First-Year Seminar 120: Follow My Lead

HtaB Option 2 asks you to report on a concert you've attended and provide program notes for some of the pieces.

Here are some ideas of what to include in a program note:

• If the concert has an overarching theme, how does each piece relate to that theme?
• When was the music composed and for what purpose?  Do we still use that music for the same purpose today?
• Who first performed the piece? Was it written specifically for them? How might a composer adapt a piece to show off a particular performer's strengths?
• Are there significant musical moments that audiences should listen for? Why are those moments important?

You can find answers to many of these questions with the resources in the Finding Sources tab.

Liner Notes

If you've attended a concert of western art music, you've probably read program notes before. If you haven't, you can think of program notes as being like the liner notes to an album, where the artists talk about what they were trying to accomplish with their music. Here are some places to find liner notes from St. Olaf Libraries' online streaming services. 

The slideshow at the very bottom of this page has more detailed, step-by-step instructions on accessing liner notes from.

Orchestra Program Notes

Most major orchestras post their program notes online, at least during the week of the performance.  Google the name of your local orchestra  plus the phrase "program notes" and see what you can find!

Title Slide: Finding Liner Notes

[Image: logo for St. Olaf Libraries & IT]

Slide 2: Liner Notes in Music Online (aka Alexander Street)

[Image: screenshot of Catalyst search bar, set to search for "music online"

Search for "Music Online" in Catalyst to find and enter the database.

Slide 3: Liner Notes in Music Online (aka Alexander Street)

[Image: screenshot of search box in Music Online, set to search for "Imrat Khan"]

If you have a search term in mind, you can enter it in the search box.

Slide 4: Liner Notes in Music Online (aka Alexander Street)

[Image: screenshot of the collection tabs on the Music Online homepage; a red arrow points to the tab for "world music".]

If you're just exploring, pick the collection tab that is most relevant to your project, and then browse through the sub-categories for something interesting.

Slide 5: Liner Notes in Music Online (aka Alexander Street)

[Image: screenshot of the "Content Type" filter for a results list in Music Online; a red arrow points to the filter for "liner note"]

Once you have results, use the menu on the left to limit the content type to "liner note."

Slide 6: Liner Notes in Music Online (aka Alexander Street)

[Image: screenshot of liner note results from Imrat Khan. Each result shows the album cover for each recording.]

Click the item image to see the liner notes for the recording.

Slide 7: Liner Notes in Music Online (aka Alexander Street)

[Image: screenshot of the "embed/link" button in the toolbar for a Music Online item]

Need a link to share in a bibliography? From the item's menu, click "Embed/Link."

Slide 8: Liner Notes in Music Online (aka Alexander Street)

[Image: screenshot of the permalink to liner notes for an Imrat Khan recording in Music Online.]

Usually, you'll just want to copy-and-paste the "ezproxy" permanent link from the pop-up box.

Slide 9: Finding Liner Notes in Naxos Music Library and Naxos Jazz

[Image: screenshot of the search bar in Naxos Music Library. It is set to "Eight Songs for a Mad King."]

The Naxos streaming databases aren't set up to search for liner notes. You have to search for an interesting album and check for notes yourself.

Enter your search term in the search box.

Slide 10: Finding Liner Notes in Naxos Music Library and Naxos Jazz

[Image: screenshot of the results for searching for "Eight Songs for a Mad King."]

Pick a likely album from the results list.

Slide 11: Finding Liner Notes in Naxos Music Library and Naxos Jazz

[Image: screenshot of an album's cover image; a red arrow points to a link for a booklet below the image]

Once you're in the album, look under the album image on the left. If there's a link that says "Booklet," those are the liner notes.

If there is no "Booklet" link, Naxos does not have the liner notes.

Slide 12: Finding Liner Notes in Catalyst

[Image: screenshot of an advanced search in Catalyst for sound recordings by Dawn Upshaw]

To find liner notes in Catalyst, you'll need to find an album. This can get tricky.

Slide 13: Finding Liner Notes in Catalyst

[Image: screenshot of an advanced search in Catalyst for sound recordings by Dawn Upshaw. a red arrow points to the "sound recording" option in the "material type" dropdown menu. It is labeled "online results only. A second red arrow points to the "audio/video" radial button above the searhc box. It is labeled "physical and online results."]

If you use "advanced search" and limit to "sound recording" in the "Material Type" menu on the left, Catalyst thinks you want online recordings. If you want to include physical recordings, tick instead the Audio/Video radial button above the search box.

Slide 14: Finding Liner Notes in Catalyst

[Image: screenshot of the result list filters in Catalyst. Red arrows point to the filters for "physical resources" and "audio CDs."]

Once you have your results list, use the "Refine My Results" filters on the left.

Choose "physical resources" and "audio CDs" (or the relevant physical format).

Slide 15: Finding Liner Notes in Catalyst

[Image: screenshot of the "Notes'" section of a Catalyst record. It indicates that program notes are inserted in the CD's container.]

Click into an album's catalog record to see if it includes liner notes. If it does, there should be a description of them in the "notes" section of the record.

Take the call number with you to the circulation desk and the worker there will pull the recording for you!