Finding Music in Collections

Songs and critical editions are often published in collections and anthologies. Since detailed contents of collections of printed music and sound recordings are not always present in KentLINK, certain strategies, such as searching by keyword or consulting reference indexes, must be used.

Finding Songs in Collections

1. From KentLINK's main page, select "Keyword" and enter search terms such as the composer's name and the title of the song. Combine terms using "and"; use quotation marks to group phrases.

2. In the "Material Type" menu, select "MUSIC SCORE" if you are seeking printed music. If you are seeking a sound recording, use the "Sound Recording" menu to search "ALL SOUND RECORDINGS" or to limit your query to a specific format (e.g., CD, LP).

3. With limits set, click "Search."

Example: Searching for a CD of Schubert's "Meeres Stille"


4. If you are seeking printed music for a song and are not successful with a keyword search in KentLINK, consult a song index such as:

• The Song Index of the Enoch Pratt Free Library / Luchinsky [Music Library Reference ML 128 .S3 L665 1998 v. 1-2]
• Songs in Collections / de Charms and Breed [Music Library Reference ML 128 .S3 D37]
• Song Index / Sears [ML 128 .S3 S31; see also supplement]
• Folk Song Index / Brunnings [Music Library Reference ML 128 .F75 B83 1981]
• Popular Song Index / Havlice [ML 128 .S3 H4; see also supplements]

Tip: If after consulting a song index you are unable to find a particular collection in KentLINK, search the OhioLINK catalog.

Finding Works in Collected Editions

Collected editions are sets of printed music that include either the complete works of a particular composer (usually classified in M3) or works by various composers of a particular period, region, or genre (usually classified in M2). These scholarly editions are intended chiefly as sources of study and generally are not used in performance.

1. Although each collection is cataloged as a whole in KentLINK, individual volumes are usually not listed. As a result, it is necessary to begin searching for works in such collections by consulting reference sources that provide detailed indexing. Such sources include:

• Historical Sets, Collected Editions, and Monuments of Music: A Guide to their Contents / compiled by Anna Harriet Heyer [Music Library Reference ML 113 .H52 1980 v. 1-2]
• Collected Editions, Historical Series and Sets, and Monuments of Music: A Bibliography / George R. Hill, Norris L. Stephens [Music Library Reference ML 113 .H55 1997]: Less comprehensive than Heyer, but more current
• New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed. [Music and Main Library Reference, ML 100 .N48 2001; also available: Grove Music Online ]: In the list of works following entries for prolific composers, the "Edition" column often indicates which series and volume of a collected edition includes a particular work

2. Once you have determined which collected edition includes the work you are seeking, search KentLINK to determine if KSU holds the volume in question. In most cases, a "Title" search for the collection's title is effective. Alternatively, execute an "Author" search for the composer and limit your results to "MUSIC SCORE" with "works" as "Words in TITLE." (For more explanation on limiting, see Finding Works with Musical Forms/Genres As Titles.)

Example: Searching for collected editions of works by Handel, limiting to "music scores" and "works" as a word in title