Research Guides: Composition: Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Dictionaries & encyclopedias of terms related to music composition

The following music dictionaries and encyclopedias provide entries on composition history, styles, and techniques, as well as biographical entries about composers. Entries may include images, musical examples, and bibliographies of scholarly sources for further reading.

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians by Stanley Sadie (Editor); John Tyrrell (Editor)
Call Number: MUSIC REF ML100 .N48 2001
Publication Date: 2003
The 29-volume New Grove Dictionary is the standard starting point for music research. Entries are written by scholars and include extensive bibliographies, composers' works lists, and numerous images and musical examples. Content is also available online through Oxford Music Online.
The Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd ed. by Charles Hiroshi Garrett
Call Number: MUSIC REF ML101.U6 N48 2013
Publication Date: 2013
Newly revised and expanded into 8 volumes, this is the most comprehensive encyclopedia of American classical, folk, and popular music. Some of the new content is not yet available in Oxford Music Online.
Dictionary of American Classical Composers by Neil Butterworth
Call Number: MUSIC REF ML106.U3 B87 2005
ISBN: 0415938481
Publication Date: 2004
Contemporary Composers by Brian Morton (Editor); Pamela Collins (Editor)
Call Number: MUSIC REF ML105 .C75 1992
ISBN: 1558620850
Publication Date: 1992
The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, 2nd ed. by Laurence Libin (Editor-In-Chief); Anne Beetem Acker; Carolyn Bryant; J. Richard Haefer; James B. Kopp; Jeremy Montagu
Call Number: MUSIC REF ML102.I5 N48 2014
Publication Date: 2014
Newly revised and expanded into 5 volumes, features in-depth scholarly entries on musical instruments from all over the world, with images. Some of the new content is not yet available in Oxford Music Online.
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin (Editor)
Call Number: MUSIC REF ML102.P66 G84 2006
ISBN: 9780195313734
Publication Date: 2006
The Music Tech Dictionary: a glossary of audio-related terms and technologies by Mitch Gallagher
Call Number: MUSIC REF ML102.E4 G36 2009
ISBN: 1598635824
Publication Date: 2008
A Dictionary of Electronic and Computer Music Technology by Richard Dobson
Call Number: ML102.E4 D62 1992
ISBN: 0193113449
Publication Date: 1992
Dictionary of Musical Themes by Harold Barlow; Sam Morgenstern (Compiled by); J. Erskine (Introduction by)
Call Number: MUSIC REF ML128.I65 B3 1975
ISBN: 0517524465
Publication Date: 1989

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