# Best place to get notated music and scores?



## jononotbono (Dec 29, 2019)

So for 2020 I’m planning on spending a lot of it transcribing music especially classical and film works. I need to get better, much better, and I think the only way to do this is by transcribing. 

Where’s the best place to buy notated music from? Film scores seem to be rather difficult to buy so where should I look as they seem as rare as rocking Horse shit. Classical music isn’t a problem to find and is probably better to transcribe because let’s face it, it’s what all the film composers have stolen, sorry, studied from. Obviously I am very interested in studying what film composers have written too.

Thanks... and let the tears of frustration begin. 😂

Jono


----------



## polyfonic (Dec 29, 2019)

Scribd is a very good starting point. One month try out for free. In the Document section you'll find quite a few scores for downloads. 

Imslp has all the classical music older than 75 years.


----------



## laurikoivisto (Dec 29, 2019)

i've heard good things about Omni Publishing https://omnimusicpublishing.com/book-origins/


----------



## jononotbono (Dec 29, 2019)

polyfonic said:


> Scribd is a very good starting point. One month try out for free. In the Document section you'll find quite a few scores for downloads.
> 
> Imslp has all the classical music older than 75 years.



Excellent. Thank you.


----------



## jononotbono (Dec 29, 2019)

laurikoivisto said:


> i've heard good things about Omni Publishing https://omnimusicpublishing.com/book-origins/



No way! They have Back to the Future on there! This is great!


----------



## JJP (Dec 29, 2019)

I truly recommend studying classical scores. The reason is that what you see on the score is what you get on the recording. Unlike film scores, in classical recordings there are no overdubs, rebalancing the orchestra in the mix, etc.

Plus you can get classical scores for fairly cheap compared to film scores.

In addition you can find various performances of the same score to get an idea of the variations in how the written page can be interpreted. That can be very valuable information.


----------



## jononotbono (Dec 29, 2019)

JJP said:


> I truly recommend studying classical scores. The reason is that what you see on the score is what you get on the recording. Unlike film scores, in classical recordings there are no overdubs, rebalancing the orchestra in the mix, etc.
> 
> Plus you can get classical scores for fairly cheap compared to film scores.
> 
> In addition you can find various performances of the same score to get an idea of the variations in how the written page can be interpreted. That can be very valuable information.



I was thinking about buying The Planets by Holst to begin with. Loved listening to it as a child so some of it must be “in there” somewhere.


----------



## Pablocrespo (Dec 29, 2019)

Use imslp. There ir a lot in there!


----------



## JJP (Dec 29, 2019)

Holst Planets might be a good one. Very straightforward orchestration. You can pick up the Dover score for less than $20 US.

IMSLP is another great resource, but can be overwhelming at times for beginners with all the different editions, parts, scores, etc.


----------



## gussunkri (Dec 29, 2019)

Holst is great. Pick scores to stuff you like. For me, I am getting much mileage out of Stravinsky’s Rite of spring and Shostakovich’s fifth symphony. The latter is what I am currently working on. I was thinking of documenting my experience on Redbanned.


----------



## jononotbono (Dec 29, 2019)

gussunkri said:


> I was thinking of documenting my experience on Redbanned.



Do that!


----------



## jbuhler (Dec 29, 2019)

Hal Leonard has the Williams Signature Editions. There is also a reddit for cinemascores where you can find things not available commercially.


----------



## jononotbono (Dec 29, 2019)

Just found The Planets Paperback (Dover) for £9.02 Pretty amazing.


----------



## jononotbono (Dec 29, 2019)

This also just arrived in the mail so I guess I should start that mountain too! Imminent tears of frustration and endless tail chasing into suffering heights then!


----------



## JT (Dec 29, 2019)

Make sure you also check out Ralph Vaughan Williams.


----------



## damcry (Dec 29, 2019)

JT said:


> Make sure you also check out Ralph Vaughan Williams.


which piece would you recommand in particular to begin studying RVW ?


----------



## Sears Poncho (Dec 29, 2019)

damcry said:


> which piece would you recommand in particular to begin studying RVW ?


----------



## Pablocrespo (Dec 29, 2019)

damcry said:


> which piece would you recommand in particular to begin studying RVW ?



I love the slow movement of the 5th. But that’s the sentimental that lives in me.


----------



## ag75 (Dec 29, 2019)

No idea the legality of this but you can find many a film score here:






r/CinemaScores


r/CinemaScores: A place to share scores from films, television, and video games. Complete scores, sketch scores, individual cues, concert suites …




www.reddit.com


----------



## jonathanparham (Dec 31, 2019)

jononotbono said:


> This also just arrived in the mail so I guess I should start that mountain too! Imminent tears of frustration and endless tail chasing into suffering heights then!


lol no short cuts. There are tons of other theory harmony books but that seems to still be the music school standard. Someone just asked on another BBC SO thread about where to start, and three of us recommended Scoreclub. Alain's essentials course should get through most of the material in the edition you're holding. I love theory, harmony, and counterpoint but it's honestly been decades since I've looked at that book. I'm not saying Scoreslub is better but as I get older I realize that we all learned differently. I can't remember if there's a workbook with Tonal harmony but obviously you'll have to practice the concepts and it'd be nice if you have a fellow musician, teacher, mentor to help. Heck, can't remember where you relocated but if you're using that book it may be worth taking/auditing a class.


----------



## jononotbono (Dec 31, 2019)

jonathanparham said:


> lol no short cuts.



Definitely aware that there are no shortcuts. Hence why I'm on this mission! Yes, Scoreclub. I forgot about this. Shall look back into it! Unfortunately I don't have a teacher or mentor in this area at the minute so no doubt's gonna continue to be a sick ole struggle as per usual.


----------



## jonathanparham (Dec 31, 2019)

jononotbono said:


> Definitely aware that there are no shortcuts. Hence why I'm on this mission! Yes, Scoreclub. I forgot about this. Shall look back into it! Unfortunately I don't have a teacher or mentor in this area at the minute so no doubt's gonna continue to be a sick ole struggle as per usual.


dag brah. I get the impression you always do things the hard way. lol I won't derail your thread further. If you have questions with that stuff, feel free to hit VI up with questions.


----------



## jononotbono (Dec 31, 2019)

jonathanparham said:


> dag brah. I get the impression you always do things the hard way. lol I won't derail your thread further. If you have questions with that stuff, feel free to hit VI up with questions.



I want to do things the easy way! Sick of everything being hard!


----------



## Ashermusic (Dec 31, 2019)

The Holy Grail of classic Hollywood orchestration is Ravel's "Daphnis Et Chloe."


----------



## jononotbono (Dec 31, 2019)

Ashermusic said:


> The Holy Grail of classic Hollywood orchestration is Ravel's "Daphnis Et Chloe."



Then I must study it. Happy New Year man!


----------



## ScoringArts (Dec 31, 2019)

Please allow us to humbly suggest you might find all the resources you're looking for and more at www.scoringarts.com


----------



## jononotbono (Jan 7, 2020)

ScoringArts said:


> Please allow us to humbly suggest you might find all the resources you're looking for and more at www.scoringarts.com



Thank you. I will check it out.

In the meantime, this finally arrived!


----------



## ScoringArts (Jan 8, 2020)

jononotbono said:


> Thank you. I will check it out.
> 
> In the meantime, this finally arrived!



Lots of great stuff to study there! And be sure to check out our videos - members have access to ~8hrs of score studies covering The Planets.


----------



## davidson (Jan 8, 2020)

You're probably well sorted by now, but for film scores, these guys have a lot. The shops a bit shite as I can't find a way to view by (film) category, but if you know what you're after, just bang it in the search and cross your fingers https://www.alfred.com/


----------



## ShoeHorn (Jan 10, 2020)

There's a lot of good classical midis and some PDFs here http://kunstderfuge.com/

You can load the midis into MuseScore and save as PDFs.


----------



## CuriousDan (Feb 24, 2020)

ag75 said:


> No idea the legality of this but you can find many a film score here:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Well...

_"Due to legal action against the community in general and one of its moderators in particular, CinemaScores is down for good. It has NOT gone private, it was wiped empty. Please do NOT send access requests. "_


----------



## jononotbono (Feb 24, 2020)

ScoringArts said:


> Please allow us to humbly suggest you might find all the resources you're looking for and more at www.scoringarts.com



Can this be paid monthly instead of all up front?


----------



## ScoringArts (Feb 24, 2020)

ScoringArts.com only offers yearly subscriptions at this point.


----------



## jononotbono (Feb 24, 2020)

ScoringArts said:


> ScoringArts.com only offers yearly subscriptions at this point.



Ok, I was just checking. I shall likely sign up soon.


----------



## Gingerbread (Feb 24, 2020)

jononotbono said:


> Ok, I was just checking. I shall likely sign up soon.


How's your study with "Tonal Harmony" going?


----------



## JohnG (Feb 24, 2020)

A bit of Ravel, Debussy, R. Strauss -- you can go a long way with just those.

[edit: and the Holst is also a good one, especially if you want people to _like_ your music]


----------



## jononotbono (Feb 25, 2020)

Gingerbread said:


> How's your study with "Tonal Harmony" going?



Slowly. But some of it is making sense.


----------

