Research Guide : Composer Biographies
Follow
these steps to successfully find information
for your Music 1010 assignment:
Begin
Your Research
Other Reference Sources
Find Books on Your Composer
Online Books
Even More Books
Find Sound Recordings of Music
Locate Articles on Your Composer
Retrieve Articles
Internet Sites on Your Composer
Write Correct Citations
*Begin
Your Research
Encyclopedias
are the best place to begin your research on a particular composer.
Encyclopedias are in print in the library Reference Area.
New
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
Reference ML 100 .N48 2001
This
is the most current and comprehensive encyclopedia of music. Use
the index volume to find your composer since names are not
always filed where you think. These books do not check out but
you may make photocopies.
What
to look for in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians:
- Name
- Dates
- Period
of time
- Geographic
region or country
- Genre
(operas, symphonies, masses, etc.)
- Names
of important works
- Other
resources listed in the bibliography
*Other
Reference Sources
Other
reference books that might be helpful:
- Baker's
Biographical Dictionary of Musicians
Reference ML 105 .B16 1992
- Composers
Since 1900
Reference ML 390 .E833 1969/1981
- Great
Composers and Their Works
Reference ML 160 .S48 2000
- Great
composers, 1300-1900
Reference ML 105 .E944 1966
- Harvard
Biographical Dictionary of Music
Reference ML 105 .H38 1996
- Harvard
Concise Dictionary of Music and Musicians
Reference ML 100 .H36 1999
- International
Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians
Reference ML 100 .T47 1964
- International
Dictionary of Opera
Reference ML 102 .O6 I6 1993
- New
Grove Dictionary of American Music
Reference ML 101 .U6 N48 1986
- New
Oxford Companion to Music
Reference ML 100 .N5 1984
- Norton/Grove
Dictionary of Women Composers
Reference ML 105 .N38 1995
- World
of Great Composers
Reference ML 390 .E86 1962
*Find
Books on Your Composer
To
find biographies of composers and books about music,
use the library catalog:
Library
Home Page > Books & More >
Library Catalog.
Begin
by searching for your composer by name (e.g. Josquin Desprez).
You can also be more specific in your search by adding any or
all of the following elements:
- Name
of composer (e.g. Richard Wagner)
- Format
(e.g. operas, symponies, etc.)
- Genre
(e.g. Baroque)
- Geographic
area (e.g. music and United States)
- Time
period (e.g. music and renaissance or "early music")
Look
carefully at the call number and location of books you find.
Online
Books
The
library also subscribes to online books.
Library
Home Page > Books & More > netLibrary.
Search
by composer's name.
*Even
More Books
Would
you like to find more books on your composer?
Look
in the bibliography of the encyclopedia article or check Utah's
Catalog and search several Utah college libraries at once.
Did
you learn of a book on your composer not found in this library?
We
can get almost any book for you through our free Interlibrary
Loan service. All you need to know is the title, author, publisher,
and place and date of publication.
To
register for Interlibrary Loan and place requests online, go to:
Library
Home Page > Books & More > Interlibrary
Loan.
It
usually takes 3-5 days for Interlibrary Loan books to arrive.
Find
Sound Recordings of Music
To
find recordings of your composers' works, use the library catalog:
Library
Home Page > Books & More >
Library Catalog.
Always
add the word sound to any search for a recording.
For
example, the search Brahms and sound will locate
recordings of Brahms' music.
You
can also be more specific in your search by adding any or all
of the following elements:
- Name
of composer (e.g. Richard Wagner)
- Name
of work (e.g. "Jupiter Symphony" or "Opus 119")
- Format
(e.g. operas, symponies, etc.)
- Genre
(e.g. Baroque)
- Geographic
area (e.g. music and United States)
- Time
period (e.g. music and renaissance or "early music")
Look
carefully at the call number and location of recordings you find.
Most sound recordings are in the Audio-Visual section, located
on the Main Level. Phonograph records are located in the AV Room,
south of the Reference Desk.
The
cases for CDs, DVDs, and similar materials are on the open shelves
but you must retrieve the actual disc at the Circulation Desk.
These
materials are all available for checkout but they may also be
listened to in the AV Room.
*Locate
Articles on Your Composer
The
library has several article databases that can help you find information
about your artist.
Biography
Reference Bank :: Great source of full-text entries
from encyclopedias on 110,000 famous people -- your composer is
probably included! Also includes citations (not full-text) for
articles and books about individuals.
EBSCOhost
Academic Search Elite :: Articles of a variety of subjects,
many full text. Search by artist's name in quotes (e.g. "Antonio
Vivaldi ").
To narrow your search by removing reviews and limit to articles
about your composer, type
SU Vivaldi, Antonio not guide* not review*.
SIRS Renaissance ::
Full-text articles of a variety of subjects.
Readers'
Guide to Periodical Literature :: Abstracts of articles
from a variety of sources.
Retrieve
Articles
If
you find an article that's not full-text in that database,
- Look
for the journal title in our Full-text
Electronic Periodicals List to see if it is full-text in
another database.
- Search
journal title in the library
catalog to check if we have the periodical in our library
collection.
- If
the journal is not full-text in any database or in the Browning
library, order it from the Utah Article Delivery Service, UTAD.
It's free and your article usually arrives in about two days.
*Internet
Sites on Your Composer
Some
wonderful classical music resources are available on the Internet.
Here
are some Web sites you may find helpful:
Essentials of Music
:: Select "composers" to bring up alphabetical list.
ClassicalNet
:: Composer Master Index
Classical
Music Pages :: Search by time period.
Composers
:: From Indiana University's Worldwide Internet Music Resources.
Classical Music
(@ About.com) :: Select biographies and / or time periods on the
left.
Composers
:: From the University of Washington Libraries.
Also
useful:
Biography.com
Find
specific Web sites dedicated to your composer
by using the search engine Google:
Google
:: Enter your composer's name in quotes
(e.g. "Ludwig van Beethoven").
*Write
Correct Citations
After
you gather your sources, it is important to format them correctly
in your Works Cited list.
We
have created a MLA
Style Guide to assist you in creating correct citations
(Library Home Page > Help (upper right) > MLA Style Guide).
If you need additional assistance, there is also an online
MLA Style Tutorial.
Remember,
for help with citations or any other research, there are librarians
available to assist you!
created
8/23/02
last updated 09/11/03
