Listen to Audio
Recordings, whether audio or video, give you the chance to experience other musicians' interpretations of a work. Indeed it can be helpful to compare multiple recordings of the same piece, as well as written sources, when forming your own interpretation. On this page, learn about audio resources available from University Libraries.
Finding Audio On Disc and Online
University Libraries holds more than 25,000 compact discs and approximately 4,000 vinyl records (or LPs) as well as playback equipment which you can borrow or use in-house. Use OneSearch to find Libraries-owned recordings and equipment just like you would books and scores. Locate OneSearch at the front page of the Libraries website and then enter the name of the composer, artist, or work title into the search bar. Use filters on the left side of the page to narrow down your results.
Select the filter "Library Catalog" to limit your search to items owned by the Libraries and eliminate web results. Then select the filter "Music Recording" under Content Type to show CDs and LPs specifically. OneSearch indicates the availability, format, and call number of each item in its results list. CDs are specified as "Compact Discs," while LPs are listed as "Sound Records." Call numbers for CDs and LPs are simple and were assigned when they were added to the Collection. Unfortunately, this means they are not browsable by either composer or genre.
You can also use OneSearch to find playback equipment, or simply ask at the First Floor Information Desk what is available to borrow. Select the filter "Equipment" under Content Type and enter the type of equipment into the search bar above. The Libraries has loanable USB CD/DVD drives, speakers, headphones, adapters, and old-style boomboxes. LP turntables are also stationed at several computers in Education, Music and Media on the Lower Level of Bracken Library.
Naxos Music Library is a tremendous resource for classical music streaming, but for genres beyond Western classical music make sure to explore these other online resources. Familiar platforms like Spotify and Pandora can also be useful places to find recordings. Many artists and organizations within classical music additionally have YouTube channels. Find other audio databases provided by the Libraries at A-Z Databases.
Recommended Streaming Platforms:
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Belfer Cylinders Digital Connection Syracuse University
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Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project University of California-Santa Barbara
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Emile Berliner Collection This collection from the Library of Congress showcases the work of Emile Berliner, a prominent inventor at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. The online Berliner Collection includes more than 400 items from the manuscript collection and more than 100 sound recordings available for streaming. Recordings date from 1894 to 1924, placing them among the earliest recorded audio.
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The Global Jukebox (GJB) The Global Jukebox (GJB) is an ever-expanding database hosted by the Association for Cultural Equity which presents traditional folk, indigenous, and popular songs from cultures around the world. It is a space to connect with our deep heritage through the expressive arts of singing, dancing, and conversing. Thousands of examples of the world's music, dance, and other expressive behavior are available in this free, non-commercial, educational space.
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Internet Archive Audio Archive Best known for the Wayback Machine, the Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization determined to build a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. At the Internet Archive Audio Archive, download or listen to free music and audio, including currently over 15 million files in the public domain ranging from news programming, to Grateful Dead concerts, to Old Time Radio shows, to book and poetry readings, to original music uploaded by our users.
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Library of Congress Digital Collections Library of Congress Digital Collections serves as a portal to the 320 plus digital collections of the Library of Congress, providing links to each collection's home page. The collections include a wide range of materials such as books, collected papers, sheet music, images, and web archives. 62 collections currently include audio recordings available for streaming.
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Live Music Archive A project of the Internet Archive. Mainly uploaded by popular and rock artists to share their music, including over 17 thousand tracks by the Grateful Dead.
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Music Online: The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online provides electronic access to the award-winning print resource of the same name. It contains more than 700 articles contributed by experts on the music of the world's peoples and is over 9,000 pages long. The database, which includes all illustrations from the print edition, also includes audio examples of musical performances from around the world.
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The National Jukebox The National Jukebox, a project of the Library of Congress, features over 10 thousand 78rpm disc sides issued by the Victor Talking Machine Company between 1900 and 1925. The public can stream completely free of charge.
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Score Follower New Music Resource Score Follower strives to provide access to contemporary music for all. Through our activities, we also aim to strengthen, diversify, and connect our musical community. Our dedication to others in the field motivates our commitment to procuring legally obtained scores and recordings. By respecting our community and representing our field as well as we can, Score Follower aims to be a new kind of information resource and center for the online community. Find their score videos on YouTube, or visit their website to learn more.
Jazz CDs by Era and Style
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Avant-Garde and Free JazzPost-bop musicians took the virtuosic and individualistic element of bebop to new levels in the 1960s. The most famous proponent was Ornette Coleman.
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Big Band after 1950Includes the Swing Revival and modern Big Band
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Big Band of the Swing EraMusic of the 1930s onward, for large ensembles, often with a bandleader or singer as soloist.
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Bop and Hard Bop of the 1940s-1970sSmall-combo jazz of the post-war era and beyond, featuring virtuosic solos. The style originated in the Village area of New York in the late 1940s - early 1950s. Stars included Charlie Parker, Dizzie Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Max Roach.
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Cool Jazz of the 1950s-1970sSoftened timbres that contrasted with the hard edge of bop in the 1950s and maintained its own style into the 1960s and beyond.
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Dixieland and Jazz of the Swing EraSmall-combo jazz from the earliest days of jazz, ca. 1900-1930.
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Dixieland and Swing after 1950A revival movement resurrected Dixieland for new audiences in the 1950s, and "trad jazz" continued to flourish to the end of the century.
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Jazz FusionFusion could be jazz combined with any other style, but is generally described as jazz fused with rock. Examples are the Pat Metheny Group and the music of Miles Davis beginning with his Bitches Brew album.
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Jazz of the 1970s-1990sAfter its initial development, fusion became a major force in jazz until the end of the century.
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Jazz of the New MillenniumJazz from the year 2000 and beyond.
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Latin Jazz and Bossa NovaJazz from Latin-America and jazz inspired by Latin-American rhythms and styles.
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Smooth JazzRelaxing jazz from the 1980s onward.
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Vocal Jazz after 1990Vocalists continue to enrich the jazz styles of the new millennium.
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Vocal Jazz of the 1950s - 1980sVocalists continued to sing with bands or with just piano long after the hey-day of Big Bands.
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Vocal Jazz prior to 1950Jazz was not entirely an instrumental form. There were many vocalists who fronted big bands or became soloists in their own right.
Interlibrary Loan
Users are encouraged to search for items beyond University Libraries' catalog via RILM Abstracts of Music Literature and WorldCat. Materials not available in print or online may be requested through Interlibrary Loan. Please allow up to seven days for electronic delivery and up to fourteen days for delivery of physical items.