Yale University
Library / Irving S. Gilmore
Music Library
Subject Guides:
Music Research Guide
Music Databases (find articles, listen online, read full-text,
reference resources, etc.)
Note: click on the Yale Links icon 
to locate online full-text, if full-text is not present.
Journal Article Databases (more
info)
Audio Databases - Online Listening
Scores Databases - Online Printed or Manuscript Music
Reference Tools: Encyclopedias, etc.
(more info)
Interdisciplinary databases that include music
Note: In progress, please cut and paste the title below into the
MetaLib Find
Database title search box, or click
here for a similar list of interdisciplinary music, arts, cultural, and
humanities databases. (n.b. still need to search for full-text or full text)
- 19th Century Index
- Abbreviationes Online
- Academic Search - Broad, interdisciplinary database of popular and scholarly
periodical and other articles and citations.
- Accessible Archives - American newspapers from the 18th & 19th centuries
- American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series I
- American National Biography
- American Periodical Series - 1000 magazines published between 1741 and 1900
- America's Historical Newspapers (formerly Early American Newspapers) - Early
American newspapers published between 1690 and 1922
- Analecta Hymnica Online
- Arts & Humanities Citation Index (Who's Citing Articles)
- ArchiveGrid - Finding Aids for archival collections from libraries, museums,
and collections worldwide
- ArchivesUSA - Manuscript collections in the U.S.
- Bible In English
- Bibliography of Asian Studies
- Biography
Databases
- Biography and Genealogy Master Index
- Biography Index
-
Biography Resource Center - Reference Content (Compilation of more than
427,000 biographies from 135 print biographical dictionaries)
- Black Studies Database
- Book Review Digest
- Book Review Index
- Books In Print (paste title into Find Database)
- Britannica Online
- Catholic Periodical & Literature Index Online
- Center for Research Libraries - A Library for Libraries; Yale's membership
allows ILL borrowing privileges
- Chicano Database
- Database of Latin Dictionaries
- Dissertations
- Index to Theses ... Accepted for Higher Degrees by the Universities
of Great Britain and Ireland
- Universal Index of Doctoral Dissertations in Progress
- Ductus: an online course in paleography
- Early American Imprints: Series I
- Early American Imprints: Series II
- Early Canadiana Online
- Early English Books Online
- Eighteenth Century Collections Online
- Eighteenth century journals II
- Encyclopædia Britannica
- Essay and General Literature Index
- Factiva
- Facts on File World News Digest
- FRANCIS
- Gale Literary Databases (Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism
Select (CLC Select) and Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB)) - Iin-depth
information on the lives and writings of nearly 100,000 authors along with
critical reaction to their works.
- Gale Literary Index - Index to author names, including pseudonyms and variant
names
- Gale Virtual Reference Library - A database of encyclopedias, almanacs,
and specialized reference sources
- Gale's
Ready Reference Shelf - Directories for associations, research centers,
publishers, publications (ranging from newspapers and newsletters to periodicals
and directories), databases, television and radio stations and more.
- Hagiography Database
- Handbook of Latin American Studies
- Hispanic American Periodicals Index
- Historical Newspapers
- Historical Newspapers Complete
- Atlanta Constitution (1868 - 1925)
- Boston Globe (1872 - 1922)
- Chicago Tribune (1849 - 1985)
- Christian Science Monitor (1908 - 1992)
- Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1985)
- The New York Times (1851 - 2002)
- The Wall Street Journal (1889 - 1988)
- The Washington Post (1877 - 1989)
- History Online (Historical Newspapers Online)
- Humanities Abstracts Full Text
- IBZ Online (German-Language Journal Articles)
- In Principio
- Index of Christian Art
- Index to Theses ... Accepted for Higher Degrees by the Universities of Great
Britain and Ireland
- International Dictionary of Ballet via Gale's Ready Reference Shelf
- International Dictionary of Modern Dance via Gale's Ready Reference Shelf
- International Medieval Bibliography
- ITER: The Bibliography of Renaissance Europe, 1300-1700
- JSTOR (Journal Storage Project) (Retrospective Full-text Journals)
- King James Bible
- Lexis-Nexis Academic - Full-text news source that includes worldwide newspapers,
newsletters, news magazines, wire services, radio & television transcripts,
- Library Literature (Articles on Libraries)
- Library of Latin Texts
- Literature Compass
- Medieval Encyclopaedias & Bibliographies (Brepolis)
- Medieval Studies - Click here for more resources
- MLA Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
- Monumenta Germaniae Historica
- netLibrary Reference Center
- New Catholic Encyclopedia
- News or Newspapers (copy and paste into Find Database)
- News Resources
(note: not in MetaLib)
- Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers
- Opera del Vocabolario Italiano
- Oral History Online
- Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Edition
- Oxford Reference Online
- ProQuest Newspapers
- Patrologia Latina
- The performing arts in colonial American newspapers, 1690-1783 [computer
file] : text data base and index (on CD-ROM; search for title in Orbis)
- Periodicals Archives Online (ProQuest)
- Periodicals Contents Index
- Perseus Project
- Project Muse (Full-text Journals - Recent Years)
- Readers' Guide
- Readers' Guide Abstracts Full Text
- Reference Universe
- St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture
- Times Digital Archive
- Times of London
- ulrichsweb.com (Verify Periodical Titles and Information)
- ViVa: A Bibliography of Women's History
- WilsonWeb (Journal Articles & Citations)
- Women Writers Online
- World Biographical Index
- World Shakespeare Bibliography
- WorldCat (Union Catalog of Libraries)
- Xipolis German Reference Collection
- xreferplus
(Reference Tools)
- Yale University Library Finding Aid Database - Contents of the Yale's archival
collections
- Yale Online Reference Resources (Many General Reference Tools: Quotations,
Calculators, Grants, and more)
Top of page
Journal Article Databases
International
Index to Music Periodicals (IIMP)
- Indexes more than 400 scholarly and popular music periodicals, with an
emphasis on recent issues.
- 1997-present: Full text of articles for selected (ca. 42) titles
- 1996-present: Citations with subject indexing and abstracts for most journals
from 20 countries, as well as feature articles and obituaries from The Washington
Post and The New York Times
- 1990-1995: Brief citations (tables of contents), without subject indexing,
for selected (ca. 100) titles
- 1874-1990: Brief citations (tables of contents), without subject indexing,
for the complete or partial runs of selected titles
- Full-text for JSTOR journals (see also JSTOR: Music Titles)
- For dance and opera, see also the International Index to Performing Arts
(cited below)
- Updated monthly
- IIMP is produced and copyrighted by Chadwyck-Healey.
International Index to the Performing Arts (IIPA)
- Indexes more than 200 scholarly and popular performing arts periodicals
and
- Also includes biographical profiles, conference papers, obituaries, interviews,
discographies, reviews and events.
- Covers nearly all aspects of the world of performing arts, including
film, theater, opera, and dance.
- 1998-present: Full-text articles for 29 journals
- 1998-present: Citations, many with abstracts, and subject indexing for
145 journals, 1998-present.
- Brief citations (without subject indexing) for 63 journals prior to 1997
(may not include the complete runs of each title).
JSTOR (full database) or JSTOR:
Browse Music Titles
- JSTOR is a project of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for development
of a digital library in support of the arts and sciences on the World Wide
Web.
- The music journals include full-text for 35 scholarly music periodicals
- Coverage dates: a rolling window provides coverage from the first year
of publication to within 2-10 years of current year
Music Index
- Other versions: In print, 1949-present, including quarterly issues
for the current year: Music Library, Periodicals Room (ML102M) ML118 M987.
- Indexes more than 640 international scholarly and popular journals and
magazines. Best source for popular music.
- Years covered: the online version covers 1979-last complete year. Updated
annually.
- Years covered: the print version covers 1949-present. Updated quarterly.
- Bias toward English language.
- Full citation indexing: headings for authors, subject persons,
and subject topics.
- Also includes reviews of books, music recordings, tapes, and performances
(book reviews in a separate section)
- Notes first performances, obituaries, portraits, etc.
- Produced and copyrighted by Harmonie Park Press
RILM Abstracts of Music Literature
- Indexes international scholarly literature on music
- 1969-present
- Citations, subject indexing, and abstracts for articles in journals,
congress reports, and Festschriften; catalogs; dissertations; government
and international documents; symposia; and monographs
- Click on the Yale Links icon to link to full-text online
- Produced by the Repertoire International
de Litterature Musicale.
- Other versions: In print, 1967-1990, Music Library, Periodicals
Room ML118 R425
RIPM: Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals (1800-1950)
- Other versions: In Print: SML, MUSIC, Periodicals Room, ML102M,
cataloged separately according to journal title.
- Indexes and provides detailed contents descriptions for 51 periodicals
from 15 countries.
- Late-18th through mid-20th century coverage.
- Chronologically complements RILM coverage (though does not all the same
titles).
- Updated semi-annually.
- A retrospective project that issues ca. 10 new print volumes per year.
- Published under the auspices of the International Musicological Society,
the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation
Centres, and UNESCO's International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic
Studies
- Full-text version due to be launched in 2006.
- RIPM Home Page for more information.
Top of page
Audio Databases - Online Listening
African
American Song
- Streaming audio sound recordings of African American music.
- Contains jazz, blues, gospel, ragtime, folk songs, narratives, and similar
genres.
- Published by Alexander Street Press.
American
Song
- Streaming audio sound recordings relating to American history in song and
spoken word; initial release has 50,000 tracks.
- Liner notes are included (PDF files)
- Contains songs by and about American Indians, miners, immigrants, slaves,
children, pioneers, and cowboys, and others.
- Tracks relating to Civil Rights, political campaigns, Prohibition, the Revolutionary
War, the Civil War, anti-war protests and more.
- Aims to become the definitive source of American roots music and pre-1960
popular song.
- Encompasses musical genres including African American, American Indian,
bluegrass, blues, Cajun/Zydeco, children's, country, dance, folk, gospel,
jazz, old-time, ragtime, rhythm & blues, shape note singing, Tex-Mex and
Western
- Recording artists include Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Peggy Seeger, Si Kahn,
Lead Belly, Sleepy LaBeef, the New Lost City Ramblers, Otis Clay, Eddy "The
Chief" Clearwater, Nanci Griffith, The Lilly Brothers, Merle Travis,
and many others.
- Record labels include Rounder Records, McNeil Music, Native Ground Music,
Rebel Records, County Records, Smithsonian Folkways, and Document Records.
More labels will be added over time. Future additions include music from King/Starday
Records.
- Published by Alexander Street Press.
Classical
Music Library
- Streaming audio sound recordings of Western art music.
- Repertoire from more than 32 recording labels; see list
- New labels are added as they are licensed
- Published by Alexander Street Press
DRAM
- CD quality audio, complete and original liner notes and essays from New
World Records, Composers Recordings, Inc. (CRI) and other important labels.
- New World Records was initially a bicentennial project to produce 100 recordings
relating to American history, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. Genres
include folk to opera, Native American to jazz, 19th century classical to
early rock, musical theater, contemporary, electronic and beyond.
- CRI has an emphasis on contemporary music.
- Many of the other labels are devoted to new music; they include Albany (American
composers), Artifact (contemporary, and Aldous Huxley), Cedille (Chicago's
classical music heritage), Cold Blue Music (new music, particularly West-Coast
minimalism and post-minimalism), Deep Listening (new and experimental music),
Frog Peak Music (an artist-run composers collaborative), Innova Recordings
(label of the American Composers Forum), Lovely Music, Mode, Mutable Music,
Open Space, Pogus Productions (electronic, electro-acoustic, and experimental
music), and Xi (classical, electroacoustic, experimental, improvisation, minimalist).
- Published by DRAM, a non-profit organization.
Naxos
Music Library
- Sound recordings, primarily of western art music, but also including jazz,
blues, world and Chinese music
- Time-span: Middle Ages-present
- More than 165,000 tracks (11,000 CDs)
- Recording labels include the complete Naxos, Marco Polo, and Da Capo catalogs,
plus selected recordings from other licensed independent labels
- Also contains liner notes and texts
- More info: see http://www.naxosmusiclibrary.com/
Smithsonian
Global Sound
- Sound recordings of music, spoken word, and natural and human-made sounds
- Genres:
- World music from every continent
- Popular and folk music that pertains to American and Canadian history
and social and political movements
- Speeches, oral history, biography, memoir, drama, and poetry, including
poets reading their own works
- Language & music instruction
- A children's collection of counting games, childhood songs, holiday
tunes, stories, and sing-alongs from around the world
- Music recorded around the African continent by Dr. Hugh Tracey for the
International Library of African Music (ILAM) at Rhodes University
- Material collected by recordists on the South Asian subcontinent from
the Archive Research Centre for Ethnomusicology (ARCE), sponsored by the
American Institute for Indian Studies.
- Audio archives for Folkways Records, Cook, Dyer-Bennet, Fast Folk, Monitor,
Paredon and other labels.
- Published by Alexander
Street Press
Top of page
Scores Databases - Online Printed or Manuscript
Music
Classical Scores Library
- Classical Scores Library is a database of the most important scores and
manuscripts in the Western art music canon, allowing for the study and analysis
of more than 8,000 scores. As of September 2007 it includes 1113 scores.
- Includes musical works from the Renaissance through the twentieth-first
century.
- Works best with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher, and Firefox 1.0
or higher.
- For best performance, Adobe Reader 8 is recommended in order to jump directly
to movements within score PDFs.
- Published by Alexander
Street Press
.
Top of page
Reference Tools: Encyclopedias, etc.
All Music Guide
- Search for recordings by composer, lyricist, performer, title, album title
- Also contains biographical information, images, sound clips
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Music via
Biography
Resource Center
- The most authoritative and extensive biographical dictionary in English,
- A standard work from its 1st ed. in 1900; the Centennial Edition is the
9th to be published
- Brief profiles of the musical careers of individuals and groups from all
genres.
- Online version of Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. Centennial
Edition. Nicolas Slonimsky, Editor Emeritus. 6 vols. New York: Schirmer Reference,
2001.
- In print:
- MUSIC LIBRARY, SML, Reference Room, ML 101M (Non-Circ) ML105 B168 2001
v.1-v.6
- CCL, Reference, Upper Level ML105 B34 2000 (LC)+ Oversize v.1-v.6
- Related titles:
- Baker's biographical dictionary of popular musicians since 1990. 2 v.
New York : Schirmer Reference, 2004.
- MUSIC LIBRARY, SML, Reference Room, ML 101M (Non-Circ) ML102 P6
B168+ Oversize v.1-v.2
- SML, Starr Main Reference Room (Non-Circulating) ML102 P66 B35 2003
(LC)+ Oversize v.1-v.2
- International Who's Who in Classical Music MUSIC LIBRARY, SML, Reference
Room, ML 101M (Non-Circ) ML105 I61+ Oversize
- International Who's Who in Popular Music MUSIC LIBRARY, SML, Reference
Room, ML 101M (Non-Circ) ML105 I611+ Oversize
Contemporary Musicians via Biography
Resource Center
- Profiles of the musical careers of individuals and groups of the 20th century
forward.
- Primarily popular musicians, but includes some classical musicians, performance
artists, and ensembles
- Brief biographies, lists of compositions (if relevant), selected discography
and bibliography
- Online version of Contemporary Musicians. Vols. 1-57. Detroit: Gale, 1989-2006.
- In print: MUSIC LIBRARY, SML, Reference Room, ML 101M (Non-Circ)
Ref ML105 C761 G1+ Oversize, v. 1-3 only
Cantus:
A Database for Latin Ecclesiastical Chant
- Indices of the chants in selected manuscript and early printed sources of
the Divine Office.
- The texts are almost all in Latin, and the majority of them are drawn from
the Bible, very often from the book of Psalms.
- A CANTUS index of a particular source will normally be used by a scholar
who possesses a microfilm, a printed facsimile or digital images of that source
(or access to the actual document).
- Also supports searches for manuscript concordances and comparisons of chants
ordered in series.
- The project has an advisory panel of musicologists, with funding and support
from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and The
University of Western Ontario.
Dissertations
& Theses - Full-Text
- Contains full-text for most US dissertations since 1997, as well as many
that have been added by institutions prior to 1997
- Contains full-text for almost all Yale dissertations back to 1960, and some
prior to that date.
- Contains citations and abstracts for all US and many foreign dissertations.
- More information is contained on the More Info page, reached by following
the link above.
Doctoral Dissertations
in Musicology-Online
- Records for new dissertations-in-progress and completed dissertations.
- Full-text of many completed dissertations may be found in Dissertations
& Theses - Full Text
- Sponsored by the American Musicological Society.
- Complements the volumes of Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology found in
the Reference Room of the Music Library (7th edition, Ref ML128 M98 D6 1984,
and cumulation for Feb.1984-April 1995, Ref. ML128 M98 D61 1984-1995).
Emusicquest:
Music In Print (scores)
- Information on publishers and American distributors of printed musical works
- Provides prices and indicates whether a work is in print or not, in some
cases
- Useful for identifying anthologies that contain shorter musical works, thus
complementing the information in Orbis (which does not always identify the
shorter works in anthologies and collections).
- The online version parallels the printed versions of the same title, with
more frequent updates.
- Note that the information contained in String Music in Print, by Margaret
Farish (1973), is not part of this database.
- Years of Coverage: 1974 to present.
- Other Versions:
- In print: Music Library, SML, Reference, ML101M, various titles cataloged
separately, but beginning ML113 M9871+ ... (shelved on North Wall); superseded
editions in the Music Library stacks.
The Garland
Encyclopedia of World Music Online
- A comprehensive encyclopedia devoted to the music of the world's peoples.
- Browse "volumes" which contain an overview of a region, a survey
of its musical heritage, traditions and themes; and a description of specific
musical genres, practices, and performances.
- Articles include detailed photographs that show musicians, musical instrument,
and the cultural context of dances, rituals, and ceremonies.
- Other images include drawings, maps, and musical examples for further study.
- Articles published in 1997; future releases will include more indexing and
audio links.
- System Requirements: For best performance Adobe Reader 8; Microsoft Internet
Explorer 7.0 or Firefox 1.0 or higher (recommended).
- Published by Alexander
Street Press.
Grove
Music Online
- NOTE: This interface to Grove Music Online will be active through May.
The new interface combines Grove with other music databases, under the title
Oxford Music Online (q.v.)
- The most comprehensive English-language music encyclopedia
- The online version of three music encyclopedias:
- The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed.
- The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
- The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd ed.
- Comprehensive articles on composers, titles, places,
- Extensive work lists provide references to critical editions and opus,
work, or thematic catalog numbers
- Extensive bibliographies conclude each article
- Special bibliographical articles for libraries, sources, periodicals,
editions and monuments
- Use search box to search for article titles by default or full-text if
article with this title not present
- Use Advanced search to search within work lists, bibliographies, full-text,
etc.
- Also available in print (29 vols):
- The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed.
- Music Library, SML, Reference Room (ML101M), ML100 G883 2001
- SML, Reference, ML100 G76 2000 (LC)
- Divinity, Trowbridge Reading Room, ML100 N48 2001 (LC)
- Beinecke, Reference ML100; G883 2001 (LC)
- The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
- Music Library, SML, Reference Room (ML101M)(Non-Circ), ML102 O6
N5
- SML, Starr Main Reference Room (Non-Circulating) ML102 O6 N5 1992
(LC)+
- BEINECKE, Reference (Non-Circulating) ML102 O6 N5 2002 (LC)+ (2002
printing)
- The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd ed.
- MUSIC LIBRARY, SML, Reference Room, ML 101M (Non-Circ)ML102 J42
N5 2002+
- BEINECKE, Reference (Non-Circulating) ML102 J42 N5 2002 (LC)+
Index
to Printed Music
- Indexes the individual works found in scholarly editions of printed music
by title and personal name.
- Titles include work titles, collection titles, and alternative titles.
- Names include those of composers, poets, librettists, and editors.
- The database also includes information relating to the language of texts
and textual incipits; performing forces (medium), identifying numbers (item
numbers, opus/thematic catalogue numbers, key); formats (full score, piano
vocal score, parts, etc.); language; presence of non-standard clefs; figured
bass and how treated; duration of piece (if given in item); genres; musical
incipit (if needed for identification); citations for performing editions
based on the main work; and RISM source numbers.
- IPM is a project of the not-for-profit organization named the James Adrian
Music Company, of which George R. Hill is president, and has received support
from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Mellon Foundation, and
the Music Library Association.
International Dictionary of Opera
- Profiles of performers, composers, librettists, and others who have influenced opera, from its origins in the 17th century to the present day.
- International Dictionary of Opera. 2 vols. Detroit: St. James Press, 1993.*
- * An asterisk indicates that the biographies in the source appear in the Biography Resource Center, but the non-biographical entries do not.
Oxford Music Online
- Brings together various music reference databases to allow searching through
one portal
- Provides full-text encyclopedia and dictionary articles on composers, musicians,
subjects, and places from antiquity to the present day
- Contains the 3 Grove dictionaries, of Music & Musicians, of Jazz, and
of Opera (see Grove)
- Also includes the Oxford Encyclopedia of Popular Music, the Oxford Companion
to Music, and the Oxford Dictionary of Music.
RISM A/II: Music Manuscripts after 1600
- Documents music manuscripts held in libraries, archives, monasteries, schools
and private collections worldwide.
- Search by composer, composition, and provenance.
- Display includes musical incipits, instrumentation, related works
- Library directory of 5,500+ music collections and addresses
- 1,300+ bibliographic citations, primarily for thematic catalogs
- Years of Coverage: Music manuscripts from 1600 to ca. 1850.
- Related portions of RISM may be found:
- In print: SML, Music Library Reference ML113 I61, Series A/I, B/I-XIV
- In microfiche: SML, Music Library, Microforms (request in Office, ML106M)
Microfiche 60 Series A/II
- Published by RISM, an international, non-profit
joint venture founded in Paris in 1952
- For other sections of RISM, see Research
Guide: Musical Sources
Top of page
Irving S. Gilmore Music Library
Yale University Library
Last Revised: 4/22/2008
Comments to: Suzanne Eggleston Lovejoy
suzanne.eggleston@yale.edu
URL: http://www.library.yale.edu/musiclib/elecres/musicdb.htm
©2008
Yale University Library