Reference Sources
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. On this page, learn about important reference databases like Oxford Music Online, explore specific entries, and view recommended reference books.
Online Reference Databases
Oxford Music Online is the primary reference source for music research. Its detailed entries on many of the great figures in music, musical instruments, and genres make it the best place for you to begin your research. Much of its content derives from a print publication called The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition, and sometimes your professors might refer to Oxford Music Online as "the Grove." Many entries, however, have been updated since that work's publication in 2001, and Oxford Music Online also incorporates entries from The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Second Edition, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, and The Grove Dictionary of American Music, Second Edition. Therefore, Oxford Music Online offers valuable information, regardless of genre.
To search Oxford Music Online, type the name of a composer, musician, instrument, genre, or another term into the main search bar near the top of your screen. You can also browse entries by clicking "Browse" and selecting from one of the categories provided. Narrow down your results by selecting filters to your left. Be aware that some terms will have multiple entries due to Oxford's incorporation of multiple print publications. You can determine which publication you have found by looking at either the URL or date of publication. Select the one which is most comprehensive or best suits your needs.
Because Oxford entries are designed for reference and not for continuous reading, you might wish to read only sections of longer entries. Notice the pane titled Article Navigation to the left of your screen and use it to navigate to relevant sections. Also use it to jump ahead to various lists at the end of each entry. These include lists of compositions (or "Works") by composers as well as the "Bibliography" section. These can each be vital tools as you expand your research outward to specific compositions and the scholarly writings of other authors.
Although Oxford Music Online is the most comprehensive music reference work, other databases and websites offer more specialized information within their subdisciplines. Among these, The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music is primary in the field of ethnomusicology. Garland is available both in print and through Alexander Street's Music Online platform. Meanwhile, The Encyclopedia of Popular Music can be accessed through Oxford Reference Online. Websites like the African Diaspora Music Project, Boulanger Initiative Database, and IRCAM Resource Center are excellent, free resources with specific concentrations: African and African American classical music, music of women composers, and contemporary classical music, respectively.
Reference Databases and Resources:
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African Diaspora Music Project The African Diaspora Music Project seeks to create a repository for the concert works of composers of the African Diaspora; to provide access to scores, recordings, and programmatic information about these composers and their extant works for students, teachers, professionals and presenters; to encourage the research, exploration and performance of these works; and to assist students who wish to enter the George Shirley African American Art Song and Operatic Aria Competition with appropriate repertoire choices.
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Biography Reference Source Biography Reference Source is a comprehensive collection of full-text biographies and unique narrative biographies. You can either search using a person's name or browse categories such as occupation and nationality. This database can be useful for finding information on poets, novelists, playwrights, and other historical figures who might not be included in music encyclopedias.
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Boulanger Initiative Database (BID) Boulanger Initiative advocates for women and all gender marginalized composers. We foster inclusivity and representation to expand and enrich the collective understanding of what music is, has been, and can be. We promote music composed by women through performance, education, research, consulting, and commissions. At the Database, explore over 8,000 works by more than 1,200 composers with ease, available to you for free.
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Composer Diversity Database From the Institute for Composer Diversity at SUNY Fredonia, the Composer Diversity Database is a searchable listing of women and non-binary composers, those from historically excluded racial, ethnic, or cultural heritages, and/or people who identify in the LGBTQIA2S+ community. Only composers who have consented to being included appear in the Database. Started in 2016, the Database is still largely under construction.
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The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Edited by Colin Larkin, this encyclopedia's 30,000 entries cover all genres and periods of popular music from 1900 to the present day, including jazz, country, folk, rap, reggae, techno, musicals, and world music. The expanded Fourth Edition includes thousands of new entries on trends, styles, record labels, venues, and music festivals. Key dates, biographies, and further reading are provided for artists covered, along with complete discographies that include record labels, release dates, and a 5-star album rating system. Included in this Oxford Digital Reference Shelf edition are online-exclusive entries that originally appeared on Oxford Music Online.
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Gale eBooks Gale eBooks is a collection of searchable subject encyclopedias and reference books from Gale Publishing and many other publishers, including nearly 500 specialized background sources in a wide variety of subjects. Choose your field of study under the "Subjects" heading to see the titles in your area. For music books, look under the subject "Arts."
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The Grove Dictionary of American Music Edited by Charles Hiroshi Garrett, The Grove Dictionary of American Music is the largest, most comprehensive reference publication on American Music. Twenty-five years ago, the four volumes of the first edition of the dictionary initiated a great expansion in American music scholarship. This second edition reflects the growth in scholarship the first edition initiated. At eight volumes, it provides greatly expanded coverage, particularly in the areas of popular music, cities and regions, musical theater, opera, concert music, and music technology, as well as the musical traditions of many ethnic and cultural groups.
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IRCAM Resource Center (formerly B.R.A.H.M.S. Database) The IRCAM Resource Center (formerly B.R.A.H.M.S. Database on Contemporary Music) is published by the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM) and provides information about contemporary composers and their works. Although much of the text is in French, many entries allow users to select an English translation.
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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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Oxford Companion to Music Edited by Alison Latham, this new online-only edition of The Oxford Companion to Music is a partial revision that focuses on living composers and their music, and adds some terms, works, and cross-references to the original text. Bibliographies have also been substantially revised and updated. This classic reference work includes articles that range from clear, concise definitions of musical ideas and terms to extended surveys of musical forms and styles, with specialist coverage of virtually every musical subject. It places music in its social and cultural context, with a range of new entries on topics such as politics, religion, psychology, and computers. The book covers current research in and approaches to music, including analysis, theory, ethnomusicology, and performance practice. All varieties of musical forms are covered, including jazz, popular music, and dance.
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Oxford History of Western Music The Oxford History of Western Music online offers an unmatched account of the evolution of Western classical music by one of the most prominent and provocative musicologists of our time, Richard Taruskin. Since its original publication in print Taruskin’s landmark study has received universal acclaim and numerous awards. The full text, which was printed in five thick volumes in print, is now available for the first time in an interactive digital format. The online version includes all 1.25 million words, 500 images, and 1,800 musical examples from the updated paperback edition with sophisticated search and browse functionality designed to maximize the dynamic possibilities of online reading and research.
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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.
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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.
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RISM Inventory of Musical Sources RISM is a comprehensive index of musical sources produced by the Répertoire International des Sources Musicales. It contains records for manuscripts, printed editions, libretti, and treatises held in music libraries, archives, churches, private collections, and other institutions around the world. It also contains many digitized items.
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Wind Repertory Project The Wind Repertory Project is a comprehensive database of wind literature, expanded by contributions of band directors/conductors, students, and wind band enthusiasts worldwide. Our goal is to help you find detailed information about wind band literature, including program notes, instrumentation, errata, media links, academic resources, and more.
Also be sure to consult librarian-designed research guides and specialized print reference works, such as bibliographies and discographies, as you pursue your research.
Print Reference Books
Most reference books for saxophone are located in Music Reference shelved in ranges 36 through 38. The recommended books below are sorted by their call numbers and include specialized bibliographies on saxophone as ML128.S247. Click on the info icon to see a description of the book.
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The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 3: The United States and Canada
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This volume makes available the full range of the American/Canadian musical experience, covering-for the first time in print-all major regions, ethnic groups, and traditional and popular contexts. From musical comedy to world beat, from the songs of the Arctic to rap and house music, from Hispanic Texas to the Chinese communities of Vancouver, the coverage captures the rich diversity and continuities of the vibrant music we hear around us. Special attention is paid to recent immigrant groups, to Native American traditions, and to such socio-musical topics as class, race, gender, religion, government policy, media, and technology.
Call Number: ML100 .G16 1998 V.3 and Music OnlinePublication Date: 2000 -
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz
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The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, second edition is the largest, most comprehensive and accurate reference work on jazz ever published, putting the world of jazz at your fingertips. With articles on every aspect of the field, from jazz groups, composers and arrangers to instruments, terms, record labels and venues, the new edition is the ideal companion for scholars and enthusiasts in this rapidly growing field. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, second edition is unique:* No other title covers jazz to this extent across all forms and styles* The only way to be completely up-to-date with the full scope of writing in this field* Provides new perspectives to established areas of study--musicology, film and media, American studies, modern social history, women's studies and cultural studies, to name a few* Offers a one-stop resource to all the key names in the jazz world
Call Number: ML102.J3 N48 2002 (Music Reference) and in Oxford Music OnlinePublication Date: 2003 -
Sourcebook for Wind Band and Instrumental Music
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This sourcebook was created to aid directors and teachers in finding the information they need and expand their general knowledge. The resources were selected from hundreds of published and online sources found in journals, magazines, music company catalogs and publications, numerous websites, doctoral dissertations, graduate theses, encyclopedias, various databases, and a great many books. Information was also solicited from outstanding college/university/school wind band directors and instrumental teachers. The information is arranged in four sections.
Call Number: ML128.B23 B37 2014 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 2014 -
Saxophone Soloists and Their Music, 1844-1985
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Call Number: ML128.S247 G4 1986Publication Date: 1986 -
150 Years of Music for Saxophone: Bibliographical Index of Music and Educational Literature for the Saxophone, 1844-1994
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Call Number: ML128.S247 L64 1994 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 1994 -
Wind Ensemble Sourcebook and Biographical Guide
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Mozart wrote some of the greatest serenades for wind ensemble. He was not alone in writing works for wind sextet, octet, or larger ensembles--Over 12,000 works for wind harmony by over 2,200 composers are extant. Describing this new genre, Wind Harmony, which is far larger and more influential than ever recognized, this sourcebook includes biographical details, discusses many of the works, and presents country surveys. There is also a survey of the way wind instruments developed at the critical time, and of performance practices. The companion volume, The Wind Ensemble Catalog, is cross-referenced.
Call Number: ML128.W5 S76 1997 (Music Reference)Publication Date: 1997 -
American Women Saxophonists from 1870-1930: Their Careers and Repertoire
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The late nineteenth century was a time of great change for women's roles in music. Whereas in 1870, women played primarily harp or piano, by 1900 there were all-woman orchestras. During the late nineteenth century, women began to perform on instruments that were not standard for them, such as cornet, trombone, and saxophone. The achievements of early female saxophonists scarcely have been mentioned in accounts of saxophone history. This study gathers scattered and previously unpublished information about the careers and repertoire of American female saxophonists from 1870-1930 into one reference source.
Call Number: LD2489.Z62 2003 .H83 (Thesis Collection -- Bracken Library, 4 West)Publication Date: 2003
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.