Top Sites for Free Sheet Music

Beginner through Advanced Pianists

It's frustrating to search for great free sheet music for piano, isn't it?

So many sites promise free music.

Some give you a tiny selection of free pieces, and want you to become a paid member to access the rest.

Some are big, badly-organized directories with a smattering of free sheet music (that you can't find anyway).

Help is here! :-)

I've searched the web to find the best free sheet music sites for beginners and advanced pianists alike. You'll keep your fingers busy for ages with all the free piano music you'll find.

A quick note: when I refer to "graded" music, it means the music is rated, or sorted, by difficulty level. This is a big deal when you're looking for sheet music you can actually play - and end up with an impossibly advanced Chopin prelude instead!

I've also reviewed each site so you know what to expect! Happy downloading!

Beginner Pick #1: Free Piano Music at G Major Music Theory

Chosen For: music for beginners with fingering diagrams, a complete set of graded music for beginners

Written by a university professor, this is a wonderful collection of piano music for beginners. It's amazing that this is all free! It could be the start of a very nice beginning piano method.

Included levels are: First Pieces (single-note melodies), Primer, Levels 1 - 4, and Keyboard Classics. Each level has a variety of songs: popular, holiday, international, classical... I even saw some blues in there! Fingering charts are included on the page, and there are links to one-page primers on what piano keys match up with notes on the staff.

There is also a completely fantastic downloadable music theory workbook!

Beginner Pick #2: Easy Sheet Music

Chosen For: great variety of beginner music, nice categories

I've downloaded all the music on this free sheet music library site as supplemental songs for my students. Great stuff!

Categories included are: Songs from Around the World, Popular Classics, Boogie & Blues, Opera Classics, and Mission - Not That Difficult. Most categories have over 20 songs listed!

These are all easy level pieces, 2 hands - but the arrangements are nice. Some beginning piano music can be silly-sounding... but not these pieces.

All the music here is free, but downloads are limited to 3 per day.

Intermediate/Advanced Pick #1: Sheet Music Archive

Chosen For: totally free, easy composer list on the front page

The sheet music archive limits downloads to 2 per day. But it's so easy to click and see exactly what there is available - the list of composers runs right down the left side of the homepage. Click on a composer, and you'll see a tidy list of all the available works.

Easy navigation, fast-downloading PDF files. Note that some editions you will download are not English. You will find titles in other languages, so make sure and print out your downloads and label them right away, so you remember what they are! :-)

Intermediate/Advanced Pick #2: Musica Viva

Chosen For: large collection of graded music, easy searchability

This is an extensive collection of music, which is mostly graded and sorted by nationality. The search function is terrific and allows you to narrow the scope of what you're looking for. The menu is straightforward, and there's a nice link to an online music encyclopedia.

There's also quite a collection of midi sound files.

The only drawback to this nice collection is that you can't download (save) the pieces unless you are a paid subscriber - you can only print them out directly from web pages. A bit of a hassle. But the great variety in this collection is worth it.

Intermediate/Advanced Pick #3: Mutopia

Chosen For: good selection, multiple file formats, and the spirit of the site

Mutopia is a free music site run by volunteers who typeset each piece individually. There are over 800 pieces available now, for various instruments. This site (like Project Gutenburg) is built on the belief that this music is a treasured resource that should be freely available to everyone.

There is an excellent search capability, and you can download your music in a dizzying array of formats - you'll want "Letter PDF File." Be sure to use the help page link on the home page (under "How is the music made available?") for information on downloading and printing.

Support the non-profit, volunteer-driven availability of public domain music!

The free sheet music sites I've listed here are primarily classical music sites.

If you're interested in more modern music, there are many musicians and composers out there who regularly publish free music online. You can find free piano music ranging from new age to jazz. Pieces you can be sure no one else you know is playing!

To begin finding some great music, visit the free sheet music directory page. I've listed three more free music sites there - all of them with links to pianists who are composing today and giving away free sheet music. You're sure to find some terrific music!

More free sheet music resources and recommendations...

Free sheet music on this site
Christmas sheet music
Celtic sheet music
Free kids piano music
Video game sheet music
Anime sheet music

Enjoy!

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