Last revised: March 2009
A Guide for Recitalists:
Choosing Music and Writing Program Notes Using Library and Online Resources
Scope:
This guide will help you:
- Find music for your recital in the UM libraries and beyond
- Find recordings of the music you've chosen
- Help you find sources of information to write good quality program notes
- Create your program notes, step-by-step
Table of Contents
CHOOSING YOUR MUSIC
Finding Scores Using the Catalog
Click the link above to go to the Finding Music Scores Guide.
Finding Scores Using WorldCat
What is WorldCat?- WorldCat makes it possible to search the holdings of thousands of libraries across the world. If the UM Libraries don't have an item that you want or need, you can use WorldCat to find it and request it via Interlibrary Loan (ILL).
- TIP: Allow about 2 weeks for items found on WorldCat in other libraries to arrive at McKeldin through ILL.
- WorldCat can also help you find the publication information of a score or recording, so that you can order it from another source.
- Go to www.researchport.umd.edu
- Type "WorldCat" in the box that says "by database name"
- Click on "Find database"
- Click on WorldCat. The advanced search box will come up automatically
- To find scores, check the box next to "musical scores"
- You may search by keyword, author, title, etc.
FINDING SCORES USING BIBLIOGRAPHIES
A bibliography is a list of related materials that serve as a starting point for research on a particular subject.- Go to the catalog
- Choose "subject words" in the drop down box (or just "subject" on the advanced search page)
- Type your instrument, followed by the word "bibliography"
- Choose "subject words" in the drop down box (or just "subject" on the advanced search page)
- Type a composer's name, followed by the word "bibliography"
OR
FINDING SCORES ONLINE
The International Music Score Library project allows users to download and print scores for free. Most of these works are in the public domain and not subject to copyright restrictions, however, the liability for using the website is placed on the user.
FINDING A RECORDING OF YOUR MUSIC
Click here to go to the Guide to Finding Sound Recordings (CDs, LPs, audio cassettes, and online sound files) in the UM Libraries.
FINDING SOURCES OF INFORMATION TO WRITE PROGRAM NOTES
Writing good quality program notes can be very difficult, because information about pieces (particularly more modern ones) tends to be hard to find in one place.
There are many sources that you can use to find accurate information about the works you choose to perform on a recital or concert. You just have to know where to look!
Sources for Finding Program Notes Information:
| Google and Wikipedia | A recording of the piece | |||
| Music Dictionaries | Journal articles | |||
| Grove Music Online (now Oxford Music Online) |
CD liner notes | |||
| Other music encyclopedias | Classical Music Library | |||
| Composer Websites | Naxos Music Library | |||
| Blogs | A score of the piece | |||
| Allmusic.com | Textbooks | |||
| Arkivmusic.com | DRAM (Database of Recorded American Music) |
A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO WRITING PROGRAM NOTES
STEP 1: What Kinds of Information Should I Put in My Program Notes?
Good quality program notes give your audience information about any combination of the following:
- the composer
- the work itself
- the context of the work in both history and music history
- how the piece will sound
- how the performer interprets the work
STEP 2: Getting Organized
Many people find it helpful to organize program notes into three sections*:
- Brief introduction to the composer
- Information about the work's historical context and the circumstances surrounding its composition
- Description of the work itself
- *Nigel Scaife, Writing Programme Notes: A Guide for Diploma Candidates (London: Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, 2001), 7.
STEP 3: Getting Background Information
Questions to Ask:
- When was the composer born? When did they die?
- Where was the composer born?
- For what is the composer best known?
- What is the composer's most significant contribution to music history?
- What other works did the composer write in the same/similar genre(s)?
- When was the piece written?
- What else was going on in the composer's life or in the world around him/her when they were writing the piece?
Sources to Use to Find the Answers:
- Google (yes--Google!) One way to start is to search for the composer and/or piece using Google. You might find websites (such as Wikipedia) that may give you an overall picture of what to look for.
- Oxford Music Online (formerly Grove Music Online) Gives an overview of composer's life and musical contributions. Most entries include a works list.
- Composer Biographies Biographies give much more detailed and comprehensive information about a composer, their life, works, styles, impact, etc.
- Composer websites Often, late 20th century composers will have information about themselves and their works on their websites. This is especially helpful when a search in Oxford Music fails.
- Arkivmusic.com This website is a great place to go to look for the dates of when specific pieces were written, as well as to find recordings.
- Journal Articles
- NOTE: It is always important to check the accuracy of Wikipedia or information found through Google by carefully evaluating the sources that that website author used to find that information. When in doubt, look for that information somewhere else to confirm it.
- TIP: Check the works list for when a piece was written, then scroll through the information about the composer to that date to see what else was going on around that time.
- OFF-CAMPUS USERS: To access this database, go to www.researchport.umd.edu, and type "Oxford Music Online" in the box that says "by database name."
- JSTOR
This database allows you to search many core journals in the humanities for articles that may pertain to your music.
- RILM
This database allows you to search scholarly works in music including books, articles, bibliographies, dissertations, etc.
- OFF-CAMPUS USERS: To access these databases, go to www.researchport.umd.edu, and type "JSTOR" or "RILM in the box that says "by database name."
- Textbooks
Textbooks, such as A History of Western Music by Grout and Palisca can provide biographical details about a composer and their repertoire, as well as background information for what was going on in history at the time a composer was writing a particular piece.
STEP 4: Filling in the Details
Questions to Ask:
- What are the movement names?
- What form or musical structure is being used in this piece or movement? (e.g. sonata, ABA form, etc.)
- Is there any terminology or lingo that needs to be explained? (e.g. definition of passacaglia or scherzo)
- What should the audience member listen for in the piece or movement?
Sources to Use to Find the Answers:
- Oxford Music Online
- Journal Articles
- A recording of the piece
- Classical Music Library Contains thousands of pieces by hundreds of composers. This database is especially useful for more traditional, classical works.
- Naxos Music Library A database of tracks from thousands of CDs recorded on the Naxos label. You will often find newer works not found in Classical Music Library in the database.
- A score of the piece
If the work you are performing is a major work for a particular composer, then Oxford Music may have specific information about the piece.
*Oxford Music is a great source for looking up music terminology.
Is there a journal written specifically for your instrument/discipline? (e.g. The Horn Call, Journal of Singing, etc.) These journals may have specific information about your piece, written by professionals working in the field.
- TIPS: Many of the journals are searchable in RILM, but you will only get results from 1976 onward.
- Some professional societies have searchable archives of their journals on their websites.
- For all others, you will need to search the contents of the physical copies. The library has these journals in the stacks/folio, and on microfilm.
The liner notes are often a valuable place to find information about specific pieces that you may not be able to find online.
- OFF-CAMPUS USERS: To access these databases, go to www.researchport.umd.edu, and type "Classical Music Library" or "Naxos Music Library in the box that says "by database name."
Looking at the score is the most reliable way to find the movement names. (Amazon.com is not always accurate!)
Study the score. Are you able to tell what the form is? Can you identify specific sections?
STEP 5: Making it Personal
You are the performer, and have therefore chosen a specific interpretation of the work. If it seems appropriate, add some remarks about your personal experience with the piece.
Sources to Use:
- Your Personal Practice Sessions
While you are practicing, think about and write down your personal ideas about the work. (e.g. what you think of when you perform it, how you think of the structure, etc.)
- Listening
If you haven't yet, listen to the piece, as this can give you a more objective view of the work.
STEP 6: Citing your sources
Anytime you use something that is not your own, original thought, you must cite it.
Most program notes for musical performances generally use Chicago/Turabian style for citation. See the Citing Sources Using Chicago/Turabian Style for more information.
A Few Rules of Thumb for Citing Sources in Program Notes:
- Program notes found on the Web
- First, assess the authority of the person who wrote the program notes. If the person is some one you know you can trust for accurate information, then:
Look for a "terms of use" statement or copyright statement. This may tell you whether you may use or reproduce the information.
- TIP: Check "fair use guidelines" (below) to determine whether your use is acceptable, regardless of what the "terms of use" or copyright states.
If you can't tell, don't know, or have no way to determine either of the above, you may want to find another more reliable source to use!
- Oxford Music Online
- If you use any quoted material, whether a phrase, full sentence, block of text, or definition from Oxford Music Online or similar database, you must cite the article from which the material comes.
- TIP: Look for a small, orange rectangle at the top right of each article. Clicking on it will give you the formatted citation. (both MLA and Chicago/Turabian styles)
- Composer Bios found on the Web
- If you find a composer's bio on the web, you may use it if copyright permits. You must cite the website from which you obtained it. (Be sure that it is an authoritative website about that composer first!)
- TIP: Check "fair use guidelines" (below) to determine whether your use is acceptable, regardless of what the "terms of use" or copyright states.
- Liner Notes
- You must cite the author of the liner notes. If it is not given, cite the recording and indicate that the information was taken from the liner notes.
- Program notes in a score you purchased or checked out from the library
- You must cite the author of the program notes, whether the composer or someone else. If a name is not given, cite the score and indicate that the information was taken from the program notes.
Fair Use Guidelines
...the fair use of a copyrighted work...for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:
- (1) the purpose and character of the use, including
whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit
educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole;
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.*
*US Copyright Office. Circular 92, "Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code," Chapter 1, Section 107, Washington, DC: US Copyright Office, 2008. 6 March 2009. http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107
