Research Guides: Music: Online Encyclopedias

WVU Libraries Subscription Databases

Encyclopedias are good sources for basic facts and information, and an overview of a particular topic.

These specialized encyclopedias provide detailed articles about people, instruments, style periods, etc. Grove (Oxford Music) Online has particularly useful lists of composers' works and bibliographies for further research.

Encyclopedia of Popular Music This link opens in a new window
Featuring a broad musical scope covering popular music of all genres and periods from 1900 to the present day, including jazz, country, folk, rap, reggae, techno, musicals, and world music, the Encyclopedia also offers thousands of additional entries covering popular music genres, trends, styles, record labels, venues, and music festivals. Key dates, biographies, and further reading are provided for artists covered, along with complete discographies that include record labels, release dates, and a 5-star album rating system.
Garland Encyclopedia of World Music This link opens in a new window
"devoted to music research of all the world's peoples." Organized geographically, "each volume contains an overview of the region, a survey of its musical heritage, traditions and themes; and a description of specific musical genres, practices, and performances."
Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window
"an encyclopedia of music and musicians, covering most aspects of art music, folk music, world music and jazz"

Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart; allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik
the major music encyclopedia in German; divided into 10 volumes of subjects and 17 volumes of biographies; available in the Evansdale Library stacks on the lower level at the call number ML100 .M92. The encyclopedia is not available to us full-text online, but an overview of the organization and a guide to keywords is: http://www.mgg-online.com/

Specialized Encyclopedias in Print

Use the WVU Libraries' catalog, WorldCat, to search for the many specialized music handbooks and encyclopedias.

In the Keyword box enter the encyclopedia or handbook as a keyword, plus one or two keywords for your topic. When the results list opens, check the box beside "Book" under the Format list on the left. Example: