Sheet (Music) Happens – Online

Tin Pan Alley now has its own exit along the information superhighway. The heyday of local sheet music shops is gone, but the web is humming with tunes to purchase and print.

A recent New York Times article by Michelle Slatalla (Oct. 23, 2003) surveyed the availability of sheet music online.

Slatalla reminisced about once being able to stop at a neighborhood music shop to browse for sheet music. The number of shops continues to shrink, but low-tech sheet music has survived successive assaults of gramophones, radio, television, and personal digital players. With 25% of US adults reported to be musical instrument players, there is still demand for printed music and instructional materials – only the distribution methods have changed.

Over 4,000 retail locations remain for sheet music, but relatively few specialize in printed music, and selection is limited (except for those willing to wait a few weeks for special orders). Using a web browser is becoming music fans' favorite way to browse for tunes.

Visit the sources Slatalla mentioned in her article:

• Sheet Music Plus
• J.W. Pepper & Son, Inc.
• Piano Lane
• Musicnotes
• Piano-Pal
• Barnes & Noble
• Sheet Music Direct 

Visit the world's largest print music publisher, Milwaukee-based Hal Leonard

Read the NY Times article