Research Guides: Music: Get Started: Reference

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

Major reference sources in music are a good place to start your research. Reference articles can be about specific musicians, musical groups, instruments, geographic locations, cultures, styles, and genres. They provide broad coverage at an introductory level, allowing you to become familiar with the terminology and context of your topic.

Also check out the other sections of this guide on different geographic regions/styles for additional subject-specific resources.

Oxford Music Online
Good for looking up terms, people, instruments, locations, and styles within Western art music, jazz, American popular music, musical theater, and traditional and folk music from around the world.
Contains: New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, New Grove Dictionary of American Music, New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, New Grove Dictionary of Opera, and the Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Articles on musicians, styles, instruments, genres, geographic areas, and more.
The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online by Ruth M. Stone (Editor)
Good for looking up locations and cultures when researching world traditional and folk music
This standard music reference source is organized geographically into ten volumes and also has accompanying sound recordings. Browse content by continent and country.
Bloomsbury (Continuum) Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World
Good for researching popular music from America and around the world
v.1 Media, Industry, & Society -- Look up social phenomena, such as death, gender, record collecting
v.2 Performance & Production -- Look up names of performance techniques, ensemble types, production roles, equipment, instruments, and harmony, melody, and rhythm terminology
v.3-7 Locations -- Look up names of countries, regions, and cities
v.8-11 Genres -- Look up names of genres/styles
The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture by Janet L. Sturman (Editor)
Publication Date: 2019-03-28
Good for looking up concepts when studying music in the context of cultural; Provides introduction to the discipline of ethnomusicology, its methods, concerns, and its contributions to knowledge and understanding of the world's musical cultures, styles, and practices.
The SAGE Handbook of Popular Music by Andy Bennett (Editor); Steve Waksman (Editor)
ISBN: 9781446210857
Publication Date: 2015-03-14
Good for researching global popular music, cultural and identity studies, and the global music business.
Music in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: An Encyclopedia by William Forde Thompson (Editor)
Good for looking up terms related to music within the broader interdisciplinary frame of anthropology, communications, psychology, linguistics, sociology, sports, political science and economics, as well as biology and the health sciences. A Reader's Guide groups related entries by broad topic areas and themes, making it easy for readers to quickly identify related entries. A Chronology of Music places material into historical context; a Glossary defines key terms from the field; and a Resource Guide provides lists of books, academic journals, websites and cross-references.
Oxford Reference Online: Music & Performing Arts
Good for looking up definitions of terms and styles in both music as well as theater and dance; provides more concise articles than Oxford Music Online.
Contains: Oxford Encyclopedia of the Music of India; The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music; The Oxford Companion to Music; The Oxford Companion to the American Musical; The Oxford Dictionary of Dance; The International Encyclopedia of Dance; A Dictionary of Opera Characters; The Grove Book of Opera Singers; The Grove Book of Operas;
The SAGE Handbook of Performance Studies by D. Soyini Madison; Judith Hamera (Editor) The SAGE Handbook of Performance Studies brings together, in a single volume,  discussions of the major research in performance studies and identifies directions for further investigation. It is the only comprehensive collection on the theories, methods, politics, and practices of performance relating to life and culture. Edited by D. Soyini Madison and Judith Hamera, this Handbook serves artists, scholars, and  students across the disciplines by delineating the scope of the field, the critical and interpretive methods used, and the theoretical and ethical presumptions that guide work in this exciting and growing area.   Key Features: ''''Demonstrates the utility of performance studies for diverse academic audiences by organizing topics into six primary realms of performance inquiry#65533;Theory, History, Literature, Pedagogy, Ethnography, and Politics ''Includes engaging explications of performance theory and methods that help readers grasp their significance and to apply them to a wide range of sites and practices ''Summarizes key theoretical and methodological challenges across the field and provides connections with other bodies of research to advance further work in the discipline ''Provides balanced coverage of issues of enduring interest (such as the relationship between performance and politics; performance and ethnography) as well as those currently flourishing in the field (for example, relationships between performance and pedagogy) ''This Handbook opens a range of paradigms and queries that demonstrates the scope and influence of performance.  It will be a welcome addition to any academic library and is of interest to researchers, scholars, and students in the fields of Communication Studies, Performance Studies, Theatre Arts, and Cultural Studies.  
Call Number: ebook online
ISBN: 9780761929314
Publication Date: 2005-11-28
International Encyclopedia of Dance by Perspectives Foundation Inc., Staff (Editor); Selma Jeanne Cohen (Editor)
Call Number: ebook online
Covers all types of dance around the world and throughout history, including theatrical, ritual dance-drama, folk, traditional, ethnic, and social dance. Features historical and cultural overview articles on countries as well as articles on specific dance forms, music and costumes, performances, and biographies of dancers and choreographers.