How can I locate a piece of printed music?
Your first port of call should be your local music shop where staff have the expertise to track down what you are looking for.
MPA Catalogue of Printed Music
Many music shops and libraries subscribe to The MPA Catalogue of Printed Music. The Catalogue is an up-to-the-minute listing of music publications and text books on music available in the UK. Easy to use, flexible and quick, the Catalogue is by far the most comprehensive database of its kind in the UK with over 425,000 entries.
If you deal with printed music on a daily basis and would like to find out more about subscribing to the Catalogue please get in touch with the MPA on
020 7637 4052.
MPA Printed Music Enquiries Line
If you have an individual enquiry about a particular item of printed music you can call the MPA Printed Music Enquries Phone Line (UK only) on
0906 163 1998 (calls charged at 60p per minute).
Other alternatives
Alternatively, a number of music publishers make their catalogues available online and some offer the opportunity to purchase and download printed music from their websites.
If you have been unable to locate a particular piece of printed music, as a last resort, the MPA will try to direct you to the copyright owner of the work who is responsible for determining whether or not a piece of music is to be made available in print. The fact that a work has been publicly performed or recorded does not guarantee that the music is available in print and sometimes music is only available on hire from the publisher.