Guides: Music dictionaries and encyclopedias: Music dictionaries and encyclopedias

COVID-19 CLOSURE

Further to Quebec government and university directives, McGill campuses are currently closed. As a result, all library branches are closed until further notice. Library staff will continue to provide virtual reference during service hours. For more information about the closure, please visit our COVID -19 | Library Closure & Service Disruptions FAQ.

Welcome! Use this guide to find background information from dictionaries and encyclopedias for your research projects and assignments.

On this page, you will find links to some of the major dictionaries and encyclopedias used in music research and performance.

Dictionaries and encyclopedias can also be found through the Library's catalogue/search tool, Sofia, by using relevant keywords.

Music dictionaries and encyclopedias

Core music dictionaries and encyclopedias

Grove Music Online
- Foremost English-language scholarly encyclopedia of music and musicians
- Extensive articles and bibliographies written by subject experts
- Includes detailed works lists for certain composers: useful for confirming the identity of pieces and for finding individual pieces within composers' complete works sets held by the Library
- Includes access to New Grove Dictionary of Opera and New Grove Dictionary of Jazz (2nd edition)
MGG Online (Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart)
- Comprehensive German-language encyclopedia
- Provides in-depth articles on many aspects of music and related areas
- Features all content from the 2nd edition plus current updates and additions
- Integrated translation available
- View a tutorial on using MGG Online (4:00)
The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music
- Comprehensive resource with photographs, maps, musical and audio examples devoted to reserach about the music of Africa (V.1), South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean (V.2), the United States and Canada (V.3), Southeast Asia (V.4), South Asia (V.5), the Middle East (V.6), East Asia (V.7), Europe (V.8), and Australia and Pacific Islands (V.9)
- The 10th volume includes a glossary, a bibliography of literature and recordings by region, and personal essays by prominent ethnomusicologists on their careers and research practices.
- Nine accompanying CDs are available from the 4th-floor desk

Other general and specialty music dictionaries and encyclopedias

The Canadian Encyclopedia (includes former Encyclopedia of Music in Canada entries)
Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World
- Comprehensive reference work on popular music of the world
- Read articles by leading popular music scholars
- Includes extensive bibliographies, discographies, sheet music listings, and filmographies
- Certain volumes available online:
  - Volume 1: Media, Industry, Society
  - Volume 2: Performance and Production
  - Volume 8: Genres - North America
  - Volumes 1-7: Temporarily available through HathiTrust Emergency Access service
Dictionary of Opera Characters, 2nd ed.
- Contains more than 2,500 entries on operatic characters, with information on the creator of the role and notable performances, and gives synopses for 200+ operas and operettas
- Includes feature articles written by well-known opera singers, conductors, stage directors, and scholars
- Recommended opera-related web links are listed for relevant and up-to-date extra information
Encyclopedia of African American Music
Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music
Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music
Grove Dictionary of American Music
Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music
- Quick reference tool
- Short biographies about thousands of people in music from dawn of music history to the present day
Historical Dictionary of Sacred Music
- Temporarily available through HathiTrust Emergency Access Service
Lexikon : Musik und Gender
New Penguin Dictionary of Music
Oxford Music Online
- Comprehensive music resource that includes access to Grove Music Online, The Oxford Companion to Music, and the Oxford Dictionary of Music (2nd edition revised).
OnMusic Dictionary (Successor of the former Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary)
Popular Music: the Key Concepts
The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture