Searching Guides - Songs This guide is designed to help you find solo music for the voice. Use this as a starting point, or browsing tool. As always, consult Voyager and the catalogs for complete holdings information, and when uncertain, ask at the Reference Desk!
Call Numbers Searching Strategies Bibliography Internet
Suggested Call Numbers for Browsing Shelves for Editions Below are general call number ranges. For specific call numbers, consult the Library of Congress Classification Schedule in the yellow book at the Reference Desk, and/or Voyager.
Secular Vocal Music M1528-M1529.5 duets, trios etc., for solo voices M1611-M1626 songs for one voice M1627 national songs M1628-M1677.8 United States M1630.18 Popular songs
Sacred Vocal Music M2018-M2019.5 duets, trios etc. M2102-M2114.8 songs for one voice
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Suggested Voyager Searching Strategies Below are examples of some useful search stratgies and subject headings for use in Voyager. For complete listings of subject headings, consult the Library of Congress Subject Headings (red books). Also, do not forget to search the Card Catalog for LPs.
- Using Custom Search/Boolean. This is the default search tab when initiating Voyager. In the "Search for:" box type any distinctive words from the title of the song and the last name of the composer (if known); from the "any of these" drop down menu, select "all of these"; leave the box that says "search anywhere" alone.
- To Decrease the number of items retrieved. Use the Limit button. Some kinds of searches can be Limited by Date of publication (exact or by range), Type of material (e.g. scores or recordings), Location (e.g. Sibley Library), Language (e.g. only English), and other parameters.
- To Increase the number of items retrieved. Try typing only the title of the song, and select "as a phrase" from the drop down menu. Or, type the composer's name and "songs" and limit by Type and location (often collections of songs are not completely indexed, and you might have to look through the items on the shelves if a Table of Contents tab does not show for an individual bibliographic record).
- Use an Index. Many song collections that are not indexed in Voyager have been indexed by various books of indexes (a list of which are in the Bibliography below). Find out in which collection a song is located, then search for the title of the collection.
- Using the Record Card Catalog. If looking for a specific "art" song, search under the composer's name, and then under [Songs. Selections] to find anthologies. Contents may or may not be listed.
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Selected Bibliography of Repertoire Lists and Indexes Coffin, Berton. Singer's Repertoire. New York: Scarecrow Press, 1962. Ref. ML128.V87 C675.2 _____. Word-by-word translations of songs and arias. New York: Scarecrow Press, 1972. Ref. ML54.6 C675W De Charms, Desiree and Paul F. Breed. Songs in collections: an index. Detroit: Information Service, 1966. Ref. ML128.S3 D293 Eslinger, Gary S. Classical Vocal Music in Print. Philadelphia: Musicdata, Inc., 1986. Ref. ML118.M988 vol.4s, 1986 Espina, Noni. Repertoire for the Solo Voice: A Fully Annotated Guide to Works for the Solo Voice Published in Modern Editions and Covering Material from the 13th Century to the Present. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1977. ML128.S3 E77 Ferguson, Gary Lynn. Song Finder: a Title Index to 32,000 Popular Songs in Collections, 1854-1992. Music Reference Collection, no. 46. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995. Ref. ML128.S3 F352 1995 Gargan, William and Sue Sharma. Find that Tune. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 1988. Ref. ML128.R6 F494 1988 Goodfellow, William D. SongCite: An Index to Popular Songs. New York: Garland Publishing, 1995. Ref. ML128.P63 G65 S69 1995 _____. Where's that Tune?: An Index to Songs in Fakebooks. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1990. Ref. ML128.P63 G65 1995 Goleeke, Thomas. Literature for Voice. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1984. Ref. ML128.S3 G625 1984 Havlice, Patricia Pate. Popular song index. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1989. Ref. ML128.S3 H38 Leigh, Robert. Index to Song Books. New York: Da Capo Press, 1973. Ref. ML128.S3 L529 I Luchinsky, Ellen. The Song Index of the Enoch Pratt Library. 2 vols. New York: Garland, 1998. Ref. ML128.S3 L936 1998 Pollock, Bruce. The Rock Song Index. New York: Schirmer Books, 1997. Ref. ML128.R6 P776 1997 Whittier, John and Ruth Watts. Song Index: Popular Songs and Where to Find Them. London: Association of Assistant Librarians, 1981. Ref. ML128.S3 W62 1981
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Internet The Aria Database Country Music Index Index to Arias and Art Songs in Collections The Lied and Song Texts Page Popular Song Database UTK Song Index WWW Music Database
Compiled by Jim Farrington, 10/99
Top Call Numbers Searching Strategies Bibliography Internet
