Overview

Die Music in Geschichte und Gegenwart (MGG), Music in Past and Present, is an excellent place to start gathering information about a topic. It is the online version of the second print edition. MGG publishes frequent updates and new entries about composers and performers. MGG has a translator feature that uses Google translate.

Type of Database

Encyclopedia

Resources Included

Bibliographies; discographies; works lists; definitions on music terminology

Purpose

Excellent for retrieving background information and works lists; jumping off point for find more research articles from article bibliographies; useful for tracking etymology of music terms

Search Strategies and Using Limiters

• Conduct a basic search with keywords in the search box, or select Advanced search for targeted searching.
  • Includes a Search Builder to conduct Boolean searches
• Use the Browse feature to peruse by Article titles, Authors, or music Occupations.
• For articles on composers, use the left-hand navigation to filter by Article Contents, such as family history, genealogies and pedigrees, information about the location of music manuscripts, and organized works lists. According to MGG, articles on persons are typically organized into four parts: biographies, works, criticism, and bibliography.

Database Features

• Translate the user interface into your preferred language with Google Translate by using the Translate feature in the upper right-hand navigation menu.
• For many articles, additional information appears that might be helpful to you, such as information about how to cite the article, links to previous versions of the article, information about related publications, and links to external resources on the topic, such as RILM abstracts.
• Create a free account to save articles and create annotations.
• Use the Help page to get detailed information about nomenclature specific to MGG and article structures.