LibGuides: Open Educational Resources (OER): Music

Open Resources

These textbooks have been created for free use in courses. These resources may be adopted for use as classroom text, modified to create new texts (as licensing allows), or used as a supplemental learning tool to aid in understanding key concepts.

Music Appreciation

Music Appreciation by Todd Mueller, Elizabeth Whittenburg Ozment, Irina Escalante-Chernova, Marc Gilley, Catherine Kilroe-Smith & Rachael Fischer
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
This text is intended to be an introductory music appreciation text, intentionally kept general in nature to allow for instructors to expand and build upon the content to suit their needs.
Music: Its Language, History, and Culture by Douglas Cohen
ISBN: 9780991388707
Publication Date: 2015
License: CC BY-NC-SA
The aim is to introduce you to works representative of a variety of music traditions, and to enable you to speak and write about the features of the music you study, employing vocabulary and concepts of melody, rhythm, harmony, texture, timbre, and form used by musicians.
Understanding Music by N. Alan Clark, Thomas Heflin, Jeffrey Kluball, & Elizabeth Kramer
ISBN: 9781940771335
Publication Date: 2016-01-01
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
Understanding Music: Past and Present is an open Music Appreciation textbook co-authored by music faculty across Georgia. The text covers the fundamentals of music and the physics of sound, an exploration of music from the Middle Ages to the present day, and a final chapter on popular music in the United States.

Music Theory

Understanding Basic Music Theory by Catherine Schmidt-Jones
License: CC BY 4.0
An open, introductory music theory text. Topics discussed include notation, notes and scales, harmony and form, and challenges in music, amongst others.

Music Fundamentals

Music Fundamentals 1: Pitch and Major Scales and Keys by Terry B. Ewell & Catherine Schmidt-Jones
License: CC BY 3.0
The first part of an open collection of resources dealing with the rudiments of music. Topics include pitch notation, half steps, octave designations, key signatures, major keys and scales, amongst others.
Music Fundamentals 2: Rhythm and Meter by Terry B. Ewell & Catherine Schmidt-Jones
License: CC BY 3.0
The second part of an open collection of resources dealing with the rudiments of music. Topics include duration of notes, rhythm, time signatures, and meters, amongst others.

Course Collections

MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW)
MIT OpenCourseWare is a publication of virtually all MIT course content. Most courses contain syllabi, course readings and/or reading lists, assignments, and exams.
Open Yale Courses
Open Yale Courses provides free and open access to a selection of introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University.
Saylor Academy
Saylor Academy is a nonprofit initiative that offers free and open online courses.
UCI Open
The University of California - Irvine has a large collection of openly licensed courses available for the public to use, licensed under Creative Commons licenses.

Below are a selection of sources that contain collection of archival materials, including music scores, audio files, and monographs. Some of the resources are in the public domain, while others will be individually licensed. It is important that you check the permissions according to the individual site.

Digital Public Library of America
The Digital Public Library of America is home to a large collection of primary source materials, including a collection of archival sheet music and audio files. The items are individually licensed.
Europeana
Europeana hosts primary source materials housed in museums and archives across Europe. Its holdings include collections of archival music recordings and some sheet music. The items are individually licensed according to the content provider.
HathiTrust
HathiTrust contains a number of full-text music monographs and musical scores. The permissions vary according to the individual item.
International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
Public Domain
The International Music Score Library Project or Petrucci Music Library contains recordings and scores from the public domain.
New York Public Library Digital Library
The NYPL's digital collections contain both notated music and musical recordings, many of which are in the public domain. The permissions for use vary according to the individual item.

Project Gutenberg This link opens in a new window
Project Gutenberg contains a collection of public domain music resources, including texts on musical history and theory, sheet music, and a collection of biographies of musicians.

World Digital Library
The World Digital Library contains a collection of sound recordings and sheet music, which are individually licensed. Many are in the public domain.

Audio

ccMixter
License: Various CC
ccMixter is a community music remixing site, which features music samples and complete remixes for public use. Each track is licensed under a Creative Commons license, however the licenses vary from item to item.
Free Music Archive
License: Various CC
The Free Music Archive is a library of free, legal audio downloads directed by the WFMU - a freeform radio station. Inspired by the open source movement and Creative Commons, the songs provided are openly licensed under terms set by the individual artists.
Freesound
License: Various CC
FreeSound is a collaborative database of audio snippets, samples, sound recordings, and sound effects that have been released under open licenses to allow others to make use of them. Pay attention to the licenses of the individual items.
Jamendo
License: Various CC
Jamendo is an open music site that first was created as part of the open source/free culture movements. It provides free music in a variety of genres, available for download under Creative Commons licenses. Pay attention to the licenses granted for the individual songs.
International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
Public Domain
The International Music Score Library Project or Petrucci Music Library contains recordings and scores from the public domain.

Video

Vimeo
Vimeo is a video sharing platform that allows for users to specifically search for video resources that are openly licensed under Creative Commons licenses.
YouTube
YouTube allows users to specifically search for video resources that are openly licensed under Creative Commons licenses.

Disclaimer

The content provided in this guide is intended for informational purposes only. The Melvin J. Zahnow Library at SVSU does not make any assurances as to the accuracy of the information contained within linked resources, or as to the licenses and permissions granted for the use of these works. Always be certain to check the permissions for each resource before using the work.

Questions? Contact Tiler Jewell at tbjewell@svsu.edu.