MUSIC IN LIBRARIES: Music Reference Preconference Workshop Loyola University, 8 October 2009 Joint Meeting of the Southeast and Texas Chapters of the Music Library Association
Learning Outcomes
1. Name the questions to ask in a music reference interview.
2. Identify the most common formats for music materials.
3. Identify strategies for successfully locating vocal and instrumental music.
Music in Libraries: Just the Basics – October 8, 2009 Music Reference Workshop, Sha Towers & Mary Du Mont Brower
4. Describe various components used in classical music titles.
5. Name free and subscription internet sites useful for answering music reference questions.
6. List basic music reference materials.
Music in Libraries: Just the Basics – October 8, 2009 Music Reference Workshop, Sha Towers & Mary Du Mont Brower
Audio Formats
LP or Long-playing records Also known as vinyl recordings, phonographs or 33 1/3rds. Popular from 1955 through early 1990s, with a few still being produced for the audiophile market. Worldcat search: material type = LP, keyword 33.
78rpm or 78s Popular from 1910 – 1950s. Playback requires 78 rotations per minute/speed. A few modern record players with adjustable speeds of 78rpm, 45rpm and 33 1/3 rpm are available. Worldcat search: material type = 78s
Audiocassette or cassette Popular in US from 1964 to 1990s, still produced in other countries. Worldcat search: material type = cassette or keyword cassette.
CD or compact disc Introduced in 1982, still the dominant audio format. Will play in CD players, media players and computers with disc drives. Variants on the standard CD: DualDisc – CD on one side, DVD on the other. ECD or Enhanced CDs – includes limited multimedia content. SACD or super audio CD – higher sampling rate, spatial sound capability. The audio on all of these CDs will play in regular CD players; media players or media capable computers are needed for visual material. Worldcat search: material type = CD or keyword phrase “compact disc.”
DVD-Audio High fidelity audio, requires media player.
Digital audio files This is a whole other workshop! Variety of file types and uses. For a good resource on digital audio files, see Digital Audio in the Library /Richard Griscom http://richardgriscom.com/da/
A good resource about playback equipment is: Audio and Video Equipment Basics for Libraries / Jim Farrington. (Music Library Association Basic Manual Series, No. 5.) Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2006.
Music in Libraries: Just the Basics – October 8, 2009 Music Reference Workshop, Sha Towers & Mary Du Mont Brower
Print Formats
General terms
Sometimes people will use the terms “sheet music” and “score” generically to mean printed music. These terms can also be used in a more technical sense as described below.
Full score A score in which all the parts for voices and instruments are included. Each part has its own line of music and all the lines are in vertical alignment, so that the parts may be read simultaneously. This would be the version of the printed music used by a conductor.
Miniature or study score A full score, but usually smaller in size or print, intended for study, not for use in performance.
Part The music notation for just one instrument or voice. Search keyword “part” or “parts.”
Score and Parts The complete set of individual parts for every instrument/voice in a given musical work plus the full score.
Choral score Voice parts on top. If the music includes instrumental accompaniment, a keyboard part (piano or organ usually) will appear directly below the voice parts in vertical alignment. Used for oratorios, cantatas, choral anthems, etc.
Piano-vocal score / vocal score Vocal line on top, with piano part directly below in vertical alignment. Piano part is an arrangement or reduction of the original orchestral/instrumental parts. Frequently used by singers to learn or rehearse songs from operas and musicals. Search keyword “vocal score.”
Sheet Music Vocal line on top, with piano part underneath. Often includes chord symbols above the vocal line for guitar, ukulele, etc.
Fake Book A type of musical shorthand that includes the melody line with chords symbols. May contain complete or partial lyrics. Often only includes one stanza and refrain/chorus. Often used by jazz and popular music performers.
Music in Libraries: Just the Basics – October 8, 2009 Music Reference Workshop, Sha Towers & Mary Du Mont Brower
Music Reference Basic Collection
BACKGROUND RESOURCES IF YOU'RE NEW TO MUSIC
Johnson, Julian. Classical music: a beginner's guide. Oxford: Oneworld, 2009.
Pogue, David. Classical music for dummies. Foster City CA: IDG Books Worldwide, 1997.
The Harvard Dictionary of Music. 4th ed. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2003. Everything except biographical information. Clear, concise, authoritative, good definitions of styles/genres, including popular and folk. $45.00
GENERAL RESOURCES TO USE FOR MUSIC REFERENCE
"Guide to Reference." http://www.guidetoreference.org/HomePage.aspx (accessed October 5, 2009).
Balay, Robert. Guide to reference books. 11th ed. Chicago: American Library Association, 1996.
Duckles, Vincent. Music reference and research materials : an annotated bibliography. 5th ed. New York: Schirmer Books, 1997.
Grove Music Online Includes the full text New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd edition), the New Grove Dictionary of Opera, and New Grove Dictionary of Jazz (2nd edition). See http://www.oup.com/online/grovemusic/ OR New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians / ed. Stanley Sadie. nd New York: Oxford University Press, c2001. 2 ed. 29 volumes with index. $1,000 - $1,500.00.
Baker’s biographical dictionary of musicians / Nicolas Slonimsky, ed. emeritus. New York: Schirmer Books, c2001. Centennial ed. 6 volumes. $865. Indexes by genre, nationality, women. Also available as E-book, see publisher’s information http://gale.cengage.com
Garland encyclopedia of world music / advisory editors, Bruno Nettl and Ruth M. Stone. New York: Garland Pub., 1998-2002. 10 volumes and 9 compact discs. $4,300.00 for the set or individual volumes @ $450.00. Newly available online, see http://alexanderstreet.com/products/glnd.htm
Music in Libraries: Just the Basics – October 8, 2009 Music Reference Workshop, Sha Towers & Mary Du Mont Brower
Concise Garland encyclopedia of world music, 2 vols. and 2 CDs now available $250.00
Encyclopedia of Popular Music / ed. Colin Larkin. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. 4th ed. 10 volumes. $1,295.00 Biographical information only. Newly available online - http://www.oup.com/online/epm/ - or as part of Oxford Music Online, which includes Grove Music Online. See http://www.oup.com/online/omo /
RESOURCES FOR FINDING SONGS
Goodfellow, William. Where's that tune?: an index to songs in fakebooks. Metuchen N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1990.
"The Center for Popular Music - Research Collection." http://popmusic.mtsu.edu/research.html#SHEET%20MUSIC%20COLLECTION (accessed October 5, 2009).
"UW Libraries - Music Library -Popular Song Database." http://db.lib.washington.edu/popsong/ (accessed October 5, 2009).
"UT Song Index at the George F. DeVine Music Library." http://www.lib.utk.edu/music/songdb/ (accessed October 5, 2009).
Fuld, James J. Book of world-famous music: classical, popular, and folk. New York: Dover Publications, 2000. 5th ed., rev. and enl. $23.00 History and facts on famous pieces of music, entries one paragraph to one page.
Lax, Roger. Great song thesaurus / Roger Lax. New York: Oxford University Press, c1989. 2nd ed., updated and expanded. Including year-by-year list of significant songs 1558 to 1986. Out of print, but several copies on Advanced Book Exchange.
Song finder : a title index to 32,000 popular songs in collections, 1854-1992. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1995. Out of print. List price: $112.95. Available online starting around $5.00. Webpage for this title on Greenwood Press website states: “This book is not currently available for purchase Online. Please call 1-800-225-5800 to backorder.”
A dictionary of opera and song themes : including cantatas, oratorios, lieder, and art songs = originally published as A dictionary of vocal themes, compiled by Harold Barlow and Sam Morgenstern. New York : Crown Publishers, c1976. rev. ed. Out of print, available used online from various sources.
A dictionary of musical themes, by Harold Barlow and Sam Morgenstern ; introduction by John Erskine. London : Faber and Faber, 1983.
Music in Libraries: Just the Basics – October 8, 2009 Music Reference Workshop, Sha Towers & Mary Du Mont Brower
Out of print, used copies available online from various sources, starting around A free online version is available at http://www.multimedialibrary.com/Barlow/index.asp.
The Billboard book of top 40 hits, Joel Whitburn. New York : Billboard Books, c2004. $27.95
Joel Whitburn's [...] Menomonee Falls, Wis. : Record Research. Various chart compilations available from standard sources or online at: https://www.recordresearch.com/pop.php
SUPER TASTY, "DON'T KNOW HOW TO CATEGORIZE YOU" RESOURCES
"allmusic." http://allmusic.com/ (accessed October 5, 2009).
"WorldCat.org." http://www.worldcat.org/ (accessed October 6, 2009).
"Music Selection Resources on the WWW." http://www.halcyon.com/aseaberg/ (accessed October 5, 2009).
Musical instruments of the world: an illustrated encyclopedia with More Than 4000 Original Drawings / by the Diagram Group. New York: Bantam Books, 1978, c1976. Excellent drawings of instruments from around the world. Out of print – many copies on Advanced Book Exchange.
Music in Libraries: Just the Basics – October 8, 2009 Music Reference Workshop, Sha Towers & Mary Du Mont Brower
Music Reference !!Free!! Web Resources
Pop Music
Allmusic.com Good general resource—artist biographies, discographies and more.
Billboard - http://www.billboard.com/ Charts of hit songs.
Greatest Hits, 1820 -1860, Variety Music Cavalcade http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/sm2html/sm2great.html Includes printed music online for some songs.
Pop Culture Madness – Pop Music Charts & Reviews http://www.popculturemadness.com/Music/ “...a true list of songs that have outlasted the rest from their era...subject to change...” Songs by year 1920 – 2008.
Lyrics
Lied and Art Song Texts Page - http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/ For classical songs.
UT Song Index - http://www.lib.utk.edu/music/songdb/ Indexes about 50,000 in 1,500 published song anthologies owned by the Univ. of TN-Knoxville music library.
Mudcat Café - http://www.mudcat.org/
Gracenote Lyrics™ (formerly cddb) http://www.gracenote.com/business_solutions/lyrics/ use “Music search” box on left to find lyrics
Yahoo! Music Lyrics - http://music.yahoo.com/lyrics
Google Directory – Lyrics http://www.google.com/Top/Arts/Music/Lyr ics/
Libraries and Archives
Worldcat.org Free version of oclc worldcat database
Sheet Music Consortium (UC Los Angeles, Indiana University, Johns Hopkins University and Duke University. Lives at UCLA) http://digital.library.ucla.edu/sheetmusic/ Performing Arts Encyclopedia A guide to the rich performing arts collection at the Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/performingarts/
Free Sheet Music Links http://www.freesheetmusic.net/thelinks4b.html Music in Libraries: Just the Basics – October 8, 2009 Music Reference Workshop, Sha Towers & Mary Du Mont Brower
Music Specialists in your area?
Other resources?
Music in Libraries: Just the Basics – October 8, 2009 Music Reference Workshop, Sha Towers & Mary Du Mont Brower