Building Your Music Library: A Step-by-Step Guide for Teachers and Students
By Lara-Semetko-Brooks
Whether you are just beginning your vocal training or preparing for a teaching career, building a music library is one of the most valuable things you can do. A well-organized collection of scores and anthologies helps you stay prepared for lessons, auditions, recitals, and future teaching opportunities. Your library should include music you are currently singing, music you hope to sing in the future, and music you may one day assign to students. By taking time now to collect and organize a broad range of repertoire, you will build a resource that serves you throughout your career, as building a library takes a while!
Start with Core Repertoire
The best place to begin is with foundational repertoire across a variety of styles. For classical voice students, this may include early Italian arias, standard German lieder, French mélodies, and accessible English art songs. You might begin with works like Caro mio ben or Du bist die Ruh, and gradually add pieces by Schubert, Fauré, and Samuel Barber. Opera singers should begin collecting arias suited to their current vocal range, but also look ahead to roles they may grow into over time. Musical theatre singers should gather pieces from both Golden Age and contemporary shows to cover a range of stylistic demands. I personally love having The Singer’s Musical Theatre Anthologies in my studio, as they are divided into voice type and each anthology has a mix of time periods and styles in their text, for that particular voice type.
If you plan to teach, make sure to collect materials suitable for beginning and intermediate students as well. Over time, your library should reflect the full spectrum of vocal literature.
Use NATS and Other Repertoire Resources
The National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) provides a number of excellent resources to guide repertoire selection. These include adjudication rubrics, repertoire lists for auditions, and online video examples that show stylistic and age-appropriate selections. Teachers and students alike can benefit from exploring these tools. Attending NATS conferences, auditions, and breakout sessions, you may come across repertoire you haven’t heard of before by someone performing them. It’s always good to take notes of what you hear and what you may like to bring back to your studio! You will also find curated anthologies recommended by NATS, such as The First Book of Soprano Solos or The G. Schirmer Operatic Anthology series. These are widely used in teaching studios and audition settings.
Beyond NATS, university libraries and vocal pedagogy texts often include suggested repertoire lists categorized by level and voice type. Keep these close at hand as you build your collection.
Digital and Physical Collections
There are clear advantages to both digital and physical libraries. Digital scores are easy to store and search. You can keep them organized in folders by genre or voice type, and access them across multiple devices. I personally love the ForScore app on my iPad, as I can keep my repertoire organized by genre, performance dates, and even creating folders for the rep my students are singing each semester. Platforms like IMSLP, CPDL, and Art Song Central offer a wide selection of public domain works. Websites like Sheet Music Plus or Musicnotes provide licensed scores of musical theatre and contemporary songs.
Still, there is something to be said for owning physical copies. Hard copy scores are easier to mark, and many students find it more effective to study and rehearse with printed music. Quality editions from publishers such as Peters, Boosey and Hawkes, and Oxford often include useful editorial notes and more accurate engravings. Many professionals use a combination of both formats, keeping their current working repertoire on a tablet and storing trusted hard copies in binders or on bookshelves.
Organizing Your Library
Once you begin collecting music, it is important to organize it in a way that allows for easy access and long-term use. You can sort by genre, composer, vocal range, or difficulty level. For digital libraries, tools like Google Drive or Evernote can help you tag and search files efficiently. For physical libraries, many teachers use binders with dividers, color-coded folders, or file drawers. Consider creating a repertoire index that includes title, composer, language, range, and a short note on difficulty or stylistic features. This will make it easier to find what you need and to recommend pieces to others.
Building a Diverse and Inclusive Collection
A strong music library reflects diversity in time period, culture, and identity. Alongside standard European works, include songs by women composers, composers of color, and living artists from a range of traditions. Art song collections by Florence Price or H. Leslie Adams offer beautiful material for recital programming and teaching. Spanish-language songs by Obradors or Ginastera, or musical theatre pieces by composers like Michael R. Jackson or Kirsten Childs, help students develop linguistic and stylistic flexibility.
As a teacher, including this range of repertoire models a broader understanding of the vocal world and prepares you to work with students from diverse backgrounds.
Invest in High-Quality Editions
Not all sheet music is created equal. As you build your library, prioritize scores from reliable publishers. Well-edited editions improve clarity, accuracy, and overall usability. These often include performance notes, historical context, and translations that are essential for student learning. Avoid poorly typeset PDFs from questionable sources, especially when preparing for performance or adjudication. Investing in quality scores early will save time and support stronger musical outcomes in the long run.
Stay Informed and Keep Adding
Your library should grow with you. Follow new publications, explore repertoire lists from conferences or masterclasses, even online forums, and seek out recommendations from trusted colleagues. Professional organizations, social media groups for teachers, and voice pedagogy blogs often highlight new works and composers to explore. Keep a running list of pieces you want to learn or teach and make a habit of reviewing it regularly.
Final Thoughts
A well built music library is more than a collection of scores. It is a reflection of your growth as a singer, teacher, and artist. Your collection should include what you sing now, what you hope to sing in the future, and what you may teach as your career evolves. Organize it in a way that helps you work efficiently. Let it reflect a wide range of voices and traditions. And above all, keep it active and growing. Whether you are preparing for a lesson, planning a recital, or guiding a student through their first audition, your library will be one of your most powerful tools.
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