Search Terms for Finding Music
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All of the resources shown in this video are available to Western students, staff and faculty and can be accessed through the Western Libraries website or library catalogue. Licensed, online resources can be accessed from off-campus. You will need to log in with your Western ID and password.
Scores and recordings can be tricky to find. When searching for music you can try using the following approaches for coming up with search terms.
Overview: Composers or editor's name, instrument(s), genre, the word "part," opus number or thematic catalogue number, original title, common name.
Include the composer's or editor's name if you have it. This tip is fairly self-explanatory.
Include the names of the instrument or instruments. Use the singular if there is only one of that type of instrument. Use the plural if there's more than one of that type of instrument. For example, for a composition with two guitars and one horn, use "guitars horn."
Genre: Always use the plural of the genre. For example, symphonies, suites, sonatas, concertos, cantatas.
The word "part": If you're looking for a part, include the word "part" in your search.
Opus number or thematic catalogue number. For compositions with very generic titles (for example Symphony number 9), look for an opus number or thematic catalogue number. See our Grove Music Online video. https://youtu.be/do2zcZCCAiw
Original title in the original language: Use the original title of the composition in the original language because this will get you all versions of the score, including translations, regardless of the language. Look for the original title using Google or Wikipedia. So for example, use the "Zauberflöte" instead of the "Magic Flute."
Common name: You can also try using the common name, but be careful! You may end up missing some search results. Common names can change over the years with new translations. For example, Bartok's "The Miraculous Mandarin" was once called "The Wonderful Mandarin."
Summary: Composers or editor's name, instrument(s), genre (always using plural), the word "part," opus number or thematic catalogue number, original title, and common name.
Most citation styles aren't very clear on how to cite music sources. See Indiana University Bloomington's "A Guide for Music Citation - Chicago/Turabian Style" for advice. https://guides.libraries.indiana.edu/c.php?g=516265&p=3529690
These tips can help you, but finding music can be extremely tricky. If you've spent 10 minutes searching and still haven't found what you're after, ask us for help! We can be reached by email musref at uwo.ca, by phone 519-661-3913 or in person in the Music Library. You can contact me, Dan Sich, the Teaching and Learning Librarian covering Music, at dsich2 at uwo.ca or Brian McMillan, Head of the Music Library, at bmcmill2 at uwo.ca
Western Libraries Music Library: https://www.lib.uwo.ca/music
