Research Guides: Music Research: Books and Online Reference

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Selected Research Manuals

Music Research by Laurie J. Sampsel
Call Number: ML113 .S28 2020
ISBN: 9780190644505
Publication Date: 2019-01-30
Clear, concise, and practical, Music Research: A Handbook, Third Edition, introduces students to the major print and online research tools available today. With a strong focus on the connection between research and writing, this comprehensive guide is ideal for use in both undergraduate and graduate music courses that require students to engage in library research or to write research papers.
Music Library and Research Skills by Jane Gottlieb
Call Number: ML3797 .G68 2017
ISBN: 9780190267940
Publication Date: 2016-10-17
Concise and engaging, this text covers a wide range of reference sources for research in all genres of music. Through this practical introduction to the key concepts of music research, students will develop a firm understanding of the tools used to gather data, including what types of sourcesexist, how they are arranged, and how they may best be used to do research.
Guide to Library Research in Music by Pauline Shaw Bayne
Call Number: ML3797 .B29 2008
ISBN: 9780810861480
Publication Date: 2008-09-18

Online Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

African American Music Reference This link opens in a new window
Includes biographies, chronologies, sheet music, images, lyrics, liner notes, discographies, and more. Offers comprehensive coverage of blues, jazz, spirituals, civil rights songs, slave songs, minstrelsy, rhythm and blues, gospel, and other forms of African American musical expression.

Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians
Covers all musical genres, with new entries written by a distinguished group of area specialists as well as the original articles by Nicolas Slonimsky.
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Popular Musicians Since 1990
An A-Z biographical reference that focuses on individual artists and groups in all popular styles active from 1990 to the present, including those in rock, rhythm and blues, rap, country, electronica, jazz, vocal and classical. Features include select discographies, bibliographies, a glossary of musical terms, and other information. Also features appendix essays on various topics including the music industry, rap, and grunge.

Music Online Garland Encyclopedia of World Music This link opens in a new window
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The first comprehensive online resource devoted to music research of all the world's peoples including 1,208 essays and images from 10 sources and hundreds of audio examples
IPA Source: IPA transcriptions and literal translations of songs and arias This link opens in a new window
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IPA Source contains International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions and literal translations of opera arias and art song texts. The goal of IPA Source is to promote the comprehension and accurate pronunciation of foreign language texts in art song and opera in order that the singer may imbue each syllable with the appropriate emotional content. Translations into English from multiple languages.
Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window
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Entries and essays from specialist dictionaries such as Grove Music Online, the Oxford Companion to Music, the Oxford Dictionary of Music, and The Encyclopedia of Popular Music.

Library Smart Search

Books: Using Smart Search

Use Smart Search above to locate books. Type your keywords into the search box and then, to the left of your search results, refine your Material Type to books.

Online Primary Sources in Music

Music DH: A Directory of Digital Scholarship in Music
Browse or search an open-source bibliography of specialized digital resources and born-digital scholarship in music. Here you may tour the world of digital humanities in music, loosely interpreted. The entries in this directory were compiled over a period of three years: 2018-2021.

Selected Subject Headings

This list is intended to be a starting point for recognizing patterns in related subject headings. Some individuals have birth and death dates to differentiate between similar names.

Types of Books about Music

Descriptive Catalog: bibliography of composers' work without musical incipits

Thematic Catalog: provides notation for the beginning or segments of each work, or movement; usually organized in chronological or classified order

Discographies: a list of recordings of a composer, artist, orchestra, or instrument combination

Bibliographies: a list of various types of sources on a particular topic, composer, genre, etc.