Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Ever use Musicnotes.com?

Quick question: do people here often order digital scores from Musicnotes.com? Here's the site:
Musicnotes.com

I've never used them before, so I'm always a little wary when ordering from a new (to me) website. Also, they're kind of expensive ($5.50 for the score I want) but I can't find this music anywhere else (or I should say, anywhere else that isn't a free download, which is both illegal and apt to fill your computer with viruses). I don't mind paying (although I wish it were a little cheaper like other digital scores) but I just want to make sure this site is safe to use.

Also, I've ordered from Sheetmusic.direct before, is it similar to that? In other words, if I'm remembering right, you have to download their score-reader and you only get one print out (I'm not really worried about that, though it is a bit inconvenient, but I can make my own PDF if I need to).

So if anyone has used Musicnotes.com, please let me know if you think it's a reputable site or if there's something I should be careful about. Thanks in advance!

yea the site is safe to use... ive used it a few times, its expensive tho so I use it sparingly. If you use google chrome to print it, it actually saves a copy of the pdf to your computer in the temp folder which you can then choose to save permanently.... i hate that they only let you download it once and then you're cut off. alternatively i had a problem where it said i printed it but i hadn't and customer service gave me a promo code to buy it again free so at least there's help if you need it.

Yes, I use it all the time. I like that they let you print the first page for free to see if it's what you want. Also, they have alternate keys in case you are playing a pop song and have to move the key up or down.

As far as price, in the internet world it seems a little high, but it's in line with what you would pay if you found the same music in a store. If you can find the piece in a book, that's the best price option, but you can't beat the convenience of instant printing.

By the way, their plugin you have to download is necessary to draw the notes and symbols. Most browsers don't come with standard music notation.

Sweet06 and Brian, thanks for the replies! I think I'll place the order when I get home. I'll try printing the first page and that should allow me to confirm that I can print out with no problems.

Brian, re the price, some digital scores are as cheap as $3.99 (for example at SheetMusicDirect) so that's what I had in mind, but SheetMusicPlus often charges $4.99 or so, and for this one, the composer is still alive, so I guess I shouldn't complain about the price.

I checked for physical books that include this piece -- it's "The Last Sound" by Korean pianist Yiruma. But as far as I can tell, none of the score collections (on Amazon or SheetMusicPlus) include this piece, which is too bad because I already have two score books by Yiruma and I'm not opposed to acquiring more! [/SheetMusicAddict].

There are probably more options for sale in Korea, but that would definitely increase the price (besides the fact that my Korean reading level has dropped dramatically since I stopped studying it!)

So anyway, that's a rambling way of saying, yeah, I'll just get the digital download of this single piece even if I think it's a little expensive.

I have used it many times, always successfully.

BTW, re price, remember, there is no charge tacked on for "shipping and handling".

Ed

Musicnotes has good scores, but their prices have held me back. It's much better (for me at least) to buy sheet music books which contan songs I like, and insert the notes into notation programs. It's a lot of work, but I learn to read music by it, a very pleasant bi-effect. Price per song is considerably lower this way, if the books I buy contain many songs I like.

I use it quite often. I 'print' into PDF so I have it forever

d'oh why didn't I think of that..

Jessiebear, that's funny because you're not supposed to be able to do that. IIRC SheetMusicDirect has a way of preventing that from working, and so does SheetMusicPlus.

But after all, I went back and forth between Wikipedia and Google Translate and i was able to figure out how to search for the piece I want in Korean (I studied Korean for a year, I've forgotten most of it but I can still follow enough to keep myself out of trouble).

Anyway, I found out that there is indeed a score collection of Yiruma's that includes this piece, so I'm going to hold off on buying the digital version and see if I can get the physical book with a whole lot more music!

(I was able to print out a test sheet from Musicnotes though, so at least I know it works).

BTW TheodorN, do you mean you recreate the score in a software program??? Wow, that sounds like it would take forever! If I want a digital version, I just make a PDF (I have a printer that can do it or I can do it at the library). Of course, there's no musical benefit to that.

Yeah maybe it's because I use Chrome? I figure since I'm paying a decent amount, I want to be able to reprint- one print is rubbish!
Glad you found what you want, may as well get the whole book if you really like his stuff eh

That's *of* I can get a copy of the book, but knowing that it exists is the first step! And I have plan B (musicnotes) so that's always good!

ShiroKuro, yes it can take a long time to create a score digitally. Depends on the song, if it's a pop or rock song, then there are usually passages that are repeated several times, which can be copied and pasted, when they have been created once. I can make a MIDI of the created file, or a PDF, whichever I prefer.

@ShiroKuro

I used Musicnotes for a bit early on, though not in the same genre which you play. I will say this as a caveat, be sure to read the entire full description before purchase because many of them (if not all) are arrangements by staff people not original scores though they may be in the original key.

I found them to be too expensive for my purpose with them (sight reading). HTH in your decision.

Good point, thanks! I checked the first page of the piece I want, and it seems fine but it's hard to tell until you get the whole thing. Although, given that this is a modern composer (and still-living even I am hoping that they bought the arrangement from him and that it's his arrangement. There's no information on the score itself though, so it's really hard to know.

At this point I'm just hoping my pursuit of the complete book is successful!

A couple of years ago I downloaded several of Einaudi's pieces from Musicnotes (only to subsequently realise I simply HAD to own the whole albums). In each case I found the downloads were true to the album versions. Without Musicnotes I may never have really discovered Einaudi, as the physical albums weren't (and still aren't) available in Brisbane.

Yes agreed MarieJ. They are true to the albums. When I found the error in Melodia Africana IV it was exactly the same in the book I bought later. *sigh*

MusicNotes.com also has an iPad app that you can download your purchased music into. From there, if you have a Bluetooth foot pedal you can wireless change the pages of the music while you are playing. The app I am pretty sure can also transpose your music, play your music, etc. It might even let you mark it up some ... I can't remember though. It has been too long.

I do find them to be a tad more expensive than others and so I usually go to elsewhere first.

You can photocopy the score after you print it.

Thanks to the op for highlighting this piece. Whilst I play a few of Yiruma’s pieces I hadn’t come across this one.

I’ve printed the first page but out of interest how do people finger the first 6 notes in the LH ? I’m tempted to use my RH thumb for the middle C.

I have purchased from Musicnotes many times; have always been pleased with them.

It's worth noting that I have yet to ever pay the full price, as every couple weeks or so everything goes on sale, usually for 25% off. (my order from the other day was discounted 31%)

So, I just keep adding my selections to the cart, and then place the order once I receive a email notification of an upcoming sale. I've never had to wait more than 2 or 3 weeks for a sale.

So yeah, at a 25% discount, (or more) I think it's quite reasonable indeed.