Guides
Wayfinders for our collections, tools, and servicesMusic research online: essential tools to explore Western art music: And a few more things...
Sources to help you construct an outline for research into a historical periods, genres, composers, instruments, and theoretical topics
Construct correct citations!
- Chicago manual of styleThe tools presented here by the University of Chicago Press are intended to help authors prepare manuscripts for submission to our press. They will also be of use to writers, editors, and publishers at other organizations who are looking for models for procedure and content. Tools include: Examples of Chicago-Style documentation, manuscript preparation, sample correspondence, proofreading, and process charts.
See, in particular:
| Format titles of musical works | Examples of correct citations |
| Titles of operas and songs | Music scores |
| Instrumental works | Manuscript (unpublished) scores |
| Opus numbers | Music recordings |
| Recordings | Video, film, TV |
| Websites and web pages |
Dig deeper into research
Oxford Bibliographies Online: MusicISBN: 9780199757824Bibliographies compiled for a variety of music topics, by experts in the field.
- Historical newspapersRead what the papers of the day wrote about your person of interest, or how critics reviewed a performance. What was happening at that time and place?
Guide to Library Research in Music by ISBN: 9780810861480Publication Date: 2008-09-18"... introduces the process and techniques for researching and writing about music. This informative textbook provides examples of different types of writing, offers a thorough introduction to music literature, describes various information-searching methods and library-based organizational systems, and explores the wide array of music resources"--book jacket.
Learn about uniform titles
- Uniform titles tutorialFrom the librarians at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Uniform titles make your catalog searching super efficient.
Explore Stanford's rare music holdings online
Stanford Libraries has begun digitizing its holding of rare music score manuscripts, first and early editions, and musicians' letters. Visit our Spotlight exhibit for close viewing and download of the images.
At right, JS Bach: Basso-Aria, "Ich Liebe den Höchsten" (1729)
