SEARCHING FOR SCORES IN IUCAT
The best way to find scores is by Keyword searching. Enter keywords in the search box, generally separated by the operator "AND." (For other operators, see under Advanced Search Strategies below.) The order of your keywords does not matter. Notice that the operators must be completely capitalized. Choose All Fields from the dropdown menu to the right of the search box.
When searching for a specific genre, such as symphonies, sonatas, or cantatas, use the plural form of the genre.
Search phrases by putting them in quotation marks.
Examples:
mozart AND figaro
sonatas AND bassoon AND continuo AND barenreiter
"fake book" AND "whistle a happy tune"
concertos AND flute AND orchestra AND arranged
songs AND "high voice" AND piano OR continuo
Restrict your search by choosing Musical Score from the Format menu found in the left sidebar of the search results screen.
SEARCHING FOR BOOKS IN IUCAT
Search for books by TITLE
If you know all or part of the EXACT title of a book, enter it in the search box, and choose Title from the dropdown menu to the right of the search box.
Examples:
on russian music
cambridge companion to mahler
garland encylopedia of world music
Search for books by AUTHOR or COMPOSER
If you know the exact name of an author, editor, or composer, enter it in any order in the search box, and choose Author from the dropdown menu to the right of the search box.
Examples:
taruskin richard
peter burkholder
johann quantz
stanley sadie
berlioz hector
Search for books by KEYWORD
Use the same keyword searching methods given above for scores to find books.
Search phrases by putting them in quotation marks.
Examples:
mahler AND la grange
burkholder AND western music
"playing the flute" AND quantz
Restrict your search by choosing Book from the Format menu found in the left sidebar of the search results screen.
SEARCHING FOR RECORDINGS IN IUCAT
Search for recordings by KEYWORD
Keywords for finding recordings include names of composers, names of performers, work titles, album or concert titles, instruments, genre, and format (CD, LP, streaming, etc.)
Search phrases by putting them in quotation marks.
Examples:
callas AND verdi AND 33 1/3
"evelyn glennie" AND compact
beethoven AND violin AND concertos NOT naxos
Note the exclusion of Naxos in the last example: you could also include it, or search the Naxos database itself.
Finding recordings in Variations:
To find recordings in the Variations digital library, choose Variations Collection from the Collection menu.
ADVANCED SEARCH STRATEGIES
Search by Subject
Choose the Advanced Search link found under the search button for a basic search.
To search by subject, type your keywords in the Subject box.
Subjects can be topics, musical genres, or people.
Examples:
oboe players united states
felix mendelssohn
hip hop los angeles
harpsichord music
Titles
There are three kinds of title:
1) Title as found on a book, score, or recording
2) Preferred titles
3) Titles of periodicals
1) Title as found on a book, score, or recording
In Advanced Search, enter whatever words of the title you know into the Title search box. In the Format menu, select your desired format, such as Book, Musical Score, or Sound Recording.
2) Preferred titles are used in library catalogs to link every version of a particular piece, regardless of how the title is worded on the edition or recording. In the catalog record, the first line in the Title area is the preferred title. Use the preferred title in a Title search to see a list of all items cataloged under that title.
There are three kinds of preferred title:
Generic titles
Distinctive titles
Collective titles
Generic titles are used when a work is in a genre, such as a concerto or sonata. In this case, the preferred title includes the name of the genre (almost always plural), followed by instrumentation, identification number, key, etc. For example:
Symphonies, no. 5, op. 67, C minor
Concertos, piano, orchestra, K. 488, A major
Sonatas, flute, continuo, H. 564, G major
Sonatas, cello, piano, op. 7, B minor
Distinctive titles are used when a work was given a unique name by the composer. Distinctive titles are in the original language. The initial article (“a” or “the” in any language) is omitted. For example, whether a score of Mozart’s The Magic Flute is printed with the English title, the original German title Die Zauberflöte, or the Italian title Il flauto magico, the preferred title in the catalog is always Zauberflote.
The preferred title is also used to distinguish between different versions of a piece (full score, vocal score, piano reduction, arrangement, selections, etc.) as well as translations. For example,
Zauberflöte. Vocal score. English
More examples of distinctive titles:
Brandenburgische Konzerte
Suite bergamasque. Clair de lune
Symphonies d’instruments a vent
Note: only works with such names given by the composer are considered distinctive titles. If you are unsure, conduct a keyword search using the name in question. An example: Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Op. 27, no. 2 is commonly called the Moonlight Sonata, however, this was not Beethoven’s name for the work, so it has a generic title:
Sonatas, piano, op. 27, no. 2, C sharp minor.
Violin, piano music [any genre]
Sonatas, violin, piano [only sonatas]
Songs. Selections
Chamber music, winds
For more information about preferred titles, see Preferred Titles in Music.
3) Title of a periodical (journal or magazine)
In the Advanced Search window, enter the title of the periodical in the Title search box. Choose Journal/Periodical from the Format menu.
Boolean operators
As well as the common “AND,” you can use other operators such as “OR” and “NOT” in your search. “NOT" is used to eliminate a word. For example, if you want a full score rather than a vocal score, you could include “NOT vocal” in your search. “OR” is used when you want to combine a search term with either of two other terms. For example:
concertos violin AND (mozart OR haydn)
This search will give you concertos by both composers.
