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MUMH 4760: Chamber Music Literature

Guide to finding library resources for chamber music literature

Locating Materials in the UNT Music Library

The Music Library has collections throughout the 4th floor of the Willis Library that are organized into categories according to the Library of Congress classification system. The physical collections below at the UNT Music Library are most relevant to your research project. Each area is labeled with signage indicating the particular types of books in that section. If you need help finding an area, do not hesitate to ask the music service desk.

Locations of Music Resources

The reference section holds items such as encyclopedias, dictionaries (general and specific to composer and topic), thematic catalogs, and indexes of music literature and periodicals. The catalog record will let you know if a book is shelved in the reference section. Reference materials are for library use only.

Books shelved in the reference section

The ML section contains books about music topics and composer biographies.

Shelved books in the ML section

Bound print journals contain articles within issues that are published according to a specific, recurring schedule. Individual issues are bound into volumes. Onsite print journals/periodicals are for library use only but ones located in remote storage are available to check out. More journal articles are found online through the electronic databases. Some electronic journals are only available for specific date ranges, so you might need to consult the bound journals section.

Bound journals at the UNT Music Library

The Music Library preserves a wide range of score types, including performance editions and scholarly editions of complete works.

Scores shelved at the UNT Music Library

Library of Congress Call Numbers

Each resource has its own call number, which is similar to an address for the book. Beyond this, looking at the anatomy of the call number indicates specific information about the item. The example below is a biographical book about Schubert during a specific time in his life:

ML Music Literature
410 Composer biography
.S3 Composer identification (Franz Schubert)
G56 Secondary topic
2014 Date of publication

Call numbers are also written out horizontally: ML410.S3 G56 2014

Music Call Numbers

A full list of music call numbers and their corresponding topics can be located on the Library of Congress Classification Outline, if you are curious to look at the full list. For your class project, the following areas should be most helpful:

M - Instrumental Music (Scores)
M180-298 Duets
M300-386 Trios
M400-486 Quartets
M500-M86 Quintets
M600-686 Sextets

 

ML - Literature on Music
ML100-109 Dictionaries and encyclopedias of music
ML105-107 Dictionaries and encyclopedia, bio-bibliographical
ML128 Bibliographies organized by topic
ML134 Bibliographies organized by composer
ML159-3785 Music history and criticism
ML385-429 Biography
ML410 Biographies on composers, organized alphabetically

 

MT - Musical Instruction and Study
MT90-145 Analytical guide

Source consulted: 

Green, Alan, and Michael J. Duffy. 2013. Basic music reference: a guide for non-specialist librarians, library assistants, and student employees. Middleton, Wis: Co-published by Music Library Association and A-R Editions.

Location in Catalog Record

Before you head to the library shelves, be sure to check the catalog record for the item's location, call number, and availability. Reference items will need to be used in the library:

Location information of a catalog record

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