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Music Library and Music Media Center

Tips for Finding Music Materials in the Library Catalog

There are several ways to search for music materials in the catalog

Limit By Format

  1. From the tabs across the top select "Full Catalog"
  2. From the choices at the top select "Advanced"
  3. Under "Limit search to" on the right, select from the "Format" drop-down menu
    • Audio Music (for CDs, LPs, cassettes)
    • Printed Music (for scores or sheet music)
    • Film/Video (for DVD, VHS, LaserDiscs)
    • Journal/Serial (for journal or serial titles)
    • Etc.

    NB: The "Format – Microform" option does not currently work. If you truly want to limit your search to microforms, do a keyword search and include the term "microforms"

Other Limits

Location: Under "Limit search to" on the right, from the "Location" drop-down menu select "Music" (NB: This can be especially helpful if you are searching for videos and don't want results from Lilly Library.)

Language: Under "Limit search to" on the right, the "Language" drop-down menu lets you limit your search to English or other languages.

Basic Search

Keywords

  • "and" not needed, search terms automatically joined
  • use "or" or "not" for more complex searches
  • use "quotation marks" to search for an exact phrase

Begins with...

  • Author (last name first)
  • Subject begins with…(e.g., Music, Germany, 19th century, History and criticism)

screenshot of basic search form showing keywords typed in search field

Advanced Search

  • Use for more complex searches and/or to limit results
  • The same tips that apply in the Basic/Keywords search above apply to Advanced/All fields and Keywords searches.
  • Can use the "Search as 'Phrases'" option instead of quotation marks.

Truncation: When searching for music forms it is always best to truncate your search term in order to catch all possible versions (Ex. to get sonata and sonatas type sonata*; to get symphony and symphonies type symphon*)

screenshot of advanced search field showing keywords typed in search fields