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Music Library Research Guide


The Music Library maintains a separate print collection of reference materials, including encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, discographies, catalogs, and directories. Reference assistance is available online or in-person (see Ask a Librarian).


ASU Local Databases

  • Song Index         

    The Song Index contains popular, folk, and art songs found in collections of songs owned by the Music Library. Each entry shows the title of the song, the composer, lyricist, first line, and the collection in which it is found.

  • ASU Performance Index

    The ASU Performance Index provides access to performances in the ASU School of Music from 1985 to the present. Included are recitals and concerts given by graduate students, faculty and large ensembles. The recordings are housed in the Music library. Each entry contains the performer, date of performance (ex: 1990/2-3), medium of performance (clarinet, piano, orchestra), and the music performed.

  • ASU Doctoral Dissertations: Current Research

    A searchable database for full text, citations and abstracts of ASU dissertations and theses.


Reference

  • Grove Music Online

    The most authoritative and extensive English language reference work on all aspects of music. It includes the full text of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. Grove Music Online undergoes regular revision and includes audio musical examples.

  • Naxos Music Library (Streaming Audio)

    Naxos Music Library, an online music listening service, is a collection of digitized sound recording files. It includes the complete Naxos, Marco Polo and Da Capo catalogues of over 85,000 tracks, including Classical music, Jazz, World, Folk and Chinese music. While listening, you can read notes on the works being played as well as biographical information on composers or artists.

  • Naxos Sheet Music Library

    • Delivers digital sheet music in all classical genres, spanning music from Medieval to the 21st century and composers from Bach to Arvo Part. Sheet music can be download 24/7 and printed using the freehand shopping cart system and downloaded Solero viewer. Downloaded Solero editions can be transposed into any key or clef, users can adjust tempo and listen to selections.

  • African American Song

    A streaming online music database and fully searchable resource. The collection contains a diverse range of genres such as jazz, blues, gospel, ragtime, folk songs, and narratives, among others. The interface enables patrons to organize, create, save and share their own selections of music.

  • American Song

    A streaming online music database and fully searchable resource. The collection contains a diverse range of genres such as jazz, blues, gospel, ragtime, folk songs, and narratives, among others. The database includes songs by and about American Indians, miners, immigrants, slaves, children, pioneers, and cowboys, as well as the songs of Civil Rights, political campaigns, Prohibition, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, anti-war protests and more. Liner notes to all the albums are included in PDF format.

  • Classical Music Library

    A streaming online music database and fully searchable classical music resource. Includes tens of thousands of licensed recordings sourced from many labels including EMI and Hyperion. The site also includes program notes, music play lists and supplementary reference information.

  • Classical Scores Library

    The Classical Scores Library contains 400,000 pages of important classical music scores, manuscripts, and previously unpublished material, allowing for the study and analysis of more than 8,000 musical scores. Many items have associated audio tracks in Classical Music Library, so that subscribers to both databases can listen to a recording online while following along with the full score. To view PDF images of scores, Adobe Acrobat Reader is required.

  • DRAM-Database of Recorded American Music

    Offers streaming access to 1,500+ cds, including liner notes, for a wide range of American musical styles ranging from folk to opera, Native American to jazz, 19th century classical to early rock, musical theater, contemporary, electronic, etc.

  • Smithsonian Global Sound® for Libraries

    A streaming online music database and fully searchable resource. Produced in partnership with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, it includes the published recordings owned by the non-profit Smithsonian Folkways Recordings label and the archival audio collections of the legendary Folkways Records, Cook, Dyer-Bennet, Fast Folk, Monitor, Paredon and other labels.

  • Analecta hymnica medii aevi digitalia

    Originally published in 55 volumes from 1886 to 1926, Analecta hymnica medii aevi contains Latin texts of hymns of the Catholic Church, 500-1400. This complete digital edition allows for searching the full text of the hymns, including the bibliographic references to manuscripts and prints. The user may also search by author and title, and browse by volume.

  • OCLC FirstSearch WorldCat

    Books and other materials in libraries worldwide. Includes bibliographic records for any type of material cataloged by OCLC member libraries.


Journal Indexes

  • International Index to Music Periodicals, Full Text Edition (IIMP)

    Covers a comprehensive range of subject areas in both scholarly and popular music journals from over 430 international music periodicals, with over 110 full text titles. Also indexes feature music articles and obituaries from The New York Times and The Washington Post. Provides title list for periodicals included.

  • RILM Abstracts of Music Literature

    Over 405,365 citations to articles, books, conference proceedings, bibliographies, dissertations, film, videos, etc. indexed by the Repertoire International de Litterature Musicale. Coverage is international and spans 1967 to present.

  • Music Index Online    

    Indexes journal articles, obituaries, book and music reviews, for both classical and popular music. Covers over 775 international music periodicals from 1976-present. (Printed volumes of the Music Index, covering 1949 to 2001, are available on the Index Table in the Music Reference area)


Other Online Databases

  • Music-In-Print

    The Music-In-Print Series include online searchable databases of published music in print such as Sacred Choral Music In Print, Piano Music In Print, Organ Music In Print, Band Music In Print, Guitar Music In Print, etc.

  • Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology

    An international database of bibliographic records for completed dissertations and new dissertation topics in the fields of musicology, music theory, and ethnomusicology, as well as in related musical, scientific, and humanistic disciplines.

  • Musical America.com

    An online version of the Musical America Directory. Also includes current music industry news, reviews, etc.


Databases Which Include Music Material

ASU Libraries provide access to many electronic databases for a broad range of subject areas.


Miscellaneous Links


Music Subject Guides

(print and electronic)