Using Sheet Music for Educational Purposes
- For a general information about copyright see Overview of Copyright.
- For general information about sheet music see Musical Works.
- See also: Performing Music for Educational Purposes
Under the Copyright Act, the University can reproduce and/or communicate sheet music for educational purposes. Communicate means to make the item available online or to email or fax the item to someone. You can:
- scan print sheet music to create an electronic copy to place online on the LMS,
- make a copy of sheet music to include it in a course pack,
- make multiply copies to give as handouts in class,
- print out electronic sheet music to include in a course pack or give as a handout.
Some conditions and limitation apply:
- Limit the amount copied - you may reproduce or communicate 10% of sheet music .You can copy more than 10% if the work:
- is out of print
- is a published edition
- has never been published or separately published, i.e. is only available as part of a collection.
- is not commercially available at a reasonable price in a reasonable time
- There are no limits on the number of copies that you can make e.g. if there are 400 students in the course, you can make 400 copies, plus spares.
- It must be for educational purposes - educational purposes are defined as reproducing or communicating material for a particular course of instruction or for the administration of that course. They also covers reproducing material to be included in a library collection. Educational purposes do not cover general or commercial activities of the University, such as marketing and promotion.
- You must attribute each work with a full citation - for information about correctly citing material see: Citation Styles within the University.
- If placing textual material online you must also:
- Restrict access to University of Melbourne staff and students - material can be placed on a LMS but not on an open access website.
- Include a copyright warning notice on each work - the notice should appear either before the item is opened or on the first page of the item. Copies of the notices are available here.
- Register the work with the Copyright Office - any sheet music placed online must be registered with the Copyright Office.
Performing Sheet Music in Class
The Copyright Act allows sheet music to be performed in class for educational purposes. The performance must be part of the class and the audience must be restricted to students. This provision does not apply to public performances. If the performance is being recorded, it may only be recorded as permitted under the Music Licence.
Readings Online can help!
Readings Online is a service that can make your reading materials available online via the LMS. Simply provide a reading list to Readings Online and they will do the rest. For more information visist the Readings Online website.
Further Information
- Overview of Copyright
- Using Copyright Material for Research or Study
- Fast-Find Index - an A-Z glossary of copyright terms and topics
- Introduction to Copyright -a guide from the Copyright Office (b&w version for printing)
- Online Teaching Resources & Copyright - a guide from the Copyright Office ( b&w version for printing)
- Creating a Course Pack - a cheat sheet (b&w version for printing)
- Copyright: A User's Guide by Trevor Gerdsen. An online version of this text is also available.
- Contact the University Copyright Office