- St. Olaf Libraries
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- Music 141: Introduction to Musicology
- Primary Sources: The Internet
Music 141: Introduction to Musicology
LibKey Nomad
Research and Instruction Librarian for Music & Fine Arts
Primary Sources on the Internet
There is a wealth of primary source material available on the internet. As with any online source, you'll need to do some extra work to verify that the information is reliable and the content is legally posted.
Museums and national libraries often support wonderful online archives. Remember as you search for items that your primary source project focuses on written materials.
Online Archives for Music Research
Many online archives contain a variety of materials: images, audiovisual files, texts, etc. Remember that your Primary Source Show-and-Tell assignment requires a textual resource.
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Beethoven Haus-BonnAll things Beethoven: facsimiles of his manuscripts and letters, portraits, furniture, etc. Be prepared to see ink-blotty German handwriting! Most of the letters have links to translations.
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EuropeanaDigital materials (videos, images, etc.) highlighting all aspects of European culture. Funded by the European Union.
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GallicaThe digital archive for the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Great for early editions of scores and French-language materials. Make sure the "EN" option in the upper right corner is turned on, so you can see the search interface in English.
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Internet ArchiveMany libraries use IA to host their digital collections. Search for sheet music and pre-1926 books here. Best for English-language materials. In addition to public domain materials, IA offers electronic lending of many copyrighted texts -- sign up for a free account to borrow materials.
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Library of Congress Digital CollectionsDigital versions of books, scores, manuscripts, audio recordings, and other materials from the Library of Congress. Includes the National Jukebox audio recordings.
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Sheet Music ConsortiumOnline database of 18th-early 20th century sheet music in collections at U.S. libraries.
This list includes only a fraction of the digital materials available; it also focuses pretty heavily on the US and Europe. If nothing here suits you, try these tips:
Looking for a particular composer? Search for their name plus "society" or "archive" -- often these will link to online collections.
Looking for a particular country or city? Search for its name plus "library" or "archive" to see if there is a regional library or museum with online collections. Remember that museums and libraries outside the U.S. may not have English versions of their websites available, and many of their actual items will not be in English. This may impact your ability to search and use their collections. Contact Karen Olson for help if you need it!