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Milner Library

Music

This guide covers the different types of music resources available at Milner Library.

Find Music Scores

Finding Music Scores

To find music scores, start with the Milner Library catalog advanced search. 

  1. Change Everything to Library Catalog under Search for.
  2. Enter the composer's name in one box and select Author/Creator from the Keyword dropdown next to that box. 
  3. Enter the type of music or specific name of a piece of music in the next box and leave the dropdown next to it set to Keyword.
  4. Change Material Type to Scores.
  5. Choose Search.

Screenshot illustrating the five steps to search for music scores

Finding Songs in Anthologies

To find individual songs, start with the Milner Library catalog advanced search. 

  1. Change Everything to Library Catalog under Search for.
  2. Enter the name of the song in the search box, leave the first dropdown on Keyword, and change the second dropdown to contains exact phrase.
  3. Select Scores from the Material Type dropdown.
  4. Choose Search.
    Screenshot illustrating the first 4 steps for finding a song in an anthology
  5. In your search results list, you will usually find anthologies or collections of songs.  To make sure that the song you need is in an anthology, select the title of the anthology and choose Details on the left or scroll down to view the Details section, and look for the song title next to Contents.

Screenshot showing the song in the table of contents on the catalog page for a music anthology

Use Call Numbers to Find Scores on the Shelves

Look at our Understanding Call Numbers guide for more information.

Diagram showing the parts of a call number and how to read a call number

This video was produced by the Instruction and Student Engagement department of Milner Library. License: CC BY 4.0 (Attribution).

Score Locations

There are three different locations for scores on Floor 6 of Milner Library:

  • Floor 6 Shelves:
    • The majority of scores are located in regular music stacks in the M's.
    • Some of these are full scores that show all the instruments for a piece and some are scores plus individual parts.
    • The beginning of the Ms also contain collected works, monuments and anthologies, which include facsimiles and urtext editions.
  • Miniature Scores:
    • These are study scores that include famous chamber and orchestra and choral works.
    • They are full scores that show all instruments.
  • Oversized Scores:
    • These scores include more contemporary works.
    • They are full scores that show all instruments.

Subject Headings

To find a score with a particular instrumentation, search the library's catalog by subject (not just keyword). This strategy will help you find more relevant scores more quickly!

Some subject headings to search for scores are:

Additional Links