Online audio and discographies

Audio@McGill

• Schulich School of Music - Concert Recordings

  • VPN connection required off-campus.
  • See also the Schulich School of Music YouTube channel for selected video recording performances.

• Schulich School of Music - MEMSA (McGill Electronic Music Studio Archive) Recordings

Online Audio

• Naxos Music Library (NML3)

  • Streaming audio library (classical music)
  • Access to more than 2 million tracks of standard and rare repertoire from a wide range of labels
  • Liner notes for selected recordings
  • Includes additional resources such as opera synopses and libretti, glossaries of musical terms, aural training exercises, and work details and analyses

    Naxos Music Library App: Available for Apple or Android mobile devices. You must create a personal account prior to using the app.

    Creating Naxos Music Library playlists: Video tutorial. Instructors can use the McGill Playlist creation guide for creating course-specific Naxos playlists. Please contact the Music Library staff for login credentials. Further information can be found on the Naxos website. 

    Troubleshooting: Note that clearing your browser cache often resolves issues related to playing selections on Naxos

• Naxos Music Library Jazz (NML3 - Jazz)

  • Streaming audio library (jazz music)
  • Access to more than 200,000 tracks of jazz music
  • Includes notes on the works and biographical information on composers and artists
  • Note: This database has a limited number of simultaneous users. If you have trouble accessing or receive an error message, please try again later.

    Naxos Music Library Jazz App: Available for Apple or Android mobile devices. You must create a personal account prior to using the app.

    Creating Naxos Music Library Jazz playlists: Video tutorial. Instructors can use the McGill Playlist creation guide for creating course-specific Naxos playlists. Please contact the Music Library staff for login credentials. Further information can be found on the Naxos website. 

    Troubleshooting: Note that clearing your browser cache often resolves issues related to playing selections on Naxos.

• Music Online: Classical Music Library (Alexander Street Press)

  • Stream classical music sound recordings
  • Coverage includes music written from the medieval period to the present day. Repertoire ranges from vocal and choral music, to chamber, orchestral, solo instrumental, and opera.
  • Video tutorial: Creating personal playlists (applies to audio and video recordings available through Music Online)

• Freegal

  • Access sound recordings from wide variety of genres
  • Coverage: more than 50 labels in Sony Music Entertainment catalogue
  • McGill users eligible to download up to 5 tracks per week
  • Tracks in mp3 format and can be transferred to computer or mobile device

• DRAM: Database of Recorded American Music

  • Stream sound recordings from independent labels and sound archives (e.g. New World Records, Composers Recordings (CRI), Albany Records)
  • Primarily American music
  • Encompasses avant-garde, contemporary, electronic, folk, opera, indigenous, jazz, musical theatre, and more
  • Access original liner notes and essays

• The Virtual Gramophone

  • Database containing information and images for more than 15,000 78-rpm and cylinder recordings released in Canada, as well as foreign recordings featuring Canadian artists and/or compositions.
  • Selected recordings in the Library and Archives Canada collection of 78s, chosen for their Canadian content, were digitally reproduced for this site.

• OverDrive

  • Provides access to eBooks, audiobooks, and streaming video

• Mainspring Press Free Online Reference Library

  • Downloadable discographies and other resources for collectors of historic sound recordings
  • Includes discographies by John Bolig, Dick Spottswood, Allan Sutton, William R. Bryant, George Blacker, Brian Rust, The Record Research Associates, & others
  • The discographies are for personal, non-commercial use only
  • Includes the complete 6th edition of Brian Rust’s Jazz and Ragtime Records (1897 – 1942)

• The Jazz Discography Online (TJD Online)

  • Source of information about jazz records and jazz recording sessions
  • Encompasses all genres of jazz and contains information about 400,000+ recordings released between 1896 and today
  • Sessions are listed by bandleader name and presented in chronological order: details include tune titles as well as the names of all supporting musicians and the instrument(s) they played
  • The date, matrix and record company release numbers of each recording are also included

• McGill users only
• Open access resource
• Free resource
• In-library use
• Catalogue record