LibGuides: Music: Finding Background Information

Useful Reference Resources

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians by Stanley Sadie (Editor); John Tyrrell (Editor)
Call Number: ML100.N48 2001

ISBN: 1561592390

Shelved at Fine Arts Library Reference. The online version is available through Oxford Music Online as Grove Music Online and includes Grove Jazz and Grove Opera.
Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart. allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik (MGG) by Friedrich Blume
Call Number: ML100.M875 1994

ISBN: 3476410005

Shelved at Fine Arts Library Reference. Sachteil for things, Personenteil for people.
MGG, like the other large foreign language sets, can be very useful for offering a comparative view or more information than Grove.
The Harvard Dictionary of Music by Don Michael Randel
Call Number: ML100.A64 2003

ISBN: 0674011635

Shelved at Fine Arts Library Reference. Also available online.
New Grove Dictionary of Women Composers by Julie Anne Sadie (Editor); Rhian Samuel (Editor)
Call Number: ML105.N38 1994

ISBN: 0333515986

Shelved at Fine Arts Library Reference.
International Dictionary of Black Composers by Samuel A. Floyd (Editor)
Call Number: ML105.I5 1999

ISBN: 1884964273

Shelved at Fine Arts Library Reference.
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of 20th Century Classical Music by Nicolas Slonimsky; Laura Kuhn (Editor)
Call Number: ML105.S612 1997

ISBN: 0028712714

Shelved at Fine Arts Library Reference.
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians
Call Number: ML105.B16 2001

ISBN: 0028655257

Shelved at Fine Arts Library Reference. Also available online.
A Chronology of American Musical Theater by Richard C. Norton
Call Number: ML1711.8.N3 N67 2002

ISBN: 0195088883

Shelved at Fine Arts Library Reference.
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin (Editor)
Call Number: ML102.P66 G84 2006

ISBN: 0195313739

Shelved at Fine Arts Library Reference. Also available online.
Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound by Frank Hoffmann (Editor)
Call Number: ML102.S67 E5 2005

ISBN: 041593835X

Shelved at Fine Arts Library Reference. Also available online.

Reference Databases

Oxford Music Online
Allows the simultaneous searching of The New Grove Dictionary of Music, 2nd edition; The Oxford Dictionary of Music; The Oxford Companion to Music; and Encyclopedia of Popular Music.
Oxford Bibliographies Online
Bibliographies in all areas of music, with citations, annotations, recommendations.
Garland Encyclopedia of World Music
Includes audio tracks, song texts, and score examples.
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Coverage from 1900 to the present, including rap, reggae, country, and electronic.
Gale eBooks
Includes encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources.

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