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Music

Subject and Research Guide

Welcome to the Music Subject Guide

Renaissance Notation with Illuminations

Use left column to find information and links to various types of resources.

General Information

The Music Collection supports Music Department programs in music history, music theory, ethnomusicology, and composition. Its traditional strength has been in books about music history and scholarly editions of music. In recent years, greater emphasis has been placed on collecting materials for the study of non-western music and music theory, as well as scores of contemporary music. The 1976 founding of the Chicago Jazz Archive, now part of the Special Collections Research Center, has prompted the development of a strong circulating collection of recordings and books on jazz and blues, as well as popular music.  Along with the numerous Finding Aids for the various collections within the Chicago Jazz Archive, a Research Guide is also made available to begin your studies in Chicago-style jazz.

Most of the print music collection can be found on the Third floor of Regenstein Library, but many rare items are located in the Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center. The Recordings Collection is located in Mansueto.

Quick Links

Off-Campus Access

Almost all Library databases can be accessed from off-campus. The easiest way to do this is to use links from the main Library website or this and other Subject Guides. You will then be prompted for your CNetID and password to authenticate yourself as an authorized user.

Find It!

When searching databases, the Find It button, when present, can be used to locate an item in the UofC catalog, to gain access to the full-text of an article, or to send interlibrary loan orders to the ILL Office for items that the Library does not own.

Request Library Instruction

Faculty and instructors interested in requesting a Library instruction program for a course or program can use the form below. A librarian will respond to your request by e-mail within 24 hours (during regular business hours).

Students needing instruction can request an appointment with their librarian.