Listen to Audio
>> Original cast recordings are usually studio recordings (i.e. not live in performance) but they use the cast that popularized the show. The words "original cast" usually appear in the title, but not always. Use these terms as keywords to find recordings, for example:
- West Side Story and original cast and recording
- In Advanced Search, [keywords] cast and [title] west side story and [format] Compact Discs, audio
>> Revival performances are produced years after the original run on Broadway. You can use this term as a keyword for revivial cast recordings.
- revival and compact and musicals
>> Hollywood musicals may or may not have originated on Broadway.
- The subject terms that libraries use generally apply to the plot of the film, e.g., "Dancers--Drama" for "Fame"
- The recording is usually called a "soundtrack" somewhere in the description, but the word won't be found as a subject. Use it as a keyword.
Finding Audio Online and On Disc
University Libraries subscribes to an audio streaming platform called Naxos Music Library. NML focuses on classical music and includes streaming for over 200,000 albums and counting. Many albums are from the Naxos label itself, but other major labels are also represented. In addition to an ad-free audio experience, NML allows you to see accurate artist information and track details as well as program notes for most releases (simply click "Booklet" where available). You and your faculty members can also create playlists which are ideal for studying for listening quizzes. NML even has a free phone app which you can download for your Android or Apple device and login with your BSU email.
To find an album or work, either use the Keyword Search box or select the "People" tab to the left of your screen. Simply type the name of the composer, artist, or work into the search bar then select from the results. With the "People" tab, you are able to browse composers and artists alphabetically, or run a more focused search on their name. After selecting a composer or artist, use the tabs "View by Work" or "View by Album" to find recordings.
To find playlists, select the "Playlists" tab to the left of your screen. View playlists created by your faculty under the first tab, "Ball State University Playlist." Playlists are organized into folders by course and often include several subsections which you should open to reveal specific tracks. Naxos has also created its own playlists which you can view by clicking "NML Playlists," or login to create playlists of your own.
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.
Other 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.
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.
Recommended Discographies
A discography is a list of recordings, similar to a bibliography for books, where you can find albums and recordings organized by artist, label, or series. In the print Music Collection, musical theatre discographies can be found in ML156.4.M8 and are typically shelved the Music Reference section. Beyond print discographies which can quickly become outdated, check the website Discogs which stays current through community submissions.
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Movie Musicals on Record: A Directory of Recordings of Motion Picture Musicals, 1927-1987
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This discography provides a comprehensive listing of the songs from motion picture musicals, and the singers who performed them on commercially available albums. Covering the period from The Jazz Singer in 1927 to Three Amigos in 1987, and including 666 albums and 6,500 song titles, the book is a companion volume to Lynch's Broadway on Record (Greenwood Press, 1987), arranged in a similar format. While the scope is primarily American, albums of some foreign films that became popular in this country have been included. The entries are listed alphabetically by film title with the name of the company that produced it and the year it was first released. Remakes of musicial films are listed chronologically, and the original label and number are given, as well as information on the most recent reissue. This thoroughly researched reference offers easy access to a wealth of information on the subject of recorded songs from motion picture musicals and assists the user in identifying many little-known facts, such as the names of the title-song singers, names of singers who dubbed the voices of the stars, and additional composers and lyricists where there were several contributors to the film's score. Also provided is a complete guide to recording availability and type, and major composer, lyricists, and musical conductor credits are given, with an alphabetical list of cast members who sing on the recording. An exhaustive source for students and scholars of film history, film music, and popular culture, this book will be a valuable addition to all university and public libraries.
Call Number: ML156.4.M6 L9 1989 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 1989 -
Gramophone Musicals Good CD Guide, Second Edition
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Uniquely arranged by composer, with an additional section devoted entirely to singers, this fully updated guide explores the glorious heritage of musical theatre. Features biographies of composers.
Call Number: ML156.4.M8 G725 1998 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 1998 -
The TheaterMania Guide to Musical Theater Recordings
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The first ever-comprehensive guide to musical theatre recordings, this book covers the entire history of musical theatre. From Jerome Kern and the Gershwins to Bernstein and Sondheim, here are capsule reviews and ratings of more than 400 theatre recordings of the past 60 years. Organized alphabetically, each listing contains background information on the show, cast information, record label, catalogue number, whether the recording is currently in print, and an overall rating of one to five stars.
Call Number: ML156.4.M8 T54 2004 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2004 -
MusicHound Soundtracks The Essential Album Guide to Film, Television, and Stage Music
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Modern soundtracks like City of Angels and Varsity Blues continue to top the charts, even while music from American in Paris and Grease still endure -- both today's soundtracks and earlier film and stage music offer some of the more memorable music of the century. The only soundtracks, though, that are easy to find are the ones that are of-the-moment -- the current hot Broadway show; the most-watched TV series; the top-grossing firm. Yesterday's soundtracks seem to drift into relative obscurity, making it hard for collectors to find the music, let alone information about the soundtrack. From Sondheim to Star Wars, MusicHound Soundtracks is the guide made just for this breed of music-lover. MusicHound Soundtracks reviews 3,000 soundtrack albums, including contemporary pop compilations and the classic orchestral scores. All the details on much-loved, or at least incessantly hummed, albums are easy to find. Entries are arranged alphabetically and offer album title, release year, bone (or woof) rating, composers, artists, and a review covering the highlights, lowlights and an overall evaluation of the soundtrack. MusicHound Soundtracks covers composers such as Elmer Bernstein, John Williams, Max Steiner, John Barry, Ennio Morricone, Bernard Herrmann and relative newcomers to the trade like Randy Newman, Danny Elfman and Marc Shaiman. Vital TV and stage soundtracks are included, such as The 60's, Chef Aid: The South Park Album, The Lion King, Rent and Hedwig & The Angry Inch. MusicHound Soundtracks concludes with a section reviewing compilation albums, followed by indexes to song title, composer, conductor, performer and five-bone recordings that make the best stuff a breeze to search for. More than 100 photos and a free CD sampler of dynamic soundtrack cuts make this mi
Call Number: ML156.9 .M87 2000 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2000
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.