Music
About the Music collection
Our Music collection focuses on notated music, including published and unpublished Australian sheet music across a wide range of genres and periods. While we don’t collect multiple vocal or instrumental parts, we hold major archives from composers, performers and music organisations. These include manuscripts, letters, photographs and memorabilia that document the history of music-making and the music industry in Australia.
We actively collect and preserve Australia’s musical heritage so future generations can explore and enjoy the country’s rich and diverse traditions. The collection also includes archival sound recordings of Australian folk music and dance, along with research material to support music study. A keyboard is available in the Special Collections Reading Room for visitors working with these materials.
The Library does not collect commercially recorded music, these materials can be found at Australia’s National Film and Sound Archive.
In the collection
- Australian sheet music – Historical and contemporary works, including digitised items.
- Composer and performer archives – Manuscripts, letters, and memorabilia from key figures in Australian music.
- Music trade and performance – Photographs, concert programs, and advertisements documenting musical life in Australia.
- Archival sound recordings – Folk music, dance, and historical performances.
- Research resources – Books, articles, and other materials supporting music scholarship.
Using the Music Collection
Each collection format has its own methods for accessing and using its items. Please refer to the specific guidelines on Using Music. (Link needs creation)
Highlighted items
Carl Linger & Caroline Carleton, The song of Australia, 1859, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-164959068
Carl Linger & Caroline Carleton, The song of Australia, 1859, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-164959068
Nicholson & Co, Australian musical magazine. No. 36, 1896, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-169876448
Nicholson & Co, Australian musical magazine. No. 36, 1896, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-169876448
Paolo Giorza's 1879 Exhibition album for piano, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-165951572
Paolo Giorza's 1879 Exhibition album for piano, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-165951572
Highlights
Australian sheet music
Highly decorative covers of sheet music documenting performing arts history. Includes advertisements for stage and cinema productions, the latest musical instruments and recordings.
Popular songs and piano music of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries collected by Kathleen Brady
State Theatre Collection
Over 13,000 published orchestrations, band arrangements and instrumental music composed or arranged for small orchestra to accompany silent movies. Primarily used in Australian film theatres from 1900 to the 1930s. Many record film screening dates and distribution stamps.
Around 7,000 scores of 18th and 19th-century English and European vocal music, enriching research into historical music practices.
A collection of chamber, choral, operatic, orchestral, piano and vocal works by Australian composers and arrangers from colonial music to the 1970s. Includes scores and parts used by the ABC for performance and original manuscripts.
Selected Collections
Wendy McDougall, Federation Parade walks proud along Sanger St. Corowa, 28th January 2001, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-146228696
Reg Lewis and the Prince Edwardians at the Prince Edward Theatre, Sydney, c1945, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-147014210
More to explore
Melville Morris & Gus Kahn, Kangaroo hop song, 1916, nla.obj-175841153
Matthew Sleeth, Australian singer Kylie Minogue performs at the Tour of Duty concert at Dili Stadium, East Timor, 21 December 1999, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-147368307