Piano Handy Guide
A brief guide to finding music for piano (or harpsichord) and books about it.
BROWSING
Because printed music and books are classified--i.e., grouped with similar items on the shelves--browsing can be an effective method for finding material. 11 and 15.1 = Solo piano music 12-14 and 15.2-15.4 = Music for more than one player ML650-ML747 = History MT220-MT258 = Instruction, methods
LOOKING FOR PRINTED MUSIC OR RECORDINGS OF A SPECIFIC PIECE OF MUSIC
- Use AUTHOR search in WNCLN's Library Catalog , using composer's last name and first name. Arrangement of a composer's works is by UNIFORM TITLE.
(Uniform titles are either DISTINCTIVE titles in the original language, or GENERIC titles, which begin with form or genre, and followed by performance medium, serial or opus or thematic catalogue number, and key. Examples:
- Tombeau de Couperin
- Sonatas, piano, no. 14, op. 27, no. 2, C# minor
- For shorter works, do a TITLE search in WNCLN's Library Catalog ; if that retrieves nothing or only a few items, enter command "W" Same search as WORD search.
FINDING MUSIC IN A SPECIFIC CATEGORY
Do a SUBJECT search in WNCLN's Library Catalog , using terms found in Library of Congress Subject Headings .
- e.g. Sonatas (Piano)
- Harpsichord music
FINDING INFORMATION ON THE INSTRUMENT
Do a SUBJECT search in WNCLN's Library Catalog using the name of the instrument.
BASIC REFERENCE TOOLS
The following titles will be useful in tracking down information about the piano and its repertoire.
- Hinson, Maurice. Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire. (3rd ed.) Ref. ML 128 .P3 H5 2000
- Hinson, Maurice. The Pianist's Bookshelf: A Practical Guide to Books, Videos, and Other Resources. Ref ML128 .P3 H534 1998
- Rezits, Joseph. The Pianist's Resource Guide: Piano Music in Print and Literature on the Pianistic Art. Ref. ML 128 .P3 R5 1978
- Friskin, James, and Irwin Freundlich. Music for the Piano. Ref. ML 128 .P3 F7 1954
- Faurot, Albert. Concert Piano Repertoire. Ref. ML 128 .P3 F39
- Fuszek, Rita M. Piano Music in Collections: An Index. Ref. ML 128 .P3 F87 1982
- Hinson, Maurice. The Pianist's Reference Guide: A Bibliographical Survey. Ref. ML 128 .P3 H54 1987
- Palmieri, Robert. Piano Information Guide: An Aid to Research. Ref. ML 128 .P3 P34 1989
- Hinson, Maurice. Music for More than One Piano: An Annotated Guide. Ref. ML 128 .P3 H52 1983
- The Pianist's Guide to Transcriptions, Arrangements, and Paraphrases. Ref. ML 128 .P3 H536 1990
- Music for Piano and Orchestra. Ref ML 128 .P3 H53 1993
- Horne, Aaron. Keyboard Music of Black Composers: A Bibliography. Ref. ML 128 .b45 H68 1992
- Chang, F. M., and Albert Faurot. Team Piano Repertoire. Ref. ML 128 P3 C48
- McGraw, Cameron. Piano Duet Repertoire: Music Originally Written for One Piano, Four Hands. Ref. ML 128 .P3 M2 1981
- Maxwell, Grant M. Music for Three and More Pianists. Ref. ML 128 .P3 M39 1993
JOURNALS:
- Clavier
- Piano Quarterly
- Keyboard