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Whether you are looking for information for a paper, background information, program notes, etc., plan out your research inquiry by thinking through what exactly you want to discover. The worksheets linked here can help you think through your strategy before you start your search.
Use the resources on this page to get to know a new research area or choose a topic for a new project, performance, or paper. This part of the process is not necessarily about finding sources you will use or cite in your final project, but about exploring to understand the basics of a particular area and come up with keywords to use when you search for sources later.
Open web searches (Google, Wikipedia, etc.)
It's okay to begin your exploration on Google, as long as it doesn't end there. Use this time to explore potential topics, and to try out different keywords on potential topics.
Timelines & Bibliographies
You might choose to peruse online timelines like those listed here, or bibliographies like those listed here that compile resources on underrepresented musicians.
Reference Sources (Dictionaries, Encyclopedias)
Try one of the specialized reference works below to learn broadly from expert-written articles on your topic including lists of citations to important books and articles on that topic.
Books
Books are a great place to start your research because they take the time to explain things you may not understand (unlike journal articles which are more concise and specialized). You don't have to read the whole book! Go to the next tab for help with locating books.
Offers thousands of pages of reference materials on western classical music from many sources including dictionaries, encyclopedias, reference works on individual composers, etc. Spans the entire history of Western classical music, and brings together in one database authoritative reference titles like Baker's Dictionary of Music, Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, and Baker's Student Encyclopedia of Music.
Provides in-depth articles on every aspect of music as well as many related areas such as literature, philosophy, and visual arts. This online resource includes the second print edition Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart (MGG), published from 1994 to 2008, as well as current, continuous online updates and additions.
Provides access to e-books in the Cambridge Companion series for composers, instrumental music, opera, popular music, and more.. The essays are written by scholars in that field and provide background information and an analysis of the topic selected, offering a good starting point for research.
Covers a wide range of African American musical expression, including blues, jazz, spirituals, civil rights songs, slave songs, minstrelsy, rhythm and blues, gospel, and other forms through essays, biographies, discographies, interviews, images, lyrics and scores
Copyright © Baylor® University. All rights reserved.
Report It | Title IX | Mental Health Resources | Anonymous Reporting | Legal Disclosures