Music
Reference Sources
Kresge Library’s collection of music reference sources
covers a range of topics. Classical, madrigal, show tunes,
the blues, jazz and rock and roll, among other styles, are
represented in music encyclopedias, dictionaries, indexes
and other sources. A cursory subject search in the online Library Catalog will retrieve hundreds of
music reference books, circulating books, and journals in
print and electronic formats. Students can access numerous
music sources in a variety of formats, including CDs and LPs.
On the brink of a music career? Peruse the library’s
music career collection for guidance. Following is a sampling
of music reference sources available in Kresge Library.
Encyclopedias
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, v1-29
– Ref. ML 100 .N48 2000; also available in Oxford/Grove Music Online. This definitive source is more
than a dictionary. Includes lengthy, signed essays on composers,
musicians, recording artists and music styles. An appendix
and index simplify searching.
New Oxford Companion to Music, v1-2 – Ref.
ML 100 .N5 1984. The focus of this esteemed set is western
classical music. Includes thousands of entries on composers,
theorists, instruments, forms, styles and terms.
Random House Encyclopedic Dictionary of Classical Music
– Ref. ML 100.R29 1997. This brightly-written reference
is dotted with photos, illustrations and pithy quotes by composers
and musicians alike. Includes plot summaries of many popular
operas.
Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, v1-2 –
Ref. ML 102 .M88 G3 1994. This well-researched source includes
some 3,000 entries for performers, composers, writers and
musicals. Covers performances in the U.S., France, Austria,
Britain, Hungary, Australia and Germany during the 19th and
20th centuries.
Encyclopedia of Rock – Ref. ML 102 .R6 H37.
This comprehensive source includes brief biographies of notable
rock artists, record producers, musicians and songwriters
from the U.S. and Britain.
The Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music, v1-2 –
Ref. ML 102.B35R44 1991. This exhaustive set aims “to
document…all music ever published for concert and military
bands.” Includes brief biographies of composers and
a list of their works.
Encyclopedia of Popular Music, v. 1-10 - Ref. ML 102 .P 66 G84 2006
Dictionaries
The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments,
v1-3 – Ref. ML 102 .I5 N48 1984. This leading music dictionary
profiles more than 1,000 instrument makers and covers the
history of musical instruments. Signed entries include bibliographies
and photographs.
The Oxford Companion to Popular Music – Ref.
ML 102 .P66 G35 1991. This handy source includes short profiles
of musicians and brief entries on popular music’s key
elements.
The Oxford Dictionary of Music – Ref. ML 100 .K35
1994; also available in Oxford/Grove Music Online. This indispensable source boasts some 12,500 entries.
Covers individual works, performers, instruments, composers
and all music styles. Entries range from one line to several
pages.
The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers –
Ref. ML 105 .N67 1995. This comprehensive resource covers all
periods with an emphasis on 20th century composers. Includes
a valuable “chronology of achievement,” or timeline
of musical events.
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, v1-3 – Ref.
ML 102 .J3 N48 2002; also available in Oxford/Grove Music Online. This revised tome covers the first century
of jazz in the U.S., Japan, South Africa, the Caribbean and
other regions. Signed entries include bibliographies and web
sites.
The Oxford Dictionary of the Opera – Ref.
ML 102 .O6 W37 1992. This compendium offers an alphabetical
list of operas, singers, characters, arias, ensembles and
terms. Includes useful cross-references.
New Grove Dictionary of Opera - Ref. ML 102 .O6 N5 1992; also available in Oxford/Grove Music Online.
Biographical
Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians
– Ref. ML 105 .B16 1965, 1978, 1984, 1992. This legendary source offers
profiles of musicians in all fields. Most include the artist’s
works and a bibliography. Entries range from a few lines to
several pages.
Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African
Musicians – Ref. ML 105 .S67 1982. This comprehensive
source profiles more than 1,500 musicians of African descent.
Covers musicians born in the mid-1600s to 1945.
Blues Who’s Who: a Biographical Dictionary of Blues
Singers – Ref. ML 102 .B6 H3. This well-researched
source profiles 571 blues singers active from 1900-1977. Includes
references, black-and-white photos, quotes, billings and a
bibliography of works on the artist.
The Rock Who’s Who – Ref. ML 102 .R6 H5
1996. These brightly-written entries list the artist’s
recording activity, record label, release year and format.
Emphasizes mainstream artists and bands who influenced rock
and soul music. Indexed by the artist’s name and song
titles.
Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz – Ref. ML 102.J3F4
1999. This broad source profiles renowned and obscure jazz
artists and lists their recording activity. The text is cryptic,
but a helpful abbreviation section precedes profiles.
Contemporary Composers – Ref. ML 390 .M677
1992. This valuable source covers important composers worldwide
with an emphasis on 20th century composers. Entries include
a short biography, an article and a list of the composer’s
works.
Guides & Handbooks
Guide to the Pianist’s Repertoire –
Ref. ML 128 .P3 H5 2000. This hefty bibliography of piano music
includes the important works of some 1,800 composers worldwide.
Popular Song Index – Ref. ML 128 .S3 H4. Seeking
the words and music to folk songs, popular tunes, spirituals,
hymns, children’s songs, and so on? This source indexes
more than 300 songbooks published between 1940 and 1972.
Sing Us One of the Old Songs – Ref. ML 128 .P63 K55
1998. This exhaustive guide lists 1,250 music hall songs popularized
in Britain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Includes
many Broadway tunes that influenced British music.
Historical Sets, Collected Editions, and Monuments of
Music: a Guide to Their Contents, v1-2 – Ref. ML
113 .H52 1980. Researchers covet this authoritative guide to
principal music anthologies. Covers one-volume publications
to “monumental sets of music” by prolific composers.
Collected Editions, Historical Series & Sets &
Monuments of Music: a Bibliography – Ref. ML 113.H55
1997. Similarly, this indispensable text lists “important
editions of historically significant music.” Includes
cross-references for series titles, editors and librettists.
Word-By-Word Translations of Songs and Arias, v1-2
– Ref. ML 54.6 .W65; additional copy in Circulating Collection. Each volume in this invaluable set
offers translations of some 400 songs and arias (v.1 German
and French, v.2 Italian). Songs are listed alphabetically by
composer. Includes a song index.
Music Careers
Career Opportunities in the Music Industry –
ML 3795 .F497 2004
Exploring Music Careers: a Student Handbook –
DOCUMENTS HE 19.108:Ex7/10
Career Guide for Singers – ML 12 .C37
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide –
ML 3795.B33 2006
Great Jobs for Music Majors – ML 3795 .G74
1998. Also available online as electronic book. Search by
title in the library's online catalog, find the "electronic resources" record, then click on "Click here for access."
Finding Articles
RILM Abstracts of Music Literature and The Music
Index—two key sources for music researchers—cover
music topics exclusively.
RILM
Abstracts of Music Literature – The Repertoire
International de Litterature Musicale offers the world’s
largest bibliography of music literature. Provides broad international
coverage of all aspects of music. The library's holdings cover 1967 to 1995.
The Music Index - 1973-present available online and v.1-52 (1949-2000) available in print – Ref. ML 118 .M84.
This invaluable subject-author guide indexes music periodical
literature published from 1949 to 2000. Covers personalities,
music history, music styles, music reviews, book reviews,
first performances, obituaries and other topics. Includes
helpful cross-references.
The following databases also include articles on musicians,
composers, music history and a host of other music topics:
Wilson OmniFile
– Full-text from nearly 2,400 sources dating from
1994. Includes U.S. and international publications, academic
journals and trade magazines. Covers Music Teacher,
American Music Teacher, Journal of Research in
Music Education, Journal of Music Therapy, Music
Educators Journal and a handful of other music periodicals.
ArticleFirst
– Abstracts and some full-text from more than 16,000
sources dating from 1990. Covers the humanities, popular culture,
social science and other subjects.
Humanities
Abstracts – Abstracts and some full-text from
some 625 sources dating from 1984. (To locate articles published
prior to 1984, use the print source Humanities Index –
Ref. AI 3 .R49 and AI 3 .R492).
Arts
& Humanities Citation Index – Abstracts
and some full-text from more than 5,500 leading arts and humanities
journals dating from 1980.
ERIC
– Covers material in education and related fields. Includes
abstracts and some full-text from more than 2,000 sources.
Covers journal articles and non-journal material.
America:
History and Life – Covers the history and culture
of the U.S. and Canada. Includes entries
from about 1,700 journals.
Historical
Abstracts – Covers world history (excluding
U.S. and Canada) from 1450 to the present. Includes entries from some 1,700 journals.
Project
Muse – Indexes nearly 400 important humanities
journals.
Internet Sources
Indiana
University William and Gayle Cook Music Library –
http://www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/. This exhaustive
site covers all music styles.
Librarians’
Internet Index- Music – http://lii.org/pub/topic/music.
This well-researched site compiled by the Library of California
covers a host of general music topics.
Louisiana
State University Library Music Resources –
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/music/musiccontents.html. This
comprehensive site covers musicians, braille music, instruments
and all music styles.
Yahoo!
Entertainment: Music – http://dir.yahoo.com/entertainment/music/.
Yahoo delivers a potpourri of music information and entertainment.
Created on 12/12/06 by Jan Tigar-Kramer;
/ Last updated on
2/4/13 by
mj