Music History

This research guide covers the history of western music from early times to present. It identifies the best resources and search tools and also provides helpful advice on library research. 

Fine Arts & Music

Search millions of articles about drama, music, art history, and filmmaking. Diverse resource for serious fine art students. 

Garland Encyclopedia of World Music

With 9,000 pages-- the complete online version of the print set also includes associated audio tracks, musical illustrations, photographs, drawings, song texts, score examples, charts, and maps. 

IPA Source

The web's largest library of International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions and literal translations of opera arias and art song texts. Now with over 12,000 titles!

Library Music Source

This resource contains over 300,000 pages of Western Classical sheet music from over 35,000 works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, piano, organ, voice, chorus, strings, winds, percussion, and guitar. 

Oxford Music Online

The Oxford Music Online gateway provides access to multiple music resources including the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Oxford Dictionary of Music and The Oxford Companion to Music.

AllMusic lets users sample or purchase music recordings, giving access to the first 30 seconds of hundreds of thousands of recordings, as well as accompanying notes, biographies, reviews, and classical composition descriptions. Users must register to listen, but it is free. 

American Ballet Theatre Ballet Dictionary hosts a unique interactive resource designed to bring dance to the Web and make it accessible to everyone.

The Library of Congress in collaboration with the American Choral Directors Association produced an online encyclopedia in order to access significant choral music in the public domain by the leading American composers from 1870-1923. Users can find digitized items from the collections, special presentations on topics and collections, and articles and biographical essays, finding aids to collections, databases for performing arts resources, and a special Performing Arts Resources Guide which contains entries for hundreds of Library collections, websites, databases, and exhibits. 

American Musicological Society includes resources such as music history documents, dissertations, websites of interest to musicologists, job listings, conference plans, and much more.

The Archives of African American Music and Culture (AAAMC) is a repository of materials covering a range of African American musical idioms and cultural expressions from the post-World War II era. The AAAMC collections highlight popular, religious, and classical music, with genres ranging from blues and gospel to R&B and contemporary hip-hop.

The Aria Database is a diverse collection of information on over 1,000 operatic arias. Designed for singers and non-singers alike, the Database includes translations and aria texts of most arias as well as a collection of MIDI files of operatic arias and ensembles. 

Baroque Music Pages contains articles, composer biographies, portraits, and music samples.

ChoralNet contains forums, choral organizations, choirs, resources, and the latest news of interest to the choral world. 

Crank Up the Phonograph: Who We Are and Where We Came from in Early Sound Recordings is a free academic work that attempts to understand how Americans in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries viewed themselves, others, and the general world they encountered. 

The George F. Devine Music Library at the University of Tennessee Knoxville has compiled a wonderful links page to online music collections and library holdings. 

Princeton University compiled a list of links and resources from their music department of Gregorian chants. 

The Journal of Music History Pedagogy is a biannual, peer-reviewed, open-access, online journal dedicated to the publication of original articles and reviews related to teaching music history of all levels (undergraduate, graduate, and general) and disciplines. The JMHP holds no single viewpoint on what constitutes good teaching and endorses all types of scholarship on music history pedagogy that are well-researched, objective, and challenging.

The Library of Congress in collaboration with Sony gives free online access to over 10,000 music and spoken-word recordings produces in the U.S. between 1901 and 1925  through the National Jukebox.

OnMusic Dictionary includes browsing by instrument, composers, symbol charts, and various other categories. 

Public Domain Music is a reference site to help identify music and songs in the public domain; this is royalty-free music that users can use anywhere in any way they choose.

Renaissance Channel is devoted to the performance of medieval and renaissance music.

The University of California Los Angeles has developed a Sheet Music Consortium that collects an assortment of tools and services to students to access online sheet music by scholars, students, and the general public.

The organizational site for the Society for Music Theory contains a variety of resources for those interested in the fundamentals of music theory, including links to bibliographies and information about computer-aided instruction (can be found under basic theory).

Computer databases Themefinder compiles musical themes where users can narrow down searches by things such as interval, scale, pitch, and contour. 

Slonimsky, Nicolas. Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. New York: Schirmer Books, 2001.

Available online and in a physical copy at Thrift!

LOC Call Number: ML105 .B16 2001

Boomhower, Daniel F., Edward M. Komara, Amanda Maple, and Liza Vick. A Basic Music Library: Essential Scores and Sound Recording. Fourth Edition. Vol. 1–3. 3 vols. Chicago: American Library Association, 2017.

LOC Call Number: ML113.B3 2017

Southern, Eileen. Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1982.

LOC Call Number: ML105.S67 1982

Pulver, Jeffrey. A Biographical Dictionary of Old English Music. New York: B. Franklin, 1969.

LOC Call Number: ML106.G7 P9 1969

Feather, Leonard G., and Ira Gitler. The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

LOC Call Number: ML102.J3 F39 1999

Briscoe, James. Historical Anthology of Music by Women. Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1986.

LOC Call Number: M1.H57 1987

Larkin, Colin. Encyclopedia of Popular Music. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Nettl, Bruno, Ruth M. Stone, James Porter, and Timothy Rice. The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. New York: Garland Publishers, 1998.

LOC Call Number: ML100 .G16 1998

Bayne, Pauline Shaw. A Guide to Library Research in Music. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press, 2008.

LOC Call Number: ML3797.B29 2008

Apel, Willi. Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1969.

LOC Call Number: ML100.A64 1969

Briscoe, James, Violet Archer, Thea Musgrave, Cecile Chaminade, Louise Farrenc, Clara Schumann, Ethel Smyth, Fanny M. Hensel, and Cacc. Historical Anthology of Music by Women. Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1986.

LOC Call Number: M1.H57 1987

Diamond, Harold J. Music Analyses: An Annotated Guide to the Literature. New York: Schirmer Books, 1991.

LOC Call Number: ML128.A7 D5 1991

Gottlieb, Jane. Music Library and Research Skills. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009.

LOC Call Number: ML3797.G68 2009

Duckles, Vincent H., and Michael A. Keller. Music Reference and Research Materials: An Annotated Bibliography. New York: Schirmer Books, 1988.

LOC Call Number: ML113.D83 1988

Macy, Laura Williams. The New Grove Book of Opera Singers. Second edition. Oxford: University Press, 2008.

Griffiths, Paul. The New Penguin Dictionary of Music. London: Penguin, 2006.

Kennedy, Joyce Bourne. Opera: the Great Composers and Their Masterworks. London [Eng: Mitchell Beazley, 2008.

Taruskin, Richard. The Oxford History of Western Music. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Taruskin, Richard. The Oxford History of Western Music. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Both editions are available as physical copies at Thrift!

LOC Call Number: ML160 .T37 [Year of preferred edition]

Garrett, Charles Hiroshi. The Grove Dictionary of American Music. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.

Available online and in a physical copy at Thrift!

LOC Call Number: ML101.U6 N48 2013

For guidance about using Oxford Music Online, click here. 

Helander, Brock. The Rock Who’s Who: A Biographical Dictionary and Critical Discography Including Rhythm-and-Blues, Soul, Rockabilly, Folk, Country, Easy Listening, Punk, and New Wave. New York: Schirmer Books, 1982.

LOC Call Number: ML102.R6 H5 1982

Pendle, Karin. Women in Music: A Research and Information Guide. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2010.

Bangert, Mark P., and Edward Foley. Worship Music: A Concise Dictionary. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2000.

LOC Call Number: ML102.C5 W67 2000

Chase, Gilbert. America’s Music, from the Pilgrims to the Present. Revised 3rd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987.

LOC Call Number: ML200.C5 1987

Myers, Helen. Ethnomusicology. New York: W. W. Norton, 1992.

LOC Call Number: ML3798.E84 1992

Pendle, Karin. Women & Music: A History. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1991.

Randel, Don M. The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1996.

LOC Call Number: ML3799.E8 1992

Olsen, Dale A., and Daniel Edward Sheehy. The Garland Handbook of Latin American Music. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2008.

Miller, Terry E., and Sean Williams. The Garland Handbook of Southeast Asian Music. New York: Routledge, 2008.

Shelemay, Kay Kaufman. The Garland Library of Readings in Ethnomusicology: A Core Collection of Important Ethnomusicologies. New York: Garland Pub., Inc., 1990.

LOC Call Number: ML3799.G37 1990

Slonimsky, Nicolas. The Great Composers and Their Works. New York: Schirmer Books, 2000.

LOC Call Number: ML160.S48 2000

Miller, Hugh M., and Dale Cockrell. History of Western Music. New York: HarperPerennial, 1991.

LOC Call Number: ML160.C67 1991

Hamm, Charles. Music in the New World. 1st ed. New York: Norton, 1983.

LOC Call Number: ML200.H17 1983

Wright, Craig M. Music in Western Civilization. Belmont, CA: Thomson Schirmer, 2006.

LOC Call Number: ML160.W955 2006

Weiss, Piero, and Richard Taruskin. Music in the Western World: A History in Documents. New York: Schirmer Books, 1984.

LOC Call Number: ML160.M865 1984

Cramer, Alfred Willliam. Musicians and Composers of the 20th Century. 5 vols. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, 2009.

Taruskin, Richard. The Oxford History of Western Music. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Taruskin, Richard. The Oxford History of Western Music. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Both editions are available as physical copies at Thrift!

LOC Call Number: ML160 .T37 [Year of preferred edition]

Wade, Bonnie C. Thinking Musically: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

LOC Call Number: ML3798.W33 2004

Apel, Willi. The History of Keyboard Music to 1700. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1972.

LOC Call Number: ML549.A6413

Schoenberg, Arnold. Theory of Harmony. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978.

LOC Call Number: MT50.S37 1978

Gracyk, Theodore, and Andrew Kania. The Routledge Companion to Philosophy and Music. 1st ed. Routledge Philosophy Companions. New York: Routledge, 2011.

Irwin, Stevens. Dictionary of Pipe Organ Stops: Detailed Description of More than 600 Stops, Together with Definition of Many Other Terms Connected with the Organ, and an Examination of the Acoustical Properties of Many Types of Pipes and the Various Divisions of the Organ. New York: G. Schirmer, 1965.

LOC Call Number: ML552.I75 1965

Gänzl, Kurt. The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre. American ed. New York: Schirmer Books, 1994.

LOC Call Number: ML102.M88 G3 1994

Bloom, Ken. American Song: The Complete Musical Theatre Companion. 2nd ed., 1877-1995. New York: Schirmer Books, 1996.

LOC Call Number: ML128.M78 B6 1996

Jackson, Arthur. The Best Musicals from Show Boat to A Chorus Line: Broadway, off Broadway, London. New York: Crown Publishers, 1977.

LOC Call Number: ML1950.J22 1977

Gottfried, Martin. Broadway Musicals. New York: H. N. Abrams, 1979.

LOC Call Number: ML1711.8.N3 G68 1979

Norton, Richard C. A Chronology of American Musical Theater. Oxford ; Oxford University Press, 2002.

LOC Call Number: ML1711.8.N3 N67 2002

Gänzl, Kurt. Gänzl’s Book of the Broadway Musical: 75 Shows, from H.M.S. Pinafore (1879) to Sunset Boulevard (1994). New York: Schirmer Books, 1995.

LOC Call Number: MT95.G19 1995

Gänzl, Kurt. Ganzl’s Book of the Musical Theatre. 1st American ed. New York: Schirmer Books, 1989.

LOC Call Number: MT95.G2 1989

Suskin, Steven. Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers. Revised and Expanded 4th ed. Oxford ; Oxford University Press, 2010.

Lewine, Richard. Songs of the Theater. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1984.

LOC Call Number: ML128.S3 L55 1984

Hischak, Thomas S. Stage It with Music: An Encyclopedic Guide to the American Musical Theatre. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1993.

LOC Call Number: ML102.M88 H6 1993

Barlow, Harold. A Dictionary of Opera and Song Themes: Including Cantatas, Oratorios, Lieder, and Art Songs. New York: Crown Publishers, 1966.

LOC Call Number: ML128.V7 B3 1950

Kennedy, Joyce Bourne. Opera the Great Composers and Their Masterworks. London: Mitchell Beazley, 2008.

MacMurray, Jessica M., and Allison Brewster Franzetti. The Book of 101 Opera Librettos: Complete Original Language Texts with English Translations. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 1996.

LOC Call Number: ML48.B66 1996

Macy, Laura Williams. The New Grove Book of Opera Singers. Second edition. Oxford: University Press, 2008.

Mayer, Martin. The Met: One Hundred Years of Grand Opera. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983.

LOC Call Number: ML1711.8.N3 M46 1983

Bloom, Ken. American Song: The Complete Musical Theatre Companion. 2nd ed. New York: Schirmer Books, 1996.

LOC Call Number: ML128.M78 B6 1996

Gargan, William, and Sue Sharma. Find That Tune: An Index to Rock, Folk-Rock, Disco & Soul in Collections. New York: Neal-Schuman, 1984.

LOC Call Number: ML128.R6 F56 1984

Lax, Roger. The Great Song Thesaurus. 2nd ed., Updated and Expanded. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.

LOC Call Number: ML128.S3 L4 1989

Temperley, Nicholas. The Hymn Tune Index: A Census of English-Language Hymn Tunes in Printed Sources from 1535 to 1820. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998.

LOC Call Number: ML128.H8 T46 1998

Swain, Joseph Peter. Historical Dictionary of Sacred Music. 2nd ed. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016.

Weiss, Piero, and Richard Taruskin. Music in the Western World: A History in Documents. New York: Schirmer Books, 1984.

LOC Call Number: ML160.M865 1984

Strunk, W. Oliver. Source Readings in Music History: From Classical Antiquity through the Romantic Era. New York: Norton, 1950.

LOC Call Number: ML160.S89 1950

• Start with Oxford Music Online, containing the 29 vol. New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and several other scholarly titles. Lots of cross indexing to related articles. This will let you get to know your topic before you do any further research. There are lots of lengthy bibliographies to scholarly sources. While no library could be expected to own all these sources (many are quite rare) you can get most of them through Interlibrary Loan.
• Instead of looking your topic up alphabetically, look it up in the index, vol.29. The index will not only direct you to the main article, but also to related articles which you would otherwise miss.
• This may be the single most useful reference source in music.
• Also available is the actual New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (ML100 .N48 2001).
• There are several guides to music research available in the library containing both advice and descriptions of useful resources. 
• Advanced assignments cannot be completed solely with one library’s resources. Sometimes you will need to either visit other libraries, preferably university libraries with a graduate music program, or utilize ILL (Interlibrary Loan). ILL takes about a week and is free. You may order ILLs at the library’s home page.  Also available there are search engines for finding materials to order and ILL FAQ’s.
• Keep track of your research. Write down each source you look in, even if it is a dead end. This will save you time in the long run.
• Be aware of possible multiple spellings, especially when dealing with foreign languages. Example: For some online searches, “Barber of Seville” would not find “Il Barbiere di Siviglia.”
• Research Guides (located on the library’s Research Page) – Research Guides are annotated bibliographies describing useful resources – both in the library and online – along with useful research strategies.
• Get help from a librarian.
• Don’t give up!

1.  Library Catalog - Search by composer’s name or a key word within title of composition.

NOTE: The library will not have books on every composer. You may need to use a book that discusses multiple composers. (SEE Biography Tab above.)
Use the faceted search box to limit your search to such things as books, music (scores), sound recordings (CDs, audio files), eBooks, VHS, DVD, etc.

 2.  WorldCat - The WorldCat search engine contains 1.2 billion titles and covers 10,000 libraries worldwide. It contains citations to books, ebooks, videos, music and music scores, dissertations, and even some articles. No full text is available, only citations! You can create an account in WorldCat, if you wish, by setting up a user name and password. but you do not have to have one to conduct searches. However, account holders can create and name lists, share lists, print lists, view other people's lists, and compose notes to describe your lists. Also, WorldCat generates citations in APA, Chicago, Harvard, MLA, and Turabian styles. You can also sign up for a RSS feed.

3.  PASCALCAT - A service provided by PASCAL (Palmetto Association of South Carolina's Academic Libraries) to academic colleges and universities in the state.  PASCALCAT is a union catalog of the library collections of the universities and colleges in South Carolina.  Items can be searched, saved, and emailed to yourself.  You can email the bibliographic information to the Thrift Library as an Interlibrary Loan request.  You must also submit a form to the library with your name, email address, or home number. 

Research your topic using the library’s databases. (See Databases Tab) Some articles will be in full text.

Current subscriptions are on the periodical shelves next to the fireplace. Read for pleasure or to stay current.

Check the A-Z Title List on the library’s web page to determine what we have online AND what we have in house.       

If not available, either online or in house, use Interlibrary Loan. This is where the library obtains the article from another library. ILL takes about a week and there is no charge.

Scores may be cataloged in multiple formats, such as books, reference books, and miniature scores. There are also many websites containing free scores and sheet music.

Musical Scores are cataloged in the M's according to the Library of Congress Classification System.

               M – Scores

               ML – Literature on music

               MT – Musical Instruction and Study

To find a score in OneSearch, search for the composer or composition, and then limit your search to Score.

Be mindful of spelling errors or variations of spellings.