Start here for context, background, and definitions specific for music-related research.
Oxford Music Online
Includes the complete full text of The Oxford Dictionary of Music, The Oxford Companion to Music, and Grove Music Online.
LibSearch 
Search the library's physical collection (books, movies, music, government publications, etc.) along with online journals and e-books to which the Library subscribes -- all in a single search.
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.
Naxos Music Library 
Listen to tracks and create your own playlists from the largest online classical music collection (see Using the Playlists for instructions).
Naxos Music Library Jazz
Listen to or create your own playlists from a comprehensive collection of over 20,000 jazz tracks (see Using the Playlists for instructions).
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.
Search the library's physical collection (books, movies, music, government publications, etc.) along with online journals and e-books to which the Library subscribes -- all in a single search.
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 it and have it ready for you to pick up at the Circulation desk.
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.
- Tips for finding scores and/or sound recordings: Search for composer's name and an important keyword from the title of the work
Example: Arnold Schoenberg's Verklarte Nacht
Actual search: schoenberg nacht
- 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.
Streaming Music
Naxos Music Library
Listen to tracks and create your own playlists from the largest online classical music collection (see Using the Playlists for instructions).
Naxos Music Library Jazz
Listen to or create your own playlists from a comprehensive collection of over 20,000 jazz tracks (see Using the Playlists for instructions).
Streaming Video
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.
Music Literature (RILM) 
Covers all areas of music scholarship, including, concert reviews, recording notes, dance, anthropology, ethnomusicology, music theory, music therapy, instruments and voice.
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).
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.
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.
Covers all areas of music scholarship, including, concert reviews, recording notes, dance, anthropology, ethnomusicology, music theory, music therapy, instruments and voice.
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).
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.
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.
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:
- Citing and Referencing: Music Scores / Recordings (Monash University)
- MLA Style -- Excelsior Online Writing Lab (OWL)
- Citing Sources in MLA
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
Miller Center 3rd Floor
COVID update: Access to the book collection is currently limited to library staff. Place a hold with Husky Fetch to pick them up at the circulation desk.
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.
Scholarly vs. Popular Periodicals (Vanderbilt University)
A short video explaining the differences between a scholarly article and a popular article.
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? Think about why you might use each type of article for your research.
Click on each title and then the PDF Full Text link on the left-hand side of the page.
Click on each title and then the PDF Full Text link on the left-hand side of the page.
- Stirling, Christabel. “‘Beyond the Dance Floor’? Gendered Publics and Creative Practices in Electronic Dance Music.” Contemporary Music Review, vol. 35, no. 1, Feb. 2016, pp. 130–149.
- Khordoc, Michel. “From Surfing to Spinning." Lesbian News, vol. 42, no. 8, Mar. 2017, pp. 11–15.
MLA Citation Style Drag and Drop Practice
Drag and drop practice for formatting Works Cited references in MLA 8th edition. Examples include books, magazines, journal articles, newspaper articles, visual art, music, film, and social media.
MLA Works Cited Practice (IRSC Libraries)
Watch the Prezi, "What's an MLA citation?" and look over the examples on how to create your own citations.
Drag and drop practice for formatting Works Cited references in MLA 8th edition. Examples include books, magazines, journal articles, newspaper articles, visual art, music, film, and social media.
MLA Works Cited Practice (IRSC Libraries)
Watch the Prezi, "What's an MLA citation?" and look over the examples on how to create your own citations.
