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World Music: Selected Resources

Table of Contents

• Background Information on Other Cultures
• Research World Music: Starting Points and Research Articles
• Find World Music (Scores, Recordings, Videos)
• Ethnomusicology on the Web

Background Information on Other Cultures

• Britannica Online (subscription database at UConn)

Use this database to get a quick introduction to a people, place, or culture. Contains timelines, an interactive World Atlas, and basic information on history, geography, government, culture, economy, national statistics, and national anthems and flags. Also includes links to Web sites that were selected, rated, and reviewed by Britannica's editors.

• Research Guide on Anthropology (Cultural) (PDF)

Use this guide for more in-depth cultural research. The guide lists specialized anthropological dictionaries, HOMER subject-heading searches (to help you find books), print and electronic indexes, and specialized sources such as HRAF. The library has other subject guides, including social sciences guides, which include area studies such as Latin America.

• Anthropology Web sites

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Research World Music (Starting Points)

• Finding Music #8: World Music (PDF)

  USE THIS GUIDE. It explains how to find world music encyclopedias, books, articles, sound and video recordings, and printed songs at UConn.

• HOMER (UConn's library catalog)

  HOMER lists UConn's books, journals (but not the articles), scores, and sound and video recordings. The World Music (PDF) guide explains how to find world music in HOMER.

• Grove Music Online

  Major music encyclopedia. Has substantial articles and bibliographies on the music of many countries. Useful for preliminary research and gathering of search terms. Also available in print as The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians at ML100 .N48 2001 Music Ref.

• The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online

  Contains in-depth essays on distinct musical cultures. Also available in print format at ML 100 G16 1998 Music Ref. Volumes are grouped by geographic region (Africa, Southeast Asia, etc.), each with detailed indexes in the back of the paper volumes. (Unlike most encyclopedias, the articles are not in alphabetical order by topic.) Each volume includes an accompanying CD recording in the rear pocket.

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Research Articles

How to Find Journal Articles -- explains how to locate print and electronic journals. When searching, use terms gleaned from encyclopedias/books (e.g., country/region, peoples, instruments, types of music, etc.). Study the resulting records to get ideas for new terms.

Start your research in these two databases:

RILM Abstracts -- Contains citations and abstracts describing scholarly articles, books, essays, and dissertations about music. 1967-present.

Pros: indexes most scholarly music journals (and other sources), so you will find a lot of music scholarship here. Contains abstracts and "descriptors," so it is easier to focus your search. Cons: only goes back to 1969 (some great articles may be older than that). May not find articles published in non-music journals. No full text, though might link to other databases containing full text. You MUST search HOMER and eJournal Locator to see if UConn has the journals.

JSTOR -- Contains full text of many scholarly journals across many academic disciplines.

Pros: (1) all articles are full text online; (2) includes many non-music journals (including lots of anthropology), so you find dozens of useful articles that you wouldn't find in a music database; (3) coverage goes back several decades to the journals' first volumes; (4) includes the journal Ethnomusicology. Cons: Only contains 32 music journals (out of hundreds published), so you miss many useful articles if you don't check other databases. Does not have descriptors or precise "subject searching" so it can be difficult to narrow your search (to compensate, consult the Help screens and try proximity operators, title-only searches, and "relevance boosting").

Below are additional databases of interest to world music researchers:

• Anthropological Literature -- Describes articles and essays on anthropology and archaeology. 1800s to present. Finds articles that RILM and JSTOR miss.

• Databases for Anthropology -- Hotlinked list of databases useful for anthropological research.

• EHRAF Collection of Anthropology -- Compiles descriptive documents (books, manuscripts, articles, dissertations) on all aspects of cultural and social life of selected cultures around the world. Written by anthropologists, social scientists, travelers, and missionaries. Topics range from how the people of the culture live their daily lives, solve their conflicts, and raise their children; their religious beliefs and practices, history, etc.

• Music Index -- Contains citations to 600+ music journals. 1979-present. Print version goes back to 1949 (Music Ref. ML 118 .M84). Has more titles than RILM and includes music education, applied studies, and popular music. (RILM covers more essays and books and has better descriptive terms, for better search results.)

Here is a Web site with more information about researching world music:

Ethnomusicology Bibliographic Guide (University of California at Santa Barbara)

This guide uses UC Santa Barbara's call numbers. If you see something you like, look up UConn's call numbers in HOMER. Includes bibliographies, periodical indexes, guides to musical instruments, glossaries, source readings, discographies, directories, books on ethnomusicology, selected non-music sources, and selected audio/visual resources.

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Find World Music (Scores, Recordings, Videos)

• World Music (PDF) guide -- has search instructions for finding world music scores/recordings/videos in HOMER.

• Naxos Music Library -- this database has some audio recordings of world music (China is especially strong).

• Sheet Music Library Collections -- Metalist of sheet music collections at other libraries. Some of these Web sites are indexes....These often contain folk songs or songs from other countries.

• Buy recordings. The Web sites below have links to specialized CD vendors (beyond Amazon).

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Ethnomusicology on the Web

Society for Ethnomusicology: Links (Indiana)

Societies, Organizations, Journals, Institutions, Centers, Archives, Libraries, and Museums
Online Journals
Indexes and Reference Sites
Special Projects of Interest
Funding Sources
SEM Member Pages
Email Discussion Lists

Ethnomusicology, Folk Music, and World Music (University of Washington)

Organizations, Institutions, Archives, Research Centers
Bibliography, Periodicals & Online Publications
Recordings
Anglo-American Folksong
Native American Music
Musics of Asia, Middle East, Eastern Europe, Russia, Europe, Africa, Caribbean, Latin and South America, Oceania
Dance

Ethnomusicology Resources on the Web (by Eric Charry, Wesleyan)

Areas of the World
Academic Resources (e.g., Societies, Instrument Collections, Periodicals, Databases, Dictionaries and Translators)
Commercial Sector (e.g., CD Vendors)
Miscellaneous

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This page was found at http://www.lib.uconn.edu/music/world.html