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Music Research Guide: Ethnomusicology

This research guide features resources and strategies for finding information and conducting research related to Music.

RESOURCES FOR ETHNOMUSICOLOGY

Included on this page are lists of databases and books available on the Jerry Falwell Library website as well as reliable sources on the internet.

DATABASES FOR ETHNOMUSICOLOGY

Path to Music Databases:

  1. On the right side of the main library page click on Browse All Databases.
  2. Click on the arrow next to All Subjects and choose Music.
Music Databases most applicable :
The Music Index is a comprehensive guide to music periodical literature. Coverage spans from 1973 to the present and contains data from over 850 music periodicals from over 40 countries.
Contains documents which chronicle  the history of African American music
Organized by geographic region, database contains written and audio introduction to the music of the world.
Video databases most applicable
A virtual encyclopedia of the world's musical and aural traditions.
Delivers the sounds of all regions from every continent. Examples include: Balkanic jazz, African film, Bollywood, Arab swing and jazz, and other genres such as traditional music - Indian classical, fado, flamenco, klezmer, zydeco, gospel, gagaku, and more.
A comprehensive online resource for the study of human culture, behavior and society around the world. Contains over 1,300 hours of streaming video.
Additional suggestions: (Found on Music databases page)

Indexes 140 Christian magazines and journals, with strong emphasis on evangelical perspectives. Addresses a broad range of topics, hymnology and worship music. Covers mid-1970s to the present.

JSTOR
Provides full text electronic access to back issues of over 1,000 core journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Video Tutorial  

Additional suggestions: (Can be searched by title in Search for Databases box)
Full text journal articles covering the social sciences, humanities, general science, multi-cultural studies, education, and much more. Updated on a daily basis. 
An index of major religious and theology journals, essays, and book reviews. Covers Biblical studies,  church history, church music, and religious perspectives on social issues.
 Information about countries with the ability to break down by more specific areas of interest. 
Provides basic information about countries including economy, geography, government, people. and culture.
 

BOOKS FOR ETHNOMUSICOLOGY

JFL Collection:

Physical books, E-books and various video materials can be found in the JFL collection.
Searching the JFL Collection:

On the main library page:

1.  Use the Advanced Search option and enter terms for your subject.

2.  Begin your search using the name of the country of interest. In the second box add the term Music.

3.  You can further limit your search using the name of a particular people group or aspect of culture. If you need more boxes for search terms, click on the + sign at the end of the boxes.

4.  Limit the search by type of material:  ex: Under Content Type select whether you want Book / eBook,  DVD, Journal Article, etc.. If you are an online student, print materials can be sent to you through our Inter Library Loan department. E-books and streaming videos can be read or watched online.

E-books:

There are a number of specific databases that give access to E-book titles in addition to those found in the JFL catalog. Links to these titles will appear in the results page of your search.

Search terms:

Begin with the name of the country and/or people group you are studying. For your second term use the word "music."  Additional search terms can be found in the titles and in the subject terms assigned to the material that you find.

ONLINE RESOURCES OUTSIDE THE LIBRARY

WorldCat

WorldCat is an index to the collections of libraries all over the country. it's address is www.worldcat.org. .Worldcat allows you to check for a book's availability within your own zip code.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar offers a way to search for scholarly articles outside of the JFL collection.  The web address is: scholar.google.com. You will find some references to articles from Liberty's databases, but many more from other sources. If you find an article here that you like and it is not available in full text, you can request it through JFL's Interlibrary Loan.