Music

Welcome to the Music Department research guide. Here you'll find links to books, ebooks, databases, and websites relevant to all genres of music. Click the tabs on the left to find information on your topic, from tertiary to secondary to primary sources. Questions about the research process can be directed to any library or ARC staff member.

Internet Resources

AllMusic
A comprehensive and in-depth resource for finding out more about the albums, bands, musicians and songs you love
DC Punk Archive
The DC Punk Archive was established in 2014 to document the vibrant and influential punk music scene of Washington D.C. going back to 1976
Grateful Dead Archive Online
Documents the band's activity and influence in contemporary music from 1965 to 1995
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Includes inductees, sound clips, birthdates, a timeline, materials for students and teachers, and more
Rock 'n' Roll: Beginnings to Woodstock
Primary sources covering the beginnings of rock ‘n’ roll
Rock and Roll Music (Smithsonian)
Features photos and memorabilia from some of the biggest moments and personalities in rock music history
Rock Music Timeline
The evolution of rock and roll music in the order it happened with classic albums, hit songs, and important events from the first fifty years of rock, pop, hip hop and soul music
Sun Records: a History
Launched in Memphis in 1952, Sun Records became home to rock pioneers like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and others
Timeline of African American Music: Rock ‘n’ Roll
Explores the foundational elements of rock ‘n’ roll and centers african-american artists in relating the early days of the genre
Trouser Press Magazine
A New York-based rock music magazine that specialized in a number of genres — British Invasion history, new wave, progressive and independent-label releases — during its existence, 1974 to 1984
Women in Rock and Roll’s First Wave (Case Western Reserve University)
Preserves and tells the stories of the women and girls who created and performed rock and roll songs in the 1950s and early 1960s
Women of Rock Oral History Project (Smith College)
Documents the lives and careers of women in rock music, focusing primarily on artists who have been left out of the popular rock narrative
Women Who Rock
Explore the role of women and popular music in the creation of cultural scenes and social justice movements in the Americas and beyond

All About Jazz
Includes reviews, discussion topics, sound files, etc.
Brubeck Collection (University of the Pacific)
A unique accumulation of materials representing the creative life of one of jazz's most renowned practitioners
Buffalo Jazz Report (SUNY Buffalo)
Includes the full run of the independent publication devoted to jazz, 1974-1978
The Chicagoan Magazine (University of Chicago)
Modeled after the New Yorker, this magazine ran from 1926 to 1935 and sought to portray Chicago as a cultural hub. Full issues are reproduced in this near-complete digital collection
Downbeat Magazine
An American music magazine established in 1934 in Chicago and devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond"
Felix E. Grant Jazz Archives (University of the District of Columbia)
Includes interviews with major artists, from Cannonball Adderley to Phil Woods, originally broadcast on WMAL Radio 630 from 1965-1984
Hogan Archive of New Orleans Music and New Orleans Jazz (Tulane University)
Supports the research and study of New Orleans music and culture of the late 19th and 20th centuries forward
Institute of Jazz Studies (Rutgers University)
The world's foremost jazz archives and research library
Jim Cullum Riverwalk Jazz Collection (Stanford University)
An archive of the Riverwalk Jazz radio program and website, featuring streaming audio of nearly 400 programs broadcast since 1989, with illustrated essays, information about band members and guest artists, complete playlists, and supplementary recordings
Leonard Feather Blindfold Tests Collection (University of Idaho)
Includes recordings of Feather playing jazz recordings for other jazz musicians, asking the listeners to guess the artist on the recording and to talk through their thought process
Louis Armstrong House Museum
Collects and shares archival materials that document Armstrong’s life and legacy
Monterey Jazz Festival Collection (Stanford University)
Includes digitized recordings from the annual festival, as well as a complete run of festival posters

Alan Lomax Digital Archive
A huge treasure trove of songs and interviews recorded by the legendary folklorist Alan Lomax from the 1940s into the 1990s have been digitized and made available online for free listening
AllMusic (Blues)
A comprehensive and in-depth resource for finding out more about the albums, bands, musicians and songs you love
Appalachian Blues (Smithsonian)
Provides an overview of Appalachian Blues - including notable names and milestones, as well as the genres development within the larger cultural context of black life and music
The Blues (Library of Congress)
A brief overview of blues history, with links to various blues-related assets in the LOC collection
The Blues (Smithsonian)
Links to Blues-related collection items hosted by the Smithsonian and other high-profile cultural institutions
Blues Archives (University of Mississippi)
One of the largest collections of blues recordings, publications, and memorabilia in the world
Delta Blues Museum
Learn about key figures and locations in blues history through immersive online exhibits
Mississippi Blues Trail
Discover the people and places that spawned the blues
William R. Ferris Collection (UNC Chapel Hill)
Images in this digital collection document life in Mississippi and the Mississippi Delta; folk, blues, gospel, fife and drum corps music, and other musical types

Classical.net
Reviews of CDs, DVDs, and books; links to other classical music web sites
Classical Composers by Era
A visual representation, with links, to classical composers, separated into the eras in which they composed
Composer Diversity Database
A project from The Institute for Composer Diversity, which is "committed to the celebration, education, and advocacy of music created by composers from historically underrepresented groups including women, composers of color, LGBTQIA2S+ composers, and disabled composers"
Gramophone
Classical music reviews, news, playlists, features and blogs from Gramophone, a leading classical music magazine
History of Classical Music (Naxos)
An overview of the classical periods, from the medieval to the present, and defining recordings representing each period
International Music Score Library Project
Petrucci Music Library. Major database containing public domain scores; includes complete works of many composers.
Music by Black Composers
Violinist Rachel Barton Pine's extensive collection of resources to spread awareness of and access to music by Black composers
Music Division Digital Collections (Library of Congress)
Primary source materials maintained by the Library of Congress and including sheet music, interviews, photographs and other memorabilia
MusRef
From Brigham Young University. Includes a searchable bibliography of music and dance reference sources (both online and print formats)
Mutopia Project
The Mutopia Project offers sheet music editions of classical music for free download
OREL Foundation
Biographical, bibliographical and media information concerning composers whose music was banned during the years of Nazi oppression in Europe

Ethnomusicology Musical Instrument Collection (University of Washington)
The University of Washington Ethnomusicology Division houses over 400 musical instruments from around the world.
Grinnel College Musical Instrument Collection
The collection includes: the standard Western instruments used in music making today throughout the cosmopolitan world; earlier historic forms of many of these same instruments; and a generous sampling of instruments used in musical traditions around the non-Western world.
Guide to World Music (World Music Network)
World Music Network is a commercial site for downloading and/or purchasing music from the world music scene. It features music guides, playlists, and news about the latest releases. The World Music Network is comprised of four labels; Riverboat Records, Rough Guides, Introducing and Think Global.
JSTOR Music Collection
Search 76 journals and over 1000 e-books, published over more than a century, that focus on music and musicology.
Milken Archive of Jewish Music
The Milken Archive's focus is on the rich body of music specifically related to the American Jewish experience, both sacred and secular, much of it never before recorded.
Music Around the World (PBS)
Videos in the Music Arts Toolkit collection explore the history and elements of music through live performances and interviews.
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Folkways seeks to strengthen people's engagement with their own cultural heritage and to enhance their awareness and appreciation of the cultural heritage of others.
The Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings (UCLA)
The world’s largest and most complete collection of Mexican American vernacular music, containing some 150,000 recordings from small regional recording labels. Learn about the sounds of Mexican American culture and the rich artistic landscape of the borderlands
World and Traditional Music (British Library)
One of the world's largest collections of unique field recordings of musical traditions from around the world.

Classical Guitar Magazine
Watch videos and read articles and album reviews from this popular perveyor of all things classical guitar.
Ethnomusicology Musical Instrument Collection (University of Washington)
The University of Washington Ethnomusicology Division houses over 400 musical instruments from around the world.
Exploring the History of the Piano (Musical Instrument Museum)
Learn about the predecessors to the piano, about different types of pianos, and see and hear them in use through videos and links to audio.
Grinnel College Musical Instrument Collection
The collection includes: the standard Western instruments used in music making today throughout the cosmopolitan world; earlier historic forms of many of these same instruments; and a generous sampling of instruments used in musical traditions around the non-Western world.
History of Country Music Instruments (Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum)
Explore and listen to the instruments that have become key to country music’s evolving but roots-rooted sound.
Musical Instruments (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
See highlights from the museum's collection. The museum's collection of musical instruments includes approximately five thousand examples from six continents and the Pacific Islands, dating from about 300 B.C. to the present.
Musical Instruments (Museum of Fine Arts Boston)
View musical instruments from around the world, ranging from ancient times to the late twentieth century. The Museum is home to over 1,100 instruments, including many European and American examples, as well as numerous pieces from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas.
Musical Instruments (Naxos)
Take a tour through the six major categories of musical instruments and some sound recordings that highlight each instrument.
Popular Musical Instruments of the 18th & 19th Centuries (American Battlefield Trust)
Since the end of the American Civil War, musical genres, instruments, and technologies have expanded immensely. Some of the oldest popular instruments that can still be seen on stage and in public schools rose to prominence during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The Story of the Piano's Invention (Yamaha)
Piano producer Yamaha guides readers through the history of the piano and how it came about.

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