Musical Scores and Recordings: Overview

Discover Musical Scores and Recordings

SMU Libraries has music scores, CDs, DVDs, LPs, and streaming music and video databases. Use Advanced Library Search to search for scores and recordings by title, composer, keywords, and more.

Search for a Specific Title

Musical works might be known by several different titles in different languages. To retrieve relevant scores and recordings:

• Use Advanced Library Search so that you can specify the title and author/creator (composer) with the search boxes' drop menus.
• Use the plural form of genre titles and include the instrument if relevant (ex. sonatas violin, symphonies, trios oboe).
• Include identifying numbers such as an opus or work number.
• Set the Material type to scores, sound recordings, or video/film.
• For streaming audio and video, limit to Online Resources in your results.
• Some pieces can be found in a collected works edition, so try excluding specific information like an opus number or key. For example, if you want a specific Beethoven piano sonata, you can find it in books with all the piano sonatas. 

For more help with searching, see Improving Search Results.

Streaming Music and Video Databases

Streaming music databases allow users to access and listen to thousands of recordings online with features such as search and browse functions, liner notes, and playlists.

Find Musical Scores in Other Libraries

If we don't own a score or if our copy is checked out, you can request it from another library through Interlibrary Loan.

1. Look up a known title and composer in WorldCat.
2. When you find a title you want to request, look for the red pony and link to Interlibrary Loan in the record.
3. This link takes you to our site and pre-fills the Interlibrary Loan request form with information about the item. Submit your request.