Identifying Reference Materials
Reference Sources:
- Are an excellent places to start when researching an unfamiliar topic, first performing a piece, or writing programme notes.
They typically contain:
- Background information
- Lists of primary/secondary sources on a topic
- Pointers to useful resources on a topic
For a comprehensive list of music reference sources, see:
Below are some of the common music reference sources, examples, and possible uses:
| Type | Example | Uses |
| Encyclopedia | Grove Music Online | For comprehensive articles on music and musicians, as well as composer works lists |
| Dictionary | Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians | For finding out brief biographical details about composers, performers, music scholars, etc. |
| Bibliography | The Musical: a Research and Information Guide | For comprehensive lists of sources on a specific topic |
| Discography | Giacomo Meyerbeer: a Discography of Vintage Recordings, 1889 - 1955 | For comprehensive lists of recordings of specific artists, genres, labels, etc. Particularly useful in jazz and popular music research |
| Thematic Catalogue | Catalogue of Carl Nielsen's Works | For lists of the complete works of a composer, including performance history, manuscript sources, and bibliography |
| Texts & Translations | Exploring Art Song Lyrics | For song texts and translations. Often includes International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions |
Finding Tertiary Sources
There are several useful reference tools for music. If you are searching for reference materials through the Library Catalogue:
- Ensure you are in the "Advanced Search" interface
- Search for sources using a combination of terms and fields, e.g.:
- music (select SU Subject in the drop down menu) AND [insert reference type here, e.g. Dictionary, or Encyclopedia...]
- Add other keyword terms if needed, e.g. 20th c., Asian, Blues...
- Finally, limit to relevant source types: e.g. books, electronic resources...
The following databases may also be helpful:
DRAM (Database of Recorded American Music) is a great resource for discovering information about recordings, including labels, recording dates, performers, liner notes and cover art! The University of Alberta Library does not subscribe to this database, so unfortunately its streaming audio content is not accessible. However, with the information available, it is very likely you'll be able to find many of these recordings on youtube.