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Reference sources

Try the encyclopedias and other sources listed below when you are looking for music information. These databases are available to all Multnomah County Library cardholders. Log in with the barcode from your library card and pin number. Your pin is the last 4 numbers of your phone by default. Contact our reference staff for questions about music, by phone or e-mail, or visit the library to use the reference collections.

Grove Music Online: Grove Music Online is the online form of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, a comprehensive music encyclopedia. To find exact titles of musical works, search by name of composer. The section titled "Works" lists exact titles, publication dates, and opus numbers of musical works. These titles are keyed to the sets of complete works by composer, located in the reference shelves of Central Library.
Biographies Plus Illustrated: Biographies selected from encyclopedias and music reference books, often accompanied by illustrations. Read the full biography on your computer screen and print or e-mail the results.
Music Index: Look for music topics in music periodicals. For articles you find that you would like to read, search the library catalog by title of the periodical. If Multnomah County Library doesn't have the periodical, search the Orbis Cascade Alliance catalog of local academic libraries, such as Portland State University and others. You can also requests photocopies of articles through Interlibrary Loan.

Music Internet websites: Websites for music subjects, selected by reference staff of the Multnomah County Library.

Music reference books:

At the Central Library, 801 SW 10th, in downtown Portland, you will find an extensive collection of reference books for locating information on nearly every topic in music. Ask the librarians at the reference desk in the Art and Music Library, 3rd floor, if you are looking for particular composers, music for particular voice types, instrumental solos, or any other type of music-related information. If you prefer, send a question to our reference staff via email or phone.

Types of reference books and how to use them:

Bibliographies: Bibliographies are lists of books and other sources, useful for finding publications on particular topics.
Example: Music and war : a research and information guide
Biographical Dictionaries and Encyclopedias: Lives of composers and performers in an A-Z format. Current editions of these reference books may not include more obscure names of musicians. Check older editions of biographical encyclopedias for names that you do not find in the current editions.
Example: Baker's biographical dictionary of musicians
Chronologies: Music history organized by date, billboard popular music hit songs
Example: World chronology of music history
Complete works of composers: Often referred to as "monumental sets", these are multivolume sets of the works of composers, for reference use in the library. To locate a particular piece of music within these sets, check the list of works for the composer in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, available at the Art and Music Reference Desk. The entry for the composer serves as a cross-index to the complete works, so that you can find particular titles. Central Library has the sets of complete works for major composers.
Example: Bach, Johann Sebastian. Neue Ausgabe samtlicher Werke. Kassel : Barenreiter-Verlag, c1955
Discographies: Lists of recorded music, organized by subject or composer, often with reviews to compare recordings.
Example: The jazz discography
Guides to Music Interpretation and Performance: Historical treatises and current guides to performance practice.
Example: Performing baroque music
Instrumental and Vocal Music Handbooks: These guides are useful for selecting music for particular voice types, musical instruments, and ensemble groups. Lists of musical works are organized by numbers of performers, descriptions of pieces, and composers.
Example: The literature of chamber music
Licensing and Copyright: How to protect your music, how to use copyrighted music, laws related to copyright and licensing music, written for musicians, publishers, composers, or others who use copyrighted music.
Example: Legal aspects of the music industry
Music Business Directories: Directories related to the music industry, such as music equipment sources, contact information for record labels, agents and touring sources, music organizations and performing groups, etc.
Example: Musical America worldwide
Song Indexes: Indexes of songs, to identify the composer, lyricist, performers, first lines, date of the first performance.
Example: The great song thesaurus
Thematic Catalogs: Indexes to music with score notation to help you identify particular compositions, organized by key signature, numbers of instruments or voices, or other elements of music. Thematic catalogs are useful when you want to look at many pieces in sucession by reading just a few measures from each movement. Compositions may be available in the music score collection; search the catalog by title and author to locate them on the shelves. Ask the librarians if you need any assistance.
Example: Isaac Albeniz : chronological list and thematic catalog of his piano works

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