Oxford Music Online
Includes the complete full text of The Oxford Dictionary of Music, The Oxford Companion to Music, and Grove Music Online.
Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music
Biographical information about composers, performers, music theorists, and instrument makers.
Harvard Dictionary of Music
A reliable source for specifice definitions of music terms.
Musical Terms, Symbols and Theory: An Illustrated Dictionary
An authoritative source for definitions for researchers, musicologists, professional musicians, teachers, and students.
Includes the complete full text of The Oxford Dictionary of Music, The Oxford Companion to Music, and Grove Music Online.
Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music
Biographical information about composers, performers, music theorists, and instrument makers.
Harvard Dictionary of Music
A reliable source for specifice definitions of music terms.
Musical Terms, Symbols and Theory: An Illustrated Dictionary
An authoritative source for definitions for researchers, musicologists, professional musicians, teachers, and students.
Research Tip: While Google Scholar is a good place to begin your research, you should also use another, more specific and scholarly library database to search for information. If you choose to use Google Scholar, make sure you go to Settings and set SCSU as your "Library link" to get full text available through the library (watch video instructions).
Music Literature (RILM)



Covers all areas of music scholarship, including, concert reviews, recording notes, dance, anthropology, ethnomusicology, music theory, music therapy, instruments and voice.
JSTOR



Provides access to scholarly journals in anthropology, ecology, economics, education, general science, history, literature, mathematics, political science, philosophy, and more. Some journals have "moving wall" access that does not include the most recent 2-5 years.
America: History & Life



Search 2,000 scholarly journals on the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present (the rest of the world is covered in Historical Abstracts).
Historical Abstracts



Search over 2,000 scholarly journals covering the history of the world from 1450 to the present (excluding the United States and Canada, which are covered in America: History and Life).
Academic Search Premier





Full-text articles in biology, chemistry, education, engineering, humanities, physics, psychology, religion and theology, sociology, etc. Tip: Click the check box to limit to Academic (Peer Reviewed) Journals.
Books and More (Library Catalog)
Search for books, ebooks, video, government publications, recordings, music scores, and other materials available through the library.
Start by typing keywords into the search box. When you view the list of search results, you can limit by Resource Type (articles, audio (sound recordings), books, scores, etc.).
If you need to find scholarly, peer-reviewed articles, be sure to select the Peer-Reviewed (Scholarly) checkbox.
WorldCat
Search for materials beyond SCSU, from thousands of libraries and institutions around the world. Click on the FindIt! button and sign in to and request items through Interlibrary Loan.
Films on Demand: Music & Dance
Streaming video on topics in music appreciation, music history, and world music as well as ballet, choreography, world dance, and more.
Naxos Music Library

Listen to tracks and create your own playlists from the largest online classical music collection (see Using the Playlists for instructions).
Search for books, ebooks, video, government publications, recordings, music scores, and other materials available through the library.
COVID update: If you locate a book or score that you want for your research, click on the link for the item, Sign in from the yellow box, and click on REQUEST: Place a hold with Husky Fetch. We will pull the book and have it ready for you to pick up at the Circulation desk.

If you need to find scholarly, peer-reviewed articles, be sure to select the Peer-Reviewed (Scholarly) checkbox.
Example: Arnold Schoenberg's Verklarte Nacht
Actual search: schoenberg nacht
Tips for finding scores and/or sound recordings: Search for composer's name and an important keyword from the title of the work
- Tips for finding books: For books about a specific composer or criticism of his/her work (secondary resources), use the Advanced Search to search the composer's last name by "Subject"
For writings by the person, him/herself (primary resources), add one of the following words: interviews, correspondence, personal narratives, or diaries
WorldCat


Search for materials beyond SCSU, from thousands of libraries and institutions around the world. Click on the FindIt! button and sign in to and request items through Interlibrary Loan.
Films on Demand: Music & Dance


Streaming video on topics in music appreciation, music history, and world music as well as ballet, choreography, world dance, and more.
Naxos Music Library



Listen to tracks and create your own playlists from the largest online classical music collection (see Using the Playlists for instructions).
You are required to use the 8th edition of the MLA Style Manual for your project.
Guides and Tutorials for MLA Formatting:
Works Cited Examples:

Tip: When searching library databases for your sources, use the "Citation" or "Cite" tool and select MLA (8th edition) to copy and paste the citation for that source. Be sure to always double-check the formatting that the database provides. It is not always accurate. Look over the format of the authors' names and capitalization in particular.
In-Text Citations Examples:

Guides and Tutorials for MLA Formatting:
Works Cited Examples:

Tip: When searching library databases for your sources, use the "Citation" or "Cite" tool and select MLA (8th edition) to copy and paste the citation for that source. Be sure to always double-check the formatting that the database provides. It is not always accurate. Look over the format of the authors' names and capitalization in particular.
In-Text Citations Examples:


Melissa Prescott
Professor, Diversity and Inclusion Librarian
MC 204E
(320) 308-4751
mkprescott@stcloudstate.edu

From Idea to Library
Video tutorial on how scholarly articles are written, published, and made accessible to researchers and students. From the NCSU Libraries.
Scholarly vs. Popular Materials Guide (NCSU)
Guide to distinguishing between scholarly journals, popular magazines, and trade journals/magazines.
Compare and contrast the following articles. What makes one popular and the other scholarly?
- Gharavi, Maryam Monalisa. "Meredith Monk in the Studio." Art in America, vol. 105, no. 2, Feb. 2017, pp. 86-93.
- Smithner, Nancy Putnam. "Meredith Monk: Four Decades By Design and By Invention." TDR, vol. 49, no. 2, 2005, pp. 93-118.
A primary source is the original work or a firsthand account of an event.
Examples:
Examples:
- Scores and sheet music
- Audio recordings of performances, rehearsals, or interviews
- Composer's notes, correspondence, or autobiographies
- Musical instruments
- Personal journals or diaries
- Speeches or published interviews
A secondary source is once removed from the original primary source and usually includes some kind of analysis or interpretation.
Examples:
- Biographies
- Textbooks
- Review articles
- Critical essays about people or past events
- Books and articles that interpret, analyze, or review works

COVID update: The library shelves are not currently open for browsing. To borrow a book or score, search for the item in the Books and More (Library Catalog) and Place a hold with Husky Fetch. We will pull the book and have it ready for you to pick up at the Circulation desk.
Miller Center 3rd Floor
All music books and scores are on the 3rd floor of the Miller Center Library. Call numbers starting with:M = the music itself (both scores and sound recordings)
ML = music literature (materials about music, composers, or music history)
MT = music theory or music instruction and study
All sound recordings are kept behind the Circulation Desk on 1st floor; ask for them by call number.