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Research in Music: Databases

Library resources to help you begin your research in music.

All Databases

Click on the links below for additional databases available for your use.

Databases

Music-Related Databases

Naxos Music Library 

  • Streaming access to thousands of CDs in classical, contemporary jazz, jazz/folk/blues legends, and world/folk genres
  • Search by composer, work, genre and CD label, using keyword or advanced search
  • Liner notes for many recordings
  • Users can create personalized playlists
  • Includes much background information, such as audiobook transcriptions about the history of classical music and opera; libretti and synopses of more than 700 operas; work analyses; work details with instrumentation, publishers, durations, and available recordings; classical music podcasts; and more 
  • Updated monthly

Oxford Music Online

  • Comprehensive integrated full-text music resource; includes Grove Music Online, within which is:
    • The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition (2001)
    • The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd edition (2002)
    • The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (1992)
    • The Norton Grove Dictionary of Women Composers (1994)
  • Part of Oxford Reference
  • Includes Sibelius-enabled music examples
  • Updated regularly

RILM (Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale) Abstracts (EbscoHost)

  • International gateway to scholarly writings on music and music-related disciplines, from more than 10,000 journals in 171 languages; has some full-text articles
  • Structured and works like Academic Search Complete (EbscoHost)
  • Covers from the early 19th century to the present
  • Can limit search to Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) journals, or to just articles, reviews, etc.
  • Can use an * (asterisk) to truncate a search term
  • Can email, print, or download search results and articles
  • Updated monthly

Education-Related Database

ERIC (EbscoHost)

  • Provides access to records of materials covering the entire field of education, including music, music education, music therapy, etc. Includes journal articles, research reports, curriculum and teaching guides, conference papers, dissertations and theses, and books dating back to 1966
  • Includes indexing for both non-journal materials (known as ERIC documents, or ED's) and journal articles (EJ's)
    • ED's:  From 1966 to October 2002, available in microfiche on the second floor of the Library; from 1986 to the present, available in full text online
    • EJ's:  Full text of some articles available on ERIC; for others, use OneSearch to check for full text availability in another database or in hard copy print format in the Library
  • Structured and works like Academic Search Complete (EbscoHost)
  • Can limit search by year, language, or document type
  • Can use an * (asterisk) to truncate a search term
  • Can email, print, or download search results
  • Updated twice weekly

Multi-Disciplinary Databases

JSTOR

  • Full-text multi-disciplinary database of hundreds of scholarly journals; all journals included go back to their very first issue
  • Winthrop has access to 77 journals in music
  • Searchable; can limit the search by language, document type, and date of publication. Must select a specific discipline or one or more specific journals within a discipline for the search  
  • Remember to use quotation marks ( “ ” ) when searching phrases
  • To print or download a document from a Library computer, first click on the Download PDF button, then the link I Accept JSTOR's Terms and Conditions, proceed to PDF. Use the PDF icons to print or download the document. To email a document from a Library computer, click on the DOWNLOAD PDF button, then click on the download icon. This will save the document in the Downloads folder on the Desktop. Next, open your own email program, create a new message, find the document in the Downloads folder, attach it to the email message you just created, and send the document wherever you want. Option: Download the article to the Desktop, then save the document to your own folder on Dropbox, Google Docs, etc. The document will be saved on the Desktop for only a short while, until you log off the computer or until the computer refreshes itself.

ProQuest Dissertation Express

  • Searchable database of dissertations and theses available for purchase
  • Can search by topic, author, or title
  • A few dissertations are available as free PDF downloads; most are available as PDF downloads or hard- or soft-cover copies, priced from $41 to $82

WorldCat

  • International database of millions of items in many formats, cataloged by libraries and other institutions worldwide
  • Create your own free account, then compile a list of materials you want to consult for a project
  • To find theses/dissertations on your topic:
    • Use Advanced Search
    • Change Keyword search to Subject search
    • Type your topic in the Subject search box
    • Click Search
    • On the results screen, use the filters on the left side of the screen to select Theses/Dissertations
    • Some colleges and universities will loan theses/dissertations written by their own students, some will have them as Open Access documents in their online institutional repositories
    • Copies can be purchased through ProQuest Dissertation Express