Music Books
Tools for Finding Books
- Milner Library CatalogFIRST check the Milner Library catalog to see if we have the book you need. You can check out books at the Service Desk on Floor 2 with your Redbird Card.
- I-Share CatalogNEXT if Milner doesn't have the book you need, search the catalogs of the 90+ I-Share libraries throughout Illinois we share with to see if they have the book you need. You can request books for free with your Milner/I-Share account. It takes 3-5 days for books to come to Milner for pickup at the Service Desk on Floor 2.
- Interlibrary LoanLAST, if both Milner and I-Share don't have your book, place an interlibrary loan request for free. It takes about 10-14 days for books to come to Milner Library for pickup at the Service Desk on Floor 2.
Call Numbers
Most books on music can be found on the 6th floor of Milner Library. Search the library catalog to find out what books are in the collection.
Books in Milner Library are cataloged using the Library of Congress classification system. You can browse the following sections of call numbers on the shelf to find books related to music.
| Call Number Range | Subject |
|---|---|
| ML 100 - 109 | Music Dictionaries and Encyclopedias |
| ML 410 | Composer biographies |
| ML 549 - 1092 | Instruments |
| ML 1400 - 3275 | Vocal Music |
Interested in how long you can check out a book? View the list of loan periods Milner resources.
New Music Books
- New Music Books and Scores at MilnerSearch for the most recent print and electronic Music books and scores added to Milner Library's collections.
Recommended Reference Books
Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians by Call Number: Floor 2 Reference ML100 .N48 2001Publication Date: 2003-02-11The New Grove Encyclopedia of Music and Musicians contains 29,000 articles about music, theory, instruments, and musicians that have helped to define music around the world. Also available online as Grove Music Online.
New Grove Dictionary of Opera by Call Number: Floor 2 Reference ML102.O6 N5 1992bPublication Date: 1992-01-01This 4-volume set dictionary has articles written by leading opera historians and critics around the world.
The Grove Dictionary of American Music by Call Number: Floor 2 Reference ML101.U6 N48 2013Publication Date: 2013-11-26This 4-volume set is the largest, most comprehensive reference publication on American Music. The articles topics include dance styles and musical terms, biographies of important performers, composers and music patrons, and larger subjects such as the history of jazz, musical instruments, music education in the United States, and the American history of the orchestra.
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz by Call Number: Floor 2 Reference ML102.J3 N48 2001Publication Date: 2003-02-11This 3-volume set is the largest, most comprehensive and accurate reference work on jazz ever published. With articles on every aspect of the field, from jazz groups, composers and arrangers to instruments, terms, record labels and venues, the new edition is the ideal companion for scholars and enthusiasts in this rapidly growing field.
The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments by Call Number: Floor 2 Reference ML102.I5 N48 2014Publication Date: 2014-12-08This 5-volume set is the largest, most comprehensive reference publication on worldwide musical instruments, their makers, and their roles in different cultures.
Biographical Sources
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians by Call Number: Floor 2 Reference ML105 .B16 2001Publication Date: 2000-12-22This 6-volume set of Bakers covers all musical genres, with entries written by a distinguished group of area specialists as well as the original articles of Nicolas Slonimsky. More than 15, 000 biographies span the medieval ages to the present. Also available online.
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Popular Musicians since 1990Call Number: Floor 2 ML102.P66 B35 2004Publication Date: 2003-10-21This biographical reference includes more than 550 entries focusing on artists active from 1990-2003. Individual artists and groups in all popular styles are covered, including those in rock, rhythm and blues, rap, country, electronica, jazz, vocal and crossover classical. Also available online.
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Call Number: Floor 2 Reference ML102.P66 G84 1998Publication Date: 1998-11-01This 8-volume encyclopedia has 30,000 entries from all genres and periods of popular music from 1900 to the present day, including jazz, country, folk, rap, reggae, techno, musicals, and world music.
Women in Music by Call Number: Floor 6 Shelves ML105 .H6Publication Date: 1993-11-01This book includes biographies of women musicians of all periods and countries.
International Encyclopedia of Women Composers by Call Number: Floor 2 Reference ML105 .C7 1987Publication Date: 1987-01-01This 2-volume set contains biographies of over 5,000 women composers from nearly 70 countries.
Bibliographies
Collected Editions, Historical Series and Sets, and Monuments of Music by Call Number: Floor 2 Reference ML113 .H55 1997Publication Date: 1997-01-01Inventories some 8,000 historically important collected editions of music, including numbered monumental sets and composers' collected editions, as well as musicologically significant publishers' series and anthologies.
Historical Sets, Collected Editions, and Monuments of Music by Call Number: Floor 2 Reference and Floor 6 Shelves ML113 .H52 1980Publication Date: 1980-01-01This 2-volume set includes the complete editions of the music of individual composers and the major collections of music that have been published or are in the process of publication ... that is, collections, anthologies, or monumental sets of music considered by the author to have historical value, musical worth, reliable editing, or significance to music research.
Music Reference and Research Materials by Call Number: Floor 2 Reference and Floor 6 ML113 .D83 1997Publication Date: 1997-07-25This book is the standard guide to source literature of music and contains critically annotated listings of over 3,500 key sources, including Dictionaries and Encyclopedias, Histories and Chronologies, Sources of Systematic and Historical Musicology, Bibliographies of Music, Music Literature, and Music Business, Reference Works on Individual Composers and Their Music, Catalogs of Libraries and Musical Instrument Collections, Discographies, Yearbooks, Directories, and Electronic Resources.
Thematic Catalogues in Music by Call Number: Floor 2 Reference ML113 .B861997ISBN: 9780918728869Publication Date: 1997-07-30This book lists all known thematic catalogues and indexes including those in doctoral dissertations masters essays and computer databanks as well as in-progress and unpublished works plus reviews and literature about thematic cataloguing.
Music Analysis
Music Analyses by Call Number: Floor 2 Reference ML128.A7 D51991Publication Date: 1991-05-01This book is a guide to analytical literature on music from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, designed for music scholars, students, and concert-goers interested in a technical explanation of a favourite composition.
Analyses of Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Music, 1940-2000 by Call Number: Floor 2 Reference ML113 .H695 2007ISBN: 9780810858879Publication Date: 2007-02-15This book features over 9,000 references to analyses of works by more than 1,000 composers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including references that address form, harmony, melody, rhythm, and other structural elements of musical composition.
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Office: Milner Room 426A
In person and Zoom consultations by appointment: use the Schedule Appointment button.
Subjects: Agriculture, Music