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Citation Styles for Music

Style Manuals

As of 2020, we now have online access to the Chicago Manual of Style, which should answer all your questions about citing sources properly in Chicago Style.

Image of cover of Chicago Manual, 17th edition

Humanities Style

Published score Note:  ¹Composer First Name Last, Name of Musical Work  (City, State: Publisher, Year).

Note: ¹Igor Stravinsky, L'oiseau de feu (New York: Schott, 1993).

Bibliography:  Composer Last Name, First.  Name of Musical Work. City, State (if city isn't well known): Publisher, Year.

Bibliography: Stravinsky, Igor.  L'oiseau de feu.  New York: Schott, 1993.
Score from an anthology or collected work Note: ¹Carlisle Floyd, "I Should Have Ended it Long Ago," in American Arias: a Collection of Essential Contemporary Works, ed. Philip Brunelle (Soprano edition, New York: Boosey & Hawkes, 2004): 94-99.

Bibliography:  Floyd, Carlisle.  "I Should Have Ended it Long Ago." In American Arias: a Collection of Essential Contemporary Works, edited by Philip Brunelle, 94-99. Soprano edition. New York: Boosey & Hawkes, 2004.
Manuscript: original

See also: Citing Archives, Manuscripts, Oral Histories...
Note: ¹Thomas Percy, 1867-68, Ballads and romances,. Herbert M. Halpert Collection (HALP 10302, 10303, 10304), Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada.

Bibliography: Percy, Thomas. 1867-68. Ballads and romances. Herbert M. Halpert Collection (HALP 10302, 10303, 10304). Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada.
PDF Download from the Internet Note: ¹Igor Stravinsky, Firebird (Moscow: Muzyka, 1964, reprint, Mineola: Dover Publications, 1987), International Music Score Library Project, accessed March 5, 2013 http://imslp.org/wiki/The_Firebird_%28Stravinsky,_Igor%29.

Bibliography:  Stravinsky, Igor. Firebird. Moscow: Muzyka, 1964. Reprint, Mineola: Dover Publications, 1987.  International Music Score Library Project.  Accessed March 5, 2013 http://imslp.org/wiki/The_Firebird_%28Stravinsky,_Igor%29.

Common Questions

What is Humanities Style?

The Humanities Style, also known as Notes and Bibliography, is commonly used for writing in the area of literature, arts, and music.   This style documents its sources using footnotes/endnotes and a bibliography.  This style consists of two parts:  a number in the text and a related note that describes the source in a footnote or endnote (a list of notes at the end of the document).   A bibliography provides a  complete list of resources referred to in the document.

What is "Turabian"?

Kate L. Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations  is a simplified version of the Chicago Manual of Style written specifically for the the needs of student writers.   This manual provides a wide variety of examples.

What are punctuation practices in Chicago/Turabian Style?

A complete description of punctuation practices may be found at the Chicago Manual of Style Online.