How to Find Musical Scores & Recordings
This video shows you how to find scores and audio recordings in Scout. It briefly addresses limiters, key terms, and other search criteria specific to music.
Finding a Score of a Song
Sometimes you know exactly what piece you're looking for. But how do you find it in the Music and Fine Arts Library? Here are a few search tips:
Click on Classic Catalog on the Libraries' home page; then click on Advanced Search.
For song titles, search using keywords. For example, suppose you are looking for a score of the Schubert song "Im Dorfe." Type "schubert" in the first box, "im dorfe" in the second box, and "score" in the third box. Notice that you do not need to capitalize. The catalog displays information for the score of the song cycle Winterreise, because "Im Dorfe" is one of the songs in that work. If you then type "winterreise" in place of "im dorfe" you will see more listings for this song cycle.
Sometimes you will be looking for a song that is not part of a larger work. Usually, individual songs are grouped in anthologies, but the library catalog often does not provide the titles of songs contained in each anthology. If you are having trouble finding a song, please stop by the music librarian's office and ask for assistance.
Browsing for Scores Using Call Numbers
Recommendations
Guide to Operatic Duets by
Call Number: ML102.O2 B6 1994xISBN: 1877761656Publication Date: 1994-02-01Guide to Operatic Roles and Arias by
Call Number: ML102.O2 B62 1994xISBN: 1877761648Publication Date: 1994-02-01
Finding C.D.s and Videos
Suppose you want to find a C.D. of the Chansons de Bilitis by Claude Debussy. A keyword search will probably retrieve the most results. Click on Classic Catalog on the Libraries' home page, and then click on Advanced Search. Type "debussy" in the first box, "bilitis" in the second box, and "compact" in the third box. You will find three C.D.s containing this work, two with the original version for voice and piano, and one with Debussy's later arrangement for voice and chamber ensemble. If you would like to see both C.D. and L.P. recordings of this work, type "sound" in place of "compact" in the third box.
To find a video of a particular opera, for example, Puccini's La Boheme, type "puccini" in the first box, "boheme" in the second box (Notice that you should omit "la," "una," "the," "a," and other similar words at the beginning of titles.) In the third box, type "video?". Your search will retrieve five videorecordings of this opera.
Streaming Media
- Naxos Music Library This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive collection of classical music available for streaming online; also includes selections from historical recordings, jazz, world, folk, and Chinese music. Contains the entire Naxos, Marco Polo, and Da Capo catalogs as well as recordings from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, BIS (Sweden), and Analekta. Updated monthly.
- Naxos Music Library Jazz This link opens in a new windowNaxos Music Library Jazz features a wide range of jazz music, from jazz legends to contemporary jazz. Recordings are from various artists and labels, including Blue Note Records, Warner Jazz, E.M.I., Fantasy, and others. New albums are added weekly.
- Music Online: Classical Music Library This link opens in a new window
Classical Music Library not only includes recordings but also program notes, composer biographies, and images cross-referenced to the recordings.
- Met Opera on Demand This link opens in a new windowFull length Met performances, including H.D. videos from the Met’s Live in H.D. series of movie theater transmissions, telecasts from the 1970s-1990s, and radio broadcasts back to 1935. All videos include English subtitles, and recent H.D. videos include subtitles in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and/or Swedish.
- Berliner Philharmoniker Digital Concert Hall This link opens in a new window
The Berliner Philharmoniker's Digital Concert Hall makes available live video of concerts by this great orchestra. The site also offers on-demand streaming of both recent and archived concerts by the Berlin Philharmonic, as well as educational films about important musicians and musical works.
- DRAM (Database of Recorded American Music) This link opens in a new windowD.R.A.M. (Database of Recorded American Music) provides on-demand streaming access to audio (192kbps Mp4), complete original liner notes and essays from independent record labels and sound archives
- Digital Theatre Plus This link opens in a new window
Digital Theatre Plus showcases British theatre, music, and dance productions from The Old Vic, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Court Theatre, Glyndebourne, English National Ballet, and London Symphony Orchestra, along with rehearsal films and interviews.
