Global Music Archive October 30, 2008

The Global Music Archive can be found at Vanderbilt University.  This archive is a joint project between the Blair School of Music and the University Libraries with the goal to provide access to indigenous music from Africa and the Americas.  This archive includes sound recordings and images from these peoples with inclusion of traditional and popular song, music, and dance of Africa and North and South America, with particular emphasis on the African Diaspora.

The website is well organized, which allows the user to find information efficiently.  Since we have been discussing good aspects of digital collections, this site especially caught my eye.  Under the section “About the Archive,” is ample information about the definitions used within the collection, eight initial concerns, and copyright issues.  The site sets out in great deliberation to let the user know exactly what the goal of the archive is and what steps they are taking towards obtaining those goals.

Because the collection is not entirely digital, the website does not include everything that is contained within the archive.  However, the East African Recordings are available online.  This collection contains 1254 recordings that are categorized by artist/group, region, district, language, ethnic group, and musical instrument.  The user may browse the collection by category or can search using basic or advanced options.  This is an excellent resource for anyone interested in African Music.

The Juilliard School: Digital Resources October 8, 2008

As you have probably noticed, I am trying to find digital collections that are somewhat related to music since this is the field that I plan to go into.  This next resource that I have found is located on The Juilliard School’s website.  They have a few digital resources that are helpful for those interested in the study of the history of Juilliard and music in general.

The first digital resource is the school’s periodical The Baton.  This publication began in 1922 and ran until 1932.  In this periodical, there are many articles that relate to the activities of the then Institute of Musical Art, which later became The Juilliard School.  The articles that I read are very informative.  They include who is doing what and different events that are being held on campus.  It is a great way to view some of the history of Juilliard firsthand.

The second periodical that can be found on the website is The Juilliard Review. It was published from 1954-1962 under the editor Sheila Keats.  The articles contained in this publication are both news-related and scholarly. The scholarly articles are written by school faculty and guest writers.  They contain a wealth of information.

In addition to the school’s publications, the school also has the Ruth Dana Collection of First and Early Editions of Liszt’s Piano Works.  This collection was donated to the school in 1914.  There are almost 200 works that are housed in this collection that include arrangements, transcriptions, and his original works.  The collection contains pdf versions of all scores so that you are able to print and download copies of these works for closer inspection if so desired.  The works are arranged alphabetically for easy browsing.  One drawback to the otherwise useful collection is that you cannot search within the collection itself.

Digital Scores at the University of Michigan’s Music Library October 7, 2008

As I have been searching the web for interesting and beneficial digital collections, I have run across a collection of scores that are on the University of Michigan’s website.  The collection contains 1112 scores that have been digitized so that users may access them from home.  The site includes pdf versions of each score on its website.  The scores include a variety of genres: instrumental works, choral pieces, songs, and orchestral works.  Highlights of the collection are works by Austrian composer Ignaz Brüll and American conductor and composer Kurt Schindler.

The collections is very helpful for students and researchers alike.  The collection allows searching by Boolean operators, keywords, and proximity searches.  For those that are not looking for anything in particular, one can also browse the collection by title, author (composer), and subject.  The subject option is very interesting.  Many of the subjects that are used are genres, styles, and instruments. However, they also include subjects of the pieces themselves.  For example, the subject Edgar Allen Poe brings up a song entitled “To Helen.”  This song is written by Phillip Greeley Clapp with words by Edgar Allen Poe.

Other useful features include a bookbag.  As you are searching you may put things in your bookbag so that you may easily come back to them once you have finished your search.  Also, the website offers a print option so that you may print the scores that you are interested in.  However, when browsing I did run across a couple of pieces that were unavailable on the site due to copyright issues, but most of the scores I viewed were available for printing at home.  This is an excellent source for music students and instructors.