I prefer used sheet music over new sheet music. I always have. Sure, the pages on new music are nice and shiny and pretty, but there are good reasons why I love used music.
Why I Love Used Sheet Music
- It’s cheaper. Insanely cheaper. Half price, at the most, cheaper. Sometimes I can even get it for less than a dollar a book. Sometimes free.
- Secret Notes in the Margins These are notes meant to help the person who originally played the music. Who says they can’t help me, too? Rhythms, phrasing, fingerings, tone – there are notes on all those things to help me.
- The Pages Turn Easier. Let’s face it, older pages turn faster and easier. Then you don’t have the dreaded page turn.
- Different Editors/Editions Sometimes it’s nice to get a different take on how something should be interpreted, especially when it’s closer to when the compser was alive.
- High Quality Pages The pages are sewn into the book, rather than glued in. The paper is thicker. You get it, they don’t make ’em like they used to.
- Binding Sometimes one of the old books has been spiral or comb bound at an office store. This makes life easier!
- Forgotten Music One time I found a beautiful etude that I’ve never heard of before. I like to play it just because it’s pretty. Sometimes you find music that has been forgotten over the years just because you dive into a book of used music.
- Old Method Books Our ways of teaching may have changed over the years, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some good things in the old method books. If there’s someone struggling with a concept, you can bring in some music from those old method books to teach the concept in a different way.
Conclusion
When I was learning flute and piano, I was a scholarship student. I was on my own for getting any music besides my lesson books. I found music at Goodwill and St. Vincent De Paul’s for 25 cents per book.
I thought, “Why should I pay $15 for a book like this when I can get it for 25 cents?” That’s how I started buying and using used piano and flute books, and I saw how they served me well. After I got my first job at age 14, I started buying new books, too, but still, to this day, I peruse the book section in second hand stores for sheet music.
If you don’t have a second hand store available, go ahead and check out imslp.org. It’s a treasure trove!