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MUS 601: Approaches to Music Research

This guide provides targeted resources for acquiring bibliographic information for music.

Primary Sources @ CSU

Manuscript scores for the works of CSU composers Edwin London, Rudolf Bubalo, Bain Murray, Klaus Roy, and Herbert Elwell.  Their works are housed in the Library's Special Collections on the 3rd floor. View the finding aids created by staff and volunteers.

Primary Sources Online

What are primary resources

The primary sources of a musical work can include the following:

 Autograph / Holograph (the composer's own manuscript)

Copies (handwritten by a relative, student, colleague, or professional copyist; or, in the case of medieval works, by monastic scribes)

First edition (typically published in consultation with the composer)

Early editions (printed during the composer's lifetime)

Early editions (edited by a relative, student, or other person close to the composer, after the composer's death)

Scholarly editions (edited by a scholar or performer known for their knowledge / interpretation of the composer)

Collected editions (the composer's complete works, published in a scholarly edition that shows the variant readings (differences) in the above sources)