- St. Olaf Libraries
- Research Guides
- FYS 120: Follow My Lead
- Finding Sources -- Especially for HtaB Options 3 and 5
FYS 120: Follow My Lead
Karen Olson
LibKey Nomad
Research and Instruction Librarian for Music & Fine Arts
Finding Sources
Many of your assignments ask you to contextualize the music in your playlists with information from outside resources.
If you have a composer or performer name, you can search for them in Catalyst, the online library catalog.
If you are note sure where to start your search, here are some places you might try.
Music Reference Sources
Reference sources, like dictionaries and encyclopedias, are a good place to get general background information on a person or topic. Articles often include bibliographies where you can find more specific resources on that topic.
- Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new windowFull-text collection of reference works on music across genres and eras. Especially good for western art music. If you want to see this in print, look for the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ML100 N48 in the Music Library Reference Section.
- Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online This link opens in a new windowFull-text encyclopedia covering music around the world and throughout history. Includes regional overviews, information on musical genres and practices, and images (photographs, drawings, maps, and musical examples). Excellent for non-western music. Available in print in the Music Library Reference Section, ML100 G16.
- African American Music Reference This link opens in a new windowFull-text reference resource on African American music, covering blues, jazz, spirituals, civil rights songs, slave songs, minstrelsy, rhythm and blues, gospel, and other genres. Includes biographies, chronologies, lyrics, sheet music, liner notes, images, and discographies.
- Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new windowArticles on virtually every topic, drawn from scholarly journals, professional journals, trade magazines, news publications, and lifestyle magazines. Provides full-text access to over half of its 8000+ publications. Covers materials published 1975-present.
- The Encyclopedia of Popular Music byISBN: 0195313739Publication Date: 2006-11-20An authoritative biographical encyclopedia of rock, pop, and jazz artists covers popular music from 1900 to the present, including folk, blues, world music, rock, heavy metal, techno, reggae, and hip hop. In addition to thousands of biographical entries, this A-Z reference also includes entries covering popular music genres, trends, styles, record labels, venues, and festivals. Key dates, biographies, and further reading are provided for artists covered, along with complete discographies that include record labels, release dates, and a 5-star album rating system. Print version in the Music Library Reference Section, ML102.P66 G84.
Secondary Resources
These resources can help you find more specific material about your chosen musicians and genres. If your instructor asks for scholarly or peer-reviewed sources, start here. Most databases will have a "peer reviewed" or "scholarly" filter you can check to limited your results -- but always double-check that the article you are looking at really is peer reviewed. Remember, reviews of books, recordings, movies, etc. are usually not peer-reviewed!
All of these databases cover a range of music, western & nonwestern, art & popular, but some have better coverage in particular areas. I've noted those strengths in the descriptions.
Click here for a complete list of music databases, including audio-visual streaming.
- RILM Abstracts of Music Literature This link opens in a new windowAn index of music articles, collections, and books. Especially good for western art music. Many articles are available in full-text directly from RILM.
- Music Periodicals Database This link opens in a new windowAn index of music articles, collections, and books. Better than RILM for non-western and popular music. Most articles are available in full-text directly from MPD.
- Music Index This link opens in a new windowAn index of music articles. Only goes back to 1970, so it is better for 20th-21st musicians. Good for popular music.