Music: Books, Reference Sources, and Scores

A general research guide about music for students at UW Bothell and Cascadia College.

UW Libraries Search

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Search Tips

Tips for searching UW Libraries Search for music resources:

Search by keyword using a performer's or composer's name (Gustav Holst, Beyonce, etc.) or a related term (jazz, electronic music, etc.).
Use quotation marks to search for exact phrases or titles, like "Bravo Mozart! : an imaginary biography for orchestra."
Use limits (the links along the left side of your search results) to narrow the scope of your search:
- Use "Resource type" to see only print books, only scores, or only CDs, etc.
- Use "Library" to see only resources in the UW Bothell/Cascadia Library.
- Use "Publication Date" to find the newest publications on a certain subject.

Music Scores

Music Online: Classical Scores Library Volume 2 This link opens in a new window
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Provides online access to scores, including those by Claude Debussy, Gabriel Faur, Maurice Ravel and more.
Babel Scores This link opens in a new window
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Contemporary scores, recordings and composer notes.

Music Reference Sources

Reference sources provide good background information on historical periods, music forms and styles, definitions of technical terms and biographical information on composers and musicians. These sources are a great place to start your research.

Grove Music Online This link opens in a new window
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[UW restricted]

Garland Encyclopedia of World Music
Includes over 1,000 full-text encyclopedia articles and hundreds of audio examples.
[UW restricted]
Oxford Reference Online: Music
Gateway to 13 different searchable reference texts, including the Oxford Companion to Music, The Oxford Companion to the American Musical, and the Grove Dictionary of American Music.
[UW restricted]
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians
Covers all musical genres, with new entries written by a distinguished group of area specialists as well as the original articles by Nicolas Slonimsky. This work continues the tradition of offering the most comprehensive and authoritative information on musicians, along with interesting and insightful evaluations of their contributions to the musical world.
[UW restricted]
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Popular Musicians Since 1990
This biographical reference includes more than 550 entries focusing on artists active from 1990-2003. Individual artists and groups in all popular styles are covered, including those in rock, rhythm and blues, rap, country, electronica, jazz, vocal and crossover classical. Features include select discographies, bibliographies, a glossary of music terms, a table of best-selling music since 1990 and more.
[UW restricted]

Web Reference Sources

In addition to library resources such as Grove Music Online and the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, you can also consider using the following web resources as a starting point for your research:

Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments
University of Michigan website with examples of musical instruments from around the world.
OnMusic Dictionary
Includes definitions of music terms (including pronunciation guides). All the musical terms in the glossary have mp3 files associated with them.
Library of Congress Performing Arts Encyclopedia
Gateway to a variety of collections at the Library of Congress. Primarily focused on American and popular music throughout history.