Quick Call Number Guide for Global Music Books
| ML | 350 | Africa |
| 330-345 | Asia | |
| 348 | Arab countires | |
| 360 | Australia and Oceania | |
| 240-325 | Europe | |
| 330 | Central America | |
| 200-215 | North America | |
| 199, 230-239 | South America |
When searching OneSearch, try the following strategies, where applicable:
- Enter the name of a cultural group, followed by "music" (ex: Ewe music).
- For Native American groups, include the word "Indians" (ex: Navajo Indians music) Broader terms such as Indians North America music or Indians Central America music will also yield results
- Enter foreign-language versions of your search terms. Use a reference book like the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online to find possible variant spellings.
- Don't overlook CDs as potential resources. Many contain liner notes with essays by important scholars. But be wary if the author's name is not given.
Journal Articles on Global Music Topics
Articles about the music of a particular culture can often be found in indexes that are not narrowly focused on music. Here are some music indexes, and also some non-musical ones.
- Music Periodicals Database This link opens in a new windowSearch for journal articles on topics related to music, including music education, performance, ethnomusicology, musical theatre, theory, popular music forms and composition. (ProQuest)
- Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new windowSearch for journal articles on topics related to the performing arts, including dance, drama, theater, stagecraft, musical theater, circus performance, opera, pantomime, puppetry, magic, performance art, film, television, and more. (ProQuest)
- RILM Abstracts of Music Literature This link opens in a new windowSearch for journal articles on topics related to music - from traditional music to popular music to classical music. (EBSCO)
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowSearch for journal articles on topics in the arts, humanities, social sciences and some math/science. Most journals have volumes/issues dating from the 19th century to within 3-5 years of present day. (ITHAKA)
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Search for journal articles on most topics. This multi-disciplinary database is a good place to start if you don't know where else to begin. (EBSCO)
- Anthropology Plus This link opens in a new windowSearch for journal articles published on topics within anthropology. This database combines results from the Royal Anthropological Institute’s Anthropological Index and Harvard University's Anthropological Literature. Note: Only 5 users may access this database at one time. (EBSCO)
- AnthroSource This link opens in a new windowSearch for articles published in the 30+ journals from the American Anthropological Association. (Wiley)
- Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowSearch for newspaper articles and legal materials such as court cases, legislation, statutes, regulations, law reviews, and more. (Lexis-Nexis)
Quick Tips
To get an overview of a global music topic, try the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online. It gives background information, bibliographies, and audio samples.
Ethnomusicology: A Research and Information Guide is an annotated bibliography of books, recordings, videos, and websites in the field of ethnomusicology.
Books in the Global Music Series from Oxford University Press introduce the music of particular countries or regions. Each comes with a CD of music examples.
Note: The term "world music" is often (but not always) reserved for pop music that combines musical traditions from around the world with elements of jazz and rock