Buzz
Without an account, you cannot download any music tracks to your device. This is a rule on MUSOPEN, a platform dedicated to classical music. Are you or a family member learning classical music? Are you a leader, instructor, or librarian at a music school? You might want to create an account on this platform!
Steps
No account means no music downloads
Go to the MUSOPEN website. Visit https://musopen.org/. This is the homepage of MUSOPEN.
Browse the music catalog. Upon arriving at the MUSOPEN homepage, you’ll likely want to explore its music catalog by clicking on Music Catalog. This will take you to the Royalty-free music page, where you can access music without copyright fees.
Find your favorite composer. Immediately, you might want to search for your preferred composer, such as Ludwig van Beethoven. Quickly select the letter B under the By Composer section, and you’ll find the link Beethoven, Ludwig van. Clicking this link takes you to his dedicated page. On this page, besides a brief biography, you’ll discover additional details, including:
- A list of works organized in a table with four columns: (1) Title - Name of the work; (2) Form - Type of composition; (3) Instrument - Instrumentation; (4) Ratings - Star ratings, with 5 stars being the highest.
- Filters for instruments and musical forms.
Select your favorite piece. You’ll notice popular compositions like Für Elise at the top of the list. You might choose the second entry because it has a higher rating than the first, eager to listen to it. Clicking the title takes you to the Für Elise page. Here, besides an introduction to the piece, you’ll find:
Try downloading a performance of the piece.Download- Sections of the piece displayed in a table with five columns: (1) Song Title - Name of the piece; (2) Performer - Artist; (3) License - Licensing details; (4) Download - Download options; (5) HD - High Definition, indicating high-quality audio or video.
- A table with links to related information. For Für Elise, the table includes four columns:
- Column 1: Composer - Ludwig van Beethoven, with a link to his page.
- Column 2: Form - Musical form: Bagatelle, linking to similar works.
- Column 3: Instrument - Instrumentation: Piano, linking to piano recordings.
- Column 4: Period - Era: Romantic, linking to music from this period.
- Download Sheet Music - This section will be covered in a separate guide.
Create an account on MUSOPEN to download files
There are two ways to register an account on MUSOPEN.
Proceed with registration. Fill in your personal details in the registration form fields and click the Sign Up button at the bottom to complete the registration.
Check the license before downloading the file. Return to the previous screen where you intended to download the file. For Für Elise, as shown in the illustration above, in column 3, the License column, you’ll see the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial license icons, or CC BY-NC. With this license, you have the freedom to use the music file in any way, provided that:
Download the file.DownloadFür EliseDownloadHelper- You do not use the file for commercial purposes.
- You give proper credit to the performer in all materials referencing your use of the file. In this specific case, the performer is Simone Renzi.
- You include a link to the CC BY-NC license, just as you see here.
DownloadHelper
Advice
- If you, your child, or a family member is studying at a music school or conservatory with a focus on classical music, this platform could be an excellent resource for you.
- Check out this article: Links to open-licensed and open-access content on Mytour.vn
