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Information Resources for Introduction to Music Literature

WebCat - the database used to locate books and all other materials owned by the University Libraries.  Don't forget that "ink on paper" resources are generally authoritative and are still the easiest to use for many questions.

Research Databases - these proprietary databases are leased by the Shenandoah University Libraries at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars annually.  They include materials which are accurate and authoritative and have search interfaces designed by experts to make your search for information easier.  Using these databases will generally provide more accurate information more quickly and easily than using "free" Internet sources.

Web Sites - Caution:  The sites listed below are available "free" of charge on the Internet.  They have been selected by experts for their accuracy and reliability.  However, one should always use a critical eye in evaluating information found for free on the WWW. 
 

Library Home - Catalog - Journal Locator - Databases - Internet Resources - Media - Reference/Instruction - User Services - General Info -
Off-Campus Support - Forms - Faculty Info - Other Libraries - Site Index

        Research Databases          

Grove Music Online -  "is an integrated music resource on the web, including the full text of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (second edition; 29 volumes), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (4 volumes) and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz (second edition; 3 volumes). Grove Music Online will be updated annually to ensure it remains the most up to date music reference work on the Internet."  (remote access requires username and password)

Music Index Online -  from Harmony Park Press surveys more than 700 music periodicals including some international titles.  All music subject areas with are covered beginning in 1979. (remote access requires username and password)

(If you need earlier articles try the print version of Music Index in the Reference Department - it covers 1949 to 2000.  The call number is ML118.M84). 

Music Literature (RILM) - (remote access requires username and password) provided by FirstSearch, RILM is an international (202 languages) index of  more than 356,000 citations and abstracts taken from over 500 periodicals and other types of materials including  "books, bibliographies, catalogs, dissertations, films and videos, conference proceedings and more."  Indexing of some materials dates back to 1967.  Updated monthly, RILM is assembled by the City University of New York.

Naxos - more than 75,000 recordings including opera, vocal, orchestral, chamber, folk, acid jazz and more.  Available 24 hours a day

Journal Locator - is an alphabetical list of journals and magazines to which the University Libraries provide access.  This title list will, in most cases, tell you the dates available for a particular electronic title, and you can connect to the appropriate database.  You can then search the database for the title you need. 
If we subscribe to a title in print format, SU Journal Collection will be stated and you can connect to the catalog record which will show our subscription holdings.  The catalog record will tell you whether a title is available in paper or on microfilm.
Approximately 17,000 titles are available

InterLibrary Loan Forms - just click here to bring up the forms for books and journals.  Remember, you must make sure that we do not have access to what you need in our local collection, BEFORE you make a request.  Paper versions of these forms are available at the circulation and reference desks of the University Libraries.

Music in Print - "an internet-based fully-searchable sheet music index."  Features choral, orchestral, sacred, string, woodwind, piano, and other categories

WorldCat - if you cannot find the book you're looking for in the Smith Library, WorldCat contains records of over 52 million items in over 400 languages from over 50,000 participating libraries from around the world.  As you might expect, most records are of books, but you will find records of any conceivable item a library might own including audio and video recordings, computer programs, archival materials, maps, music scores and more.  Some items in this database date to before 1,000 B.C. Approximately one million items are being added annually, and WorldCat is updated daily.  (remote access requires username and password)

Dissertation Abstracts - provides access to records of doctoral dissertations and master theses from all fields of endeavor.  Over 1.5 million records some dating to as early as 1861.   Dissertations abstracts since 1980.  Theses abstracts since 1988.
 

    Remember to read on-screen instructions; some systems are actually quite friendly.

     Use online help features for more detailed explanations of how to search each particular
     database.
 

     Always feel free to ask a librarian for help!!

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                         Web Sites            

Caution:  The sites listed below are available free of charge on the Internet.  They have been selected by experts for their accuracy and reliability, however one should always use a critical eye in evaluating information found free on the WWW.

The following six sites, just below, were selected by Professor Shaw:

Merriam - Webster Online
Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary

DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS IN MUSICOLOGY-ONLINE - courtesy Indiana University Center for the History of Music Theory and Literature
The British Library - "The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest libraries"
The Library of Congress - "The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with more than 130 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves"
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
 

Sites for Specific Projects

        Doctoral Dissertations in Music History Web Search Site

        The British Library

        The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Metasites

WWW Sites in Music - courtesy of the Cook Music Library at Indiana University School of Music.  This well organized site offers links to research materials, information on all genres, journals and magazines, and much more.  The opening page looks simple, but be sure to take the time to explore this site.
Internet Resources for Music Scholars - featuring MIDI resources, online journals, and music publishers' and vendors' sites.  Courtesy of the Loeb Music Library at Harvard University
The Music Division of The New York Public Library is one of the world's preeminent music collections
Voice of the Shuttle: Music and Dance Page - this highly selective list of resources for music and dance research is organized chronologically.  Check out "Computers and Music."  Courtesy of Professor Alan Liu of the University of California - Santa Barbara
Ethnomusicology, Folk Music, and World Music Contents - courtesy of the University of Washington Libraries
 

Libraries, Archives and Collections

Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920 - courtesy of the Library of Congress and Duke University
African-American Sheet Music, 1850-1920 - courtesy of the Library of Congress and Brown University
American Song Lyrics - The lyrics in this searchalbe database "are selected from the sheet music collection in the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library of Duke University. The bulk of the collection is from about 1830 to 1930 and was published in the United States. Bibliographic information about the works in the database may be found in the Sheet Music Index."  Courtesy of Lois Schultz and Duke University Libraries Music Library Association Sheet Music Collections - courtesy of Lois Schultz and Duke University Libraries
The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music - part of a special collection at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library at Johns Hopkins University.  This database allows for the retrievel of music fascimiles of popular
music from 1780 to 1960.
Parlor Music MIDI Collection Archive Link - audio clips of over 700 songs from the 1800's to 1920.  Historical information included plus links to other realted web sites.
Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology Online - "an index to dissertations-in-progress and a bibliography of completed dissertations reported since mid-1995."  Both searchable and browsable, this easy to use resource is provided courtesy of Indiana University
Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments - Over 1,000 instruments are housed at the actual museum, but graphics of many ancient instruments are available at this site
Project Gutenberg Music Website - a Chamber Music Archive, "you'll find free scores and parts of public domain music, digitized in a variety of printable, playable and editable formats"
University of Tennessee Song Index - "a publicly-available database providing access to about 50,000 songs in more than 1,500 published song anthologies"
 

Vocal and Instrumental Music

ClassicalNet - hundreds of CD reviews and over 2,500 links.  A for-profit site provided by L.D. Lampson.
ChoralNet - the official website of the International Federation of Choral Music
Aria Database - provided courtesy of Dan Glauber a graduate school student at the University of Colorado.  It "includes translations and aria texts of most arias"
Lieder and Song Texts Page - courtesy of Emily Ezust.  It is a part of the "Classical Music Web Ring."
Opera Libretti - provides dozens of "public domain and other vocal texts."  Courtesy of Lyle K. Neff, and adjunct faculty member at the University of Delaware
Opera Glass - courtesy of Richard Bogart, a member of the Stanford University Symphonic Chorus.  It provides libretti, source texts, performance histories, synopses. and discographies
The Classical Music Pages - "almost everything you need concerning classical music- its history, biographical information about composers (with portraits and short sound examples), explanations of the various musical forms and a dictionary of musical terminologies. It is designed to be of use for everyone from "beginners" to the music professional - decide for yourself how deeply you follow the links"
 

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