These are the multivolume collected works of the major composers held by the Library
The Table of Contents on the Library catalogue record summarises the works in each volume; Grove Music Online under 'Works' of the particular composer gives the exact volume and page number location of every piece
Music scores located on Level 7 of the Central Library may be borrowed for standard loan periods, just like books. Make sure to return all the parts.
No single search will find all scores, so try a variety of search options. For example you might try a search such as
beethoven AND ("moonlight sonata" OR 27)
Library catalogue – After entering any type of Keyword search, it is often useful to Refine Results to ‘Musical Score’. The catalogue has alphabetical browse options unavailable in MultiSearch.
Search by composer
Select the Author search and enter the composer’s full name. Click the Find button and when results appear, Refine Results to ‘Musical Score’.
e.g. Bach, Johann Sebastian and optionally choose a type of composition under Suggested Topics, for example ‘Concerti grossi’
For prolific composers, using Advanced search can work well, for example:
Bach, Johann Sebastian AND (concerto* OR concerti)
concerto* uses truncation (* symbol) to match concerto, concertos and so on.
Search by instrument and type of composition
Select the Subject search and enter the plural form of the composition type plus one or more instruments, for example
quintets oboe and Refine Results to ‘Musical Score’.
sonatas violin piano and Refine Results to ‘Musical Score’.
Music for a single instrument can be found using Subject and entering the search statement "[instrument] music" – the double quotation marks make it a phrase search, for example
"flute music" and Refine Results to ‘Musical Score’.
Not all results will be for solo instrument, and some may be for more than one type of instrument.
Composer and title together
To find well-known pieces, use a simple Keyword search and enter the composer’s name and the title, for example
beethoven moonlight sonata and Refine Results to ‘Musical Score’.
This initial search may provide a thematic catalogue number or opus number (in this example, op. 27); this number can be used to give a more comprehensive search using the OR operator along with parentheses ( ) to nest the equivalent terms together, for example
beethoven ("moonlight sonata" OR 27) and Refine Results to ‘Musical Score’.
Search non-English keywords
If you cannot find the score you want using English, try the language of the composer, for example
schumann klavier konzert instead of schumann piano concerto; and Refine Results to ‘Musical Score’.
Music scores in facsimile editions
To find these select the Subject search and enter manuscripts facsimiles and Refine Results to ‘Musical Score’.
More tips how to find music scores
The music scores are shelved on Level 7 of the Central Library according to this outline
UC Library has several Special Collections of music
The following sites offer free, printable scores
More sites can be found via