LibGuides: Composition: Research

Articles

Articles are great for research because they generally cover a very narrow topic in great detail. In addition, scholarly journal articles generally include a bibliography where you can find more resources on the same topic.

Browse Professional Journals

Professional journals are a great place to learn from experts about the most recent developments in your field.
Search articles online or browse the Allen Library current periodicals (near the Allen entrance). See especially:

Contemporary Music Review
Latest issues available online only.
New Music Connoisseur
Available in print only.
Sonus
A Journal of Investigations into Global Music Possibilities.
Available in print only.

Journal Article Databases

Library databases provide citations for articles, book chapters, and more. Most articles/chapters focus on a narrow and specific topic, so they are great for deeper research. To get started:

Choose a database.
Search for keywords such as genres, topics, names of people, etc.
Limit your results by date, language, and more with the the left-hand menu on the results page.

Need more help?

See our Article help page for step-by-step instructions and videos to help you search databases and find full-text articles. And you can always ask a librarian for individual help.

Music Article Databases

Music Index Online This link opens in a new window
Article citations from over 700 music journals.
Music Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window
Article citations from over 400 music journals.
RILM This link opens in a new window
Citations for scholarly music and dance books, articles, dissertations, and more.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Full-text articles from almost 100 scholarly music, dance, and theatre journals, plus other subjects. Excludes recent years.

Books

Theory Books in the Allen Library (selections)

The Digital Score by Craig Vear
Call Number: MT39 V43 2019 [Allen shelves]
A framework for understanding how digital scores create meaning, with insights from over 50 musicians and composers.
Soundscapes by Kay Kaufman Shelemay
Call Number: MT90 S69 2015 [Allen shelves]
Introduces a globally diverse repertoire and how to develop listening skills applicable to all music.
Tonal Harmony by Stefan Kostka, Dorothy Payne, and Byron Almén
Call Number: MT50 K86 2018 [Allen circulation desk]
A comprehensive, yet accessible and highly practical, set of tools for understanding music.

Find more theory books

Browse by subject in the catalog, for example:
Composition (music)
Harmony
Instrumentation and orchestration
Musical analysis
Musical form
Musical meter and rhythm
Musical notation
Tempo (music)

Browse the shelves by call number:

Call Number	Topic
MT35	Notation
MT40-MT64	Composition (melody, harmony, forms, etc.)
MT70-MT71	Orchestra & orchestration
MT90-MT146	Analyses of specific works

History Books in the Allen Library (selections)

Beating Time and Measuring Music in the Early Modern Era by Roger Mathew Grant
Call Number: ML437 G73 [Allen shelves]
Publication Date: 2014
Chronicles the shifting relationships between ideas about time in music and science from the 16th through the early 19th centuries.
Esquisse de l'Histore de l'Harmonie by Fétis, François-Joseph and Mary I. Arlin (Translator)
Call Number: ML444 F41 [Allen shelves]
Publication Date: 1994
The first known history of harmonic theory, originally published in 1840.

Find more composition history books

Browse by subject in the catalog, for example:
Composition (music) > History
Harmony
Musical form
Musical meter and rhythm
Musical notation
Tempo (music)

Browse the shelves by call number:

Call Number	Topic
ML430	Composition (general)
ML431-ML432	Notation
ML437	Rhythm
ML444	Harmony
ML446	Counterpoint

Composer Biographies in the Allen Library (selections)

Composition in the Digital World by Robert Raines
Call Number: ML390 R35 C6 [Allen shelves]
Publication Date: 2015
Interviews with 28 of the most prominent American art music composers of the 21st century.
Musical Landscapes in Color by William C. Banfield
Call Number: ML390 B34 M87 [Allen shelves]
Publication Date: 2003
Traces the lives and careers of 40 Black composers and provides perspectives on a world that has been slow to recognize their remarkable contributions to classical music.
Sounds and Sweet Airs by Anna Beer
Call Number: ML390 B44 2016 [Allen shelves]
Tells the stories of eight female composers, from Renaissance Florence to 20th-century London.

Find more biographies

Search subjects or composer names in the catalog, for example:
Composers > Biography

Beethoven, Ludwig van
Davies, Peter Maxwell
Ellington, Duke
Hensel, Fanny Mendelssohn
Larsen, Libby
Reich, Steve
Still, William Grant

Browse the shelves by call number:

Call Number	Topic
ML390	Collected composer biographies
ML410	Single composer biographies (arranged A-Z by composer last name)

Reference

Reference resources include dictionaries, encyclopedias, and more.
They often provide a short overview of a topic, then point to more resources you can use for further research.

Music Reference Databases

Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online This link opens in a new window
Essays about music from all parts of the world.
Grove/Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window
Extensive music encyclopedia with articles, works lists, and citations.
Oxford Bibliographies - Music This link opens in a new window
Lists of resources for advanced research on many music subjects.

Books in the Allen Library (selections)

International Dictionary of Black Composers by Samuel A. Floyd (Ed.)
Call Number: ML105 F56 B53 v.1-2 [Allen reference]
Publication Date: 1999
Essays, composition lists, and bibliographies on 185 Black composers. Covers all genres, but nearly half are classical composers.
Music Scale Encyclopedia 2048 by Glen Gerini
Call Number: MT45 G47 2018 [Allen shelves]
Reference to all scale types: monotonic through chromatic, plus microtonal, polymodal, and other scales.
Thesaurus of Abstract Musical Properties by Jeffrey Johnson
Call Number: ML108 J64 T44 [Allen reference]
Publication Date: 1995
A tool for anyone who uses set-class analysis. Includes a profile of all set-classes in charts plus discussion of individual set-classes.

Find more reference books

Browse the reference shelves by call number:

Call Number	Topic
ML128	Bibliographies, A-Z by topic, e.g.
A6	Analyses
C7	Computer music
ML134	Composer bio-bibliographies
ML156	Discographies (lists of recordings)

Suggest a Resource

Know of a resource you think should be added to this guide? Let us know!

Want to suggest we purchase something new? Contact Tracey Rudnick (rudnick@hartford.edu).

Find Full Text Articles

Search eJournal Locator for the journal title:

Need help? See our article help page or ask a librarian.