ASRAL

(Art Song Reference & Library)

Research Guide

This list contains a FEW broad, encyclopedic music books, and some music websites.


(For other free downloadable sheet music sites: see Section 9.)


Sources used:


More resources:


Help with research questions:
Contact the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts:
1) Free (no-cost) help with quick reference questions, through:

2) Fee-based research help, through NYPL Express .
(http://www.nypl.org/ask-nypl/research-questions-reproductions).





Table of Contents

  1. 1. General Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
  2. 2. Dictionaries of Musical Terms
  3. 3. Dictionaries of Musical Themes ("Find-that-tune" dictionaries)
  4. 4. How-To Guides to Doing Music Research
  5. 5. Catalogs of Some Large Music Libraries
  6. 6. Discographies (Lists of audio recordings)
    1. 6.A. Discographies for specific musical instruments or types of ensembles
    2. 6.B. Discographies of early recordings
    3. 6.C. Discographies for specific record companies
    4. 6.D. Discographies for specific composers or performers
  7. 7. Directories and Yearbooks (where to find people)
  8. 8. Music Literature (writings about music)
    1. 8.A. General
      1. 8.A.i. Databases of Journal and Magazine Articles, and Databases of Dissertations
      2. 8.A.ii. Printed Bibliographies of Music Literature
    2. 8.B. Specific Topics
      1. 8.B.i. Ethnomusicology and World Music (See also Folk Music, Section 8Biiie)
      2. 8.B.ii. Musical Instruments and Instrument Makers
      3. 8.B.iii. Writings on Specific Genres of Music
        1. 8.B.iii.a. Art Song
        2. 8.B.iii.b. Chamber Music
        3. 8.B.iii.c. Choral Music
        4. 8.B.iii.d. Church, Sacred Music
        5. 8.B.iii.e. Folk Music (see also Ethnomusicology and World Music, Section 8Bi)
        6. 8.B.iii.f. Jazz and Blues
        7. 8.B.iii.g. Musical Theater
        8. 8.B.iii.h. Opera
        9. 8.B.iii.i. Popular Music (Rock, etc.)
      4. 8.B.iv. Music Education
      5. 8.B.v. Music Publishing (also see Section 9F, Lists of Publications of Individual Publishers)
      6. 8.B.vi. Performance Practice
      7. 8.B.vii. Biography
      8. 8.B.viii. Music Theory and Analysis
      9. 8.B.ix. Music History
  9. 9. Resources for Choosing and Finding Sheet Music
    1. Digital Sheet Music Collections on the Internet (free, public domain, downloadable)
    2. General Repertoire Reference Works (Lists of standard repertoire works with short descriptions for each; these works each cover MANY instruments; helpful for CHOOSING works)
    3. Instrument-Specific Repertoire Reference works (Lists of standard repertoire works with short descriptions for each; these works each cover a SINGLE instrument; helpful for CHOOSING works)
    4. Thematic Catalogs (have incipits) and Works Lists (Lists of all compositions by individual composers)
    5. Complete Works Editions (All of the sheet music composed by an individual composer)
    6. Lists of Publications of Individual Publishers (also see Section 8Bv, Music Publishing)
    7. Words to help locate early works in MODERN EDITIONS
    8. Works to help locate early works in MANUSCRIPT or ORIGINAL EDITIONS (also called "primary sources")
    9. Lists of Historical Sets and Musical Monuments (Collections of selected scores, based on a theme: time-period, place, or genre)
  10. 10. List of Music Journals
  11. 11. List of Music Professional Associations



1. General Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Sadie, Stanley and John Tyrrell. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2d ed. 29 vols. New York: Grove, 2001.
(This is really an encylopedia; it is a great starting place for all types of music research, as each article has a bibliography.)

Grove Music Online
(an electronic version of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, listed above. Not free, but many large public and university libraries have subscriptions.)

Hitchcock, H. Wiley and Stanley Sadie. New Grove Dictionary of American Music. 4 vols. London: Macmillan, 1986.

Latham, Alison. Oxford Companion to Music. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2002.
(A one-volume encyclopedia of music.)

Marsh, James Harley. Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, 3rd ed., Toronto: Historica Foundation of Canada, 2003. (Also online at http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=HomePage&Params=A1)

2. Dictionaries of Musical Terms

Essentials of Music
(http://www.ariama.com/; a website run by publisher W. W. Norton. It has "a glossary with 200 definitions with numerous musical examples in RealAudio." [Digital Librarian])

Apel, Willi. Harvard Dictionary of Music. 2d ed., rev. and enl. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1972.

3. Dictionaries of Musical Themes ("Find-that-tune" dictionaries)

Barlow, Harold and S. Morgenstern. A Dictionary of Musical Themes. New York: Crown, 1948.
(Contains themes from instrumental works, "indexed by scale degrees in letter notation, with all themes transposed to C major or minor." [Duckles])

Barlow, Harold and S. Morgenstern. A Dictionary of Opera and Song Themes. New York: Crown, 1966.
(Contains themes from vocal works: opera, cantatas, oratorios, art songs, "indexed by scale degrees in letter notation, with all themes transposed to C major or minor." [Duckles])

Burrows, Raymond M. and Bessie C. Redmond. Concerto Themes. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1951.

Burrows, Raymond M. and Bessie C. Redmond. Symphony Themes. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1942.

4. How-To Guides to Doing Music Research

Bellman, Jonathan D. A short guide to writing about music. 2d ed. New York: Longman, 2007
(For undergraduates.)

Boyle, J. David, et al. A Handbook for Preparing Graduate Papers in Music. 2d ed. Houston, TX: Halcyon, 2004.
(For graduate students.)

Druesedow, John E., Jr. Library Research Guide to Music: Illustrated Search Strategy and Sources. Library Research Guides, no.6. Ann Arbor, MI: Pierian, 1982.
(Teaches how to write a research paper on a music topic; resources mentioned are out-of-date, but the rest is still a classic.)

Pruett, James and Thomas Slavens. Research Guide to Musicology. Sources of Information in the Humanities, no.4 Chicago, IL: American Library Assoc., 1985.
(Contains "an overview of types of musicological research,...a history of the discipline,...a historiographical survey of musicological research arranged by style period." [Sampsel])

5. Catalogs of Some Large Music Libraries

Note: Just about every library has its catalog on-line nowadays. Especially look for the libraries of large universities. Here are just a few exceptionally exceptional ones.

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts , Music Division
(http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/)
(Can be searched through NYPL's main catalog.)

Library of Congress
(http://catalog.loc.gov/)
(The national library of the United States. Also see the LoC's Performing Arts Encyclopedia - "a guide to the performing arts collections and exhibitions at the Library of Congress." [Digital Librarian])

British Library
http://catalogue.bl.uk
(http://catalogue.bl.uk)
(The national library of the United Kingdom.)

WorldCat
(http://www.oclc.org/worldcat)
(A catalog containing ALL the records from thousands of libraries from around the world. Available free on their website. You search it just like a regular library catalog - when you find something, the record tells you which libraries have the work.)

RISM, Series C:
Directory of Music Research Libraries. Kassel, German: Barenreiter, 1970-2001.
(RISM is a multi-volume bibliography of MOSTLY sheet music and music literature. Series C is the exception: it lists music research libraries throughout the world.)
V.1 - Canada and the United States
V.2 - Sixteen European Countries: Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, and Spain.
V.3, pt.1 - Sixteen European Countries: France, Finland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Netherlands, Potugal, and Sweden.
V.3, pt.2 - Italy
V.4 - Australia, Israel, Japan, and New Zealand.
V.5 - Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Yugoslavia.

6. Discographies (Lists of audio recordings)

6.A. Discographies for specific musical instruments or types of ensembles

The I-Tunes Store and Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/)
(These are really databases of recordings, searchable by composer, performer, genre, title, and album title.)

Creighton, James. Discopaedia of the Violin: 1889-1971. 2nd ed. 4 vols. Burlington, Ontario: Records Past, 1994.

Nelson, Susan. The Flute on Record: The 78 RPM Era: a Discography. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2006.

Stoffel, Lawence F. A Discography of Concert Band Recordings on Compact Disc: Promoting the Artistry of Band Composition. Lewiston, NY: E. Mellen Press, 2006.

6.B. Discographies of early recordings

The I-Tunes Store and Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/)
(These are really databases of recordings, searchable by composer, performer, genre, title, and album title. They have an amazing number of early recordings, too.)

Clough, Francis F. and G. J. Cuming. The World's Encyclopedia of Recorded Music. London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1952-1957.
(Often called "WERM"; mainly includes 78s, also has 45s and LPs. Arranged by composer.

Reid, Robert H. The Gramophone Shop Encyclopedia of Recorded Music. 3rd ed. New York: Crown, 1948.
(Includes over 75,000 78s that were recorded between 1925 and 1948; from American and European record labels. Arranged by composer.)

6.C. Discographies for specific record companies

Brooks, Tim and Brian Rust. The Columbia Master Book Discography. 4 vols. Discographies, no.78. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1999.

6.D. Discographies for specific composers or performers

The I-Tunes and Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/)
(These are really databases of recordings, searchable by composer, performer, genre, title, and album title.)

Many biographies of performers contain discographies. You can usually find a good biography in New Grove (see Section 1 of this list, above).

7. Directories and Yearbooks (where to find people)

Note:

To find people: Google, Whitepages.com, etc. have pretty much superseded printed directories. If this doesn't work, try the websites of musicians's organizations for directories of members.

To get the history of an organization: try the organization's website, on the "About Us" or "History" page.

8. Music Literature (writings about music)

8.A. General

8.A.i. Databases of Journal and Magazine Articles, and Databases of Dissertations

Note: These are mostly not free - but many large public and university libraries have subscriptions. Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology
(Contains "more than 10,800 records, including the contents of the earlier print editions" [Sampsel]. Database available at large public and university libraries.)

International Index to Music Periodicals (IIMP)
and
International Index to Music Periodicals Full Text (IIMPFT)
(From ProQuest. Most articles are from 1996 or later. Full text version is smaller. Database available at large public and university libraries.)

Music Index Online
(From Harmonie Park Press; contains full texts of articles beginning with the mid-1970s. For articles written before then, see the printed version: Music Index: A Subject-Author Guide to Music Periodical Literature. Sterling Heights, MI: Harmonie Park Press, 1949- . Database available at large public and university libraries.)

RILM Abstracts of Music Literature
(Repertoire International de Litterature Musicale/International Repertory of Music Literature. Also contains records of books, conference papers, etc.; includes records of items beginning with 1967. Database available at large public and university libraries.)

RIPM
(Repertoire International de la Press Musicale. Covers articles written from 1800 to 1950. Database available at large public and university libraries.)

8.A.ii. Printed Bibliographies of Music Literature

Note: For a book on any music topic, you can always check New Grove (Section 1, above). Almost every article has a bibliography.

RISM, Section B/VI
(RISM is a multi-volume bibliography; some volumes list writings on music, some volumes list sheet music. This section contains a "bibliography of writings about music. Arranged alphabetically by author." [Sampsel])

8.B. Specific Topics

8.B.i. Ethnomusicology and World Music

(also see Folk Music, Section 8Biiie)

eHRAF Collection of Ethnography
http://www.yale.edu/hraf/index.html
(An online database of over 350,000 books and articles. "HRAF is a not-for-profit membership consortium of universities, colleges, and research institutions....Availability of HRAF collections is limited to members of the HRAF consortium." [HRAF website]
Member Services:
755 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511-1225
Tel: 203-764-9401 or 1-800-520-4723
FAX: 203-764-9404
E-Mail: hraf@yale.edu)

Nettl, Bruno, et al. The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. 10 vols. New York: Garland, 1990-2002.
("Rather than an A-Z listing, each volume is arranged more like a textbook...use of the indexes is essential" [Sampsel]. Also available online by subscription from Alexander Street Press.)

Nettl, Bruno and Gerard Behague. Folk and Traditional Music of the Western Continents. 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990.

Nidel, Richard. World Music: The Basics. New York and London: Routledge, 2005.
(A popular level one-volume region-by-region survey of world music genres; has lists of recommended CD recordings for each.)

Post, Jennifer C. Ethnomusicology: A Guide to Research. Routledge Music Bibliographies. New York: Routledge, 2004.
(A bibliography of useful research resources, including books, recordings, and films/videos. Note: title on cover of book is different: Ethnomusicology: A Research and Information Guide.)

8.B.ii. Musical Instruments and Instrument Makers

Berner, A., J. H. van der Meer, and G. Thibault. Preservation and Restoration of Musical Instruments: Provisional Recommendations. The International Council of Museums, 1967.

Encyclopedia of Keyboard Instruments. 3 vols. New York: Routledge, 2003-2006.
(Many articles contain bibliographies. V.1-piano, V.2-harpsichord and clavichord, V.3-Organ.)

Sadie Stanley. The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. 3 vols. London: Macmillan, 1984.
(Includes Western and non-Western instruments, performance practice, and instrument makers.)

8.B.iii. Writings on Specific Genres of Music

8.B.iii.a. Art Song

McTyre, Ruthann Boles. Library Resources for Singers, Coaches, and Accompanists: An Annotated Bibliography, 1970-1997. Music Reference Collection, no.71. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998.
(A bibliography of books on vocal music.)

Seaton, Douglass. The Art Song: A Research and Information Guide. Garland Reference Library of the Humanities, no.673. New York: Garland, 1987.
(A bibliography of books on art song. Covers works from the year 1550 onward.)

8.B.iii.b. Chamber Music

Baron, John H. Chamber Music: A Research and Information Guide. 2nd rev. ed. Routledge Music Bibliographies. New York: Routledge, 2002.
(A bibliography of books on chamber music.)

Parker, Mara E. String Quartets: A Research and Information Guide. Routledge Music Bibliographies. New York: Routledge, 2005.
(A bibliograpy of books on the string quartet.)

8.B.iii.c. Choral Music

Sharp, Avery T. and James M. Floyd. Choral Music: A Research and Information Guide. Routledge Music Bibliographies. New York: Routledge, 2002.
(A bibliography of books about choral music.)

8.B.iii.d. Church, Sacred Music

Note: Also see New Grove (see Section 1 of this list, above) for information on specific topics.)

Buszin, Walter, et al. A Bibliography on Music and the Church. New York: National Council of Churches of Christ, 1958.

Hughes, Anselm. Liturgical Terms for Music Students. St. Claire Shores, MI: The Scholarly Press, 1971.
(A reprint of the classic 1940 edition.)

Julian, John. A Dictionary of Hymnology: Setting Forth the Origin and History of Christian Hymns of All Ages and Nations. New York: Dover, 1957.
(A reprint of the 1907 edition.)

8.B.iii.e. Folk Music

(see also Ethnomusicology and World Music, Section 8Bi)

Folkways Database Search
(http://www.folkways.si.edu/?leadsource=BrandedSFW&gclid=CKjF1ser_asCFYaC5QodzEFtog)
(Online database kept by the Smithsonian Institution; holds records of 35,000 audio recordings. You can search by performer, title, album title, year, record label, instrument, recording number, or text.)

Miller, Terry E. Folk Music in America: A Reference Guide. Garland Reference Library of the Humanities, no.496. New York: Garland, 1986.
(A bibliographyof books on American folk music.)

Nettl, Bruno and Gerard Behague. Folk and Traditional Music of the Western Continents. Prentice Hall History of Music Series. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990.

8.B.iii.f. Jazz and Blues

Big Bands Database
(http://www.folklib.net/bbdb/big_bands_database.shtml)
(Jazz and swing)

Chicago Jazz Archive
(http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/cja/)
(Run by the University of Chicago)

Kernfeld, Barry. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2nd ed. 3 vols. New York: Grove, 2002.
(Very comprehensive, pretty current. Many articles include bibliographies, discographies, and filmographies.)

Meadows, Eddie S. Jazz Scholarship and Pedagogy: A Research and Information Guide. 3rd ed. Routledge Music Bibliographies. New York: Routledge, 2006.

8.B.iii.g. Musical Theater

Gilbert and Sullivan Archive
(http://diamond.boisestate.edu/gas/)
(Has libretti, audio recordings, festival schedules, plot summaries, images, Song scores, newsletter articles, links.)

Internet Broadway Database
(http://www.ibdb.com/index.php)

Wikipedia
(http://www.wikipedia.org/)
(online encyclopedia has articles on musical theater, including many specific shows. Especially strong on Gilbert and Sullivan shows.)

Everett, William A. The Musical: A Research and Information Guide. Routledge Music Bibliographies. New York: Routledge, 2004.
(A bibliography of books about musical theater.)

McTyre, Ruthann Boles. Library Resources for Singers, Coaches, and Accompanists: An Annotated Bibliography, 1970-1997. Music Reference Collection, no.71. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998.

8.B.iii.h. Opera:

Operaglass
(http://opera.stanford.edu/main.html)
(Website contains "performance histories, plot synopses, libretti, discographies, pictures, many links.)
Wikipedia
(http://www.wikipedia.org/)
(Online encyclopedia has articles on many composers and specific operas. Nice feature: the articles on specific operas usually contain a list of roles, and their voice types.)

Grout, Donald Jay. A Short History of Opera. 2nd ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 1965.
(There are later editions of this work, but only this one has a 250-page bibliography at the back.)

Marco, Guy A. Opera: A Research and Information Guide. 2nd ed. New York: Garland, 2001.
(A bibliography of books about opera.)

McTyre, Ruthann Boles. Library Resources for Singers, Coaches, and Accompanists: An Annotated Bibliography, 1970-1997. Music Reference Collection, no.71. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998.

Sadie, Stanley. The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. 4 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1992.
(Many articles contain bibliographies.)

Warrack, John and Ewan West. The Oxford Dictionary of Opera. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1992.

8.B.iii.i. Popular Music (Rock, etc.)

There are many websites that offer reviews of recordings. Here are a few:

ASCAP's ACE Database
(http://www.ascap.com/ace/)
(Free online database of song information; maintained by music licensing company ASCAP. You can search by title, composer, performer, and publisher.)

BMI Repertoire database
(http://repertoire.bmi.com/userguide.asp)
(Free online database of song information; maintained by music licensing company BMI. You can search by title, composer, performer, and publisher.)

Musicweb Encyclopedia of Popular Music
(http://www.musicweb-international.com/encycopedia)
http://www.musicweb-international.com/encycopedia
(Free website created and maintained by MusicWeb International in London, who published print versions of this by Donald Clarke in 1989 and 1998. The print version had the title: The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music.)

NPR Music
(http://www.npr.org/music/)
(Website has reviews, interviews, performances for over 2,000 performers.)

Online Guitar Archive
(http://www.olga.net/)
(Contains guitar chords, tablatures, lessons, chord charts, software, and information on building guitars.)

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
(http://rockhall.com/)
(Website has biographies, discographies, bibliographies, timeline.)

Rolling Stone Network
(http://www.rollingstone.com/)
(Website has biographies, discographies, videos, and links.)

Hoffman, Frank B., et al. The Literature of Rock. 4 vols. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1981-1995.
(A bibliography of books about rock music. Each volume has an index.)

Shepherd, John, et al. The Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World. London: Continuum, 2003-.
(Has several volumes. Covers recorded popular music worldwide, 1900-2000.)

8.B.iv. Music Education

ERIC
(A database of journal articles in education, including music education. Not free - but many large public and university libraries have a subscription.)

Music Educators National Conference Website
(http://www.menc.org/about/)
(Provides a site index.)

Music Teachers National Association
(http://www.mtna.org/)

National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS)
(http://www.nats.org/)

Online Guitar Archive
(http://www.olga.net/)
(Contains guitar chords, tablatures, lessons, chord charts, software, and information on building guitars.)

Piano Education Page
(http://pianoeducation.org/)
(Large website for teachers, students, and parents.)

Colwell, Richard. Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and learning: A Project of the Music Educators National Conference. New York: Schirmer, 1992.
(Contains essays on various topics, and also bibliographies on specific subjects.)

Colwell, Richard. The new Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and learning: A Project of the Music Educators National Conference. New York: Oxford, 2002.
(A sequel to the above listing; contains more essays and bibliographies.)

Ely, Mark and Rashkin, Amy. Dictionary of Music Education: A Handbook of Terminology. Chicago, IL: GIA, 2005.

Hodges, Mabelle L. A Catalogue of Representative Teaching Materials for Piano Since 1900. Chicago, IL: De Paul University Press, 1970.

8.B.v. Music Publishing

(also see Section 9F, Lists of Publications of Individual Publishers)

Davidsson, Ake. Bibliographie zur Geschichte des Musikdrucks. Studia Musicologica Upsaliensia, Nova Ser. 1) Uppsala: Almquist and Wiksell, 1965.
(A bibliograpy of books on the history of music publishing, "with a brief introductory survey of the literature" [Duckles].)

Fisher, William A. 150 Years of Music Publishing in the U.S.: An Historical Sketch with Special Reference to the Pioneer Publisher Oliver Ditson Co., 1783-1933. Boston, MA: Oliver Ditson, 1934.

8.B.vi. Performance Practice

Emmons, Shirlee and Stanley Sonntag. The Art of the Song Recital. New York: Schirmer,1979.
(Has lots of practical advice.)

Emmons, Shirlee and Wilbur Watkins Lewis, Jr. Researching the Song: A Lexicon Oxford University Press, USA, 2008.
(A reference guide to art song texts. It gives "information on most of the mythological, historical, geographical, and literary references contained in western art song....songs from the German, French, Italian, Russian, Spanish, South American, Greek, Finnish, Scandinavian, and both American and British English repertoires. Sources, narratives, and explanations of major song cycles are also given. Organized alphabetically, the lexicon includes brief biographies of poets, lists of composers who set each poet's work, bibliographic materials, and brief synopses of major works from which song texts were taken, including the plots of all Restoration theater works containing Purcell's vocal music." [Amazon.com Product Description])

Jackson, Roland. Performance Practice: A Dictionary-Guide for Musicians. New York: Routledge, 2005.
(A Dictionary of performance practice topics.)

Jackson, Roland. Performance Practice, Medieval to Contemporary: A Bibliographic Guide. Music Research and Information Guides, vol.9. New York: Garland, 1988.
(A bibliography of books about performance practice.)

Kimball, Carol. Song: A Guide To Art Song Style And Literature. Rev ed. Hal Leonard Corp., 2006.
(A survey of the standard art song literature from the point of view of style. Contains sections describing various schools of composition. Presents a systematic method for determining a song's style: the style sheet. "The song's style [sheet] - this detailed list of how the composer treats the melody, harmony, rhythm, and text - gives us a structure on which we can build a detailed interpretation for performance....We can also learn to recognize composers by their style...Style can also orient yo to a country, historical eras, aesthetic trends, and national characteristics." [Kimball, p.2] Also contains biographies and discussions of the work of of 150 composers.)

Sadie Stanley. The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. 3 vols. London: Macmillan, 1984.
(Includes Western and non-Western instruments, performance practice, and instrument makers.)

8.B.vii. Biography

Musicsack
http://www.musicsack.com
(A free online database of over 15 million people in music. It is like a bibliography: it doesn't retrieve information about people, it retrieves a list of books where you can find information about a given person.)

Floyd, Samuel A., Jr. International Dictionary of Black Composers. 2 vols. Chicago, IL: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1999.

New Grove (see Section 1 of this list) has many biographies.

Sadie, Julie Anne and Rhian Samuel. The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers. New York: W. W. Norton, 1995.

Slonimsky, Nicolas and Laura Kuhn. Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. 9th ed. 6 vols. New York: Schirmer Books, 2001.

8.B.viii. Music Theory and Analysis

Damschroder, David and David R. Williams. Music Theory from Zarlino to Schenker: A Bibliography and Guide. Harmonologia, no.4. Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon, 1990.
(A dictionary of musical theorists.)

Diamond, Harold J. Music Analyses: An Annotated Guide to the Literature. New York: Schirmer, 1991.
(A bibliography of about 4,600 books, articles, dissertations, and theses in English; annotated.)

RISM
(RISM is a multi-volume bibliography; some volumes list writings on music, some volumes list sheet music and where it can be found.)
See Sections:

  • B/III - 6 vols., covers early writings, Carolingian Era to 1500
  • B/IX - early writings, Hebrew
  • B/X - early writings, Arabic
  • B/XI - early writings, Ancient
  • B/XII - early writings, Persian
Steib, Murray. Reader's Guide to Music History, Theory, Criticism. Chicago, IL: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1999.
(A bibliography of about 500 recommended books.)

8.B.ix. Music History

Early Music FAQ
(Medieval and Renaissance music information)

Essentials of Music
(Website run by W. W. Norton; contains history, biographies, glossary.)

Also see New Grove (see Section 1 of this list); all articles have bibliographies.

Behague, Gerard. Music in Latin America: An Introduction. Prentice Hall History of Music Series. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1979.

Burkholder, J. Peter, Donald J. Grout, and Claude V. Palisca. A History of Western Music. 7th ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2006.
(The most-used textbook on music history. Has a 60 page bibliography called "Further Reading." "Accompanied by the Norton Anthology of Western Music [5th ed.] and The Norton Recorded Anthology of Western Music [5th ed.]" [Sampsel].)

Malm, William P. Music Cultures of the Pacific, the Near East, and Asia. 3rd ed. Prentice Hall History of Music Series. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.

Steib, Murray. Reader's Guide to Music History, Theory, Criticism. Chicago, IL: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1999.
(A bibliography of about 500 recommended books.)

Strunk, Oliver and Leo Treitler. Source Readings in Music History. Rev ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 1998.
(contains "translations of important writings as well as commentary explaining their contents and significance" [Sampsel]. Also published in a 7 volume edition.)

Taruskin, Richard. The Oxford History of Western Music. 6 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
(Vol. 6 has a bibliography.)

Various authors. Norton Introduction to Music History Series. 6 vols. New York: W. w. Norton, 1970-2005.
(Each volume is sold separately and has a companion anthology of musical examples.)

  • Hoppin, Richard H. Medieval Music. c1978. (Anthology of Medieval Music)
  • Atlas, Allan W. Renaissance Music: Music in Western Europe, 1400-1600. c1998. (Anthology of Renaissance Music)
  • Hill, John W. Baroque Music: Music in Western Europe, 1580-1750. c2005. (Anthology of Baroque Music)
  • Downs, Philip G. Classical Music: The Era of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. c1992. (Anthology of Classical Music)
  • Plantinga, Leon. Romantic Music: A History of Musical Style in Nineteenth-Century Europe. c1984. (Anthology of Romantic Music)
  • Morgan, Robert P. Twentieth-Century Music: A History of Musical Style in Modern Europe and America. c1991. (Anthology of Twentieth-Century Music)
Wade, Bonnie C. Music in India: The Classical TRaditions. Prentice Hall History of Music Series. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1979.

History of Art Song

Song of America Project
www.songofamerica.net
(Website created by singer and researcher Thomas Hampson in collaboration with the Library of Congress. Contains:
  • biographies of American song composers and poets,
  • a list of American art songs, listed by title, with links to short descriptive notes and the text of the song, when legal,
  • links to online stores from which you can purchase the sheet music (when available) or links to Worldcat records for the sheet music (which you can order by Inter Library Loan from your local library),
  • a streaming audio of American art songs,
  • a timeline of American history, and, next to it on the page, a timeline of American art song history,
  • a list of books on American music, with links to where they an be bought)
Stevens, Denis. A History of Song. London: Hutchinson and Co., 1960.
(Goes country by country.)
Upton, William Treat. Art Song in America. Boston, MA: Oliver Ditson Co., 1930.

9. Resources for Choosing and Finding Sheet Music

9.A. Digital Sheet Music Collections on the Internet

(free, public domain, downloadable)

Choral Public Domain Library
(A collection of over 11,000 pieces of choral music.)
Chopin Early Editions , University of Chicago Library
(Piano sheet music by Chopin.)

International Music Scores Library Project, Petrillo Music Library
(has a lot of opera scores, some published, some in manuscript form)
Library of Congress (LOC)
(Some LOC collections can be searched either through their own separate web pages, or through the Sheet Music Consortium's site. I don't know if every LOC collection listed below is also included in SMC.)

Mutopia Project

Sheet Music Consortium
http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/sheetmusic/
(A "federated" library - it contains records from several member libraries. All its member libraries are searched at once from the same search engine. The records also often provide links for downloading the sheet music. Member libraries include the Library of Congress, Johns Hopkins University, Duke University, Indiana University, Maine Music Box, others.)

sheetmusicpublicdomain.com
(Has a good FAQ; visitors must register in order to download music.)

University of Rochester, Eastman School of Music, Sibley Music Library
https://urresearch.rochester.edu/viewInstitutionalCollectionID=25

Werner Icking Music Archive

Art Song Reference and Library
(under construction; will be a collection of free, downloadable, public domain art song sheet music.)

9.B. General Repertoire Reference Works

(Lists of standard repertoire works with short descriptions for each; these works each cover MANY instruments; helpful for CHOOSING works)

ASCAP's ACE Database
(Free online database maintained by music licensing company ASCAP. You can search by title, composer, performer, and publisher.)

BMI Repertoire database
(Free online database maintained by music licensing company BMI. You can search by title, composer, performer, and publisher.)

Emusicquest: Music-in-Print.
(an online database published by Emusicquest. Donald Reese, editor. Not free, but many large public and university libraries have a subscription. Contains information on currently available (in-print) sheet music. Searchable by instrument(s), period, work duration, composer nationality, other fields.)

Slonimsky, Nicolas. Music of Latin America. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1945.
(Dated but thorough explanation of national characteristics, composers, and their best-known works. Goes country by country.)

9.C. Instrument-Specific Repertoire Reference works

(Lists of standard repertoire works with short descriptions for each; these works each cover a SINGLE instrument; helpful for CHOOSING works)

Chamber Music

Chapman, James, et al. "Music for wind instruments in historical editions, collected works, and numbered series: A bibliography." Brass Quarterly, v.1, nos. 3, 4 (Spring-Winter, 1968).

Cohn, Arthur. The Literature of Chamber Music. 4 vols. Chapel Hill, NC: Hinshaw Music, 1997.

Farish, Margaret K. String Music In Print. New York: R. R. Bowker, 1965.
(Contains solo music [accompanied and unaccompanied] and various chamber music combinations of instruments, including voice.)

Hinson, Maurice. The Piano in Chamber Ensemble. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2006.

Choral

Bunsworth, Charles C. Choral Music for Women's Voices. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1968.
(Annotated.)

Green, Jonathan D. A Conductor's Guide to Choral-Orchestral Works. 4 vols. Metuchen and Lanham, NJ: Scarecrow, 1994-.

Knapp, J. Merrill. Selected List of Music for Men's Voices. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1952.

Clarinet

Foster, Levin W. A Directory of Clarinet Music. Pittsfield, MA: A. E. Johnson and Son, 1940.

Flute

Pellerite, James J. A Handbook of Literature for the Flute: A List of Graded Method Materials, Solos, and Ensemble Music for the Flute. Bloomington, IN: Zalo Publications, 1963.

Vester, Frans. Flute Repertoire Catalogue. London: Musica Rara, 1967.

French Horn

Gregory, Robin. The Horn: A Comprehensive Guide to the Modern Instrument and its Music. New York: Praeger, 1969.
(Appendix C lists horn repertoire.)

Orchestra, Concert Band

Band Music Guide. 5th ed. Evanston, IL: Instrumentalist Co., 1970.

Daniels, David. Orchestral Music: A Handbook. 4th ed. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2005.

Emery, Frederic B. The Violin Concerto Through A Period of Nearly 300 Years. Chicago, IL: The Violin Literature Publishing Co., 1928.

Green, Jonathan D. A Conductor's Guide to Choral-Orchestral Works. 4 vols. Metuchen and Lanham, NJ: Scarecrow, 1994-.

Organ

Edson, Jean Slater. Organ Preludes: An Index to Composition on Hymn Tunes, Chorales, Plainsong Melodies, Gregorian Tunes, and Carols. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1970.

Sartorius, Richard H. Bibliography of Concertos for Organ and orchestra. Evanston, IL: Instrumentalist Co., 1961.

Piano

Hinson, Maurice. Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire. 3rd ed. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2000.
(Has useful indexes on special topics: black composers, women composers, composers' nationalities, others.)

Hodges, Mabelle L. A Catalogue of Representative Teaching Materials for Piano Since 1900. Chicago, IL: De Paul University Press, 1970.

Moldenhauer, Hans. Duo-Pianism: A Dissertation. Chicago, IL: Chicago Musical College Press, 1951.
(Repertoire for piano duo.)
Rowley, Alec. Four Hands - One Piano: A List of Works for Duet Players. London, New York: Oxford University Press, 1940.
(Lists works written from 1750 to 1940.)

String Instruments

Farish, Margaret K. String Music In Print. New York: R. R. Bowker, 1965.
(Contains solo music [accompanied and unaccompanied] and various chamber music combinations of instruments, including voice.)

Violin

Emery, Frederic B. The Violin Concerto Through A Period of Nearly 300 Years. Chicago, IL: The Violin Literature Publishing Co., 1928.

Voice

Aria Database
(You can search for arias by composer, opera, language, and voice type.)

Lied, Art Song, and Choral Texts Page
(You can use this site to do full text searching for different song subjects. For example, you can search for "cat" or "rose" and get songs that deal with these subjects.)

Carman, Judith E., et al. Art Song in the United States, 1759-1999: An Annotated Bibliography. 3rd ed. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2001.
(American art songs.)
Coffin, Berton. Singer's Repertoire. 2nd ed. 5 vols. New York: Scarecrow, 1960-62.

Draayer, Suzanne Rhodes. Art Song Composers of Spain: An Encyclopedia Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 2009.
(Contains biographies and descriptions ofsongs for more than 90 Spanish art song composers, as well as history of Spain and the relation of its politics to Spanish art song.)

Hoover, Maya. A Guide to the Latin American Art Song Repertoire: An Annotated Catalog of Twentieth-Century Art Songs for Voice and Piano. Indiana Repertoire Guides. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2010.
(Goes country by country.)

Kagen, Sergius. Music for the Voice: A Descriptive List of Concert and Teaching Material. Rev. ed. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1968.
(Doesn't have recent works, but it is a good thorough 1-volume list of the standard concert repertore for all voice types.)

Art Song Reference and Library
(Under Construction; catalog will have many useful fields for searching, including recommended voice type, key, composer's and poet's nationality, style, others.)

9.D. Thematic Catalogs (have incipits) and Works Lists

(Lists of all compositions by an individual composer)

(Note: An incipit is the first few measures of a work; it is often used in identifying works that have no known composer and only generic titles, or no titles, especially Medieval and Renaissance works, and in world folk music.)

The PRINT version of New Grove (see Section 1, above) has detailed works lists for many composers in its articles on specific composers. Many articles that don't contain them list them in their bibliographies.

WorldCat
http://www.oclc.org/worldcat
(This clever idea is from Sampsel [and Thomas Mann of the Library of Congress], see sources above. It is explained in much more detail on page 101. The world-spanning WorldCat catalog uses standarized subject headings, many of which have optional suffixes like "-Directories". There is a one called "Thematic Catalogs". For example, you could search on "Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791-Thematic Catalogs". Note: get the correct form of the composer's name first with a keyword search, then add the suffix to IT.)

Brook Barry S. and Richard Viano. Thematic Catalogues in Music: An Annotated Bibliography. 2nd ed. Annotated Reference tools in Music, no.5. Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon, 1997.
(A bibliography of thematic catalogs; see the "guide to use" on pp.xliv-xlv.)

Chwialkowski, Jerzy. The Da Capo Catalog of Classical Music Compositions. New York: Da Capo, 1996.
(Includes works lists for 132 composers.)

9.E. Complete Works Editions

(All of the sheet music composed by an individual composer, together in one set of volumes.)

New Grove and Grove Music Online (see Section 1 for both) list complete works editions in its articles on composers.

Heyer, Anna H. Historical Sets, Collected Editions, and Monuments of Music: A Guide to their Contents. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1980.

9.F. Lists of Publications of Individual Publishers

(also see Section 8Bv, Music Publishing)

(Note: For many more, see Duckles [in list of Sources, above], Ch.8 "Histories and Bibliographies of Music Printing and Publishing.")

Berz, Ernst-Ludwig. Die Notendrucker und ihre Verleger in Frankfurt am Main von den Anfangen bis etwa 1630. Kassel: International Association of Music Libraries and International Musicological Society, 1970.
(Mostly a history of music printing in Frankfurt, Germany to 1630, but also has "a bibliography of 258 printed works by some 43 printers." [Duckles])

Deutsch, Otto E. Musikverlags Nummern. Eine Auswahl von 40 datierten Listen. Berlin: Merseburger, 1961.
(Lists of publications from 40 European publishers.)

Dona, Mariangela. Le Stampa Musicale a Milano fino all'anno 1700. Biblioteca di Bibliografia Italiana, no.39. Florence, Italy: Olschki, 1961.
(Lists publications of Milanese music publishers up to the year 1700.)

Johansson, Cari. French Music Publishers' Catalogues of the Second Half of the 18th Century. 2 vols. Uppsala: Almquist and Wiksell, 1955.

Kidson, Frank. British music publishers, printers, and engravers: From Queen Elizabethe's Reign to George IV, With Select Bibliographical Lists of Musical Works Printed and Published Within that Period. London: W. E. Hill and Sons, 1900.

9.G. Words to help locate early works in MODERN EDITIONS

See your favorite online music vendor's catalog, or 9A (free online sheet music collections).

Also see 9E (Complete Works) and 9I (Historical Sets and Musical Monuments).

9.H. Works to help locate early works in MANUSCRIPT or ORIGINAL EDITIONS

(also called "primary sources")

RISM Online
(Published on CD-Rom by K. G. Saur [Munich, Germany] and on-line by NISC [Baltimore, MD]).
(Section A/II of this multi-volume bibliography [MANUSCRIPTS by Individual Composers after 1600] was turned into a database; it covers works where the composer is known, it goes up to about the year 1850, and it shows which library has a copy. It contains over 500,000 entries. Not free, but many large public and university libraries have a subscription.)

RISM (print version)
Munich, Germany: G. Henle, 1966-.
(Multi-volume bibliography, of both sheet music and music literature. Name means: Repertoire International des Sources Musicales/Internationales Quellenlexikon der Musik/International Inventory of Musical Sources.) Sections:

A/I - PUBLISHED Music Before 1800.9 vols. (In German.)

A/II - (see RISM Online, above)

B/I - PUBLISHED Music in Collections from 1500 to 1799 ("Anthologies of music by more than one composer, dating from the 16th and 17th centuries" [Sampsel]. In French.)

B/II - (Continuation of B/I for the 18th century. In French.)

B/IV - MANUSCRIPTS of Polyphonic Music, 11th-16th Centuries. 5 vols. (Vols.1-3 are in English, vol.4 is in German, vol.5 is in French.)

B/V - Manuscripts of Tropes and Sequences. 2 vols. (Lists Medieval and Renaissance MANUSCRIPTS that contain tropes and sequences. In German.)

B/VII - Lute and Guitar Tablatures, 15th - 18th centuries. (Manuscripts? In German.)

B/VIII - German Hymns (In German.)

B/XIV - MANUSCRIPTS of works used in the Roman Mass. 2 vols. (In French.)

B/XV - Sources of Masses in Spain, Portugal, and Ibero-American Countries from 1490-1630. (MANUSCRIPTS of Catholic Mass settings. In German.)

9.I. Lists of Historical Sets and Musical Monuments

(Collections of selected scores, based on a theme: time-period, place, or genre)

Hill, George R. Index to Printed Music: Collections and Series. Baltimore, MD: NISC, 1997.
(Has an online database version called IPM that is updated regularly. It is not free, but many large public and university libraries have a subscription.)

Hill, George R. and Norris L. Stephens. Collected Editions, Historical Series and Sets, and Monuments of Music: A Bibliography. Fallen Leaf Reference Books in Music, no.14. Berkely, CA: Fallen Leaf, 1997.

10.List of Music Journals

Indiana University School of Music, William and Gayle Cook Music Library. Music Journals and Magazines, Newspapers, and Periodicals .
http://library.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/journals.html
(A very thorough list of journals, subdivided by specialty [music education, American music, etc.]).)

Sampsel, L. Music Research: a Handbook .
http://www.oup.com/us/musresearch
(A companion website to Sampsel; see list of Sources above. Contains a long list of journals, subdivided by specialty [music education, American music, etc.].)

Just a few of the most general:

  • College Music Symposium: Journal of the College Music Society
  • Journal of the Royal Musical Association
  • Music and Letters
  • Musical Quarterly
  • Musical Times


Some music librarianship journals:
  • Fontes artis musicae
  • Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association


11.List of Music Professional Associations

Sampsel, L. Music Research: a Handbook .
(www.oup.com/us/musresearch)
(A companion website to Sampsel; see list of Sources above. Contains a long list of organizations, subdivided by specialty [music education, American music, etc.])
A few of the most general:

  • American Musicological Society (AMS)
  • Canadian University Music Society (CUMS)
  • College Music Society (CMS)
  • International Musicological Society (IMS)
  • Royal Music Association (RMA)
Some associations for music librarians:
  • Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC)
  • Canadian Association of MusicLibraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres (CAML)
  • International Association of MusicLibraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML)
  • Music Library Association (MLA)




Mosaic cat