Library Guides: MUSIC: Subject Guide: Get Started

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.

Dictionaries

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
Call Number: REF 780.3 G89n 2001
29 volumes
Dictionary for the Modern Singer
Call Number: 782.003 H654d
The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music
Call Number: ebook
Biographical information about composers, performers, music theorists, and instrument makers from the days of praise chants to the bop and pop of today.
The Harvard Dictionary of Music
Call Number: ebook
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, including popular music, jazz, and rock.
Musical Terms, Symbols and Theory: An Illustrated Dictionary
Call Number: ebook
An authoritative source for researchers, musicologists, professional musicians, teachers and students of music.
The New Penguin Dictionary of Music
Call Number: ebook
Succinct and comprehensive guide to the history, forms, and personalities of classical music.

Selected Reference Books

The Disney Song Encyclopedia
Call Number: REF 782.42164 H622d
Chamber Music: An Extensive Guide for Listeners
Call Number: REF 785 M964c
The go-to guide for the chamber music novice and enthusiast. Surveys the historical and musical impact of some 130 composers.
All Music Guide to Rock
Call Number: REF 781.66 AL51
Reviews and rates more than 14,000 great albums by over 2,200 artists and groups in more than 400 styles both mainstream and alternative. Also features educational essays and "music maps" that chart the evolution of rock's diverse subgenres at a glance.