Sheet Music Citation Generator
Cite a musical score, whether a bound edition, a printed part or a download from a library such as IMSLP. Enter the composer, the title, the editor, the publisher and the year, and get the reference in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 and 10,834 other styles. Free, no sign-up.
How to Use the Sheet Music Citation Generator
- 1. Enter the composer and the title. The form opens on Manual Entry with Musical score / sheet music chosen. Type the title as the score prints it, with the opus or catalogue number if it has one.
- 2. Add the editor and the publisher. An arranger or editor goes in Editor(s). Put the publisher, such as Dover Publications, in Publisher / Site.
- 3. Enter the year of this edition. Use the year printed on the edition you hold, not the year the piece was composed.
- 4. Add a link for an online score. Paste the page's URL for a download from a library such as IMSLP.
- 5. Pick a style and copy. Choose APA, MLA, Chicago or any of the 10,834 styles.
Score, Part or Recording?
A score is a printed work, cited like a book, with the composer as its author. A recording of the same piece is a different source with a performer and a label; use the Song Citation Generator for that. Cite the edition you read, because editors differ, and say what you cite: a full score, a vocal score or a single part.
| Element | APA 7 | MLA 9 | Chicago 18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Last, initials | Last, First | Last, First |
| Title | Italic, sentence case, then [Score] | Italic, headline case | Italic for a long work; quotation marks for a short one |
| Editor | (F. Last, Ed.) after the title | Edited by, after the title | Edited by, after the title |
| Original date | (Original work published 1786) at the end | Optional, before the publisher | Optional |
APA 7 treats a score as a work with a bracketed description: the composer, the year of the edition, the title in italics with [Score], and the publisher. MLA 9 treats it like a book, with the title in italics and an optional Edited by element, and it uses mm. for measure numbers in the text. Chicago 18 italicizes the titles of long works such as operas and puts shorter pieces in roman type in quotation marks. For a quotation, give a measure number in place of a page, as in the MLA Style Center's guidance.
Sheet Music Citation Examples
Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, in the 1979 Dover edition, which the MLA Style Center uses to show how to cite measure numbers.
A score in a printed edition
APA 7:
Mozart, W. A. (1979). The marriage of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) [Score]. Dover Publications. (Original work published 1786)
APA in-text:
(Mozart, 1786/1979)
MLA 9:
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro). Dover Publications, 1979.
MLA in-text:
(Mozart, mm. 275–93)
Chicago 18 note:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro) (Dover Publications, 1979).
Chicago 18 bibliography:
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro). Dover Publications, 1979.
What the Generator Gives You
With Score in the format box, the generator returns the APA reference with the bracketed description, as above; add the original date yourself. In MLA and Chicago it prints Score as a stray sentence after the title, so leave the box empty there. It title-cases an Italian or French title as English, so it writes Le Nozze Di Figaro; restore di by hand. Type a name with a particle as Beethoven, Ludwig van: entered as Ludwig van Beethoven, APA prints van Beethoven, L. The editor is added as Edited by in MLA and Chicago and as (F. Beyer, Ed.) in APA.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I cite sheet music in APA 7?
- Give the composer, the year of the edition, the title in italics with [Score], and the publisher: Mozart, W. A. (1979). The marriage of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) [Score]. Dover Publications. APA 7 has no sheet music sample, so this follows its pattern for a work with a bracketed description. Add (Original work published 1786) for a reprint.
- How do I cite sheet music in MLA 9?
- Treat it like a book: Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro). Dover Publications, 1979. In text, cite the composer, and add measure numbers with mm. where you point to a passage.
- How do I cite sheet music in Chicago style?
- Use a note with the composer, the title in italics, and the publisher and year in parentheses: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro) (Dover Publications, 1979). The bibliography entry reverses the name.
- How do I cite sheet music from IMSLP?
- Cite the edition the page links to: the composer, the title, the editor if there is one, the original publisher and year, then the IMSLP page's URL. MLA names IMSLP as the site in italics; APA and Chicago end with the link.
- How do I cite a passage from a score?
- In MLA, give a measure number or a range instead of a page: (Mozart, mm. 275–93). The MLA Style Center's guidance uses the form measures 275–93 in prose and mm. 275–93 in repeated parenthetical citations.
- Do I cite the composer or the arranger?
- The composer is the author. Name an arranger or editor after the title, since the arrangement is part of the edition you used. If the arrangement is your subject, you can lead with the arranger.
- Which citation styles does the sheet music generator support?
- All 10,834 styles in the library, including APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago 18.