Notes Marc Cohn

[Ric_Y_Martin]

Good morning @all.
I need help. Can I download Piano Notes in the Internet for free? Especially from Marc Cohn (I need Walking in Memphis Notes!)

Thx for your help!!!!!!      

[88keys]

I suppose you don't realize that the "Marc Cohn" Album is protected by copyright law?

Well, it is. And copyright includes the rights for the sheet music as well. So what you are asking to do is illegal...

By the way, in general you can indeed download free sheet music from the net. But only of works which are in public domain (basically everything written till the early 1900's).

[selsa]

I don't undertant, 88 keys. Why are those written after the early 1900's illegal. What is behind these copyright laws? Rachmaninoff's (spelling?) sheet music is also considered illegal in some collections and not available. Again, what caused these things?

[88keys]

Very Simple:

Suppose you write your own original piece of music. You would expect to have some exclusive rights over your creation, right?

Right. This is exactly the purpose of Copyright Law: to give artists (of any kind) some control over the distribution of their own creation.

Now, Copyright protection is not forever. After a specified number of years, determined by law, your creation will become "public domain", meaning that anybody can do whatever he wants with it. In most countries, the artist (or his rightful heirs) can extend the timespan of copyright protection for an additional length of time. In no way, however, can this extention be carried on indefinitely: Sooner or later, all works become "public domain".

Since the details of the law are different in different countries, and since some composers only applied for renewing their rights in their own countries, it is possible to have a piece protected only in some parts of the world while being "public domain" in other countries.

This pretty much sums things up.

And a final note:

Pianists and other performers are also protected by copyright law.

This means that it is illegal to download, say, an MP3 of Arthur Rubinstein playing Beethoven. Beethoven's music may be public domain, but Rubinstein's interpertation of it is still protected by copyright law. If you want to hear his recording, you'll have to buy the CD.

The same is true for printed sheet music. Downloading from those web-archives of classical sheet music is legal, only because the guys creating them were kind enough to permit you to download them for free.