Sheet Music Collections

 

York University is a member of the Sheet Music Consortium (SMC), an online initiative hosted and managed by the UCLA Digital Library Program to aggregate digital sheet music collections world wide. The SMC harvests descriptive sheet music metadata from the YorkSpace repository at regular intervals and links back to both the York University Library catalogue record and the YorkSpace repository record for the item.

Where possible in accordance with Canadian copyright law, York University Libraries are posting sheet music to the YorkSpace repository as it is described and digitized. York University Libraries approach the digitization of historical sheet music based on several best practices related to fair use and Canadian copyright legislation, and the established practices of our partners with the Sheet Music Consortium.

The vast majority of the collection consists of digitized sheet music from the extensive fonds of John Arpin, with the addition of approximately 200 digitized items of sheet music from various fonds held at the Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections. The John Arpin fonds consist of over 140,000 items of sheet music, and were donated to the Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections by his wife, Dr. Mary Jane Esplen in 2011. Due to the size of the collection, the digitization and description of the John Arpin collection will continue for many years to come.

Click here to see our FAQ for the Sheet Music Collections.

Content Warning Nineteenth and twentieth-century sheet music reflects both the racial stereotypes and social prejudices of the era. Users should be aware that racial slurs, epithets, pejorative terms, and racially stereotyped images and instances of blackface may be encountered as they search the collection. Such language is especially evident in minstrel songs.

Recent Submissions

  • La samba du tramway 

    Taillefer, Raymond [composer]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (Toronto, Ontario : BMI Canada Limited, 1950., 1950)

  • Salvation Lassie my angel divine 

    Rose, Harry E. [composer]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. ([Place of publication not identified] : Harry Rose Music Pub.Co, 1919., 1919)

  • Santa Claus is coming! 

    Eatonian, An [composer]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (Toronto, Ontario : T.Eaton, 1913., 1913)

  • Sans sans Lota 

    Benjamin, Florence M. [composer]; Brazil, Jules [arranger]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (Toronto, Ontario : W.R.Drapper, 1920., 1920)

  • Sandman 

    Webb, Roy [composer]; Hart, Lorenz [lyricist]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. ([Place of publication not identified] : Uptown Theatre Publishing Co., 1923., 1923)

  • Salut d'amour 

    Elgar, Edward [composer]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (London, Ontario : Hawkes & Harris Co., 1912., 1912)

  • Salome 

    Loraine, William [composer]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (Toronto, Ontario : Imperial Music Publishing House., 19xx., 19xx)

  • Sailing through skies of blue 

    Benjamin, Florence M. [composer]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (Toronto, Ontario : Florence M. Benjamin, 1928., 1928)

  • Compositions by Rosa Locke 

    Locke, Rosa [composer]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (London, Ontario : Woodward & Co., 1912., 1912)

  • Sack waltz 

    Metcalf, John A. [composer]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (Toronto, Ontario : Thomas Claxton, 19xx., 19xx)

  • Sail on! 

    Thompson, Gordon V. (Gordon Vincent) [composer]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (Toronto, Ontario : Thompson, Gordomn V., 1918., 1918)

  • Put your hand in the hand 

    MacLellan, Gene [composer]; Murray, Anne [performer]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (Don Mills, Ontario : Beechwood Music Corporation, 1970., 1970)

  • Put your dreams away (for another day) 

    Mann, Paul [composer]; Weiss, Stephen [composer]; Lowe, Ruth C. [lyricist]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (New York : Barton Music Corp, 1942., 1942)

  • Put back the star of Bethlehem 

    O'Hara, Geoffrey [composer]; Graff, George [lyricist]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (New York : Bourne Inc., 1952., 1952)

  • Purple and gold 

    Chalder, Ray [composer]; Taylor, George [composer]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (Toronto, Ontario : Starview Music Publishing Company, 1951., 1951)

  • Purple and gold 

    Couts G. J. [composer]; Reaman, G. E. [lyricist]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (Woodstock, Ontario : Woodstock College, 1918., 1918)

  • Puppy love 

    Anka, Paul [composer]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (New York : Spanka Music Corp, 1959., 1959)

  • The Punkinhead song 

    Isbister, Bill [composer]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (Toronto, Ontario : BMI Canada Limited, 1950., 1950)

  • The promise 

    Bromby, Wal [composer]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (Toronto, Ontario : Gordon V. Thompson, 1933., 1933)

  • Privett waltz 

    Hancock, Pte. H.E. [composer]; Sheet Music Collection - York University. (Windsor, Ontario : Publisher, 1919., 1919)

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