Help:What's it all about?

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CPDL stands for 'Choral Public Domain Library', an internet-based free sheet music website which specializes in choral music.

Begun in December 1998, CPDL is one of the world's largest free sheet music sites. All its scores are in the public domain and can be freely downloaded. Most of these are public domain editions of music whose copyright has elapsed, but some scores are newly composed and offered for download by the composer.

The primary goals of CPDL are:

  • To make vocal sheet music available for free.
  • To create a website for public domain music that includes only legally (In United States) downloadable scores.
  • To allow development of a viable collaborative model for sheet music distribution.
  • To publish scores that are not otherwise commercially viable.
  • To create a website that catalogs a large number of other free sheet music websites.
  • To encourage (through the CPDL Bulletin Boards) sharing between lovers of vocal music.

As well as scores, you can use CPDL to find texts and lyrics, translations, and information about composers - all available under a public domain license.

In August 2005, CPDL was ported to a wiki system. The following pages detail the transition:


This page is part of the CPDL Help system.
View main help index