Research and Course Guides: Music: Web Resources

Web resources

Suggested online resources:

Beethoven-Haus Bonn Archive
View digital copies of Beethoven's music manuscripts, 1st editions of published works, letters, and pictures.
College Music Society
A consortium of college, conservatory, university, and independent musicians and scholars interested in all disciplines of music
MENC: The National Association for Music Education
Contains information about music education, as well as lists job and professional development opportunities.
Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music
contains more than 62,500 pieces of historical sheet music registered for copyright: more than 15,000 registered during the years 1820-1860 and more than 47,000 registered during the years 1870-1885. Included are popular songs, operatic arias, piano music, sacred and secular choral music, solo instrumental music, method books and instructional materials, and music for band and orchestra. The collection documents the attitudes and tastes of a bygone era with music of many varieties and sources, all of it published in the United States.
Music Resources on the World-Wide Web (Yale University)
Yale University's music library provides several web page links to a variety of music related topics.
Performing Arts Encyclopedia ( Library of Congress)
Search and browse descriptions of more than 235 music, theater and dance resources by subject, title, or name including images and items from the Library's historical collection.
Performing Arts Resources: Music (New York Public Library)
Provides links to a variety of Indexes and Lists of Music Resources on the Internet, including sheet music, song lyrics and electronic journals and professional organizations.

Website Evaluation Criteria

Almost anyone can have a web page. So some information on the Web is biased, undocumented, or just plain wrong. You will need to evaluate web sites for accuracy, audience, authority, currency, objectivity, and purpose. Here is a checklist you can use:

Accuracy:

Does the author cite reliable sources for his or her facts?
How does the information compare with that in other works written about this topic?

Audience:

Who do you think the author/s of the web site are trying to reach?
Is there a particular group or segment of society that the author/s are targeting?

Authority:

What are the author's qualifications for writing on this subject?
Is he or she connected with an organization that has an established reputation?

Currency:

Does the web site include a publication date or "last updated" date?

Objectivity:

Is the author affiliated with a particular organization that might have a bias?

Purpose:

Is the author's purpose to inform, e.g. provide new information, current events, etc?
Is the author's purpose to explain, e.g. describe a process, teach, etc?
Is the author's purpose to persuade, e.g. change your mind, convince you to buy, etc?