University of Connecticut | Resources for Vocalists: Guide to Research
Tracey Rudnick, Music Librarian and Liaison to Dramatic Arts
tracey.rudnick@uconn.edu; 486-0519
Topics Covered
Search the Libary Catalog (HOMER)
Reference Resources
Library Guides for Finding Vocal Materials
Internet Resources
Need Help?
These are just a few starting points for finding information about your songs or arias.
Search the Library Catalog
HOMER
UConn's library catalog lists all of UConn's books, journal titles, scores, and sound and video recordings.To find information about a composer, do a Subject Heading search (Basic search screen) on that composer.
Guides to Searching HOMER (including music search strategies)
Reference Resources
Grove Music Online (UConn subscription database)
Major music encyclopedia. Includes biographies, dates of works, background information. Useful for preliminary research and pointers to other resources. Also available in print at ML100 .N48 2001 Music Ref.Other Reference Resources for Vocalists
Browse the following call numbers in the Music/Drama Library Reference area (Level 1). More titles may be at the same call numbers in the library's basement.D 11: Chronologies of world history (useful for placing your musical work in context with other events)
ML 54.6: Texts and translations (but also see the link/handout below)
ML 102 O6 (letter "o" rather than zero): Opera dictionaries (these contain dates, synopses, basic info, etc.)
ML 128 O4: Indexes and bibliographies for opera (repertoire, plot indexes, alternative titles, research articles, etc.)
ML 128 S3: Same as above, but for songs
MT 95: Handbooks (similar to the dictionaries; includes musicals)
MT 883: Diction (but also see the link/handout below)
P: Foreign-language dictionaries
A complete guide to vocal call numbers is in the "Resources for the Studio Singer" below.
General Research Guides and Databases
Go back to the Music & Dramatic Arts Library homepage to find research guides and databases (bottom two menus). Consult a librarian if you need assistance with research strategies.
Library Guides for Finding Vocal Materials
Finding Translations and Phonetic Readings of Vocal Music Texts (PDF guide)
Selected resources in UConn Music/Drama Library.Resources for the Studio Singer (PDF guide)
Overview of major books that are of great use to vocalists. Most are located in UConn's Music & Dramatic Arts Library. Includes song indexes, books on diction, interpretation and history, Library of Congress Classifications for vocal material, tips for finding songs in HOMER, and useful subject headings.Also see Accent and Dialect Resources and Speech and Voice Resources (for actors and singers)
Internet Resources
Aria Database
Diverse collection of information on over a thousand operatic arias. Includes translations and aria texts of most arias as
well as a collection of MIDI files of operatic arias and ensembles. Note: this database tells you "Where to Find It." These are links to commercial sites. Search for book or score titles in HOMER (UConn's library catalog) to see if UConn's Music/Drama Library has them.Boston Singers Resource
Created for the New England community at large (classical singers, directors, accompanists, composers, and managers). Includes articles; calendars; audition, job, and performance notices; and more.
Classical Singer
Web site of the magazine Classical Singer. Has information about workshops, programs, and events.Diction Domain
"Includes books, websites, recordings, software, fonts and other materials and tools that are of use to . . . singers and teachers of vocal diction. . . [as well as a few] resources from related fields of theatre (spoken) diction and linguistics."Healthy Singing
Information about vocal and breathing mechanisms. Recommends videos (search these in the library catalog, HOMER, to see if UConn owns them) and has links to further sites.IPASource.com
"Home for accurate word-for-word translations of songs, arias, and operas with International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
transcriptions in the user-friendly PDF format - many with MP3 readings" (Web page).Lied and Art Song Texts Page
"Archive of texts to Lieder and other Classical Art Songs (Kunstlieder, Mélodies, Canzoni, Romansy, Canciones, Liederen, Canções,
Sånger, Laulua, etc.) as well as many choral works and other types of classical vocal pieces. It includes thousands of translations to English, French, German, Spanish and other languages" (from Web page).Oberlin Conservatory of Music: On-Line Opera Resource Guide
Provides links to Web sites, as well as titles of books and subscription databases relating to opera. Topics: reference tools, historical research, biographies, synopses, text and translation, technical opera and drama theory, and professional development.Warning: UConn students should look up local call numbers in UConn's library catalog (HOMER). Consult UConn's Research Database Locator to see if UConn has subscriptions to any of the for-fee databases listed in the site. (Usually these are the ones that say "password protected.")
Schubertline
"Instant printed sheet music of lieder, songs and arias--view, play and print in any key, using Sibelius Scorch, the free software for downloading sheet music from the Internet. Over 1600 scores of songs by great composers; view and listen for free: check library for full index. Buy individual scores for about £1.00 OR buy a Subscription for unlimited free printing" (Schubertline 10 May 2005).Scores on the Web
Meta-lists of sheet music indexes and digitized library collections of public-domain music.Song Translations Database
"The University of Washington Song Translations Database indexes book resources held in [UW's] Music Library that contain translations of songs by various composers. Some resources include International Phonetic Alphabet transcriptions. (UConn students should look up the call numbers of any books in HOMER to see if UConn owns them.)
Need Help?
Music Librarian & Liaison to Dramatic Arts
If you cannot find what you need, or if you would like some instruction on how to use the tools, please do not hesitate to consult a librarian!