Selected Resources in
African-American Music
at the UNC-Chapel Hill Music Library
Biographical Sources || Bibliographies and Bibliographies of Music ||
Other Books of Interest ||
Journals || Discographies || Sound Recordings || Sample Subject
Headings
The UNC-Chapel Hill Music Library has a significant collection of African-American music resources including sound recordings, videos, books, scores and journals. Keep in mind that not all materials are in the online catalog yet, so if you don't find what you want there, be sure to check the appropriate card catalog. This handout guides you to only some of the many resources available in the Music Library and on the UNC campus. If you need further help, please ask a staff member for help.
- Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and
African Musicians.
Ed. by Eileen Southern
- Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1982.
Ref. ML105.S27 1982
- Benny, Lemuel. Biographical Dictionary of Black Musicians and
Music Educators. Guthrie, OK:
-
Educational Book Publishers, 1978.
Ref. ML106.U3 B47 Vol.1
- Holly, Ellistine Perkins. Biographies of Black Composers and
Songwriters. Dubuque,
- IA: Wm C. Brown Publishers, 1990.
ML390.H735 1990
- Smith, Eric L. Blacks in Opera: an Encyclopedia of People and
Companies.
- Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1995.
Ref. ML102.06 S6 1995
- Dictionary of Afro-American Performers. New York:
Garland, 1990.
- Ref. ML106.U3 T87 1990
- Mapp, Edward. Dictionary of Blacks in the Performing Arts. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1978.
- Ref. PN1590 .B53 M3
- New Grove Dictionary of American Music. Ed. By H. Wiley
Hitchcock and Stanley Sadie.
- 4v. London: Macmillan, 1986.
Ref. ML101.U6 N48 1986
- Biography Index (located at the entrance to the Listening
Room) This in-house index provides access to biographical information on
musicians found in sources other than dictionaries and encyclopedias. It
is updated regularly and is an excellent source.
- Many bibliographies are located in the Reference Room under the call
number ML128.B45 Listed below are a few examples.
- Carter, Madison H. Annotated Catalog of Composers of African
Ancestry. New York:
- Vantage Press, 1986.
Ref. ML128.B45 C3 1986
- De Lerma, Dominique-René. Bibliography of Black Music.
(v.1 Reference Materials, v.2
- Afro-American Idioms, v.3
Geographical Studies, v.4 Theory Education and Related Studies)
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994.
Ref. ML128.B45 D44
- Blacks in Classical Music: a Bibliographical Guide to Composers,
Performers, and Ensembles. Compiled
by
- John Gray. NY: Greenwood Press, 1988.
Ref. ML128.B45 G7 1988
- Choral Music by Afro American Composers: a Selected Annotated
Bibliography.
- Compiled by Evelyn Davidson White. Metuchen, NJ:
Scarecrow Press, 1981.
Ref. ML128.C48/W5
- Music by Black Women Composers: a Bibliography of Available
Scores. Chicago:
- Center for Black Music Research, Columbia
College, 1995.
Ref. ML128.W7 W35 1995
- Horn, Aaron. New York: Greenwood Press.
- Brass Music of Black Composers Ref. ML128.W5 H62
1996
Keyboard Music of Black Composers Ref. ML128.B45 H68 1992
String Music of Black Composers Ref. ML128.B45 H7 1991
Woodwind Music of Black Composers Ref. ML128.W5 H65 1990
- Green, Mildred Denby. Black Women Composers: A Genesis.
Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1983.
- ML390.G83 1983
- Roach, Hildred. Black American Music: Past and Present.
2nd ed. Malabar, FL: Krieger Pub., 1994.
-
ML3556.R58 1994
- Southern, Eileen. The Music of Black Americans: a History.
3rd ed. New York: Norton, 1997.
- ML3556.S74
1997
- Spencer, Jon Michael. The New Negroes and Their Music: the
Success of the Harlem Renaissance.
- Knoxville, TN: University of
Tennessee Press, 1997.
ML3556.S77 1997
- Black Music Research Newsletter
Black Music Research Journal
Black Perspectives in Music
Black Sacred Music (Journal of Black Sacred Music)
Articles on African-American Music and related titles can be found in these and other journals by searching International Index to Music Periodicals (IIMP), RILM (via OCLC FirstSearch) and the print version of Music Index (1947- present) located in the Reference Room.
- For example:
| Search | Results |
|---|---|
| Duke Ellington and discograph? | yields 28 records |
* For more help on using the online catalog go to the Music Library's help sheet.
Many LPs can be searched in the online catalog, but not all are online yet. If you don't find what you want in the online catalog, check the Sound Recordings card catalog across from the Circulation Desk.
When searching online for sound recordings or scores, use KEYWORD* mode for best results!
For example:
Search Results Still William Grant and sound yields cataloged recordings of this composer fi music and South Africa and compact yields compact discs of music from South Africa
* For more help on using the online catalog go to the Music Library's help sheet.
Sample Subject Headings
To find additional material conduct a SUBJECT search in the online or card catalog using the terms listed below.
Afro American composers Afro American singers Afro American women composers Afro American women musicians Afro Americans music Afro Americans musicians Afro Americans songs and music blacks songs and music gospel music music, American history and criticism musicians, black soul music
Revised 7/98
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URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/music/findingaids/african_american_music.html
This page was last updated Monday, July 18, 2005.
