Barbican Music Library

We have two electronic pianos available for customers to use, free of charge and we provide headphones in exchange for ID.

Pianos can be booked for up to one hour per day, either on the day or one day in advance. Any un-booked sessions will be available on a first come, first served basis to all users. Sessions may be forfeited if you are more than 10 minutes late. 

Call or email to make a booking. 

We can borrow orchestral sets and vocal scores for your choir or orchestra, via interlibrary loan. We do not offer a postal service, so they must be collected in person.

Email Barbican Music Library with the following information:

• Name of your group & where you are located
• Composer, title and edition (where known) of the piece(s)
• Number of copies required
• Date by which you need the music (minimum of one month’s notice required)
• Date of your performance

Charges are as follows:

Choirs and orchestras based in the City of London

• Vocal scores: £1 per part
• Orchestral sets: £45 per loan 

Choirs and orchestras based within the M25 (but outside the ‘Square Mile’).

Charges are as follows:

• Vocal scores: £1.50 per part
• Orchestral sets: £60 per loan

Promotes music by artists without a record deal who are based in the London area by stocking their CDs in the library. We accept music of all genres and it is a great and easy way of promoting your music and attracting new fans as the public can borrow the CDs for free.

If you are a musician or in a band and you would like to donate a CD of your music to the library, drop by or email the Barbican Music Library Team.

Barbican Music Library houses the Library of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society which is for reference only.

You can browse the collection on the City of London Libraries catalogue, or search the catalogue and select 'Gilbert and Sullivan Society Library' under the 'genre/area' filter. 

For further information, please visit the Gilbert and Sullivan Society website.

To request an item from the Gilbert and Sullivan Library please call or email the Barbican Music Library in advance of your visit.

Barbican Music Library has indexed each song held in our collection of sheet music anthologies of popular, jazz and folk songs, songs from musicals and films, classical songs and opera arias. Search the song index.