Academic Resources
Browse our compilation of useful academic resources ranging from bibliographic databases to phrasebanks. Click on the titles to be transported to their site. If you would like to add to our growing list of web-based resources, please send us a link to the website along with a short description.
A useful site to consult for secondhand books, particularly older volumes that may be out of print.
Hosted by the University of Manchester, the Academic Phrasebank is a general resource for academic writing that provides a plethora of phraseological ‘nuts and bolts’ for these six contexts: introducing work, referring to sources, describing methods, reporting results, discussing findings, and writing conclusions.
Archive.org is an open access digital library that holds copies of books and texts, audio recordings, web pages, and other multimedia. It is particularly useful for those searching for books no longer protected by copyright restrictions.
The British Library Sound Archive contains a wealth of recordings relating to classical, popular, world and traditional music.
Comhaltas Ceoltóirà Éireann
This website provides links to audio and video recordings of live traditional music performances and back issues of the society’s publication Treoir
A digital archive of Mozart’s works with interactive scores.
The Golden Pages provide announcements for forthcoming conferences and other events linked to musicology and related disciplines. The site is connected to the Musicology-All mailing list, which is worth subscribing to in order to keep abreast of musicological events happening across the globe. The subscription link can be found at the top of the homepage.
HathiTrust is another digital library which provides free access to 17+ million items. There are more restrictions here than on Archive.org as many items can only be downloaded by users in the USA. However, it’s a handy one to keep in mind, particularly if you have contacts across the Atlantic.
IMSLP, also known as the International Music Score Library Project or Petrucci Music Library, provides free access to musical scores in the public domain.
Irish Traditional Music Archive
Website of the Irish Traditional Music Archive containing links to audio and video resources, images, manuscripts and microsites relating to Irish traditional music.
JSTOR is a digital library for scholars, researchers, and students. Much of its content is open access and by logging in via your institution, full access to the JSTOR collection may be issued.
Of particular interest to organologists, Musical Instrument Museums Online (MIMO) has the world's largest freely accessible database for information on musical instruments held in public collections. Its database contains records and details of over 64,000 instruments.
In addition to their published journal, Music & Letters awards grants twice per year to help scholars cover the cost of research and conference attendance.
Musicology-L is an automated mailing list linked to the American Musicological Society (AMS). It is worth subscribing to in order to keep abreast of musicological events happening across the globe.
Naxos Records has a large online library of music, which you may have access to via your institution. While many of these recordings are available elsewhere, such as on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube, you can often download the CD booklet. This can provide supplementary information and translations for lyrics, which may prove helpful for research.
Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM) is a digital bibliographic database. Devoted to all scholarship on music, RILM’s vast database spans back to the 1800s and includes documents written in several languages. Its advanced search tools make it an invaluable resource for carrying out a systematic literature review.
The Répertoire International des Sources Musicales (RISM) documents and catalogues music manuscripts and printed music, hosting the most comprehensive collection of works created between 1600 and 1800.
Open Night! Opera & Oratorio Premieres
This site, hosted by Stanford University, is a cross-index of data for over 43,000 opera and oratorio premieres that received a public performance between the years 1589 and the present.
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WorldCat is a worldwide network of libraries and provides information on where resources are held. This is particularly helpful if you’re searching for a book that you don’t have access to. It may be that another library nearby has a copy, which you can access via the ALCID or SCONUL schemes.