How to do research in Music

Library resources for researchers working on music history, ethnomusicology, music theory, and composition

START WITH GOOD KEYWORDS

Topic-specific keywords will help improve your results in a general multidisciplinary database like Google, Google Scholar, HOLLIS, or Academic Search Premier. 

Add keywords like these to your search:

  • Subject terms - “Music theory”, Music And “History and literature”, criticism

  • Genre terms - operas, chamber music

  • Geographic terms - “United States”

  • Time period terms - 18th, “to 1500”

UPGRADE YOUR SEARCH: KEY DATABASES

The best tool for your project may be a specialized search engine, also known as a database. These databases are subject-specific or format-specific search tools:

Oxford Music Online (via HarvardKey) – The top database for authoritative entries across a wide spectrum of genres, musical topics, and people; works lists; bibliographies.

RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (via HarvardKey) – An international bibliography of music articles, collections, and books. Indexes scholarly articles, reviews, conference papers, essays, book chapters, dissertations and more. Strong in ethnomusicological journals and topics.

Music & Performing Arts Online (via HarvardKey) – A family of audio and video collections, including: Classical Music Library; Classical Performance in Video, Jazz Music Library; Opera in Video; Dance in Video; American Music; Smithsonian Global Sound; Contemporary World Music; Popular Music Library; Theatre in Video.

Dig Deeper

The Harvard Library Music Research Guide provides a curated list of resources related to music.

Databases for Music - explore the full list of Harvard Library databases in this subject category.

CONNECT WITH US

Liz Berndt, the library liaison to Music, is available to support researchers via email or in-person consultation.

Featured Collection

The Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library is Harvard’s home for musical materials. We embrace performance and research in and about the world's musics.

 

Service Alert:
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  • Most Harvard Library locations will be closed Monday, May 30 and Tuesday, May 31, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. Ask a Librarian and chat service will be closed on these dates.
  • If you're experiencing an ongoing technical issue when you attempt to access library materials with your HarvardKey during these times, please report it to Library Technology Services.

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Talk to a librarian for advice on defining your topic, developing your research strategy, and locating and using sources. Make an appointment now.

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