Music: Books, Scores, & Recordings

Books on music, instruments, musical theory, genres, thematic catalogs, and studies on composers are in the 780s on the 4th floor of the Edmon Low Library along with scores in print.  Use keyword searches in the library catalog search box to search for books.

The OSU Library also provides music scores in various formats, from sheet music to complete, multivolume editions of the works of composers.  For orchestral scores, some are full scores with all the parts for different instruments together on the same page; these are also known as study scores.  Miniature scores show all the parts on a page, but in a very small format.  Performance scores come as separate, individual scores for each part (instrument).  In general, the Library does not collect performance scores with individual parts.  We also have vocal scores and piano reductions of orchestral scores.

Here are some tips to find scores:

• If you have a work number or an opus number, or the key if you know it, add those to the keyword searches (for example, use  Beethoven string op. 127 to find his String Quartet no. 12 in E flat major, op. 127)
• If the work has a popular title, use that (for example, Dvorak New World symphony)
• For complete works or collections with multiple works, they will often be listed in the Contents (which are picked up in keyword searches)
• Most online scores in Classical Scores Library and HathiTrust are included in the catalog. 

The OSU Library also has musical recordings on CDs, DVDs, and other formats.  For recording tracks and scores available online from the Library, see the Music Audio and Scores Databases tab in this guide. Your returns may also list Audio CDs and other physical recordings (most of which are in Room 105 of the Library).