Sheet Music Collections

A recent article in the Fall 2020 Edition Ukelele Magazine by Eddie Scher, Do You Own the Songs You Strum on Your Ukulele? Understanding Copyrights and the Public Domain (pp. 56-57), talks about copyright and when copyright expires. Mr. Scher raises important issues that we, as musicians, need to bear in mind when posting our song sheets and sheet music, both from an ethical and a legal point-of-view.

An important point is that the copyright protection for songs published in 1924 expired on January 1, 2020. That means that any song published in 1924 or before can be freely performed, recorded and republished without permission. On January 1, 2021, the songs published in 1925 will lose their protection.

I recently came across a listing of sheet music sources while browsing at the UCLA website, and subjoin them for those of you who are looking for the lyrics, melody, harmony, and chords for some of these fine old tunes.

An excellent starting point is the database of sheet music from multiple collections at the UCLA Sheet Music Consortium.

Individual collections of sheet music are available from the following sites (with thanks to the UCLA Archive of Popular American Music):