General Resources
New to music research? Consider starting at the Music History Research Guide where you will learn strategies for finding and utilizing reference sources, books, articles, scores, audio, and other formats available from University Libraries.
Databases for Reference and Research
Reference sources are designed to provide users with quick and authoritative background information on a given subject. They are the ideal place to familiarize yourself with a subject and its existing literature, although they should never be the culmination of your research process. Databases collect scholarly articles and information, and they can direct you to academic journals available from the Libraries. A complete list of databases can be found at the Libraries website. The following reference sources and research databases are all available online, although log-in might be required off-campus.
Online Databases and Resources:
- Academic Search Complete Good database for most research topics and contains lots of full text, peer-reviewed articles. More than 18,000 of the journal titles indexed are peer-reviewed and almost all of the full text is. Provides searchable cited references for more than 1,000 journal titles so you can easily see what sources a given article cites.
- JSTOR JSTOR allows you to search across approximately 2,000 journal titles from more than 50 disciplines. It contains complete backfiles of scholarly journals starting with the first issues, many of which date back from the 1800s. Although the majority of titles do not have the most recent 3 to 5 years available in full text, there are some which have the current issues available.
- Music Index Music Index is a comprehensive guide to music periodicals and literature featuring digitized content from 1970 to present. This database contains cover-to-cover indexing and abstracts of articles about music, musicians, and the music industry for more than 475 periodicals, as well as book reviews, obituaries, news, and selective coverage for more than 230 periodicals. Music Index includes comprehensive coverage of the music field and every aspect of the classical and popular spheres.
- 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.
- Oxford Music Online Oxford Music Online is the authoritative resource for music research with over 52,000 articles written by nearly 9,000 scholars charting the diverse history and cultures of music around the globe. It is the gateway to Grove Music Online which compiles invaluable resources like The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition (2001), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (1992), The Grove Dictionary of American Music (2013), The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz (2002), and others. Oxford Music Online also provides access to The Oxford Dictionary of Music (2013) and The Oxford Companion to Music (2011), resources which are based in Oxford Reference Online.
- Oxford Reference Online Searchable and browsable collection of highly trusted reference books. Dictionaries and encyclopedias in Oxford Reference Online include general works, foreign-language works, and specialized subject works in the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Note: Oxford Reference Online is separate from the familiar Oxford Music Online, and it has its own set of twelve music dictionaries and encyclopedias. These can be found under the Subject tab or through the search bar.
- Project MUSE Project Muse is a full text database of journals in disciplines such as art, literature, history, political science, and economics. Some full text will come from JSTOR, in PDF format.
- RILM Abstracts of Music Literature Often the best place to start music research, RILM Abstracts of Music Literature is a key database in the field of music. This database covers a wide range of subjects areas, including but not limited to, Composition, Music Analysis, Musicology, Dramatic Arts, Dance Studies, Music Pedagogy, Music Therapy, Performance Practice, and Popular Music Studies. Approximately 50,000 new articles are added each year.
- Web of Science Despite its name, Web of Science is a multidisciplinary platform for education, humanities, music, philosophy, psychology, and, of course, the sciences. Search the Web of Science Core Collection which consists of six online indexing databases or one of their regional databases like the Korea Citation Index. Also find the Master Journal List, an invaluable tool to help you find the right journal for your needs across multiple indices hosted on the Web of Science platform. Coverage includes scholarly articles, books, abstracts, citations, and patents.
Many journals can be found in multiple online databases while others are in-print at Bracken Library. Click here to search for a specific journal title, including online and physical locations. Use the filters on the left and the search bar above to narrow your results. You can also download the browser extension LibKey Nomad to eliminate paywalls you might encounter, if you find an article on Google, Wikipedia, or a publisher's website.
Classification and Call Numbers
The Music Collection at University Libraries uses Library of Congress Classification, or LCC, for organizing books and scores on the shelves. This system, maintained by the national library of the United States and utilized by libraries across the country and around the world, groups together items on similar subjects. Each item is then assigned a unique call number which combines alphabetical and numerical characters. These features are designed to make browsing library collections easier for users and librarians alike. Tip: Enter the first part of a call number into OneSearch to see all items in a given section.
Call Numbers for Music Theory and Composition:
ML 128.T5 Bibliographies. Music theory
ML 159 - 3785 History and criticism
ML 162 - 197 By period
ML 174 Medieval. Renaissance. Theory
ML 197 1901 - 2000
ML 197.2 2001 -
ML 423 Biography. Theoreticians, historians, critics, etc.
ML 430 - 455 Composition
ML 430 General works
ML 431 - 432 Notation
ML 444 Harmony
ML 446 Counterpoint
ML 448 Musical form
ML 455 Instrumentation
ML 1156 Sonata form
ML 1380 Electronic music. Computer music
ML 3805 - 3817 Physics and acoustics of music
MT 5.5 - 7 Music theory
MT 5.5 Through 1600
MT 6 General works
MT 7 Rudiments. Elementary works
MT 35 - 39 Notation
MT 40 - 67 Composition. Elements and techniques of music
MT 40 Composition
MT 50 Harmony
MT 55 Counterpoint. Polyphony
MT 56 Electronic and computer music composition
MT 58 - 67 Forms and genres
MT 62 Sonata form
MT 70 - 74 Instrumentation and orchestration
MT 90 - 146 Analysis and appreciation of music
MT 870 Sight-singing, including solfeggio
Print Reference Books
Most reference books on music theory and related topics are located in the Music Reference stacks shelved in ranges 36 through 38. The recommended books below are sorted by their call numbers. See especially bibliographies on music theory which are classified in ML128.T5. Hover over the info icon to see a description of the book.
Analyses of Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Music, 1940-2000 by
This new volume incorporates all entries from the previous editions by Arthur Wenk, expanding to cover writings drawn from periodicals, theses, dissertations, books, and Festschriften from 1940 to 2000. Over 9,000 references to analyses of works by over 1,000 composers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are included.
Call Number: ML113 .H695 2007 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2007
Music Analyses: An Annotated Guide to the Literature by
This is a reference source to the analytical literature on music from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, designed for music scholars, students, and concert-goers interested in a technical explanation of a favorite composition.
Call Number: ML128.A7 D5 1991 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 1991
A Topical Guide to Schenkerian Literature: An Annotated Bibliography with Indices by
To the growing list of Pendragon Press publications devoted to the work of Heinrich Schenker, we wish to announce the addition of this much-needed bibliography. The author, a student of Allen Forte, has created a work useful to a wide range of researchers, music theorists, musicologists, music librarians, and teachers. The Guide is the largest Schenkerian reference work ever published. At nearly 600 pages, it contains 3600 entries (2200 principal, 1400 secondary) representing the work of 1475 authors. Fifteen broad groupings encompass seventy topical headings, many of which are divided and subdivided again, resulting in a total of 271 headings under which entries are collected.
Call Number: ML128.T5 B47 2004 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2004
Music Theory from Zarlino to Schenker: A Bibliography and Guide by
Scholarship pertaining to four centuries of theoretical developments including the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods has been organized systematically in a single volume. In the Dictionary of Theorists, the major section of the volume, individual entries devoted to approximately 250 theorists supply all of the bibliographic information most scholars are likely to require - titles and publication data for each author's treatises and principal articles as well as titles and locations of manuscripts; lists of translations facsimile editions and microfilm copies of each work; a bibliography of articles, books, dissertations, and encyclopedia entries pertinent to an author and his works; and a compilation of modern reviews of the books translations and facsimile editions cited. Author title and subject indices facilitate access to materials for various research topics in the areas of speculative and practical music theory and to a lesser yet significant extent in the areas of acoustics, aesthetics, lexicography, music analysis, musicology, orchestration, and performance practice. A chronology is provided so that the reader may determine at a glance which authors were active at any point within the centuries covered.
Call Number: ML128.T5 D27 1990 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 1990
Form and Analysis Theory: A Bibliography by
Perone considers all aspects of musical form and its analysis with the broadest possible historical and stylistic palette in this comprehensive bibliography. The form and analysis treatises chapters include publication, original language, English translation, reprint, and bibliographic information for book-length works (including master's theses and doctoral dissertations) that deal with questions of musical form and musical analysis in a significant way. A number of treatises that were substantially revised at some point are included in both forms. More than 2,000 entries are included in this major contribution to the study of the form and analysis of music.
Call Number: ML128.T5 P45 1998 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 1998
Harmony Theory: A Bibliography by
Presenting detailed bibliographic information on all aspects of harmony in music, with the broadest possible historical and stylistic palette, this work includes over 2,600 total citations. The sources range from treatises, dissertations, and textbooks to journal articles and book reviews, and are cross-referenced and indexed. This is the most complete bibliographic reference guide of its kind on harmony. Including harmony-related materials from the Baroque period through the present day, the work contains chapters devoted to book-length treatises and their related citations, a general bibliography comprised mostly of journal articles, and an index. This book will be of interest to music theory instructors, undergraduate and graduate students of music theory, and researchers.
Call Number: ML128.T5 P47 1997 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 1997
Serial Music and Serialism: A Research and Information Guide by
Focusing on periodical literature 1955 to 1995, Serialism Music and Serialism: A Research and Information Guide offers a very useful research tool for those interested in serial and twelve-tone music. The instructive introduction suggests the work's authority: articles have been selected from reputable journals that published the largest number of significant articles in English dealing with the history and analysis of serial compositions and relevant music theory. The 468 citations, arranged by author, include informative annotations and thorough cross-references and are supplemented by ancillary subject and composer indexes.
Call Number: ML128.T9 V36 2001 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2001
Heinrich Schenker: A Guide to Research by
This bibliography and guide consists of over 1,500 citations to both primary sources and the burgeoning secondary literature, annotated and subdivided by category. The list is supplemented with indices cross-referencing entries according to individual works and analytical topic. Reviews of many of the books cited are included, as are discussions stemming from certain articles. Appendices include a chronology of Schenker's life and information on symposia dedicated to his life and works. A multilingual glossary of Schenkerian terms and an index of authors concludes the volume.
Call Number: ML134.S25 A95 2004 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2004
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.