Vocal Music Handy Guide: Home

Finding a Specific Piece of Music or Recording

Using Library Search

• For shorter works such as songs, do a TITLE search in Library Search; if that retrieves nothing or only a few items, try the same search as  KEYWORD search
• Do an AUTHOR search (composer last name, first name). Arrangement of a composer's works is by UNIFORM TITLE. Uniform titles are either DISTINCTIVE titles in the original language, or GENERIC titles, which begin with form or genre and are followed by performance medium, serial or opus or thematic catalog number, and key.

Finding Music in a Specific Category

Do a SUBJECT search in App State's Library Catalog using an authorized term or phrase from Library of Congress

Example Choral Music Subject Headings:

• Choruses
• Sacred choruses
• Madrigals

Example Solo Voice Subject Headings:

• Songs (Medium voice) with piano
• Sacred songs (High voice) with instrumental ensemble

Many collections, especially those of songs, are not indexed in the online catalog. The following reference books list individual songs and arias in collections. To find the piece you are looking for, read carefully the introductory explanations in each.

Printed Music

• DeCharms and Breed. Songs in Collections: An Index. Ref ML 128 .S3 D37

• Sears, Minnie. Song Index. Ref ML 128 .S3 S31 1966 [Be sure to look in both the main section and the supplement.]

• Havlice, Patricia. Popular Song Index. Ref ML 128 .S3 H4 [Also look in the four separate supplements.]

Recordings

• In Library Search, try a TITLE or KEYWORD search 
• Stahl, Dorothy. Selected Discography of Solo Song. Ref ML 156.4 .V7 S8