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Diversity in Music - old: LGBTQ+ music

Overview

The LGBTIA+ community has a rich history as both participants and pioneers of music genres spanning from western classical to electronica and beyond. Below is a list of resources and research tips designed to help you navigate the diverse world of queer music history and performance. 

Approaches to Searching

To locate books about a specific person or topic, use the Subject Search in the OPAL Library Catalog. Each book has been tagged with specific subject headings that describe its content.

 Some headings that have been applied to queer music include:

  • Gay composers -- United States
  • Gay musicians
  • Gender identity in music
  • Homosexuality and music
  • Homosexuality and popular music--United States
  • Lesbian musicians
  • Music by gay composers
  • Music by lesbian composers
  • Transgender musicians

Catalogs

Call Numbers

Books and printed music are arranged according to the Library of Congress' Classification System. The library has circulating and non-circulating (reference) collections. Each collection is divided in to three sections.

  • M = Printed music/scores (organized by instrument/genre)
  • ML = Books about music and musicians
  • MT = Books on music theory, pedagogy, and technique

The Jones Music Library has distinct collections for music education and music therapy resources.  A complete description of the library's collections may be found here.

Essential Resources

There are many online resources devoted to diversity in music. Here are just a few essential ones.

Electronic media