- St. Olaf Libraries
- Research Guides
- Music 345B: American Music
- Reference Materials
Music 345B: American Music
Karen Olson
LibKey Nomad
Research and Instruction Librarian for Music & Fine Arts
General Music Reference Resources
Reference resources provide basic background information on a topic, but should not be the only resource you use! These resources include both biographical and topical entries.
If you're starting from scratch, begin with Oxford Music Online.
Oxford Music OnlineThe go-to music encyclopedia in English.
Available online.
African American Music ReferenceFull-text reference resource on African American music, covering blues, jazz, spirituals, civil rights songs, slave songs, minstrelsy, rhythm and blues, gospel, and other genres.
Available online.
Encyclopedia of African American MusicCall Number: Music Ref: ML101.U6 E53 2011Showcases all facets of African American music including folk, religious, concert and popular styles.
Available in print.
The Complete Book of [insert decade] Broadway MusicalsCall Number: ML1711.8.N3 D53xA decade-by-decade series of Broadway shows, their casts, production dates, and other relevant detail. We have volumes from the 1920s through the 2000s.
Available in print.
The Oxford Companion to Popular MusicCall Number: ML102.P66 G35 1991Covers everything from jazz, reggae, blues, and calypso, to Broadway musicals, rock and roll, and country western.
Available in print.
Biographical Music Reference Resources
These resources focus on biographical material and sometimes include musicians not in Oxford Music Online.
- Baker's Biographical Dictionary of MusiciansCall Number: Music Ref: ML105 .B2 2001Biographies of popular, jazz, and western art musicians; includes indexes for genre, nationality, and women composers and musicians.
Available in print. - Contemporary MusiciansCall Number: Music Ref: ML105 .C76 1989Profiles artists involved in rock, jazz, pop, rap, rhythm and blues, folk, New Age, country, gospel and reggae.
Available in print. 
The Encyclopedia of Popular MusicCall Number: Music Ref: ML102.P66 G84 1998Covers popular music from 1900 to the present, including folk, blues, world music, rock, heavy metal, techno, reggae, and hip hop.
Available in print or online; online version more up-to-date.
Film Composers in AmericaCall Number: Music Ref: ML128.M7 M3 2000Documents the work of more than 1,500 film composers. Available in print.
International Who's Who in Classical MusicCall Number: Music Ref: ML105 .I58Biographical and contact information for singers, instrumentalists, composers, conductors, managers and more.
Available in print.
International Who's Who in Popular MusicCall Number: Music Ref: ML105 .I58Biographical information and contact details for some of the most talented and influential artists and individuals from the world of popular music.
Available in print.
What to do if your musician isn't in any of these volumes
If you are not working on a Big Name Composer, or even a Medium Name composer, sometimes they won't be included in any of the reference sources listed above. This is especially true for composers from marginalized groups.
However, sometimes they will have biographies in smaller or older reference sources, many of which we have in Halvorson. Set up a research appointment with Karen and we'll go digging!