Music: Guide to Research

Tracey Rudnick, Music Librarian and Liaison to Dramatic Arts
tracey.rudnick@uconn.edu; 486-0519

Many electronic resources and services cited in this guide are also found on the Music subject web page. This page was originally written for a an introductory graduate seminar. Please consult a librarian for more in-depth research resources.

Table of Contents

GENERAL INFORMATION

A Note About the Libraries

The Music & Dramatic Arts Library has most of the books and journals about music, as well as musical scores, sound recordings, videos, and access to electronic resources. Most electronic resources are also available at the Music Library. The Homer Babbidge Library (HBL) may also have some materials relevant to your projects. All materials are listed in HOMER, the library's online catalog. See also: Music Library floorplans and virtual tours, Music Library hours, Babbidge Library virtual tours, and hours.

Starting Points

UConn Library Homepage: http://www.lib.uconn.edu.

Music & Dramatic Arts Library: http://www.lib.uconn.edu/music (especially the "Find Music Materials" menu)

Tutorials

Visit the Libraries' web tutorial on basic library research skills.

Music students should also consult Richard Wingell's Writing About Music: An Introductory Guide(ML3797 .W54 1997 Music Lib Ref) to learn more about researching and writing about music.

Reference Assistance

All of the libraries have reference librarians ready to assist you. In the Music Library see Tracey Rudnick, the Music Librarian and Liaison to Dramatic Arts (860 486-0519, tracey.rudnick@uconn.edu). In the Babbidge Library go to the Reference Desk at Level 1; staff are on duty whenever the library is open.

Copying and Printing

See Photocopies and Printing link on Music & Dramatic Library homepages.

Off-campus Access to Resources

Off-campus users need a proxy account to access UConn's subscription databases. Read Proxy Account FAQ and Proxy Configuration for more information.

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1.   Use a music dictionary or encyclopedia to get background information on your topic.

[1]        See Dictionaries & Encyclopedias on the Music Library's Web site.

[2 through 6 have been deleted]

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2.   Do a subject search in the online catalog (HOMER) to find books on your topic.

A subject search helps you find materials about your composer, musical style, place, genre, instrument, or time period when you do not already know the author or title. Such books usually have citations to other sources. Here are some resources to help you do subject searches.

a. Read the guide, Finding Music #4: Subject Heading Search. It has detailed strategies for performing music subject searches in HOMER.

b. Look up the correct Library of Congress subject headings (LCSH) listed in Hemmasi’s Music Subject Headings (ML 111 .H36 1998 Music Library Ref.). Subject headings describe the entire work, rather than listing every topic discussed in a book, so if you do not find books on your topic, either make sure you have the right terms, or try a broader term (e.g., church music rather than hymns). LCSH also lists related, narrower, and broader terms.

Below are some frequently used subject searches.

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3.     Use bibliographies to get citations to articles, books, dissertations, and essays on your topic.

[7]           Diamond, Harold.  Music Analyses: An Annotated Guide to the Literature. ML 128.A7 D5 1991 Mus. Lib. Ref.

Lists articles, essays, and chapters that have analyses of musical works. For undergraduates, but very useful.

[8]           Duckles, Vincent and Ida Reed. Music Reference and Research Materials: An Annotated Bibliography. ML 113 .D83 1997 Mus. Lib. Ref.

_{This "bibliography of bibliographies" lists music reference books, including dictionaries, bibliographies, catalogs, and histories. Use it to help identify reference books on your topic.}

[9]           Wenk, Arthur.  Analyses of Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Music, 1940-1985. ML 113 .W45 1987 Mus. Lib. Ref.

Similar to Diamond, above, but much more in depth. Aimed more at graduate students and scholars.

_{[10]            To find additional bibliographies, do a subject search in the HOMER on your topic, then look for the subdivision --bibliography. For example, a HOMER subject search on britten yields two books under BRITTEN BENJAMIN 1913-1976--BIBLIOGRAPHY.}

_{Read more about bibliographies.}

_{Here is help with reading citations.}

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4.    A good amount of information is only available in periodical literature (especially recent or obscure scholarship). Use a periodical index to get citations to periodical (e.g., magazine and journal) articles.

[11]        Consult a brief guide to finding journal articles. There is a tutorial on that page with brief descriptions of electronic periodical indexes used in this assignment, as well as a link to a pros and cons comparison of music periodical indexes. It also includes information about citing resources and reading citations in bibliographies.

[12]        [link deleted]

[13]        For indexes in other disciplines, go to the UConn Libraries' Databases web page (on the UConn Libraries homepage).

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5.    Book reviews help you assess the author's authoritativeness, the book's significance, and the treatment of the topic (in general and in the book). Reviews may also point to other sources or suggest areas for study.

[14]        See Book Reviews on the Music Library's Web site.

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6.    Dissertations and theses are book-length studies completed as part of one's doctoral or masters work. They are often the only research on a topic, and may contain extensive bibliographies.

[26a]        See Dissertations on the Music Library's Web site.

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7.    Resources from other disciplines put your topic in a cultural, historical, political, and artistic context. Look up countries, people, styles, time periods, and the word "music." Here are examples:

[27]        On the UConn Libraries web pages try using the "Select a Research Subject" menu. Also use UConn's Research Database Locator and Resources by Subject to find print and electronic databases and encyclopedias for other disciplines (e.g., news, law, biographies, sciences, religion, etc.).

[28]        Biography Index.

_{Lists citations to general biographical articles year-by-year. Finds biographical articles in non-music sources.}

[29]        A Concise Encyclopaedia of the Italian Renaissance. 1981.

"Brief entries on general themes, history to humour, patronage to prostitution, technology to town planning. . . important names in music, art, science, literature, scholarship, politics, and religion, towns and states (etc.)."

[30]        Cook, Chris. English Historical Facts, 1603-1688. 1980.

Information on British government, education and church; includes chronologies.

[31]        Dictionary of Literary Biography. Available electronically. Also in various locations in Babbidge Ref.

Biographies, portraits, bibliographies, and works lists for literary figures in poetry, journalism, drama, fiction, etc.

[32]        Grabois, A. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Medieval Civilization. 1980.

"Brief entries about people, places and events.... Illustrations, maps and a chronological table." No bibliographies.

[33]        New Catholic Encyclopedia. 1967. or The New Century Italian Renaissance Encyclopedia..1972.

[34]        New York Public Library Book of Chronologies. 1990. or Timetables of History... 1991.

[35]        The New York Times Index or The New York Times Obituaries Index. 

[36]        Personal Name Index to "The New York Times Index," 1851-1974.

[37]        Oxford Companion to the Theater. 1983.

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8.    Much of your music research will require the use of scores and recordings. Most are listed in HOMER.

   [38]        See Scores (Printed Music) on the Music Library's Web site for search strategies, scores in other libraries, and scores on the Web.

   [39]        See Audio & Video Recordings on the Music Library's Web site for search strategies, music online, and recordings in other libraries.

This page is modeled after guides created by Beth Christensen (St. Olaf College).

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