Library Guides: MUSIC: Research Guide: Get Started

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Amanda Walch

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Subjects: Library & Research Help

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Off Campus Access

Off-Campus Access Information

Get Started

In this Guide, you'll find:

Reference Sources to point you to background information
Music databases and selected journals to help you Find Articles
Information on the catalog and ebooks to help you Find Books
Where to Watch & Listen in streaming databases and in the library
Sources for Scores & Sheet Music

Key Resources

Quick links to best bets

Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window
The authoritative resource for music research with over 52,000 articles written by nearly 9,000 scholars charting the diverse history and cultures of music around the globe. Access to Grove Music Online, The Oxford Dictionary of Music, and The Oxford Companion to Music.
Gale OneFile: Fine Arts This link opens in a new window
10.4 million articles for students of drama, music, art history, and filmmaking. More than 250 journals covered in databases such as the Wilson Art Index and the Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM) index are available in full text.
Naxos Music Library This link opens in a new window
Naxos Music Library [NML] is the world´s largest online classical music library. Currently, it offers streaming access to more than 122,340 CDs with more than 1,800,700 tracks of both standard and rare repertoire. Over 800 new CDs are added to the library every month.

Find Background Information

Reference sources - great for getting started

Reference sources can be a great starting point for research. Reference sources typically provide definitions, give topic overviews, and explain theories. They can also point to additional readings and scholarship. Examples of reference sources include: dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, guidebooks, manuals, and textbooks.

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians

29 volumes; also available online through Oxford Music Online. REF 780.3 G89n 2001

Dictionary for the Modern Singer

Includes terms and figures that influenced modern singing styles. Topics include voice pedagogy, vocal health, styles, genres, performers, and diction. 782.003 H654d

The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music

Biographical information about composers, performers, music theorists, and instrument makers from the days of praise chants to the bop and pop of today. ebook

The Harvard Dictionary of Music

Includes entries on all the styles and forms in Western music; comprehensive articles on the music of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Near East; descriptions of instruments enriched by historical background; and articles that reflect today's beat. ebook

MUSIC: Research Guide