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Citation Styles for Music

Works Cited

Entire recording In an entry for a commercially available recording, which person is cited first (e.g., the composer, conductor, or performer) depends on the desired emphasis.

Lastname, Firstname. “Song Title.” Title of Recording. Name of Artist (if different than first-listed person or group). Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium (Audiocassette, Audiotape, CD, LP).

Stravinsky, Igor. L'oiseau de feu, Apollon musagète. Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Cond. Antal Dorati.
Part of recording Stravinsky, Igor. "Firebird ballet suite (1945) revised version." Stravinsky conducts Stravinsky. Columbia Symphony Orchestra. Sony Classical, 1999, CD.
MP3 download Stravinsky, Igor. Firebird Suite (1945). Columbia Symphony Orchestra. 1967. MP3
Streaming audio service Lastname, Firstname. “Song Title.”Title of Album. Name of Artist (if different than first-listed person or group). Publisher, Year of Publication. Name of Electronic Source. Web. Date of access. <URL if desired>.

Stravinsky, Igor. "Firebird (original version)." Sacre du printemps, Petrushka, The Firebird, Apollo (1947 revision). EMI Classics, 1987. Naxos Music Library. Web. 5 March 2013 <http://bwcoll.naxosmusiclibrary.com/streamw.asp?ver=2.0&s=76779%2Fohiolinkbwc07%2F1535230>
YouTube website clip AuthorFirstname, Lastname (if known). "Titleof Web Page." Video. Title of the Site. Site Publisher or Sponosr, Date of Publication. Medium. Date of access. <URL if desired>.

"Igor Stravinsky conducts The Firebird." Video. YouTube, n.d. Web. 5 March 2013 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUwdyN27TWI>.
Liner Notes AuthorLastname, Firstname. “Title of the material, if any.” Description of the material.Title of Recording. Name of Artist (if different than first-listed person or group). Publisher, Year of Publication.Medium of Recording.

Stravinsky, Igor. Liner Notes to The Firebird. Three Favorite Ballets. Columbia Symphony Orchestra. Columbia, 1964. LP.

In-Text Citations

In MLA Style, parenthetical references are used when quoting or referring to sources consulted in the body of the document.  After a quote or paraphrase, a reference including the author's name and other attributing information will be enclosed in parentheses.   For a complete description of how to compose parenthetical references, consult the following resources.