How to Help
Browsing, searching and downloading music from the BandMusic PDF
Library is free. If you gain some benefit from using this resource, and
would like to be a part of this experience, following are some ways you
could join in this venture.
Update: See also the new Band Music PDF Associate Membership
Donate Public Domain Sheet Music
If you have become heir to quality band music that is in the public
domain, and would like to share it, we would be happy to hear from you.
We'll credit your generosity.
Finding Missing Parts
A number of pieces in BandMusic PDF Library are incomplete. We.ve
posted them for their historical interest. If you have parts that would
complete any of the pieces, please help bring them into the light of day
by contacting us. We'll credit your help.
Transposing Parts
Nearly all the music on BandMusic PDF follows pre-1950 instrumentation
conventions. With just a few parts transposed for modern instruments
(e.g. Piccolo - transpose from Db to C instrument and Eb altos - transpose
to F Horn) the music becomes fully functional in the present day. You are
invited to contribute to this monumental effort by transposing one or more
pieces. To avoid duplicated efforts, check with us to see if someone is
already working on the piece you are choosing. We'll credit your
efforts.
Proper transposed parts are important for bands, especially community
and school groups. Few musicians are willing to take the time to write-out
new transposed parts themselves. This is especially the case if it is a
voluntter musician in a community group. Band librarians are also
overworked so they usually don't have time to do it eiether. To top it all
off, there are very few (non-profesional) musicians are able to
sight-transpose (play off a part that is written for another instrument,
which is usually in a different key). Without transposed parts, a piece
will often be inaccessible for the majority of bands.
Creating Scores
Typically there are no full scores, especially for marches from this
era. Creating your own can be very rewarding!
Here are some examples of why creating scores really helps:
There are discrepancies in almost all the pieces, ranging from wrong notes; missing
measures; parts with some dynamics missing; articulations conflicting in
the same measures from part to part, even in the same instrument family.
These can be discovered and fixed in a full score.
Other problems - There are only rudimentary landmarks in the music,
based on form. Some parts have repeats while others are written out.
Therefore the measures are not the same from part to part.
Other rewards - No more flying blind, conducting from a Solo Trumpet
part. Save time in rehearsal by including measure numbers.
From time to time we.ll be posting a newly created full score. If you
would like to join a small group and create scores to share with each
other, eventually with the world, please contact us. Definitely check
first to see if it has already been done.
Please note that there are many outstanding modern editions by Fennell,
Swearingen and others of some of these marches. We urge arrangers not to
duplicate efforts but to search out a forgotten treasure and bring it into the
light instead.
Financial Support
We have no interest in making money from BandMusic PDF. It's our
contribution to preserving our musical heritage, promoting these historic
pieces, encouraging music scholars. But we do have some office expenses
that result from things such as photocopying and making backup copies of
our files. From anyone who shares our passion for this vintage music that
would like to help keep the library online in this easily accessed site,
we would gratefully accept modest financial contributions.
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