LibGuides: MUSI2170: Music History & Literature I: Finding Articles

Search Tips

Never put in your entire research question when you search
Break up your search into keywords
Write down several different possibilities for searching
You will need to search different terms and combinations - there is no such thing as a perfect search

What's a Keyword?

Check out our Keywords tutorial for more information!

Keywords are simple words or phrases that sum up your topic, and can usually be pulled from your research question.

Simply eliminate those words and concepts that have no meaning, when on their own (How, does, the, etc.), and you're usually left with 2-3 good keywords to use in your research.

To find information on a topic, you would use one or more of your keywords to search for sources (books, media, articles, etc.) in the library's online catalog or databases.

Music Research Databases

The library has a large number of research databases, but it's important to know which one will work best for your needs (see a complete list of Music databases).

Not all databases contain journal articles, and some are more appropriate for this course than others.

Because you are exploring both music and society, it will be important to look in a variety of sources to find the information you need.

Below are a few recommended databases to begin your research:

Music Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window Bibliographic database containing over 1.3 million citation records for articles from more than 425 international music periodicals, with full-text access for selected titles. The majority of citation records date from 1996 to the present, with approximately 200,000 records covering the period from 1874 to 1995. The database covers a comprehensive range of subject areas in both scholarly and popular music journals. Articles examine the full spectrum of subjects and all aspects of music, including music education, performance, ethnomusicology, musical theater, theory, popular music forms and composition. Articles cover a diverse array of musical genres, from the liturgical chants of medieval monks to the eclectic sounds of contemporary alternative rock musicians. Updated monthly. [1874 - Present]
JSTOR Arts and Sciences Collections (I through IX, and XIV) and Life Sciences Collection This link opens in a new window Archive of over 1,650 major journals in the humanities, social sciences, business, education, area studies, mathematics and statistics, life sciences, and much more. Funding for the acquisition of the JSTOR Arts and Sciences V, VI, VIII, and IX Collections was provided by a generous gift from the Student Government Association. [18th Century - Present]
Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window Oxford Music Online is a full-text portal to high-quality music reference sources, including the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, containing over 50,000 articles on composers, performers, conductors, instruments and notation, forms and genres, and individual works. The database also includes the full text of The Oxford Companion to Music and The Oxford Dictionary of Music.
ProQuest Social Science Database This link opens in a new window ProQuest Social Science Database, a subset of the ProQuest Central database, offers indexing and full text for hundreds of academic journals, providing extensive coverage across a wide range of social science disciplines including anthropology, criminology, economics, education, political science, psychology, social work, and sociology. Contains full-text content for over 1,200 titles.
RILM Abstracts of Music Literature This link opens in a new window Produced by Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale, this comprehensive music bibliography features citations, abstracts and subject indexing to the literature of music. Coverage spans 1967 to the present, and the database is updated monthly. RILM covers articles in over 11,000 journals, many of which are not specifically devoted to music. RILM includes over 700,000 records, and over 40,000 new records are added every year. Citations in RILM represent publications in 214 languages, originating in 155 countries. Titles of works are translated into English, and the majority of records have English abstracts. Increasingly, records also feature abstracts in the original language of publication. [1967 - present]

Remember: You can access the databases from off campus using your WPUNJ username and password!

Media Databases

While most Library databases contain articles and text, some provide audio and video content that you can explore!

Naxos Music Library This link opens in a new window The Naxos Music Library is a large online classical music library. It offers streaming audio access to over 100,000 albums and features over 1.4 million tracks covering both standard and rare repertoire. Over 800 new albums are added to the library every month. The database offers the complete Naxos and Marco Polo catalogues plus the complete catalogues or selected titles from over 650 record labels. Along with classical music, a selection of jazz, world, and pop/rock are also represented. The Naxos Music Library can be accessed from any computer, anywhere, anytime. With the iPhone/iPod and Android mobile apps, subscribers can also access the service on the go, and the HTLM5 player can stream music though the standard internet connection of the most phones and tablets. The contents of the library can be searched by composer, work, genre and label; by keyword search; and by a sophisticated advanced search engine with up to 11 combined search criteria. In addition to the audio, Naxos Music Library provides liner notes for many recordings. Listeners can create personalized playlists or use predefined Naxos Music Library playlists.
Naxos Music Library Jazz This link opens in a new window Naxos Music Library Jazz is one of the most comprehensive collections of jazz music available online. Naxos Music Library Jazz comprises Naxos Jazz, the catalogue of Blue Note Records, and the 22 labels of Fantasy Jazz along with Prophone and Proprius. It currently offers over 100,000 tracks of jazz from 260 labels, and over 12,000 jazz artists are represented. U.S.-based Fantasy has the world's deepest jazz catalogue and offers the very best in blues and R&B. Blue Note offers albums featuring the legendary artist John Coltrane and iconic artists such as Herbie Hancock, Dexter Gordon, Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter and many others.
Kanopy BASE (Streaming Video Collection) This link opens in a new window Kanopy BASE includes over 9,500 streaming videos on a wide variety of subjects, including art and artists, anthropology, K-12 lessons and education, Asian and African studies, history, health, applied science, business skills, film studies, biology and environmental sciences, literature, economics, gender studies, and many other subjects. While primarily consisting of documentaries, the collection also includes a large number of feature films and television programming. Among the distributors are Kino Lorber, PBS, First Run Features, Green Planet Films, IFC Films, New Day Films, Shout Studies, and many others. A complete title list is available for download. streaming video

Popular Articles	Scholarly Articles
Usually found in magazines, newspapers, or trade publications	Usually found in journals
Tend to be short	Often quite long
Often include pictures and/or advertisements	May contain charts, graphs, or diagrams
Sources not always shown	Research-based
Written for a general audience	Written for scholars, researchers, or students in that field

MUSI2170: Music History & Literature I: Finding Articles

Search Tips

What's a Keyword?

Music Research Databases

Media Databases

Popular and Scholarly Articles