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Finding Music Scores: Classical Songs and Arias

Catalog Searching

First, know the title of the song collection OR the song title, composer/arranger, and if the song is part of a larger work (ex. Opera, song cycle, etc.).  Need help identifying this information?  Look at one of the indexes listed on the Using Song Indexes page.

  1. Open the KentLINK advanced keyword search.
  2. In the first search box, type the title of the song or aria in quotation marks (ex. “Silent noon”).
  3. In the drop-down menus below, select “Music Score” from the Material Type menu to search for printed music or choose “CD” from the Audio menu to search for a sound recording.  Click “Submit.”

KentLINK Advanced Search screen. See information above.

Unable to find the song you’re looking for in KentLINK? Search OhioLINK and SearchOhio. Still no luck? Request items through Interlibrary Loan.

Would you prefer to browse our collections?  Visit the Browsing Classical Songs/Arias page and find call numbers for browsing our collection or subject headings to search online or look through a selected list of our song and aria collections.

Browsing

Call Numbers

Below are general call number ranges.  More about call numbers at the Library of Congress Classification page. For tips on searching for other music items in KentLINK, consult the Finding Library Items guide.

M2 collected anthologies M1621.4 song cycles
M3 collected works of individual composers M1629 national song collections
M1495 vocal music collections M1999-2006 sacred vocal music collections
M1497 secular vocal music collections M2027 sacred solo arias
M1500-1503 operas M2110-2112 collections of sacred songs
M1507 opera song collections M2113 separate sacred songs
M1619-1620 collections of songs ML128 song indexes
M1621 separate songs    

Subject Headings for Searching Library Catalogs

To find material on a topic, type in one of these subject headings to get a list of relevant titles. Open the KentLINK subject heading search at http://kentlink.kent.edu/search/d.
 

Ballads, English [or other language]

Children's songs

Folk songs, English [or other language]

National songs

Operas -- Excerpts -- Vocal scores with piano

Oratorios -- Excerpts -- Vocal scores with piano

Sacred songs (High voice) with piano*

Sacred Songs (Medium voice) with piano*

Sacred Songs (Low voice) with piano*

Songs -- United States [or other country name]

Songs (High voice) with piano*

Songs (Medium voice) with piano*

Songs (Low voice) with piano*

Songs, English [or other language]

Vocal music

 

*Piano is used for purposes of illustration; may also use guitar, harp, orchestra, organ, etc.

Song Indexes

What Is a Song Index?

Often song titles included in anthologies are not listed individually in catalog records, which means you will not find them doing a keyword search in KentLINK (see ex. -30 Years--30 Hits).  Song indexes include lists of songs - sometimes arranged by title, sometimes by composer, sometimes both – and provide cross-references for the anthologies/collections that include the song.

To identify song titles in collections, start with the indexes below. Online indexes are more up-to-date and comprehensive than print.  Look up the song by title, composer, first line, or whatever you have. A code represents the anthologies that have that song.  When you identify the collection, search for it in KentLINK. Remember, if KSU doesn’t own the collection, search OhioLINK, SearchOhio or submit an InterLibrary Loan request.

Online Song Indexes

Print Song Indexes

All titles are available in the Performing Arts Library.  Reference titles (“Ref.”) are non-circulating and are located in the Performing Arts Library Reading Room.

Subjects: Dance, Music, Theatre
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