FAQs
About Copyright
Is Qnotesmusic legal?
Absolutely. We make best possible efforts at all times to ensure nothing we offer infringes any copyright. Works from other publishers under copyright are only offered after reaching a formal agreement giving us access to their copyright.
About Qnotesmusic
Where does Qnotesmusic get its music from?
In addition to our association with Edition Peters, we publish our own editions, own copyright to a range of relatively unknown works, and have a worldwide network of collectors hunting out rare and less well-known music in the public domain. We believe our collection is unique and unmatched anywhere in the world.
Is Qnotesmusic an economical way to buy music?
Yes - you can mix and match pieces (or movements) at will, so you only pay for exactly what you want rather than a whole volume. You pay only for each page of music - there is no charge for title pages, contents pages, covers, bindings etc. The more music you buy the less it costs per page.
Why is Qnotesmusic better than internet PDF downloads?
Downloading PDF files from the internet is the easy part - you’ll still need to struggle with double-sided printing, gluing sheets together with sticky tape, binding pages into books, etc. Our approach is different and offers a vastly superior result. We do the printing for you on quality paper and produce an attractively bound album. Pages are correctly numbered according to how you sequence the works and there is a table of contents complete with musical extracts. You can even customise your book if you wish, for example with personal text or additional lined pages for teaching notes.
Is Qnotesmusic different from other print-on-demand web music?
Emphatically yes! Our library is unmatched by any other internet music shop. In association with Edition Peters we have more than 200 years of music publishing behind us, access to current catalogues as well as out-of-print and archive material. All this adds up to many thousands of scores, traditional and lesser-known repertoire, respected editions, urtexts, even extremely rare, never before published items by classical masters. Quite simply, we have music that is unavailable anywhere else.
About our library
What music is in the Qnotesmusic library?
Our virtual library exceeds 50,000 items. Today we can offer not only Edition Peter’s entire current piano and vocal catalogue, but also access to out-of-print and archive material. In addition we have many thousands of “lost” or less well-known works from our own private collection. Whilst not all of these are masterworks, there are some extremely rare, never before published items by classical masters. There is a wealth of unusual concert programme fillers and much highly enjoyable music for students and amateurs.
Do you only sell piano music?
Today we sell only piano and vocal music - piano solos, works for multiple pianos, vocal solos (lieder, arias, oratorio, opera etc), vocal duets, and vocal with instrumental ensembles. We may offer other instrumental music in the future - watch this space!
What rare works do you have?
We have a huge range of hard-to-get works, and others that are available nowhere else - including some previously unpublished works by famous composers. Many rarer works are still being prepared from manuscripts or out-of-print editions. These are gradually being added to the website week by week, so visit our website often
How do you define a rare work?
By rare works we mean works not often played. This could be because they are out of fashion, out of print, archived, composed for amateur amusement rather than the concert hall, the composer may be relatively unknown, or the work though interesting may not be considered one of the composer’s best. We make no judgement on the worth of any work - our philosophy is to make our library available and let musicians decide for themselves what they like to play!
Are there any very rare works by masters?
Yes - for example, we have a number of newly-discovered manuscripts we believe have never yet been published; masterpieces long out of print and in danger of being lost; some brand new 20/21 century pieces and a fabulous collection of Russian piano music almost unknown in the West. All these will be released on the web in time, with new works added most weeks.
About ordering music
What music can I buy today?
You can order anything from our library, even though only a fraction of it is currently listed on the web - more works are continually being added, but it takes time. Today you can browse through most standard piano repertoire, teaching pieces, and a few rarer works. If you can’t find what you are looking for send us an email. We’ll do our best to locate it and print it specially for you - at no extra cost!
Can I order piano duets now?
We have a huge range of works for 1 piano x 4 hands and 2 pianos x 4 hands, as well as less common combinations such as 1 piano x 6 hands and even 3 pianos x 6 hands. This valuable collection includes newly-discovered manuscripts and some never-before published works. Most of these should be on the website by Summer 2008 - in the meantime, if you know what you want you can order it right now by requesting it via email.
Can I order vocal music now?
We have the entire Edition Peters catalogue of vocal music - solos, duets, vocal with instrumental ensemble, lieder, arias, oratorios, operas, even Wagner’s Ring Cycle complete! - due for release on the website Summer 2008. You will be able to order any combination of songs/extracts and assemble them into a single book. This part of the website will be a great resource for all singers as works particularly sought by competition/audition judges will be highlighted. For now, if you know what you want you can order it right now by requesting it via email.
Why is the price only shown when a book is complete?
You pay less per page the more pages your book has, so we can't show the price until your book is complete. Note that while creating a book you can always see how many pages there are in each piece, and you can add or delete pages anytime up to the moment you proceed to checkout.
How quickly will I receive my book?
Books are generally printed the same day your order is received, and mailed the following day. (Special request items not yet listed on the website may take longer). The rest depends on the post!
About our albums
Are Qnotesmusic albums good quality?
Yes - we use high quality paper and materials in the production of our albums. Our own editions are prepared using either Sibelius or Finale software both of which give very high quality prints. Existing editions are scanned and edited page by page to produce the cleanest, best possible image, generally matching the quality of the original and sometimes bettering it. An added bonus is that because we assemble each book individually page turns are often more user-friendly than in the originals.
Why do your albums often have a blank page between works?
The source for works we print is generally an existing publisher’s album. With piano music it is important to preserve page turns as in the original, so there is sometimes a need to leave one side of a page between works blank. (As a customising option you can choose to fill blank pages with lines for written notes).
Am I charged for necessary blank pages and title pages?
No, you pay only for pages printed with music - no charge is made for blank pages, or for title pages between works.
About downloading music
Do you offer PDF downloads?
No - home printing often infringes copyright, does not generally produce high quality results, and allowing for covers and bindings is not even cheaper.
Can I print music pages displayed on your website?
Not legally, and if you infringe our or our partners’ copyright, you may face court action. To discourage unauthorised printing, our web pages will only print in very low resolution and may have background colours that interfere with printing.