Scope

College Library (Reference Collection) has many books about many different types of music, from classical to reggae. Most of the books are specific to one type of music. However, many of the dictionaries listed under "Classical" also have general entries about music. Included in our collection are books that offer definitions of musical terms, books that discuss music history, books that focus on biographies of musicians, and books that solely list or discuss recordings (discographies). We have listed some recommended titles from our collection here. If College Library does not have the resources you need, the Mills Music Library (located in Memorial Library) can assist you. In addition, we have listed journal databases where you can find popular and scholarly articles about all kinds of music.

Overview

Classical | Jazz & Soul | Opera & Musical Theater | Rock & Popular | World

Classical

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
http://www.grovemusic.com/index.html

The Harvard Dictionary of Music
College Library Reference Collection: ML 100 H37 2003

The Oxford Companion to Music
College Library Reference Collection: : ML 102 S37 2002

Biographical Information

The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music
College Library Reference Collection: ML 105 H38 1996

History and Instruments

The Oxford Companion to Musical Instruments
College Library Reference Collection: ML 102 I5 B34 1992

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments
College Library Reference Collection: ML 102 I5 I5 1996

Jazz and Soul

The Jazz Handbook
College Library Reference Collection: ML 105 M455 1989

Soul Music A-Z
College Library Reference Collection: ML 102 S65 G7 1991

Opera and Musical Theater

New Grove Dictionary of Opera
http://www.grovemusic.com/index.html

The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre
College Library Reference Collection: ML 102 M88 G3 2001

Rock and Popular Music

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music
College Library Reference Collection: ML 102 P66 G84 1995

Rock on: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock n' Roll
College Library Reference Collection: ML 105 N49

The Oxford Companion to Popular Music
College Library Reference Collection: ML 102 P66 G35 1991

Biographical Information

Encyclopedia of Rock Stars
College Library Reference Collection: ML 102 R6 R44 1996

Discographies

All Music Book of Hit Singles
College Library Reference Collection: ML 156.4 P6 M42 1994

All Music Guide
http://www.allmusic.com/
College Library Reference Collection: ML 156.9 A38 1997

All Time Top 1000 Albums
College Library Reference Collection: ML 128 D56 L37 1998

The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits
College Library Reference Collection: ML 156.4 P6 B76 2003

Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits
College Library Reference Collection: ML 156.4 P6 W44 1996

World Music

World Music: The Rough Guide
College Library Reference Collection: ML 3545 W66 1994

Finding Journal and News Articles

Below are links to databases that cover this subject area. The truncation symbol for all of them is an asterisk (*) unless otherwise noted.

Sample searches for databases:

Search by musician name; example: Ludwig van Beethoven
Search by title; example: Fur Elise
Search by music genre; example: classical music

Recommended Databases:

RILM Online (RILM Abstracts of Musical Literature) 1969 - to date (updated monthly)
RILM provides abstracts to monographs, journal articles, collections of essays, festschriften, dissertations, and more. Coverage is international and emphasizes the scholarly literature in music. Basic instructions for RILM

Music Index Online1979-to date (updated annually)
The Music Index Online indexes 640 music periodicals from twenty countries. There are no abstracts.

International Index to Music Periodicals (IIMP) Full Text 1990- (updated quarterly)
IIMP draws its current content file from more than 375 music periodicals from twenty countries. It also indexes feature music articles and obituaries appearing in the New York Times and the Washington Post. IIMP covers both scholarly and popular articles about music. There is limited coverage back to 1874. Basic instructions for IIMP

International Index to the Performing Arts (IIPA) Full Text 1864- (updated quarterly)
IIPA Full Text covers a broad spectrum of the arts and entertainment industry, including dance, film, television, drama, theater, stagecraft, musical theater, broadcast arts, circus performance, comedy, storytelling, opera, pantomime, puppetry, magic and more. It draws its current content from more than 200 scholarly and popular performing arts periodicals, and indexes a variety of documents such as biographical profiles, conference papers, obituaries, interviews, discographies, reviews and events. Currently 25 of the 200 periodicals contain full-text articles. Although the majority of titles begin in 1998, 46 important journals have been added retrospectively, some back to 1864. Basic instructions for IIPA

JSTOR: The Scholarly Journal Archive Dates Vary (updated irregularly)
JSTOR is a full-text journal database which provides access more than 500 titles in the fields of African-American studies, anthropology, architecture, Asian studies, botany, ecology, economics, education, film, finance, folklore, history, language, literature, mathematics, middle east studies, music, philosophy, political science, population/demography, religion, sociology, and statistics. Coverage begins with volume one of each title and continues to within 3 to 5 years of the most current issue, depending on the title. The "moving wall" represents the time period between the last issue available in JSTOR and the most recently published issue of a journal; it is specified by publishers in their license agreements with JSTOR. Graphs, photographs, and other images are included. UW-Madison Libraries have acquired the following JSTOR collections ( details of coverage available): Arts & Sciences I; Arts & Sciences II; Arts & Sciences III, Business; Ecology & Botany; General Science; Language & Literature; Music. Basic instructions for JSTOR

More Databases:

Academic Search 1984 - to date (updated daily)
This library database indexes approximately 3,100 popular magazines and academic journals and provides the full-text articles from approximately 1,000 journals. Basic instructions for Academic Search

Humanities Full Text 1984 - to date (updated monthly)
Indexes 400 scholarly journals on archaeology, classical studies, art, film, folklore, history, journalism, linguistics, literature, music, performing arts, philosophy and religion. Basic instructions for Humanities Full Text

ProQuest Research Library 1988 - to date (updated daily)
Indexes over 2,000 general-interest and academic journals. Nearly 1,000 periodicals are full-text. Dates vary, but many full-text journals go back to 1988. Basic instructions for ProQuest Research Library

Readers' Guide Full Text and Retrospective 1890 - to date (updated monthly)
Indexes 240 popular magazines in a wide range of subject areas. Full-text coverage of 131 titles begins with 1994. Basic instructions for Readers' Guide Full Text

Finding Books

MadCat
Books on music can be found in MadCat, the UW-Madison library catalog.

Sample keyword searches:

Search by musician name:
"Bruce Springsteen"
"George Frideric Handel"

Search by music genre:
"rock music" and "United States"
sonatas and piano and "19th century"

Internet Sites

All Music
http://www.allmusic.com/
Guide to all genres of music, current and historical.

Billboard
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/index.jsp
"Billboard .com is the music entertainment industry source for music business news, information, and the popular Billboard Music Charts."

Online Music Directories
http://music.library.wisc.edu/resources/megamusic.htm
This list, from Mills Music Library, directs users to other internet music resources.

Online Music Journals and Newsletters
http://music.library.wisc.edu/resources/ejours.htm
A list of free online publications from Mills Music Library.

Videos

American Roots Music
College Library Main Collection: ML 3551 A541 2001

Broadway, the American Musical
College Library Main Collection: ML 1711.8 N3 B76 2004

The History of Rock 'N' Roll
College Library Main Book Collection: ML 3534 H58 1995

Jazz, a film by Ken Burns
College Library Main Book Collection: ML 3508 J378 2000

No Direction Home: Bob Dylan
College Library Main Collection: ML 420 D98 N6 2005

Organizations

See Music Organizations and Directories on the Mills Music Library site.