printed music

Notes on paper

Printed music is musical notation reproduced on paper—sheet music, scores, songbooks, and the like.

The term distinguishes physical copies from digital formats or recordings: The library has an extensive collection of printed music from the Baroque period.

Musicians still rely on printed music for rehearsals and performances, though digital alternatives have become common.

piano scoreMusic written for keys
publishing houseCompany producing books
first editionOriginal published version
public domainUnprotected creative works
lead sheetMinimal musical notation format

tablature · score · copyright · sight reading · page turner · lithography · hymnals · typesetting · songbook · fake book · broadside ballads · distribution network · cataloging · movable type · Gutenberg · licensing agreements · engraving

Opposites

medium/format

printed musicaudio recording

Stored sonic information

sound recording · vinyl record · MP3 · CD · live performance

transmission method

printed musicoral tradition

Culture passed by speech

folk tradition · playing by ear · rote learning

fixedness

printed musicimprovisation

Spontaneous, unplanned creation

jazz improvisation · jam session · free jazz

Family

print, printed, printing, prints, printer, printers, printable, reprint, reprints

Familiarity: Top 200,000
Profile: Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G