Dr. Dan Lipori's Website: Sources for Writing a Music Research Paper

Sources for Writing a Music Research Paper

Here is a listing of several standard music reference works which will be useful to most any music related topic. These are available in most college libraries. See also the list of electronic resources under links.

Some Primary Music Reference Books:

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. 29 vols. New York: Groves Dictionaries, 2001.
Ref. ML 100 N48 (Also now available online)

The best place to start for any music related topic. The most current English language book available. In addition to the lengthy article there is also an extensive bibliography of sources included at the end of each article.

The New Grove Opera, edited by Stanley Sadie. 4 vols. New York: Grove’s Dictionaries, 1992.
Ref. ML 102 O6 N5 1992

Randel, Don Michael. The Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 2003.
Ref. ML 100 A64

Thompson, Oscar, ed. The International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians, edited by Bruce Bohle. 11th edition. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1985.
Ref. ML 100 T47

Baker, Theodore. Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, edited by Nicolas Slonimsky and Laura Kuhn. 6 vols. New York: Schirmer Books, 2001.
Ref. ML 105 B16

An excellent biographical sourcebook which included many jazz and popular artists in addition to classical composers and performers.

The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, edited by Stanley Sadie. 3 vols. New York: Groves Dictionaries, 1984.
Ref. ML102 N48

The New Grove Dictionary of American Music, edited by Wiley H. Hitchcock and Stanley Sadie. 4 vols. New York: Groves Dictionaries, 1986.
Ref. ML 101 U6 N48

Marcuse, Sibyl. Musical Instruments; A Comprehensive Dictionary. New York: W. W. Norton, 1975.
ML 102 I5 M37

Other Books:

Baines, Anthony. Woodwind Instruments and Their History. New York: Dover, 1991.
ML 930 B3

Sachs, Curt. The History of Musical Instruments. New York: W. W. Norton, 1940.
ML460 S24

Grout, Donald Jay, and Palisca, Claude. V. A History of Western Music. New York:
W. W. Norton, 2006.
Ref. ML 160 G87

Grout, Donald Jay. A Short History of Opera. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003.
ML 1700 G83

Hinson, Maurice. Pianist’s Reference Guide: A Bibliographical Survey. Los Angeles: Alfred Publishing Co., 1987.
ML128 P3 H54

Hixon, Donald. L., and Hennessee, Don A. Women in Music: An Encyclopedic Biobibliography. 2 vols. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Pres, 1994.
Ref. ML 128 R6 L49

Marco, Guy. Opera: A Research and Information Guide. New York: Garland, 2001.
Ref. ML128 O4 M28

Rosen, Charles. The Classical Style. New York: W. W. Norton, 1997.
ML 195 R68 1997

Strunk, W. Oliver, and Leo Treitler, eds. Source Readings in Music History. New York:
W. W. Norton, 1998.
ML 160 S89

Norton History of Music Series
Rise of Music in the Ancient World- Sachs (ML 162 S14) (1943)
Music in the Middle Ages- Reese (ML 172 R74 M8) (1968)
Music in the Renaissance- Reese (ML 172 R42) (1959)
Music in the Baroque Era- Bukofzer (ML 193 B8) (1947)
Music in the Romantic Era- Einstein (ML 196 E35) (1947)
Music in the 20th Century- Austin (ML 197 A9) (1967)

Norton Introduction to Music History Series
Medieval Music- Hoppin (ML 172 H8) (1978)
Renaissance Music- Atlas (ML 172 A84) (1998)
Classical Music- Downs (ML 195 D68) (1992)
Romantic Music- Plantinga (1984) (ML 196 P6)
Twentieth-Century Music- Morgan (ML 197 M675) (1990)

Prentice-Hall History of Music Series
Music in Medieval Europe- Yudkin (ML 171 Y8)(1989)
Music in the Renaissance- Brown (ML 172 B86) (1999)
Baroque Music- Palisca (ML 193 P34) (1991)
Music in the Classic Period- Pauley (ML 195 P38) (1988)
Nineteenth Century Romanticism in Music- Longyear (ML 196 L65) (1988)
Twentieth-Century Music- Salzman (ML 197 S17) (1988)

Other Sources of Note:

Duckles, Vincent H., and Keller, Michael A. Music Reference and Research Materials, 5th edition. New York: Schirmer Books, 1997.
Ref. ML113 D83

Heyer, Anna Harriet. Historical Sets, Collected Editions, and Monuments of Music; A Guide to Their Contents. 2 vols. Chicago: American Library Association, 1980.
Ref. ML113 H52

Research Guides (Bio-Bibliographies)
-one for nearly every composer and many subjects