Music
Reference Guides
- Music Reference and Research Materials: an Annotated Bibliography. 1997. (Ref. ML 113 D83)
- Duckles/Reed's 5th edition presents a comprehensive repertory of reference sources for information about music, with annotations.
- Music: A Guide to the Reference Literature. William S. Brockman. (Ref. ML 113 B85 1987)
- The guide's main sections are: General Reference Sources, General Bibliographic Sources, Bibliographies of Music Literature, Bibliographies of Music, List of Recordings, and Supplemental Sources (periodicals, research centers, association and musical organizations). There is a subject and an author/title index.
- Sourcebook for Research in Music. (Ref. ML 113 C68 1993)
- This guide by Phillip Crabtree and Donald Foster is intended for the serious music researcher, for graduate and upper-class undergraduate students. It is divided into eight sections: Introductory Materials, Basic Bibliographical Tools, Area Bibliographies and Other Reference Sources, Dictionaries and Encyclopedias, Sources Treating the History of Music, Current Research Journals, Editions of Music, and Miscellaneous Sources (such as manuals of style and music industry sources).
- A Short Guide to Writing About Music. (Ref. ML 3797 .B4 2000)
- The brief guide by Jonathan Bellamn devotes Chapter 6 to research in music: Kinds of Written Sources (reference, books, journals, music scores, and non-English and web-based sources) and Use of Sources (scholarly versus textbooks, special difficulties in using music sources, etc.).
- Writing About Music. 3rd edition. (Ref. ML 3797 .W54 2002)
- This guide by Richard J. Wingell serves as an introductory guide to both writing and research. Chapter Three is devoted to an analysis of the music literature.
Indexes
- Academic Index ASAP, 1980-
- This multi-disciplinary database contains abstracts and some full-text articles related to music. The titles of music journals with selected full-text articles since 1996 are: Dance Magazine, Early Music, Journal of Musicology, Music and Letters, 19th Century Music, Notes, Opera News, Perspectives of New Music, Popular Music and Society, and Rolling Stone.
- American Song. 1996. (Ref. ML 128 M78 B6 1996)
- This 4-volume guide is divided in two main sections: Musical Theatre and Tin Pan Alley Song. The first (vols. 1-2) "includes data over 4,800 American musicals. All Broadway, off-Broadway, and off-off-Broadway productions from 1877 to the fall of 1995." Lists all shows alphabetically and includes an index to more than 70,000 Broadway songs. The second (vols. 3-4) includes more than 70,000 songs and 27, personnel, as well as a chronological list of song titles, including 164 composers and lyricists, and over 54,000 popular songs.
- Arts and Humanities Search. 1980-
- "Indexes the world's leading arts and humanities journals."
- ERIC. 1966- (Cambridge and FirstSearch)
- "ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) is a comprehensive education index that is available as a database on WebLUIS. Journals (EJ) and unpublished documents (ED) are indexed in this source. There is a considerable number of relevant articels to music education and instruction. A print version of this source, in two separate indexes, entitled Current Index to Journals in Education (Ref. L 11 C8, 1966-92 & Emerald Coast Library, 1983-) and Resources in Education (Ref. LB 1028 R34, 1966- & Emerald Coast Library, 1984-) is also available."
- Francis. 1984-
- An International Humanities and Social Studies online service that covers a wide range of multilingual and multi-disciplinary information. FRANCIS is strong in religion, the history of art, and literature, with particular emphasis on current trends in European and world literature. From the RLG Home Page, click the Humanities option on the left, and then scroll down to the FRANCIS database. Updated monthly.
- Lexis Nexis Academic. 1980-
- This is an excellent source for music reviews and performances from newspapers and magazines from the United States and abroad. To search music reviews of performances, go from the Home Page to the News Page Section, then select either Arts & Sports or News library. For foreign language literature select the 'Non-English Language News' option.
- Music Analysis: An Analytical Guide to the Literature. 1991. (Ref. ML 128 A7 D5)
- A guide to Western art music, indexing 4,600 annotated citations from analyses contained in books, periodicals, doctoral dissertations and master theses. (Preface, p.ix)
- Music Article Guide. 1970-1991. (Ref. ML 118 .M838)
- "The nation's only annotated quarterly reference guide to selected, significant signed feature articles in American music periodicals geared exclusively to the special needs of school and college music educators. Includes practical 'How-To articles for orchestra, choral and band director not indexed elsewhere." Divided in 6 sections: Instructions, Subject Heading/Author Index, Miscellaneous, Subject-Author-Title List, Supplemental Listings and Directory of American periodicals.
- Music Index. 1949- (Ref. ML 118 M84)
- A subject-author guide to the periodical literature compiled from over 640 English language music periodicals and published every year. It is one of the best available sources of its kind.
- Popular Song Index. 1974-1989. (Ref. ML 128 S3 H4)
- This is one place to go when you only know the title or the first line of a song. It points to selected anthologies where the song is to be found. For an online version of the song index, go to the Popular Song Index from the University of Washington.
- RILM: Abstracts of Music Literature. 1969-
- "Abstracts drawn from articles, books, conference proceedings, bibliographies, catalogues dissertations, festschriften, iconographies, critical commentaries to complete works reviews, etc. It documents music scholarship of some 60 countries."
Biographies, Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
Most specialized music dictionaries and encyclopedias will include biographical information on musicians (composers and performers) and other music related professionals (e.g., poets, librettists, producers, and agents). For non-music but specialized biographical resources check the Library ELi Page Locating Biographical Information.
- Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Classical Musicians. 1997. (Ref. ML 105 S612)
- Contains very brief entries for all professional musicians, and lists of works for the selected composers.
- Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. 1999. (Ref. ML 102 J3 F39)
- Provides brief dictionary entries for jazz musicians, including those born in the 19th century.
- Composers Since 1900: A Biographical and Critical Guide. 1969. (Ref. ML 390 E833)
- This is still a very valuable source with useful descriptions, portraits, major works, and bibliographies of 172 composers. Its 1981 supplement updates the information from the earlier edition and adds 43 more new entries. (Ref. ML 390 E833 Suppl).
- Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. (Ref. ML 1000 G16)
- Excellent up-to-date information on materials that are otherwise hard to find in a single volume. Vol. 1. Africa; Vol. 2. South America, Central American and the Caribbean; Vol. 3. The United States and Canada; Vol. 4. Southeast Asia; Vol. 5. South Asia; Vol. 6. Middle East; Vol. 7. East Asia; Vol. 8. Europe; Vol. 9. Australia and the Pacific Isles; Vol. 10. General Perspectives & Reference Tools. Each volume includes a glossary, extensive bibliographies, and a compact disc of music.
- Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music. 1995. (Ref. ML 102 P66 G84)
- An excellent multi-volume set with entries for Rock & Roll, Jazz, Film, Television and Stage Musicals.
- Harvard Dictionary of Music. 2003. (Ref. ML 100 .A64 2003)
- An excellent quick reference guide to non-biographical information about music related terminology.
- International Encyclopedia of Women Composers. 1987. (Ref. ML 105 C7)
- Covers over 6,000 women composers from all historical periods. Each entry contains brief biographical notes and excellent list of compositions, bibliographies and publication information.
- New Grove Dictionary of American Music. 1986. (Ref. ML 101 U6 N48)
- Covers American music and musicians, with concise articles on lesser-known people, and lengthy biographies for well-known musicians.
- The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2002. (Ref. ML 102 J3 N48 2002)
- The expanded second edition of the first truly scholarly dictionary on jazz including "a comprehensive treatment of terminology and theory, articles on musical instruments, record labels, festivals, films, institutions and individuals who are not performers, and an extensive bibliography" as well as articles on individual performers, ensembles, and styles of jazz." (Duckles, p.49) Also available through Grove Music Online.
- New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd Edition. 2001. (Ref. ML 100 N48 2001)
- This is the standard comprehensive music encyclopedia in the English language. Entries are in the areas of music history, theory and practice, instruments and terms. Longer biographical entries contain list of works and bibliographies. All entries are signed and contained in a 29-volume set. This new edition includes an index volume.
- Grove Music Online
- Grove Music Online comprises the full text of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and Jogn Tyrrell (London, 2001), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, edited by Stanley Sadie (London, 1992), and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, second edition, edited by Barry Kernfeld (London, 2002). Articles that have been updated since their appearance in print are date-stamped in the upper right corner of the screen.
- New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. 1984. (Ref. ML 102 I5 N48)
- This 3-volume set includes "articles on Western and non-Western, historical, and modern instruments, their makers and performance practices, many derived, but largely rewritten from articles in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (Ref. ML 100 N48). Extensive coverage of folk and ethnic instruments by scholars expert in the regions in which the instruments are located. Extensive cross-references linking articles and terms to one another make up for the lack of an index by culture or region." (Duckles p.60)
- New Grove Dictionary of Opera. 1992. (Ref. ML 102 O6 N5)
- Coverage includes Western composers and their operas, and the singers and conductors, from 1600 Italy to the present. Also available through Grove Music Online.
- Oxford Companion to Music. 2002. (Ref. ML 100 .S37 2002)
- This is a new edition of the two earlier Oxford companions. It is "wide-ranging, to be complete in itself, and to be intended for a broad spectrum of readers, from professional who wants to access to facts, to the music student at school or university, to the keen amateur who needs a book..." Although Non-Western and Popular musics are included, it deals with its impact on Classical Western Music.
- Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary
- An impressive multi-media dictionary of musical terms with graphics and sound files created by Richard Cole and Ed Schwartz from the Department of Music at Virgina Polytechnic Institute and State University. Also included is an appendix divided into: Basic Building Blocks (cadences, scales, music notation and instrumentation); Musical Styles, Genre, Performance Practice (Blues progressions and ornamentation), and Music People and Historical Eras In Music (timeline and composers). Among the many sound files, the pronunciation files for foreign terms and names of composers are included with their briefs explanation and biographical notes.
- Women Composers: Music through the Ages. 1996. (Ref. M 2 W88)
- A chronological sequence of composers, including biographies with selected music scores.
Music Journals
To locate journals by title within our library catalog, select the Basic Search mode from the SERIALS/JOURNALS CATALOG option. Type the beginning of
the journal title (omit initial articles). To look for The Double Reed magazine, simply type the words: double reed in the second
communication box (Browse). For a partial list of journals by a given topic, go to Basic Search, and do a subject keyword search within the
SERIALS/JOURNALS catalog. Type your keyword(s) in the main communication box, and select the Subject Keyword(s). option from the drop down menu. For
example, if you type the keyword 'piano' you will retrieve four titles: Piano & Keyboard, Keys, Clavier and Piano Quarterly.
The Academic Index ASAP,
database contains some full-text articles from the following journals: Dance Magazine, Early Music, Journal
of Musicology, Music and Letters, 19th Century Music, Notes, Opera News, Perspectives of New Music, Popular Music and Society, and Rolling Stone.
| Current Music Periodicals (2nd Floor) |
|---|
| American Choral Review | ML 1 .A36 |
| American Music Teacher | ML 1 .A 5 |
| American Organist | ML 1 .M 23 |
| Flutist Quarterly | ML 27 .U 5 N3676 |
| Journal of Singing | ML 27 .U 5 N3676 |
| Notes (MLA) | ML 27 .U 5 M695 |
| Opera News | ML 1 .O 48 |
| Organ | ML 1 .O 74 |
| Rolling Stone | ML 1 .R 65 |
| Saxophone Journal | ML 929 .J68 |
| Voice of Chorus America | ML 1499 .V 65 |
Internet Resources
Audio Files
- Classical Music Archive
http://www.prs.net/index.html
- An impressive archive of links to Midi and MP3 files. The Classical Midi Archives contains over 11,201 selections by 863 composers. The newer addition of MP3 files includes 158 selections from 22 composers. There is also a link to the Classical Music On Air Radio.
- Classical Music Library
http://internal.uwf.edu.classical.com/
- "Classical Music Library is the world's largest multi-label database of Classical music recordings for listening and learning ni libraries. Coverage of repertoire is increasing as new labels are added (currently over 32 labels from the US and Europe), with a particular focus on content that meets the needs of educators and students. The library's growing collection of 50,000-plus tracks for listening and searching is supplemented by extensive reference materials and backed by a powerful suite of tools designed to support learning." Create an account and organize your own sound tracks files and folders for future use.
Directories
- AMS: American Musicological Society
http://www.ams-net.org
- This is a link to the AMS WWW Sites of Interest to Musicologists, a comprehensive list of links by broad categories such as Early Music, Sacred Music, Theory Computer and Electronic Music, Folk Music and Ethnomusicology , Music in Latin America, Music and Film, Women in Music, Music Education, Music Therapy, etc.
- Classical Composers' Archive
http://voyager.physics.unlv.edu/webpages2/websyt/archive.html
- A single archive of composers in modules: Nations, Today's Musical History, Classical Masters (including some audio links), Opera Masters, Pulitzer Winners, Calendar, Timelines, and Birthyears. The information contained in these pages seems highly protected, thus once you download the page, you loose any navigation control of your browser.
- Music Publishers' List
http://www.lights.com/publisher/
- From Peter Scott's Publishers' Catalogues Home Page. Excellent Canadian site which provides links to thousands of publishers worldwide by country, topic, or format. U.S. publishers are also located by state and city, or alphabetically. This is only the sheet music section containing links to over 360 music publishers and distributors.
History
- American Ballet Theater
http://www.abt.org/
- The encyclopedic site, besides containing the standard information on it's organization and schedules, it also includes biographical information and a photo gallery of ABT's roster of dancers and choreographers, an online dictionary of terms with video clips, and also all the repertory with notes and links to composers and choreographers.
- Hyperion Records
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/
- Go to the section 'Composer Index' for an excellent source for 'sleeve notes' of the music from the composers represented in this label.
- Rock + Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
http://www.rockhall.com/
- This is a multi-media site with exhibits, programs and timelines. The selective list of artists includes biographies, reviews and essential recordings. There is also a search engine, and lesson plans from elementary to high school levels.
Music Scores
- American Sheet Music:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/mussmhtml/mussmhome.html
- The music images come from the Library of Congress American Memory Project. Consists over 47,000 pieces of sheet music registered for copyright between 1870 and 1885. Included are popular songs, piano music, sacred and secular choral music, solo instrumental music, methods books and instructional materials, and music for band and orchestra. Search by keyword or browse by composer, title or subject.
- Eastman School of Music - Music Scores Project
https://urresearch.rochester.edu/handle/1802/291
- This is a digital collection of sheet music in the public domain by author and title. To browse, click on the link to the ESM-Sibley Music Library. Within the same database there are searchable Master Thesis and DMA Papers collections.
- Variations: Online Music Digital Project
http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/
- From Indiana University, includes selected full-scores of operas, lieder, chamber, piano, and the symphonic repertoire. It also contains audio files. Nota bene "Due to the early developmental status of this phase of VARIATIONS, we will not be able to guarantee continued availability of this resource or any of its components. November 29, 1999." For more information on the project visit http://dml.indiana.edu/.
Created by Alberto H.
Hernández,
Humanities Research Librarian
University of West Florida
Library
Last Updated: April 2007.
