Music Research Guide

Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, etc.  |  Find Books  |  Find Articles
 Web Sites  |   Citing Sources  | Extended Guide for Music Research Students

Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, etc.

Subject Encyclopedias and Subject Dictionaries

Subject encyclopedias can be especially helpful for obtaining an overview of a topic, information on a person in the field, etc.  Dictionaries usually have shorter entries, most useful for brief definitions of terms and sometimes abbreviated biographical information.   Keep in mind however, that the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is actually more encyclopedic in nature, even though it is called a dictionary.

An entry in a subject encyclopedia will often contain a bibliography which can lead you to more sources on that topic.

Find Books

Check the library catalog to locate books on your topic.   When first searching for material, it is best to try several keyword searches, usually combining several terms that reflect your interest or topic: 
                       
                    bach AND cantatas
                    piano AND technique
                    mozart AND operas

To limit your search further, you can add more terms with AND, for example:

                    bach AND cantatas AND secular
                    bach AND cantatas AND sacred

If you need to broaden your results, identify similar concepts or variant spellings and combine those using OR:

               sonata OR sonatina                             clementi AND (sonata OR sonatina)
               folksongs OR folk songs                     (bernstein OR copland) AND history AND criticism
               ballads OR folksong* OR folk song*


A few tips on the keyword searches above:

The asterisk * truncates a term and will retrieve all forms of the word that follow the truncation symbol.  For example,  folksong* will folksong OR folksongs.   The parentheses (called "nesting") allows you to search for concepts similar in meaning and then combine these with a different term or terms.  Remember to always place your similar terms within parentheses when using both AND & OR in one search statement as the examples show.  

Results from your keyword searches that look useful to you will lead you to appropriate Library of Congress subject headings. These can help you get even more relevant material and may help you broaden or narrow your focus, if you are needing to adjust your search. 
                     
If Pickler Memorial Library doesn't have what you want, try your search in MOBIUS to find books in other libraries in Missouri.  You can order books online, and they will be delivered usually within 3-4 working days.  This service is available to current Truman students, faculty, and staff.