Music 145
Classical Music of Black Composers
Winter Quarter 2003
Professor Rae Linda Brown
Library Instruction Workshop
Instructor:  Liza Vick
Research Librarian for Music and Dance
141 Langson Library
University of California-Irvine
(949)824-3509
lvick@lib.uci.edu

Goals of this session:

Some preliminary library research strategies for music:

Familiarize yourself with the online subject guide for music.  This is a beginning guide or pathfinder for basic music research (covering print and online resources) and is the basis for this tutorial.  Please follow the instructions at the top for information on accessing  databases from home.  You will need to follow the proxy server configuration instructions in order to access all electronic resources from off campus ( http://www.oac.uci.edu/help/proxy/ ).

First, see the section titled  How to do Research in Music.  The two reference guides listed, (UCI Libraries Reference Guides, Music and Jazz) include extensive listings of print resources valuable to music research.  Some of these will be shown in class, as pertains to black music.  One of the most important reference resources in music is the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, located in Langson Library Reference, call number ML100 .N48 2001 - also online at  http://www.grovemusic.com/index.html.  Groves is a comprehensive "encyclopedic" reference tool for all aspects of music. Includes entries about composers (including works lists, guides to thematic catalogues and collected works), performers, genres, styles, and much more. A great place to start on your research!

Another general research strategy to use (if you are still finding a topic) is browsing in the music stacks.  Books and scores are organized on the shelf by Library of Congress classification, with similar instrumentation or subject grouped together.  You may also browse by call numbers "virtually" in the Antpac catalog by doing subject and keyword searches - more on that below.

LC Call Numbers for Music include:

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Selected key print resources in music (including black composers):
 

Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians. Call Number:  ML 105 S67  Main Ref.

Black Music and Musicians in The New Grove Dictionary of American Music
  and The New Harvard Dictionary of Music.   Call Number: ML 128 B45 D45  Main Ref.

International Dictionary of Black Composers.  Call Number: ML 390 I58 1999 Main Ref.

Black Music Biography:  An Annotated Bibliography.   Call Number:  ML 128 B3 F6 1987 Main Ref.

Blacks in Opera:  An Encyclopedia of People and Companies 1873-1993.
  Call Number:  ML 102 O6 S6 1995 Main Ref.

African-American Traditions in Song, Sermon, Tale, and Dance, 1600s-1920:  An Annotated Bibliography.
  Call Number: Z 5956 A47 S68 1990 Main Ref.
 

An Index to African-American Spirituals for the Solo Voice.
  Call Number:  ML128.S4 A27 1999 4th floor

Bibliography of Black Music (de Lerma).  4 vols. 1984
  Call Number:  ML 128 B45 D44 4th floor

Black Music in the United States : An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Reference and Research Materials.
  Call Number:  ML128.B45 F6 1983  4th floor

Choral Music by African-American Composers : A Selected, Annotated Bibliography.
  Call Number:  ML128.C48 W5 1996  4th floor
 

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.  20 vols.   Call Number: ML 100 N48 2001 Main Ref.
  Online (includes selected opera and jazz): http://www.grovemusic.com/index.html

The New Grove Dictionary of American Music.  4 vols.    Call Number: ML 101 U6 N48  Main Ref.

The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz.  2 vols.   Call Number:  ML 102 J3 N48 2002 Main Ref.

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. 4 vols.   Call Number: ML 102 O6 N5  Main Ref.

Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians.    Call Number: ML 105 B16 1992 Main Ref.

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What is Antpac and how do I find books and scores?

 Antpac is the online library catalog for UCI - you can find books, scores, videos, sound recordings and other materials.  For general information and tutorial links please see the "How to Find Music books and other materials" section of the Music subject guide.  The examples used in class are geared towards black or African American music topics.

Here are some search strategies, tips, and examples:

Author/composer search - find books and scores by a known author or composer. Example: Do an author search on "Still, William Grant".   The results include compositions by him, recordings of his music, and books by and/or about him.  Do a subject heading search on his name and you retrieve items about Still (books, interviews, criticism and interpretation) written by others. For very common composers and titles try combination author/title searches (or do composer search then limit by title or keyword). This can be especially effective when searching music scores.

Keyword searches are the broadest searches. You may search on terms relating to
authors, titles, genres, performers and more. For example, if you wish to find musical
compositions for a certain instrument or ensemble you can search the instrument names:
For example "flute and piano" or "string quartet". You may also combine composer, title and
instrument terms in keyword searches using boolean operators.

Subject Heading - As referred to above, Library of Congress subject headings can also
be searched in Antpac for more effective results.  Good for general searching - start with a keyword search
then click on appropriate subject headings that appear in the individual item records.  Or start with
general headings such as: African Americans--Music, African American musicians, Blacks--Music.

Title - Use title search for a specific book title and journal title for journal titles (not article titles).
Also use title search for titles of musical compositions. Remember to try alternate titles
and foreign language titles. You may include sonata numbers and opus numbers but try
variants (Opus, op. number, no., etc.) or numbers only.

Additional handy features of Antpac:
                              Limits (by material type; by other title or subject words; by language; by
                              publication date; by location)
                              Export records
                              Request/hold items
                              Interlibrary Loan

CDL | MELVYL (Use these to find items on your topic not located at UCI)

What is CDL?  California Digital Library is a collection of databases and catalogs, including
materials available from libraries California-wide (print and online full-text).  Melvyl is the
online catalog (books, music, journals and more) for UC, California State Universities, and more
libraries state-wide.  Faculty, students and staff at UCI can use Inter-Library loan to
request items from these catalogs.  For search assistance, use the help option, contact a
reference librarian or, consult the schedule of UCI Libraries workshops and tutorials.

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How do I find articles about black composers?

For more complete information about accessing different types of article databases and online journals please visit the subject guide section "How to Find Music Articles".  In order to locate journal articles on any topic you must first consult a database for that subject (detailed below) and once you have compiled a list of articles search the journal titles in Antpac.  Do this by clicking on "Select a Collection" at the top of the menu and then select "Journals and Serials Collection", then "Title/Journal Title".  We will demonstrate a search and analyze serial holdings record in class ("B" stands for bound volumes and the call number is listed next to location).  More information on databases:

Music Article Databases

International Index to Music Periodicals Full Text
Full-text articles from selected music periodicals. Especially good for finding performance,  recording and book reviews, obituaries, articles from scholarly journals as well as popular news sources.

Music Index
Index to articles from more than 670 international music periodicals. A broad range of subjects are indexed, covering musicological or organological topics, music education, plus book reviews, record reviews, first performances, and obituaries.

RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (Repertoire international de litterature musicale)
Index to music literature (journals articles, reviews, symposia, dissertations, etc) of a scholarly nature.  Thorough indexing and helpful summaries.

If you don't find enough material on your topic, consult How to Find Music Articles for a more complete listing of database possibilities.

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Internet sites

See also the "Further Research" section of the music subject guide (under gateway sites).  Here are some useful sites:

Classical Net
Basic information about classical music (scores, recordings, composers...)

Google (search composer, style, genre, or other terms)

Indiana University -Wm & Gayle Cook Music Library (Composers and Composition)

Duke University Libraries - DW3 Classical Music Resources (Composer Homepages)

WWW Sites for Musicologists (American Musicological Society)

Sheet Music:

African-American Sheet Music, 1850-1920: Selected from the Collections of Brown University

Black Music:

Center for Black Music Research (includes performers database, bibliographies, discographies and other research information)

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Citing Sources

Consult Style Manuals & Writing Guides and your professor for information on correct methods for using and citing your sources in music research.

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Where do I go for help?

For additional help with your research project on the music of black composers, please schedule an appointment with Liza Vick, Music Librarian (949-824-3509, lvick@lib.uci.edu) or attend her office hours during the winter quarter from 3-4 on Mondays (Langson Library, Room 141-  inside Reference Librarians Suite 140 (or ask at reference desk)).  For assistance with general library assignments (any classes) please make use of the general reference services provided by the library.  Also consult the UCI Libraries website for information about library hours, services, locations and much more.

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