Are you looking for Christmas cheer or planning gifts? Music brings joy at Christmas, both in cheerful layers and wrapped in paper.
/ 11/12/2020 / Kristian DugstadChristmas is the holiday of music. The tones fill us with both merry Christmas joy and festive melancholy, and are the alpha and omega of the month of December.
For most people, it's not Christmas until we hear the right version of the right Christmas carol. And when Christmas Eve finally arrives, there's nothing like unwrapping a musical gift.
– There are many who want to play even at Christmas
Unni Boretti
Norwegian music publishers have a whole world of sheet music and song and rhyme books that can fill the Christmas season with music - whether you're chasing the Christmas spirit or looking for the perfect present.
For many, the Christmas spirit comes with music, and what could be better than enjoying a concert from the family's own guitarist, violinist, accordionist or oboist?
– Many people want to play themselves at Christmas. It is often not really Christmas until people gather around the piano, says Unni Boretti, publishing manager at Norsk Musikforlag.
This year in particular, music in the home may be extra important. Many people have traditions related to Christmas parties and band and choir concerts. There will be fewer of these this year.
– What is special this year, considering the corona, is that we often sell a lot of Christmas booklets that are used in connection with gatherings and concerts. There will be few of them this year, so we are very aware that it is a pandemic, also when it comes to sheet music sales.
When Christmas Eve arrives and Christmas dinner is finished, there may be a few presents under the tree. If you have a musician on your gift list, you should take a look at the written language of the notes.
– Printed works tend to have a very good shelf life. We publish all kinds of sheet music in all genres for all levels. Also collections of pop songs. The advantage of a songbook is that you also get many songs that you may not know before, so you expand your repertoire. Having a songbook is unlikely to go out of fashion.
Songbooks and sheet music are constantly being published, with both new and old material. Many famous songwriters and artists make their music available in this way.
– We have 800 square meters of sheet music storage, and a customer center and store of 100 square meters with sheet music from many publishers, so it is difficult to recommend anything specific. It all depends on your level and what you like, says Boretti.
Sheet music and songbooks are an important part of the music industry's economy. Every time you buy a sheet music, the people who wrote the music make money.
– We encourage people to buy sheet music that the publisher has published, rather than downloading something that is online, which may be illegal. This is also income for the rights holders, and ensures that copyright is protected.
And last but not least: In addition to the money from sales, the music creators receive money through TONO when the music on the sheet music is performed publicly.
There are several Norwegian music publishers that publish and sell sheet music. Most of these are organized in the Norwegian Music Publishers Association, one of TONO's three group associations. These are also rights holders in TONO.
Here is a list of our publishing members' sheet music stores where both physical and digital sheet music and books can be purchased:
Music publishers (Norsk Musikforlag, Musikk-Husets Forlag, Lyche Musikforlag and Majorforlaget) https://musikkforlagene.no/
The music store (Norsk Noteservice and Cantando) https://notebutikken.no/
Blåmann Music Publishers: http://www.blamann.no/musikkforlag/
Obligato Music Publisher: https://obligato.no/butikk/,
Bible Society/Verbum: https://bibel.no/nettbutikk
The Salvation Army: https://shop.frelsesarmeen.no/categories/noter