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Welcome to your Sage Score libraryLibrary Basics
Your Sage Score library is the central home for the music you own, use, and return to over time.
Rather than functioning as a simple list of titles, your library connects each piece with the information that helps you actually work with it, including composers, arrangers, voicing or instrumentation, physical storage, digital files, programming history, and more.
Pieces are the foundation of your library
Each piece in Sage has its own library record. That record represents the musical work in your collection and serves as the place where information about that piece is gathered.
Depending on the piece, a record may include details such as:
Title
Composer and arranger
Publisher
Voicing or instrumentation
Tags and other descriptive information
Physical storage location
Attached digital files
Performance and programming history
You do not need every field completed for a piece to be useful. Your library can become more detailed over time as you work with your collection.
Organize music the way it exists in the real world
If you maintain a physical music library, Sage can help you keep track of where each piece actually lives.
Storage locations can reflect your existing organization, whether that means shelves, cabinets, filing boxes, drawers, or another system. This allows your digital catalog to act as a map back to the physical music.
You can also organize pieces into collections and groupings that make sense for how you use your library, without needing to reorganize the physical collection itself.
Keep digital materials with the piece they belong to
Library records can also hold files associated with a piece, giving you one place to keep relevant digital materials connected to the correct music.
This is especially useful when your organization maintains both physical copies and digital resources. Instead of remembering which folder, drive, or email contains a file, you can associate it directly with the piece in your Sage library.
As always, you are responsible for ensuring that any digital music you upload or store is used in accordance with the applicable copyright and licensing terms.
Your library gets more useful as you use Sage
One of the biggest advantages of keeping your music in Sage is that your library does not exist in isolation.
As pieces are included in programs, performances, assignments, and other parts of Sage, their history becomes part of the library record. Over time, Sage can help you understand not only what music you own, but how you have actually used it.
That history can make it easier to answer questions such as:
When did we last perform this piece?
Which music has not been used recently?
What have we programmed for a particular season, ensemble, or occasion?
Which pieces might be worth revisiting?
The longer you use Sage, the more context your library develops.
A library can be as simple or detailed as you need
You do not need to completely catalog every detail of your music collection before Sage becomes useful.
Some organizations may want detailed records with storage locations, files, tags, and extensive metadata. Others may begin with only the most important information and build from there.
Sage is designed to let your library grow gradually rather than making cataloging feel like a prerequisite for getting started.
Your library is more than an inventory
At its simplest, Sage can tell you what music you have.
But as your library connects with scheduling, programming, performance history, ensembles, and other parts of Sage, it becomes something more useful: a working record of your musical resources and how your organization uses them.
That connected history is what allows your library to become smarter and more valuable over time.Adding Pieces to Your LibraryAdding Pieces to Your Library
There’s no single right way to build your Sage Score library.
Whether you’re entering a few new purchases, cataloging shelves of physical music, importing an existing spreadsheet, or working from scanned scores, Sage gives you several ways to get pieces into your library. Choose the method that best matches the music and information you already have.
Add a single piece
Best for: Adding individual pieces and capturing detailed information.
Single-piece entry gives you the most control over the information attached to a piece. As you enter details, Sage can suggest values based on your existing library and commonly used information, helping you keep your catalog consistent.
This is a good choice when adding new music as you acquire it or when you want to create a particularly complete library record.
Add pieces in bulk
Best for: Quickly entering basic information for several pieces at once.
Bulk entry provides a streamlined, spreadsheet-style workflow for cataloging multiple pieces without opening a separate form for each one.
It works especially well when you are building a new catalog from a physical library and want to move quickly through titles, composers, voicings, and other key information.
Add pieces with dictation
Best for: Hands-free cataloging or situations where you need to move around your music library while entering pieces.
With dictation, you can describe your pieces naturally instead of typing each field. Sage interprets what you say and organizes the information into individual library records for you to review before adding them.
This can be particularly useful when cataloging shelves or storage areas where staying at a computer would slow you down.
Import an existing catalog
Best for: Moving an existing spreadsheet or digital catalog into Sage.
If you already maintain your library in a spreadsheet or another system, you can import many pieces at once rather than re-entering them manually.
Sage's mapping tools let you match the columns in your existing file to the appropriate library fields, so your spreadsheet does not need to use Sage-specific column names or formatting.
Add pieces from scanned files
Best for: Creating or updating library records from PDFs and scanned music.
Sage's scan and OCR workflow can analyze uploaded files and help identify the music they belong to.
Depending on what Sage finds, it can help match a file to a piece already in your library or prepare information for a new library record. You'll have an opportunity to review the results before changes are finalized.
This can be a useful option when your digital files contain information that would otherwise need to be entered manually.
Add an anthology
Best for: Collections, method books, songbooks, and other publications containing multiple individual works.
Anthologies work differently from standalone pieces because Sage lets you keep track of both the collection itself and the individual works contained within it.
This gives you the benefit of finding and programming an individual piece while still knowing exactly which book or collection contains it.
You can mix and match
You do not have to choose one method for your entire library.
For example, you might:
Import your existing catalog to create a starting point.
Use bulk entry while working through uncataloged shelves.
Use dictation while moving around a storage room.
Add new purchases individually.
Upload scans when you already have digital files available.
Catalog anthologies separately so their individual contents are searchable.
Use whichever method makes the most sense for the music in front of you.
Sage helps fill in the bigger picture
Adding a piece is only the beginning of its library record.
As Sage works with your catalog, it can add useful context such as tags, genres, learning objectives, and other information that makes your music easier to search, understand, and use later.
You can start with the information you have today and continue building a richer library over time.Creating ProgramsCreating Programs in Sage Score
Programs in Sage Score bring together the music, ensembles, dates, and structure for a performance, service, recital, or other event.
Depending on what you are planning, you can build a program manually, ask Sage to help shape the entire program, plan many liturgical programs at once, or start from a specific piece you already know you want to use.
Create a program and add pieces yourself
Best for: Everyday programming when you already have a general idea of what you want.
This is the most flexible way to create a program.
You can begin with the basic program details, then add music from your library as you go. Sage can also suggest pieces based on the ensemble, program details, and any requests or constraints you provide.
This is a good choice when you want to stay firmly in control of the program while still having Sage available as a planning assistant.
Once pieces are added, you can arrange their order, create sections or segments, and assign ensembles as needed.
Design a full program with Sage
Best for: When you want help creating a complete, cohesive program rather than selecting pieces one at a time.
Start by describing the type of program you are creating, along with any themes, goals, constraints, or ideas you already have. Sage can ask follow-up questions when more information is needed, then use that context to propose a full program.
Rather than only suggesting individual pieces, Sage considers how the selections work together and how they might be ordered to create a stronger overall arc.
The result is still fully editable. You can keep Sage's proposed structure, change individual selections, reorder pieces, or reshape the program as much as you like.
Plan liturgical programs across a season
Best for: Church musicians planning many weekly services over a range of dates.
Liturgical planning is designed for situations where you need to create a series of programs rather than a single event.
Choose a date range, and Sage can create programs for the Sundays and relevant religious holidays within that period. You can then review, edit, add, or remove programs as needed.
If you want help choosing music as well, Sage can generate piece suggestions based on your ensemble, the number of selections needed each week, service segments, and any additional programming constraints you provide.
This workflow is especially useful for getting a broad season planned quickly, then reviewing and refining individual weeks over time.
Programs generated by Sage can remain marked for review so you do not need to finalize the entire season in one sitting.
Start with a piece from your library
Best for: When you know you want to perform a particular piece and need to decide where it belongs.
Sometimes programming starts with the calendar. Other times, it starts with the music.
From a piece in your library, you can add that piece directly to an existing program or use it as the starting point for a new one.
When Sage has enough context, it may also suggest upcoming programs where the piece could be a good fit.
This is a useful workflow for music you specifically want to revisit, seasonal selections, new purchases, or pieces you discover while browsing your library.
Choose the planning style that fits the moment
You do not need to use the same method every time you create a program.
For example, you might:
Build a routine rehearsal or concert program yourself with a few Sage suggestions.
Ask Sage to design a full thematic concert when you are starting from a blank page.
Generate an entire church season at once, then refine each service later.
Start from a favorite piece and find the right place for it on your calendar.
All of these paths lead into the same core program workspace, where you can continue editing the music, order, segments, ensembles, and program details.
Sage can assist without taking over
Program creation in Sage is designed to be flexible.
You can use Sage heavily when you need ideas, lightly when you already have a plan, or not at all for a particular program. Suggestions are there to help you move faster and consider options, while the final decisions always remain yours.
That means you can choose the level of assistance that makes sense for each program rather than committing to one fixed workflow.