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:
