Overview
Indigenous music encompasses a spectrum of musical expression as diverse as the array of indigenous cultures which span the globe. Below is a broad overview of sources and search tips designed to direct students towards resources about Indigenous music.
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.
Subject headings for groups of people not associated with a nationality are relatively new, and practices are still being worked out. Some headings that have been applied to Indigenous music, though, include:
- Indians of North America -- Music
- Indians of North America-- Music-- History and criticism
- Indigenous Peoples -- Music
- Indigenous Peoples -- Music -- History and criticism
- Folk Music -- Africa
- World Music -- History and criticism
- World Music-- Performance
General Resources
- Music Online: Garland Encyclopedia of World MusicA comprehensive online resource devoted to music research of all the world's peoples.
- Oxford Music OnlineAlthough OMO (incorporating the Grove Dictionary of Music) initially focused almost exclusively on Western art music, its focus expanded in more recent editions, and it now provides valuable content across a range of cultures.
- Bloomsbury Popular MusicFeatures a substantial encyclopedia of popular music, the 33 1/3 book series dedicated to coverage of rock and pop albums, and scholarly books.
- Music Online: Classical Music ReferenceSearch the full-text of music reference titles including Baker's Dictionary of Music, Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, and Baker's Student Encyclopedia of Music.
- IPA SourceA service that provides translations and phonetic (IPA) transcriptions of thousands of songs and arias.
- Institute for Composer DiversityThe ICD maintains databases of diverse composers and their works. You can search by composer identity, instrument, ensemble, and musical grade level.
Indigenous Music Resources
There are many online resources devoted to diversity in music. Here are just a few essential ones.
- Native DrumsNative Drums is a website dedicated to documenting the heritage of First Nations' music in Canada. The website includes videos, in-depth interviews, articles, and downloadable resource kits for teachers.
- American Indian Music and Sound | Smithsonian MusicThe Smithsonian Institute's website houses a collection of information and performances pertaining to the music of Native American cultures.
- Omaha Indian Music- Library of CongressThe Library of Congress maintains a digitized collection of wax cylinder recordings of Omaha Native Americans originally recorded in the 18900s.
- 60 Years of Indigenous Music Game ChangersCBC has compiled a web resource featuring information about indigenous performers from around the globe.
Library Collections
Books
Hip Hop Beats, Indigenous Rhymes by Call Number: E-bookISBN: 9781438469454Publication Date: 2018-04-01
