Resources
Here is a compilation of resources, in the form of YouTube channels, websites, and books, intended primarily for musicians interested in discovering rare composers and obtaining free music scores. There are also resources for pianists interested in bettering their technique at the instrument.
YouTube Channels
- For Discovering Rare Composers:
- calefonxcalectric
- KuhlauDilfeng2
- KuhlauDilfeng3
- KuhlauDilfeng4
- KuhlauDilfeng5
- Gamma1734
- Seigneur ReefShark
- Miguel Velázquez
- Medtnaculus
- winkle522000
- fyrexianoff
- Slavic Spoon
- olla-vogala
- Discovering Rare Music
- Paco M.
- Piano Technique and Analysis:
- cedarvillemusic: The best channel on YouTube for pianists looking to improve as musicians. Advice on improvisation, musicality, memorizing, performing, and much more.
- Josh Wright: Lots of practical videos on improving piano technique and performance.
- Sonata Secrets: Informative and accessible analyses of various classical piano works.
There are too many great channels to list here, but those are some of my favorite.
Sheet Music
- IMSLP: The best known website for obtaining free sheet music. Here you can find thousands of scores by hundreds of diverse composers.
- Pianophilia: An excellent for obtaining public domain scores, especially by rare composers. An account (free) is required to download scores. You may find intriguing conversations about composers and their work on this site.
- Alfor's Rarities: A huge collection of rare music scores.
- Walter Cosand: Has piano music by a great number of composers, though the amount of scores for each composer varies.
- ScorSer: A good source for finding sheet music for a variety of instruments. Contains both well-known music and some rarities. Overall, you won't find the vast quantity of scores that you could on IMSLP, but it still can be quite helpful.
Books
- Piano Methods:
- John Thompson's Modern Course for the Piano.
- Muzio Clementi's Introduction to the Art of Playing on the Pianoforte.
- Piano Technique:
- The Art of Piano Playing by Heinrich Neuhaus
- The Visible and the Invisible in Piano Playing by Tobias Matthay
- Music Theory:
- Music Theory by Michael Miller.
- Philosophy of Music
Websites
- medtner.org.uk: a wealth of information on the great Russian composer Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951).
- Piano Technique:
- pianoexercises.org: a collection of free pdfs containing technical exercises by 19th century composers.
- List of Piano Études