LibGuides: Performing Arts: Music

Library of Congress : Performing Arts Encyclopedia

Performing Arts Encyclopedia
Music
These pages link to selected collection content available online at the Library of Congress, arranged by broad categories : Music, Folk Music, Individual Composers and Writers, Jazz and Blues, Marches and Military Music, Sheet Music.

Jazz Sites

Harlem.org
Photographs and biographies of jazz greats.
Jazz Roots
Contains archives, pictures, timeline, links, and more.
The Red Hot Jazz Archives
This site contains articles, films, and audio clips and describes artists and bands of the Jazz Age before 1930.
Jazz Standards
This site offers "fascinating origins, musical analyses, jazz histories, anecdotes, biographies, and much more. Currently the Top 1000 jazz standards are ranked and the Top 100 are fully documented."
All About Jazz
A site produced by jazz advocates, jazz professionals and web technicians. Our mission is to provide information and opinion about jazz from the past, present, and future.

Country Music

Academy of Country Music
Home of the ACM awards. Features news updates, show information, and an archive of past nominees and winners.
Great American Country
Visit Great American Country for all the latest country music news and information.
Western Music Association
The Western Music Association and its chapters foster the professional growth of individual performing members.
RoughStock - Country Music Songs, Video, Lyrics and news

Open Music Library

Online resource that will enable non-subscribers to discover and use high-quality open access and public domain content from contributors such as the Library of Congress and the British Library, while allowing subscribers to discover and use free and for-fee content together.

General Music Websites

Electronic Dictionary of Musical Themes
This is an online version of the old Barlow and Morgenstern book of musical themes. Great for trying to figure out what composition a certain theme/motif comes from.
Great Conversations in Music
Provides access to films (available in RealPlayer) in five categories: Pianists, Composers, Chamber Music, Virtuosos, and Conductors. It also offers info about each participating musician, including external links. (Library of Congress)
OnMusic Dictionary (Virginia Tech)
Alphabetical list of musical terms featuring definitions, musical examples, and composers.
Solomon's Music Glossary
From a cappella to whole tone scales, hundreds of terms succinctly explained.
20 Incredible TED Talks for Both Music Students and Lovers

Classical Music

Classical Composers Database
A good starting place for anyone looking for information on classical composers, dead, alive, famous or not so famous. A basic biography about the composer is given, as well as links to sites specifically about the composer.
Classical.net
This site features reviews of more than 1800 CDs, as well as 5500 files and over 3800 links to a wide array of classical music sites.
The Classical Music Navigator
Compiled information on important classical music composers and their works and arranged in a fashion to make it easier for the novice or casual listener to identify additional materials related to the work.
AfriClassical - African Heritage in Classical Music
The Web site was launched in 2000 as a nonprofit educational venture promoting awareness of African Heritage in Classical Music. Information on composers, musicians and Black history. Available in French and English.

Folk Music

Smithsonian Folkways Magazine
Smithsonian Folkways Record is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, the national museum of the United States. Topics include traditional, ethnic and contemporary music from around the world; poetry, spoken world and instructional recordings in numerous languages, and documentary recordings of individuals, communities, current events and natural sounds. You can order the music on this website and listen to samples of the online music.
Popular Songs in American History
American Folk and Traditional Music with Lyrics, Midi Files, Tune Information and History behind the folksongs and ballads. With folksongs arranged by time period. (taken from the Contemplators website)

PBS Great Performances

Music Performances

AMS - WWW Sites for Musicologists

This large index from the Music Library at Indiana University includes links to groups and ensembles, performance-related sites, composers and composition, music genres, and many useful links under Research and Study, including scores, journals, music theory, music history, music schools, professional societies, and the commercial world of music.

Popular Music

Pop Music
Pop Culture Madness strives to give readers a true list of songs that have outlasted the rest from their era.
How Hip Hop Works
Information on Hip Hop, history, artists, and much more
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone: Music News, Reviews, Photos, Videos, Interviews, Politics and More

Rock & Roll

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll links on the world wide web.
Rock 'n Roll Music
This project for Rock 'n Roll Music includes a collection of links to biographies of rock 'n roll musicians, bands, and other important figures in the history of rock 'n roll.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame : Research Guides
Doing research on any of the following individuals, groups, or topics? Library and Archives staff have compiled lists of helpful resources, linked below, to get you started!

Rhythm & Blues

Blues Online
Blues Online© is an information resource whose mission is to increase awareness and appreciation of blues music and its history.
National Blues Museum
National Blues Museum is the only museum dedicated exclusively to preserving and honoring the national and international story of the Blues and its impact on American culture in the United States.