Access for the precocious

Sometimes I wonder how my life would have been like if the Internet was accessible to me back in high school. I remember getting into Kronos Quartet and a whole bunch of other late 20th Century music (most of them on Nonesuch) and pining for a glimpse into those scores. Even in my early college career, the resources on hand just weren’t enough.

There was no way the local sheet music sellers would have any of that stuff in stock, and the university library, while well-procured, didn’t exactly have the capacity for my voracious curiosity. So I contented myself with just being a listener and not the student I could have been.

Fast forward 10-15 years later, when anything can be had online, including sheet music. Sure, you could search Amazon for music scores, but Amazon is just going to direct you to Sheet Music Plus anyway. I discovered this site a while back, and on occasion, I’d visit, gawk and pine some more.

The issue now isn’t accessibility — it’s cost. Because if that weren’t an issue, man would I be going to town.

But it amazes me that access is so easy. I know my more impulsive younger student self would have gone bankrupt fetching scores left and right had I discovered a site like Sheet Music Plus back in 1993. (Back then, online CD shopping was epitomized by a telnet site named CD Connection. Oh, let me tell you about those bad boy days.)

I guess here’s where I sound like an old man and say you kids these days have it so easy.

Although seemingly like Amazon in its interface, Sheet Music Plus does not have a similar wish list feature. Shoppers can save items in their cart for later, but there’s a time limit of 180 days. So instead, I’ll post my own wish list here. Perhaps it’ll help me prioritize when the next payday comes around. Right.

Arranged by price. Most of this stuff appears on Kronos Quartet albums.