 1, 2019

Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide

Pianoforall is one of the most popular online piano courses online and has helped over 450,000 students around the world achieve their dream of playing beautiful piano for over a decade.

Learn More »

Promotion

How do you know it’s public domain sheet music?

Here are the main ways sheet music can enter the public domain:

the music’s copyright has expired;

the music was published before 1989 without a valid copyright notice; or

the music was first published from 1923 through 1963 and the copyright wasn’t renewed on time. To learn how to tell if a work is in the public domain for these reasons, and more, take the tutorial on copyright and the public domain. Note: To know if a work’s copyright has expired you must know whether the work has been published. Performing a piece of music does not publish the music, by the way. And before January 1, 1978, music was considered published only when sheet music was distributed to the public. If the music was distributed on recordings only (vinyl records, 8-track tapes, whatever), it was not considered published. Okay, back to the task at hand. (But do take the tutorial if you’re at all confused. The page on copyright expiration has more info on publication.)

Now what’s that about potential problems?

If sheet music is in the public domain it’s copyright free music, right? Right. But what if the sheet music you want to use is a new edition or an arrangement of a public domain piece? What then?

Let’s find out ...

Part 2: Avoiding Problems with Public Domain Music »

publicdomainsherpa.com - Is it public domain sheet music or is it copyrighted?

What is the most romantic piano piece?

Here is our list of 12 of the most romantic pieces of classical music for piano of all time. Fantasia in D Minor – Mozart. Clair de Lune – Debussy....

Last updated Apr 15, 2021