Web Sites for Music
The following are links to selected Internet
resources for Music, chosen by librarians as quality sources of
information. For additional resources, consult Web links from Other
Music Libraries or try one or more Search
Engines.
Remember to evaluate
critically all Internet resources before using them in your
research!
Composers | Other Music Libraries
Grove Music Online (Available on campus only)
This online version of the 2nd edition of the standard New Grove dictionary also includes the New Grove Dictionary of Opera and New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. It offers keyword searching of articles, biographies, bibliographies, and contributors. You can also browse by article title, abbreviations, or contributors. This is a key place to begin your research!
Encyclopedia of Music in Canada
An electronic version of the second edition of The
Encyclopedia of Music in Canada (REF ML106.C3E5 1992). Not a
comprehensive music encyclopedia, this source is limited to information
about Canadian music.
Naxos Music Library is a collection of classical music. "It includes the complete Naxos and Marco Polo catalogues of over 130,000+ tracks". You can read notes on the works being played as well as biographical information on composers or artists in Naxos's extensive database.
American Memory: Collections (Library of Congress)
Click on "Performing Arts" to search the Library of
Congress's collections including "African-American Sheet Music,
1850-1920," "Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music, 1870-1885,"
"The American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment,
1870-1920," and much more. Essays on related topics are included
as well as scanned images of the sheet music, itself!
American Music on the World Wide Web
(The Society for American Music)
Provides links to dramatic, popular, sacred, and classical music
sites including opera, jazz, blues, ragtime, gospel, and much more.
While some resources pertain to current topics in American music,
others offer great historical information.
A collection of information on over 1,200 arias from
170 operas, offering over 380 translations, 1,000 aria texts, and
223 MIDI files. Visitors can do advanced searching or browse the
alphabetical listing of arias. The entries are cross-referenced,
and most include links or information on finding recordings and
related materials.
The Choral Public Domain Library
"The largest website devoted exclusively to free choral sheet music." Begun in 1998, this site provides almost 4,000 scores of choral music for free downloading.
Provides basic data, important works, and influences
of 444 major composers. Browse by composer, geographical location,
or musical form or style. This is a great resource for choosing
pieces of music that are similar to pieces you already know and
appreciate!
This site offers an excellent Guide to Composer Data
& Works Lists. It also provides CD reviews, articles, interviews,
a list of recommended recordings, and much more.
Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology-Online (DDM-Online)
Provided by the Indiana University School of Music,
this site "presents an index to dissertations-in-progress and a
bibliography of completed dissertations reported since mid-1995,
arranged under the traditional broad categories."
From Duke University, this well-organized site offers
extensive links to other Web sites on composers, music genres, international
music organizations, and much more.
IAWM (International Alliance for Women in Music)
Offers valuable information for and about women composers
and women in music including "bibliographies, discographies, work
lists, syllabi, press releases, journal articles and publisher information."
Some features include a comprehensive Women's
Early Music section and a useful
introduction to music research online page.
The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music
(Johns Hopkins University)
This collection "contains over 29,000 pieces of music and focuses
on popular American music spanning the period 1780 to 1960." The
composer, lyricist, arranger, and performer of the music are listed
as well as instrumentation and publication information. Images of
the music, itself, are available if the music is in the public domain.
Music Publishers' Association (MPA)
Provides access to MPA publications, a Directory
of Music Publishers, and information on international music
organizations. Also offers a Copyright
Resource Center, complete with a guide to researching copyright
holders as well as forms for requesting permission to arrange or
copy music.
Necrology (database provided by Gaylord Library, Washington
University, St. Louis, MO)
Includes birth and death dates for important figures in the field
of music. Citations for obituaries are included.
Contains information about the history of jazz in
Norway and especially about Norwegian jazz musicians from 1905 to
the present. The site includes discographic information about jazz
recordings, biographies, historical overviews, photographs, sound
clips, and a set of links to musicians' and record companies' Web
sites.
Public Domain Opera Libretti and Other Vocal Texts
Collection of libretti, organized by title and composer.
The Red Hot Jazz Archive: A History of Jazz Before 1930
This site offers biographies, discographies, and photos of early Jazz musicians and bands as well as essays on Jazz before 1930. It also features video clips of Jazz films and substantial examples of early recordings (requires VideoActive Player and RealPlayer).
"A searchable and browseable database to nearly
seven years' worth of the Scout Report and subject-specific Scout
Reports. It contains 11,363 critical annotations of carefully selected
Internet sites and mailing lists."
Women
Composers and Women's Music
(Indiana University Music Library)
An extensive classified list of Internet resources offering access
to course syllabi, personal home pages, discographies, publishers,
and numerous links to other resources devoted to women and music.
Worldwide Internet Music Resources
(Indiana University Music Library)
Well organized and thoughtfully collected, this extensive site provides
access to Web information on all topics of music.
Beethoven Bibliography Database
From San Jose State University, "The Beethoven Bibliography
Database is a fully-indexed bibliography of published materials
relating to Ludwig van Beethoven. The Database currently includes
books, articles, and first and early editions of scores from the
Beethoven Center's collection." Type O (Other Databases)
and then B (Beethoven) to access the database.
Provides birth and death dates, short biographies,
and links to sites with more in-depth information. This is a work
in-progress; entries for composers are added regularly.
This site provides extensive information about the
life and work of Wagner. You can read Wagner's writings and letters
(mostly in German), look at quotations on Wagner, and read contemporary
works on Wagner. A great feature of the site is the link to "Operas"
which supplies plot synopses of the composer's operas.
Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library (Harvard University)
Mills
Music Library (University of Wisconsin–Madison)
Sibley Music
Library (Eastman School of Music)
University of Washington Music Library
See especially their extensive Internet
Resources page.
William
and Gayle Cook Music Library (Indiana University)