Music Research Guide

 The purpose of this guide is to help you find quality information on music-related topics to support research for MVCC music courses.

Library Catalog

"Music" as a subject heading is probably too broad. Try using narrower terms:

• Music 18th Century (or 17th, 19th, 20th)
• Music United States (or other country name)
• Music history and criticism
• Music theory
• Musical instruments
• Popular music
• Rock music
• Jazz
• Beethoven (or other composer or artist name)

Recordings: Click cd or cassette tape under format box left of page.

Use encyclopedias and dictionaries to find background information on a topic and to identify search terms.

• Britannica Online: look here for background information on composers, genres, musical periods, and some images
• The Harvard Dictionary of Music REF ML100 .A64 2003
• The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians REF ML100 .N48 2001
• The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz REF ML102.J3 N48 1988 
• The New Grove Dictionary of American Music REF ML101.U6 N48 1986 
• Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music REF ML102.P66 G84 1995
• Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia REF ML102.O6 M47 1987 
• The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre REF ML102.M88 G3 1994 
• The Oxford Companion to Music REF ML100 .S37 2002 
• New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll REF ML102.R6 R64 1995 
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music REF ML102.P66 V57 2002

Online Databases

Most of the library's magazines and journals specifically about music are carried in the databases listed below. Ask a librarian or see the Finding Journal and Magazine Articles Guide for help with using the article databases.

• Academic Search Complete indexes 80 music-related publications, of which approximately half are available as full-text.
• Expanded Academic ASAP provides access to approximately 30 music-related publications.

Web Resources

• Allmusic is a comprehensive resource for information about musicians, albums, and genres.
• Librarians' Internet Index Music is a portal to numerous websites that have been selected and evaluated by librarians
• Worldwide Internet Music Resources from the William and Gayle Cook Music Library at the Indiana University School of Music is a portal to hundreds of resources.
  
• The Library of Congress - Performing Arts Reading Room: Music, Theater & Dance provides access to the LC collection of scores, sheet music, audio recordings, films, photographs, maps, and other materials.

Revised Fall 2010