Reference Sources
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.
Print Reference Books
Most reference books for piano are located in the Music Reference stacks shelved in ranges 36 through 38. The recommended books below are sorted by their call numbers and include specialized dictionaries (ML102.P5), encyclopedias (also ML102.P5), and bibliographies (ML128.P3) on piano. Click on the info icon to see a description of the book.
A Guide to Piano Music by Women Composers by
Often unknown and overlooked, solo piano music written by women composers deserve space in the standard piano repertoire. Designed as a practical reference guide for professional pianists and piano teachers, A Guide to Piano Music by Women Composers features biographies and extensive bibliographical information for each composer. Arranged alphabetically by composer into categories including single works, collections, and anthologies, the music is also described in terms of grade level, genre, mood, style characteristics, and technical requirements, and ranges in difficulty from late elementary to virtuoso concert repertoire. Far too many teachers, students, professional musicians, and audiences are unaware of the contributions made by women in music, and of the beauty and merit of their specific compositions. This reference work provides an invaluable addition to the current literature.
Call Number: ML102.P5 D44 2002 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2002
The Pianist's Dictionary: An Invaluable Compact Reference Guide for Every Piano Teacher, Student, and Performer by
The Pianist's Dictionary is a handy and practical reference dictionary aimed specifically at pianists, teachers, students, and concertgoers. Prepared by Maurice Hinson, the best-selling author of Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire, the work explains pianistic terms and performance directions clearly and concisely, with illustrations and brief musical examples. Hinson includes succinct entries concerning famous piano pieces and composers, leading performers and teachers, and piano makers--making The Pianist's Dictionary the perfect reference for compiling program and liner notes. The volume collects many of Hinson's most useful ideas that have appeared in his popular lectures and masterclasses over the years and have not been published elsewhere.
Call Number: ML102.P5 H46 2004 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2004
The Art of the Piano: Its Performers, Literature, and Recordings by
This is the only complete and up-to-date book profiling every major pianist (thousands) and their essential repertoire and recordings. This third edition is completely revised with hundreds more entries and updated information about existing entries. The book contains a CD for the first time featuring rare performances. "For all those interested in the piano, this book will provide great insight and knowledge. It must be read by everyone who loves the instrument." Vladimir Horowitz " The Art of the Piano is the best companion a piano aficionado could ask for." Baltimore Sun
Call Number: ML105 .D8 2004 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2004
The Piano in Chamber Ensemble: An Annotated Guide by
The Piano in Chamber Ensemble describes more than 3,200 compositions, from duos to octets, by more than 1,600 composers. It is divided into sections according to the number of instruments involved, then subdivided according to the actual scoring. Keyboard, string, woodwind, brass, and percussion players and their teachers will find a wealth of chamber works from all periods.
Call Number: ML128.C4 H5 2006 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2006
Piano Pedagogy: A Research and Information Guide by
Piano Pedagogy: A Research and Information Guide provides a detailed outline of resources available for research and/or training in piano pedagogy. Like its companion volumes in the Routledge Music Bibliographies series, it serves beginning and advanced students and scholars as a basic guide to current research in the field. The book will includes bibliographies, research guides, encyclopedias, works from other disciplines that are related to piano pedagogy, current sources spanning all formats, including books, journals, audio and video recordings, and electronic sources.
Call Number: ML128.P3 C66 2009 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2009
Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire by
Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire continues to be the go-to source for piano performers, teachers, and students. Newly updated and expanded with more than 250 new composers, this incomparable resource expertly guides readers to solo piano literature and provides answers to common questions: What did a given composer write? What interesting work have I never heard of? How difficult is it? What are its special musical features? How can I reach the publisher? New to the fourth edition are enhanced indexes identifying Black composers, women composers, and compositions for piano with live or recorded electronics; a thorough listing of anthologies and collections organized by time period and nationality, now including collections from Africa and Slovakia; and expanded entries to account for new material, works, and resources that have become available since the third edition, including websites and electronic resources. The "newest Hinson" will be an indispensable guide for many years to come.
Call Number: ML128.P3 H5 2014 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2014
Music for Piano and Orchestra: An Annotated Guide by
Suitable for all admirers of the piano, this work brings together more than 3,000 works for piano and orchestra. It comes with a supplement containing over 200 new entries.
Call Number: ML128.P3 H53 1993 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 1993
One Handed: A Guide to Piano Music for One Hand by
This guide to the piano literature for the one-handed pianist surveys over 2,100 individual piano pieces which include not only concert literature but pedagogical pieces as well. Following the introduction are four chapters cataloguing original works for the right hand alone, original works for the left hand alone, music arranged or transcribed for one hand alone, and concerted works for one hand in concert with other pianists, instruments, or voices. Each entry assesses the individual composition, its quality, its difficulty, its particular appeal, and its uses with the composer's name, dates, and nationality, where possible. Also included is a selected discography of commercially produced phonodiscs, compact discs, and cassettes. Instructors and pianists alike will appreciate this exhaustive guide to one-handed piano music. To aid further research, a bibliography of books, articles, and theses about the literature is provided along with a chapter that lists the contents of thirty-six anthologies devoted to one-handed piano music. This unique reference also includes an index.
Call Number: ML128.P3 P38 1999 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 1999
Piano Syllabus by
The Royal Conservatory of Music official examination syllabus, introductory level through ARCT
Call Number: ML132.P3 R3 2001 (Music Reference Oversize)Publication Date: 2001
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.