Help Page

Frequently asked questions, help and how to use this site.   ES  FR

Our sheet music is professionally prepared on state of the art Notation software. From this we generate the Midi, Graphic and PDF files for download. Depending on the complexity of the music, each piece can take up to several days to finish. We pride ourselves on preparing a quality product that meets the exacting standards of musicians.

We have a special first visit page that shows you how to use the site, use this page if you are new and ensure you have the right free programs to download and listen to our music.

General Information

Lost Password:

Just contact us! Please let us know the email address you used when you signed up or the full name of the person who paid.

When you click on an icon nothing happens.

Answer:To make navigation simple the site opens a new window if you want to see or hear a piece of music. Some security or web programs try to stop new windows opening as they think it may be an advert. To solve this problem make sure that 'allow pop ups' are enabled for www.music-scores.com. Once you have listened to or downloaded a file please close the pop up window.

Browsers:

The site has been tested and works for the following Browsers - Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox, Mozilla and Opera. If you experience difficulties when using a different web browser then try using one of the above (MSN and Safari users may be affected!).

PDF files for Printing the sheet music.

Adobe Reader To print out the scores you will need the free Adobe reader (version 4 or later). Many new computers already have this installed. If you do not have the reader installed you can - either download it from Adobe or (slightly faster) check if the Adobe reader has been supplied on a recent magazine CD ROM. Acrobat reader is freeware and is commonly used on many sites.

Known problems with Adobe Reader

'There was an error processing the page. A file contains a Bad CMap/Encoding' This is caused by having an old version of Adobe reader installed (v 3.0 or earlier). You will need to upgrade to v 4.00 or v 5.00 to access the files.Also version 3.0 may still open by default on your computer even after downloading a later version. Solution: Open Adobe 4.0 or 5.0 first, then open the file you downloaded.

Printing and paper size

Before printing you may wish to check that your printer's ink / toner / cartridge is not running low. Your printer may also allow you to adjust the quality of the printout - click on Print then Properties and experiment with the options. You will not need color as the original is in black and white. DPI (dots per inch can be tried up to 600). You may also wish to test the output before inserting top quality paper. Some printers also allow you to collate or print on both sides, unless you are confident on which way to feed the paper it may be best to experiment with cheap or waste paper first. America has different paper sizes to Europe, if the printout looks too small or is oversized check the printer paper settings or property settings. If the option 'fit to page' is available - select it; otherwise ensure the paper setting is the same size as the paper in your printer.

Printer problems?

Some printers have their own individual temperament, Adobe have prepared a list of printers and likely problems. Check under Help in the Adobe Acrobat reader program.

Downloading problems?

Not all computers and programs are instantly compatible with this site so we have prepared a list of easy to fix problems so that you can enjoy all our downloads.

• "When I download a file there seem to be bar lines missing."
   
  Answer - In Adobe reader just click on View - Zoom in. You will then see all the detail, printing will be unaffected.
   
  
• "In Adobe reader version 5 the bar lines look too heavy."
   
  Answer - This is a display problem only, it does not affect the print out. However if you enable the 'smooth line art' setting in Edit ->Preferences ->Display the image will then be correct.
   
  
• "When I download a file Adobe says there is a font or C-Map error"
   
  Answer - You have a very old version of Adobe. You need at least version 4.00 or 5.00 to display music fonts correctly. You can obtain the latest version free from Adobe. (currently version 8)
   
  
• "I downloaded the new version but it STILL says c-map or font error"
   
  Answer - Adobe did not overwrite the old version. To open the files Open Adobe reader first and then open the file downloaded from the site.
   
  
• "I tried to download but all I got was a copy of the Download page"
   
  Answer - Instead of saving the file when the box appears, click on open instead - you may have to do this a couple of times. The file will then appear.
   
  
• "I get strange characters instead of Music when I download"
   
  Answer - Sadly your browser is not a current version. Try using IE 5.00 or later or Netscape 4.7 or later.
   
  
• "I Use the MSN browser and can't get the site to work"
   
  Answer - Log on to the internet in the normal way. Once online, minimize the MSN browser and open the Internet Explorer browser instead. You should then be able to use the site.
   
  
• "I Use AOL and can't get the site to work"
   
  Answer - Log on to the internet in the normal way through AOL. Once online, minimize the AOL browser and open the Internet Explorer browser instead. You should then be able to use the site.
   
  
• "I Use a Mac and Safari and can't get the site to work"
   
  Answer - Log on to the internet in the normal way. Once online, minimize the Safari browser and open the Internet Explorer browser instead. You should then be able to use the site.
   
  
• "I am asked for a password to when I open the downloaded file on my computer"
   
  Answer - You can only view the files with Adobe reader or Acrobat, other Adobe products will not work correctly.
   
  
• "I keep getting the file missing page when I download the free files"
   
  Answer - This can be caused by you having a download accelerator or other software that speeds up your internet connection. These programs make multiple connections to the download file, which causes the server to display the error message. If you can, turn it off whilst accessing the site.
   
  
• "I get strange errors in Adobe even if I have the correct version."
   
  Try using File -> Print and select 'Print as Image'.
   
  
• "I have IE explorer and have tried everything, now what"
   
  It is possible that your browser is corrupted in some way try the Firefox browser. Download and use the Firefox browser to access our site.

Scorch™ (Sibelius) plug-in

If you wish to see and hear the scores, you will need to download the free Scorch™ plug-in available from www.sibelius.com - (follow the on screen instructions). We do recommend the plug-in as it enables you to see and hear the music as well as transposing, pageselection and start from any point. The download time for the plug-in is less than five minutes with a 28k modem. The score files on this site are mostly less than 15k, so they very fast to load, compared with the graphic and midi file (70k). At the moment you cannot print from the Scorch plug-in. This may alter later this year. If you own the full Sibelius notation package, you may find that scores will not play back correctly if Sibelius is running at the same time, simply close Sibelius and Scorch should play back correctly!

Sometimes Scorch freezes, if this happens close all browser windows, you don't need to log off. Just double click on your browser icon and find the site again. Want to playback off-line or save the file? Currently this is only possible with a lot of technical knowledge. The easiest way is to go online, find the piece you want and then end your Internet connection, you can then play or practice the piece as often as you want until you close your browser.

No sound in Scorch?

Try opening sounds and audio devices in your control panel and check that your volume control is not very low or muted. Then click on the Advanced button in the middle (not the bottom one) of the same section to open the slide controls. Make sure the Midi slide control or the SW Synth slide control is at maximum and also not muted. Go back to our website and click on any of the play icons to open a Scorch page. Click the play button to see if that worked. If there is still no sound click on the little note icon next to the play button. A pop-up window will open listing sound output systems. Try selecting a different one. This should fix your problem!

Using midi to listen to our files.

The site has been set up to play the midi files automatically, however some browser settings can cancel this. To play the file click on the play button on the midi player. Can't see the midi player? This may be due to the size of your screen. Try clicking on the maximize window button, normally the middle small box icon at the very top right of the browser window. Some of you may have older midi players that do not integrate fully into the browser, try downloading a later version. Want to save the midi file? There is a download button that will enable you to save the file to your hard disk at the bottom of the listen page (members only.)

Can I mute the main instrument and just play the accompaniment, this would help me practice? Try the free karaoke player from vanBasco link below.

Get vanBasco's Karaoke Player NOW - totally FREE!

You will be able to play our midi files and mute any instrument you want as well as slowing down the tempo to help you learn the piece.

Free Downloads where are they?

Every composer and almost every instrument has free files for download. Look for the icon and the words Free Download in the description of the sheet music. If you see a icon then it is for Members only. There are over 280 free sheet music files overall on the site.