Introduction
The following guide is intended to provide an overview of some of the resources available in the library and online for the study and research of modern art music. For further research assistance, please take advantage of the reference services available to you in the Geisel Library. Stop by the Reference Desk in person or online at Ask a Librarian.
Research Basics
The reference librarians have created a group of Web pages named Research Help, designed to help teach you the basics of library research and to introduce you to Geisel Library. On the Research Help pages, you will find a guide on Research Basics and a helpful guide about evaluating your Web sources, our guide on Evaluating Websites. Please take advantage of these resources.
Reference Sources for Background Information
Reference materials can provide basic background information on your topic and help you identify keywords for further searching. Many reference resources provide bibliographies at the ends of each entry or volume, which will point you to additional books and journal articles worth exploring. Check for the books in our library catalog, and use Journal Finder to see if the journals are available electronically or in print. The following reference books are good starting points.
Bibliographies
Music Reference and Research Materials: An Annotated Bibliography
Ref ML 113 .D83
Bibliography of Electronic Music
Ref ML128.E4 C76
Dictionaries
New Harvard Dictionary of Music
Ref ML100 .A64
Oxford Dictionary of Music
Ref ML100 .K35
Dictionary of Musical Quotations
Ref ML66 .C86
Dictionary of Contemporary Music
Ref ML100 .V55
General
Women and Music in America since 1900
Ref ML82 .W625
Twentieth Century Music
Ref ML197 .B85
The Thames and Hudson Encyclopedia of 20th-Century Music
Ref ML197 .G87
Music since 1900
Ref ML197 .S634
Biographical Sources
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
Ref ML100 .N48
New Grove Dictionary of American Music
Ref ML101.U6 N48
Contemporary Composers
Ref ML105 .C75
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of 20th Century Classical Musicians
Ref ML105 .S612
History and Background
Musical Instruments of the World
Ref ML 102. I5 D5
New Oxford History of Music Series
Ref ML 160 .N44
The Modern Age, 1890-1960 - vol. X
The Orchestra Origins and Transformations
Ref ML 1200 .O75
see pp. 583-600, "The Extended Orchestra."
Writing About Music
Ref ML3797 .W54
Discographies
Classical Music: the Listener's Companion
Ref ML 156.9 .C58
Penguin Companion to Classical Music
Ref ML 100 .G84
Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and DVDs
Ref ML 156.9 P46
Electronic Reference Sources
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online
Find background information, keywords, biographies, and bibliographies.
Oxford Reference Online: Performing Arts
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music
The Oxford Companion to Music
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera
Who's Who in Opera
Please remember to click "log out" when finished with this resource.
Find Books/Secondary Sources
Subject Headings Suggestions for searching the Catalog
Composers by name, last name first.
For example: Schoenberg, Arnold
Music - 20th century
Serialism (Music)
Twelve-tone system
Electronic music
Computer music
Searching the Catalog.
Because many music titles are similar (Symphony, Concerto, etc.), libraries use "uniform titles" to group different versions of the same work. For example, different title pages of the same piano concerto by Mozart might begin with different letters of the alphabet, depending upon the language of the country of publication, or particular wording used by the publisher.
- Concerto in A major for piano, K. 488
- Konzert A Dur, K. 488 fur Klavier
- Piano Concerto in A Major, K. 488
Indiana University has a thorough explanation of uniform titles on their website.
Keyword suggestions for searching the Catalog. Consider combining keywords using the connector "and".
- Name of composer
- Name of instrument
- Words in the title of the music
- Geographic area: Vienna, Paris, Germany, etc.
- Types of musical form: symphony, sonata, concerto, quartet, orchestral music, vocal music, ballet, opera, etc.
If you are unable to locate materials in the Geisel Library Catalog, search libraries worldwide using WorldCat.
Find Journal Articles
MasterFILE Premier
Similar to the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, "this multidisciplinary database provides full text for nearly 1,950 general reference publications with full text information dating as far back as 1975. Covering virtually every subject area of general interest, MasterFILE Premier also includes 316 full text reference books, 88,000 biographies, 83,500 primary source documents, and an image collection of 107,000 photos, maps and flags."
Academic Search Premier
Gain access to full-text as well as indexing and abstracting for a wide range of journal titles covering the arts and music, business, social sciences, humanities, general science, and education. Full-text titles include Computer Music Journal; Contemporary Music Review.
JSTOR
Search here for full-text articles from major journals in the humanities and social sciences, including American Music; International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music; Journal of the American Musicological Society; Latin American Music Review, and others. Coverage is generally from the beginning of publication to within 5 years of the current issue.
Arts & Humanities Citation Index
Provides indexing to the world's leading arts and humanities journals and selections from social science and science journals. Includes articles, bibliographies, editorials, letters, and reviews. (1980-current) Does not include full-text of the articles.
New York Times
"The New York Times (1851-2003) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue."
Find Recordings
Geisel Library has extensive recordings on compact disc that are available for listening in the library as well as for check-out. Most CDs are located at the Periodicals Desk of the lower level of the library. When searching for a particular piece of music, remember that uniform titles are used for recordings as well as printed music. To find a recording using the Geisel Library Online Catalog:
- Search for the recording by title, or author (composer-last name first).
- Press the "Limit/Sort Search" button.
- Pull down the menu at "Material Type", and select "Sound Record".
- Press the submit button at the bottom to complete the search.
Find Scores
Geisel Library has a variety of scores, including complete works of classical composers. They are located in the general collection of the library. When searching for a particular piece of music, remember that uniform titles are used for printed music as well as recordings. The easiest way to locate a score is to use the Geisel Library Online Catalog:
- Click on "Author" search, and type the composer's name (last name first).
- Press the "Limit/Sort Search" button.
- Pull down the menu at "Material Type", and select "Printed Music".
- Press the submit button at the bottom to complete the search.
Selected Websites
Music Research Guides: Meta-Websites
These are the most complete music metasites on the web, offering a huge range of music-related links to information. These pages contain links that will only work for the college that produced the website but also include many links that are open access.
Concordia College Music Research Guides
University of Indiana Music Research Guides
Composer Websites
Every composer listed has information on the web although some may not have their own website. Many living composers do have their own websites. In addition to those, there are organizations that promote the music of deceased composers and these also have websites. Youtube has videos of unusual performances as well. The links given below are representative of what may be found, but there is much more information on the web than these. If a name is not linked, it is because there is no single site that is devoted to that composer.
John Adams
Milton Babbitt (numerous interviews online)
Samuel Barber
Béla Bartók
Lucio Berio
Benjamin Britten
John Cage
Aaron Copland
Philip Glass
Philip Glass Website
GlassPages: Philip Glass on the Web
YouTube: Philip Glass: Glassworks
Paul Hindemith
Charles Ives
Gyorgy Ligeti
Olivier Messiaen
Boston University Messiaen Project
The Olivier Messiaen Page
Krzysztof Penderecki
Sergey Prokofiev
Maurice Ravel
Steve Reich
Erik Satie
The Satie Audio Archive
Jazclass: Erik Satie
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg Archives: Information Resources
Arnold Schoenberg Center
Aleksandr Scriabin
Scriabin Society of America
YouTube: Pogorelich Plays Scriabin
Dmitri Shostakovich
Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss Online
Igor Stravinsky
Edgard Varèse
Anton Webern
Miscellaenous Music Websites
Music Reviews and Audio Files:
Classical Net
Features reviews of over 2,000 CDs, and offers over 3,800 links to other classical music websites. Includes links to commercial sites (publishers, CD labels), composers, musicians, ensembles and orchestras, festivals, instruments and instrument makers, societies and organizations, etc.
Music Forms:
Genres and Types of Music - Links from Indiana University
Links to a variety of musical forms, including chamber, choral, and orchestral music.
Music on the web:
Classical Music Online
Websites Selected by Your Textbook
Wadsworth Music
At the top of the publisher's webpage, under Discipline Resources use the pull-down menu to select "Listen to "i-Audio" or "WWW Links".
Documenting Your Sources
Work cited in this class should use formats as described in the Chicago Manual of Style.
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