Humanities Librarian
Get Started: Suggested Resources
These resources are a great place to start your research. You'll find information about music recording and music technology. UNCW recording studio (pictured here) is for classroom instruction only.
You can find more resources in the tabs menu, but below is a short list of some of the top go-to resources for this course.
For more information, please see the Department of Music home page.
Recommended Article Databases
- Entertainment Industry Magazine ArchiveAn archival research resource containing the essential primary sources for studying the history of the film and entertainment industries, from the era of vaudeville and silent movies through to the 21st century. The core US and UK trade magazines covering film, music, broadcasting and theater are included, together with film fan magazines and music press titles. Issues have been scanned in high-resolution color, with granular indexing of articles, covers, ads and reviews. Randall Library has access to the following collections: EIMA1: Music, Radio and The Stage; EIMA2: Cinema, Film and Television (Part 1); EIMA3: Cinema, Film and Television (Part 2); EIMA4: Rock, Folk and Hip-hop.
- Oxford Music OnlineOxford Music Online is the gateway offering users the ability to access and cross-search multiple music reference resources in one location. With Grove Music Online as its cornerstone, Oxford Music Online also contains The Oxford Companion to Music (revised 2011), which offers more than 8,000 articles on composers, performers, conductors, instruments and notation, forms and genres, and individual works; and The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 2nd edition (revised 2006), which supplements Grove's more-extensive articles with content geared toward undergraduates and general users. Both of these sources are included in subscriptions to Grove Music Online. Find more information.
Recommended Music Indexes and Bibliographies
- RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (1967 to Present only)RILM is a comprehensive music bibliography featuring citations, abstracts, and subject indexing. Types of publications and media covered by RILM include: collections of essays, conference proceedings, critical editions of music, digital media, dissertations, journal articles, monographs, online resources, reference materials, reviews, technical drawings of instruments. Sound recordings and motion pictures that present the results of scholarly research or fieldwork are also included. Find more detailed information.
- Music IndexFeaturing digitized content from 1970 to the present, the Music Index contains cover-to-cover indexing and abstracts of articles about music, musicians and the music industry for more than 480 periodicals. It also provides selective coverage for more than 200 periodicals.
Recommended Audio Subscriptions
- Naxos Music LibraryNaxos Music Library (NML) is the world´s largest online classical music library. Currently, it offers streaming access to more than 87,860 CDs with more than 1,247,500 tracks, standard and rare repertoire. Over 800 new CD-length recordings are added to the library every month. Find more information.
- Naxos Music Library JazzNaxos Music Library Jazz (NMLJ) is one of the most comprehensive collections of jazz music available online. It offers over 65,000 tracks of jazz from more than 7,000 albums. Over 32,000 jazz artists are represented. The recordings in Naxos Music Library Jazz come from over 200 labels, and include the catalogue of Blue Note Records, Warner Jazz, EMI, Fantasy and others. You can select works by featured artist(s), disc / song title and catalogue number. Playlists can also be easily created for educational use, or for hours of continuous enjoyment. New jazz releases are continually added to ensure that the music library is always up-to-date. Multiple users can listen to the same or different tracks at the same time. In the classroom, teachers can choose from a great selection of music to play without having to find or purchase CDs.
Recommended Video Subscriptions
- Films on DemandThis collection provides over 23,000 high quality streaming videos on business & economics, health & medicine, humanities & social sciences, and science & mathematics, as well as travel and fitness programming, home and how-to videos, indie films, and popular music performances. The videos include BBC documentaries, Oscar, Emmy and Peabody award winning documentaries plus interviews, instructional and vocational training videos, historical speeches and newsreels. This resource combines the Films on Demand Master Academic Collection, Master Public Library Collection, and Master Career & Technical Education Collection, as well as specific titles subscribed to by UNCW, into one interface. Find more information.
- Filmakers Library OnlineAn essential film studies database, Filmakers Library Online provides award-winning documentaries with relevance across the curriculum—race and gender studies, human rights, globalization and global studies, multiculturalism, international relations, criminal justice, the environment, bioethics, health, political science and current events, psychology, arts, literature, and more. It presents points of view and historical and current experiences from diverse cultures and traditions world-wide.
Recommended Books on Music Recording/Technology
An Introduction to Music Technology by Call Number: ML74 .H67 2011
Recommended Books on Writing About Music
A Style and Usage Guide to Writing about Music by Call Number: ML3797 .D76 2010
Search for Books
Use the search box below to look for books, videos, journals, and other items held in Randall Library's collections. Note that this search can't be used to find journal articles--for that you'll need to either use a database or go to the library's main search at https://library.uncw.edu/.
While searching for music items in the stacks on the second floor, keep this in mind:
M = the music itself (i.e. scores, printed music, recordings)
ML = books about music history and literature
MT = books about music theory, music education, and instruction and study (including many method books)
Click below to view a list of common call numbers for each category.
