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Where to find sheet music?

G

Greenman72

May 16, 2023
514
860
#1
What is your go-to source of sheet music for bass guitar?
Note - I'm looking for SHEET MUSIC, or STANDARD NOTATION, not tabs. (I can always find tabs.) Tabs are helpful, but I like to look at the actual sheet music so I know what the song is supposed to sound like.

Here's a perfect example.
If I could find all my songs in this format, that would be super cool.
 
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#2
Lots of places / no one place, at least in my experience. I've used several and they seem interchangeable. The thing I always look for is scores in MusicXML or another compatible format, so not a PDF. I use the open source program MuseScore to open scores, turn on and off the display of parts, and to practice with the integrated midi player and mixer. Download at Free music composition and notation software | MuseScore

As an open source project, MuseScore hosts a repository Free sheet music | Download PDF or print on Musescore.com . They also have a paid-for subscription service called Pro, Pro+ or Learn which you don't need to use the software or scores and I ever hear about it on Reddit seems to be problems.
 
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#5
This is an interesting question that made me think.
When I was a kid, we had a piano that I took lessons on, and my folks sang in a gospel group, and we had 2 or 3 places here in town that sold sheet music.
I went there to get piano music and ,later on, the complete easy Beatles for guitar and all the Mel Bay instructional books...
Now?.. none of those stores exist anymore.
I guess you order it online now?
 
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#6
Pdaddy1978 said:
This is an interesting question that made me think.
When I was a kid, we had a piano that I took lessons on, and my folks sang in a gospel group, and we had 2 or 3 places here in town that sold sheet music.
I went there to get piano music and ,later on, the complete easy Beatles for guitar and all the Mel Bay instructional books...
Now?.. none of those stores exist anymore.
I guess you order it online now?
Click to expand...
I've been shopping at a music store about 1/2 mile from my house since I got to Plano. Right as Covid hit, I started with SIMANDL again and at this particular store, scored SIMANDL II along with a number of other bass books. I've been through each book now (for better or worse) 2x and am now on to some Bach sheets scored at the same store.
THE SAD PART: As I was working my way through the Bach pieces, I made the mistake of going to YouTube for reference as to how some of these accents and little bits were supposed to be played. I came across accomplished, masterful players precisely killing it and ruining almost the entire learning experience for me as 'I can't do that on a Precision' type expressions the way these masters can with a real bass and a bow.
 
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#7
P. Aaron said:
I've been shopping at a music store about 1/2 mile from my house since I got to Plano. Right as Covid hit, I started with SIMANDL again and at this particular store, scored SIMANDL II along with a number of other bass books. I've been through each book now (for better or worse) 2x and am now on to some Bach sheets scored at the same store.
THE SAD PART: As I was working my way through the Bach pieces, I made the mistake of going to YouTube for reference as to how some of these accents and little bits were supposed to be played. I came across accomplished, masterful players precisely killing it and ruining almost the entire learning experience for me as 'I can't do that on a Precision' type expressions the way these masters can with a real bass and a bow.
Click to expand...

Haaa, I feel you on the sad part! The best musicians in the world have been working on Bach pieces for a few hundred years so the existing standards are awfully high. But maybe tackling Bach on the bass guitar can bring something fresh to the party - and no matter what it sure is fun to try. Here’s what got me started (with printable sheet music):

Bach for Two Times Two

And to the OP’s question - I’ve found MuseScore to be a very helpful resource, and if there are any used bookstores in your vicinity, they’ll often have a few shelves of music books at very low prices.
 
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#9
Pdaddy1978 said:
This is an interesting question that made me think.
When I was a kid, we had a piano that I took lessons on, and my folks sang in a gospel group, and we had 2 or 3 places here in town that sold sheet music.
I went there to get piano music and ,later on, the complete easy Beatles for guitar and all the Mel Bay instructional books...
Now?.. none of those stores exist anymore.
I guess you order it online now?
Click to expand...
I used to ride my bike to the Mel Bay Music store in Kirkwood, MO when I was in school (now long gone)....

I've been happy with the stuff I've ordered from Hal Leonard, and last time I ordered I realized they are only a half-hour drive from me (in Pacific, MO). You just reminded me to order the new Rush/Bass package that came out last week (they also have similar Neil/Perc & Alex/Guitar pacakges).
Hal Leonard Online
Rush - Hal Leonard Bass Play-Along Volume 61 Hal Leonard Online
 
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#10
KeepItMoving said:
Haaa, I feel you on the sad part! The best musicians in the world have been working on Bach pieces for a few hundred years so the existing standards are awfully high. But maybe tackling Bach on the bass guitar can bring something fresh to the party - and no matter what it sure is fun to try. Here’s what got me started (with printable sheet music):

Bach for Two Times Two

And to the OP’s question - I’ve found MuseScore to be a very helpful resource, and if there are any used bookstores in your vicinity, they’ll often have a few shelves of music books at very low prices.
Click to expand...
I have been using bits and lines from all my classical books in most music that I play live now. Lots of expressive ideas have come to fore in rehearsal and live since I started taking my reading seriously. I was 49 when I started taking reading lessons so, I'm late to the party but, it's really helped my overall outlook on playing and made me clean up A LOT of slop.
 
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#11
If you don’t mind paying for legal downloadable publisher’s copies, I’ve found SheetMusicPlus and SheetMusicDirect are good resources. Most times the prices are (IMO) reasonable. At least for most titles.
 
#16
P. Aaron said:
I've been shopping at a music store about 1/2 mile from my house since I got to Plano. Right as Covid hit, I started with SIMANDL again and at this particular store, scored SIMANDL II along with a number of other bass books. I've been through each book now (for better or worse) 2x and am now on to some Bach sheets scored at the same store.
THE SAD PART: As I was working my way through the Bach pieces, I made the mistake of going to YouTube for reference as to how some of these accents and little bits were supposed to be played. I came across accomplished, masterful players precisely killing it and ruining almost the entire learning experience for me as 'I can't do that on a Precision' type expressions the way these masters can with a real bass and a bow.
Click to expand...

Here is a great resource for learning the Cello Suites on bass:

Bach Cello Suites for Bass Guitar.

And this my favorite rendition of the famous Prelude, on a vintage Precision Bass:

 
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#18
40Hz said:
If you don’t mind paying for legal downloadable publisher’s copies, I’ve found SheetMusicPlus and SheetMusicDirect are good resources. Most times the prices are (IMO) reasonable. At least for most titles.
Click to expand...
These website are all owned by Hal Leonard, as is arrangeme.
Double check before you buy. Not all transcriptions are made by professionals.
But, if you find a good transcription, and you need only that one song, then yes, prices are reasonable.
 
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#19
ChrisDev said:
Double check before you buy. Not all transcriptions are made by professionals.
Click to expand...

Good to know. Haven't run into any issues with transcriptions from those two sites so far. But maybe I’ve been lucky.

I’ll generally buy sheet music for someone else I’m playing with because I’ve gotten too lazy to transcribe music these days. For contemporary music I’ll rarely need more than a chord chart or lead sheet when I do need something to look at, unless someone wants something played exactly as written.

FWIW, if anybody is doing a lot of Beatles music, or just interested in studying their arrangements, this book is pretty useful. I’ve sat down with it while listening to the recordings and it’s spot on.

IMG_9732.jpeg
 
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