• 780 Music - Main entry point in the Dewey Decimal System
• 781 General Principles and Musical Forms
• 782 Vocal Music
• 783 Music for Single Voices; The Voice
• 784 Instruments and Instrumental Ensembles
• 785 Ensembles with One Instrument Per Part
• 786 Keyboard and Other Instruments
• 787 Stringed Instruments
• 788 Wind Instruments
• 789 Percussion

A Brief Introduction to ANSCR

• A - Music Appreciation, History and Commentary
• B - Opera
• C - Choral Music
• D - Vocal Music
• E - Orchestral Music
• F - Chamber Music
• G - Solo Instrumental Music
• K - Musical Shows and Operettas
• MA - Popular Music
• MC - Country / Western Music
• MJ - Jazz
• MR - Rock
• Z - Children's Recordings

ArtistWorks

"ArtistWorks for Libraries provides patrons with world-class instruction through self-paced video lessons from Grammy Award-winning music and artistic professionals." Includes lessons for Acoustic Guitar, Art, Banjo, Electric Bass, Flute, Harmonica, Mandolin, Percussion, Piano, Rock Guitar, Singing, and the Ukulele.

Billboard Music Charts

Current and historically popular music arranged by genre

Country Music Awards (CMA)

Current and past winners and nominees.

The Grammy Awards

Current and past winners and nominees.

The Gramophone Awards

"The Gramophone Awards - often called the Oscars of the classical music world - are the most significant honours bestowed on the classical record industry." Current and past winners back to 1977 (select year at right side of page using the "drop-down" menu).

Independent Music Awards (IMA)

"The IMAs represent the diversity of today's vibrant indie scene and supports artists with previous major label releases as well as artists that have only self-released or appeared on indie labels."

Juno Awards

Current and past winners and nominees.

MTV Video Music Awards

Current and past nominees and winners.

NPR 100

"The 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century" according to National Public Radio (NPR). This list draws upon NPR's Master List of Top 300 Songs.

The Tony Awards

"The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards"

Pulitzer Prizes in Music (back to 1943)

World Music Awards

Current and past winners and nominees.

The All Music Blog

News covering all major music genres. From AllMusic.com.

Jazz Blog

From Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Music Articles

from National Public Radio (NPR).

The Playlist

"A weekly tour of notable new music and videos." From the New York Times.

Classical Music Introduction

"This collection covers the best classical composers, performers, and conductors, past and present, as well as the most iconic symphonies and operas in the world. Learn the stories behind these incredible works of art and let yourself get swept away by their movements." From ThoughtCo.com.

Classical Music Introduction

A comprehensive introduction to the world of classical music. Provided by NAXOS Audio.

Classical.net

Includes extensive biographical information on music composers and details concerning classical musical works. Includes a Composer Index, Reviews, Articles, a Buying Guide, News, and more.

Classical Music News

From National Public Radio (NPR).

Classical Music News

From The New York Times.

Classics for Kids

Podcasts, games, educational activities, and historical information on classical music and composers. To play games (such as "Compose Your Own Music" or "Name Notes"), follow the Games link at the top of the page. Games require the Adobe Flash plugin. Provided by Cincinnati Public Radio and sponsored by GE, Naxos Audio, Time Warner Cable, and others. Note: A few "sponsored links" direct you to Amazon.com.

Classics Today

News and reviews of classical music, CDs, performances, concerts, and more.

Fanfare

News and reviews of classical music. Some articles require subscription.

Gramophone Hall of Fame

"The Gramophone Hall of Fame celebrates those performers, producers, engineers and label executives whose contributions to classical music recording, whether through artistic excellence, innovation or imagination, have proved the most influential and inspiring. Click on an honorees' name to discover more about their life and recordings." Categories include: Conductors, Singers, Pianists, String/Brass/Woodwind Players, Vocal and Instrumental Ensembles, and more.

Great Performances

Excerpts and full-length videos of classic music and operatic performances. From PBS.

New York Philharmonic Kid Zone

A fun and interactive website designed to introduce young people to the orchestra. Sections include: Orchestra Station, Game Room, Musicians' Lounge, Composers' Gallery, Instrument Storage Room, Instrument Laboratory, Conductor/Soloist Dressing Rooms, Newsstand, and Composition Workshop. Requires the Adobe Flash plugin.

Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Listening Library

"Watch and listen to SPCO performances, live and on-demand." Free account required to login and watch videos.

WQXR Classical Music Radio Station

Follow the "Listen Live" link at the left/top area of their page. The website also features classical music news, playlists, program schedules, and more.

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)

Described by ASCAP as an "association of more than 330,000 U.S. composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers of every kind of music." Includes information for aspiring composers and songwriters.

Composers Biography Online

Select by letters A-Z at top of their website. Click "more" links for more information on each composer (wherever available). Most "more" links lead to other websites about the composer, and some of those links lead to Wikipedia (note Wikipedia's disclaimers).

From FactMonster.com:

Asian American Artists and Musicians

Folk, Gospel, and World Musicians

Notable African-American Musicians

Notable Blues, R&B, Pop, and Rock Singers and Bands

Notable Hispanic-American Musicians and Visual Artists

Notable Jazz Musicians

Notable Women Musicians and Dancers

Selected Composers and Performers of Popular Music

Selected Country Musicians

Selected Rap and Hip Hop Musicians

U.S. Symphony Orchestras and Their Music Directors

All Music Guide

BET

Pop, soul, blues, R&B, rap, hip-hop, and more.

CMT

Country music videos

MTV

Music videos, entertainment news

MusicMap

An interactive "map" of popular music. "Popular music consists mostly of (relatively) young and new music genres, sparking more interest than the ones who have been around for centuries." Tip: if using a mouse, try zooming in via the mose wheel to reveal and explore more details in their map.

VH1

An American Ballroom Companion: Dance Instruction Manuals, ca. 1490-1920

Historic documents digitized and viewable online. "An American Ballroom Companion presents a collection of over two hundred social dance manuals at the Library of Congress." Search by keyword or browse by subject, author, or title. Provided by the U.S. Library of Congress, Music Division.

Ballet Dictionary

Provided by the American Ballet Theatre.

Ballet Encyclopedia

Ballets, dancers, and choreographers

Dance

"There are as many ways to dance as there are to move. Discover dance styles, artists, and techniques with this guide." From ThoughtCo.com.

Dance Music / Electronic

"Read about remixes and releases in Electronica, Dubstep, IDM, EDM, House, and other electronic dance music so you're ready to move your feet." From ThoughtCo.com.

Dance Studies Association (DSA)

The Dance Studies Association (DSA) is an international organization of dance scholars, educators, and artists that aims to strengthen the visibility and increase the reach of dance as embodied practice, creative endeavor and intellectual discipline."

Dance/USA

News and resources for dancers. See also Dance/NYC.

Dancing with the Stars

Current and past contestants, celebrities, and winners

New York Times: Dance

News and reviews on contemporary dancers and performances

AllMusic.com

Database of recording artists, bands, complete with biographies, discographies, and album summaries in all major music genres. You can also browse by

iTunes

Apple's online premium archive of music and other audio downloads.

MTV.com

Contemporary music videos, audio, and downloads. Browse or search.

SongFacts.com

"Song meanings, lyrics and trivia." Browse or search by recording artist or music track / album title. "Random Songfacts" and quizzes are also available.

National Jukebox Historical Recordings from the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress presents the National Jukebox, which makes historical sound recordings available to the public free of charge. The Jukebox includes recordings from the extraordinary collections of the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation and other contributing libraries and archives. "See [and hear] what was recorded on any given day of the year. Check your birthday, an anniversary, or any other month and day of interest."

UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive

"Before MP3s, CDs, cassettes and vinyl records, people listened to... cylinders. First made of tinfoil, then wax and plastic, cylinder recordings, commonly the size and shape of a soda can, were the first commercially produced sound recordings in the decades around the turn of the 20th century. The UCSB Library, with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Grammy Foundation, and donors, has created a digital collection of more than 10,000 cylinder recordings held by the Department of Special Collections. To bring these recordings to a wider audience, the Library makes them available to download or stream online for free. This searchable database features all types of recordings made from the late 1800s to early 1900s, including popular songs, vaudeville acts, classical and operatic music, comedic monologues, ethnic and foreign recordings, speeches and readings. The website also includes the Library's collection of more than 650 Vernacular Wax Cylinder Recordings, which in 2015 were selected to be part of the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. These personal recordings, also known as home wax recordings, were made by everyday people at home, not by record companies or field researchers, and capture the early spirit of the public's interaction with recording technology." Provided by UC Santa Barbara Library.

ArtistWorks

Free to Members of Thrall. "ArtistWorks for Libraries provides patrons with world-class instruction through self-paced video lessons from Grammy Award-winning music and artistic professionals." Includes lessons for Acoustic Guitar, Art, Banjo, Electric Bass, Flute, Harmonica, Mandolin, Percussion, Piano, Rock Guitar, Singing, and the Ukulele.

Basic Music Principles: A Primer to the Basics of Music

PDF eBook. From VirtualSheetMusic.com.

The Benefits of Music Education

From PBS.

Carnegie Hall: Free Digital Resources

Includes: Free Online Resources for Educators, Free Online Resources for Young Musicians, Free Online Resources for Families & Kids.

8notes.com

"Free Sheet Music, Riffs, Lessons and Tools for musicians." Includes practice materials for most major music instruments.

How Music Works

Topics include: Sound and Music, The Major Scale, Chords and Harmony, Scales and Melody, Meter and Rhythm, Chord/Scale Relations, Playing with Chords, Playing with Scales, Writing Songs

How Stuff Works: Music Channel & Technology

"The Music Channel teaches us about the industry, the instruments and the genres. These articles explain why music is such an important fabric of our collective soul." Sections include: Musicians & Bands, Music Industry, Musical Instruments, Music Genres.

Music

Topics include Music Basics; Band Instrument Lessons; Masterpieces Old and New; and Insturments of the Orchestra. From Khan Academy.

Music Theory & History Online

Extensive information is offered at this website. Scroll down their page to browse introductory to advanced musical topics.

Music Theory Scales and Modes: An Introduction

Includes: Major and Minor Scales, Ancient Modes (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian), and more.

Music Theory Online (MTO): A Journal of Criticism, Commentary, Research, and Scholarship

Current issue and past articles. Includes links to other music theory and musicology journals on the web. Provided by The Society for Music Theory.

Music Theory.net

Divided into three sections (Lessons, Trainers, Utilities), this website provides educational information of interest to music learners of all ages. After selecting a lesson, click the right arrow at the bottom of the screen to advance through that lesson. This website requires the free Adobe Flash plugin.

Naxos History of Music

Introduction to Classical Music, History of Classical Music, Discover the Classics, Glossary of Musical Terms, A-Z of Opera, Synopses of Opera, and more.

PBS Learning Media: Music

"Encourage students to perform, analyze, and appreciate Music with resources that explore music from various time periods and cultures. Young learners can play Bubble Beats, an interactive lesson that challenges students to differentiate between beats. Middle and high school students can research different styles of music, from hip-hop to the blues to latin rock, and report on them to their classmates. Teachers can combine music and other disciplines with several lesson plans that include visuals and support materials, such as Belarusian Waltz: Art as a Form of Protest, Macbeth - The Metropolitan Opera, or The Dancing Scientist - Take the Stage. Careers in music, music in world cultures, and music institutions are among the additional topics explored in Music."

Performing Arts Encyclopedia

"The Performing Arts Encyclopedia (PAE) is a guide to performing arts resources at the Library of Congress. The PAE provides information about the Library's unsurpassed collections of scores, sheet music, audio recordings, films, photographs, and other materials. Users can find digitized items from the collections; special Web presentations on topics and collections; articles and biographical essays; finding aids to collections; databases for performing arts resources; information on concerts at the Library; and a special Performing Arts Resource Guide which contains entries for hundreds of Library collections, Web sites, databases and exhibits."

Scale Generator

"Scale Generator is a free online music theory tool for all musicians no matter the skill level. This generator doesn't merely display scales and chords which are known to be true. It actually creates them on the fly every time you select a key by using the correct intervals for that scale type. Use this tool alongside your music theory lessons, guitar lessons, violin lessons etc. to better your understanding and memorization of scale structures and chords. This free online music theory tool can display major, natural minor, or harmonic minor scale types in any key along with the pentatonic scale, diatonic triad notes and names, and relative key."

American Music Timeline: The 1800s

See also: 1900-1920, 1920s, 1930-1960, 1960s, 1970s - present.

American Popular Music

"American popular music spans a range of human experience, from matters of the heart to political protest. The United States is a perfect musical laboratory: Take people from every corner of the globe, give them freedom to create and distribute their effort. And what results! European ballads recast with African polyrhythmic textures or blended with a Cuban-flavored habanera." From the U.S. Department of State.

Books About Music Before 1800

"These treasures range from incunabula such as Johannes Tinctoris' Terminorum musicae diffinitorium of ca. 1474 (one of the earliest examples of a glossary of musical terms) to Franchinus Gaffurius's Theoricum opus musiche discipline of 1480 (the first printed book principally devoted to the study of music). This online presentation includes digital scans of well over 2000 pre-1801 publications about music." From the Library of Congress.

The History of Music Theory

From the Musicians Institute.

The Music and History of Our Times

From the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Music History from Primary Sources

From the Moldenhauer Archives and the Library of Congress.

Music Timeline (325 A.D. - Present)

From Infoplease.com.

On This Day in Rock History

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Information about the museum as well as current/past performers/bands inducted into the Hall of Fame.

10th - 16th Century Liturgical Chants

"The acquisition of medieval liturgical chant manuscripts that trace the history of music notation as it evolved over half a millennium, became a major collection priority in the Music Division beginning in the 1920s. One century later, we are fortunate to feature in this digital presentation over fifty of our chant manuscripts (e.g., antiphonaries, graduals, processionals, etc.) containing music intended for use during the rituals of the Roman Catholic Mass and Divine Office. Chronologically, these rare primary sources span a period of great paleographical change from the tenth through seventeenth centuries: from poorly executed fragments to exquisitely crafted codices, these materials range in format and size from single leaves to entire books – both pocket-sized and immense choirbooks measuring over three feet tall. Their musical contents document the creation and development of the modern-day staff from one to five staff lines, the introduction of clefs, the use of staffless (chironomic) and heightened (diastemic) neumes and eventually black square notation, and so much more." From the Library of Congress.

This Day in Music

"An everyday record of musical facts." You can also browse specific dates or search by artist/band name or keyword.

• General Information about Instruments
• Drums
• Guitar
• Piano / Keyboards / Synthesizers

ArtistWorks

Free to Members of Thrall. "ArtistWorks for Libraries provides patrons with world-class instruction through self-paced video lessons from Grammy Award-winning music and artistic professionals." Includes lessons for Acoustic Guitar, Art, Banjo, Electric Bass, Flute, Harmonica, Mandolin, Percussion, Piano, Rock Guitar, Singing, and the Ukulele.

8notes.com

"Free Sheet Music, Riffs, Lessons and Tools for musicians." Includes practice materials for most major music instruments.

American Musical Instrument Society

Topics include: Appraisal Services, Band History, Music, Book Dealers, Collections of Musical Instruments, Conservation, Early Music, Educational programs, Festivals, Contests, Folk and World Music, General Research Resources, Histories of Musical Instrument Makers, Instrument Making, Instrument Sites, Museum Sites, Musical Instrument Dealers & Makers, Musical Link Lists, Organizations, Other Interesting Sites, Patent Numbers & Dates, Performance Practice, Serial Numbers for Musical Instruments.

Enchanted Learning: Musical Instruments

Diagrams and other information for the cello, French horn, percussion, trombone, trumpet, tuba, viola, violin, xylophone, and other instruments.

A Guide to the Orchestra

"Which instruments make up an orchestra? How are they organised? And what exactly does a conductor do? Find answers to all your questions in our Guide to the Orchestra." From BBC.

Harmony Central

Information, news, and product reviews for various instruments. Sections include: Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Effects (pedals, rack mount, software-based), Keys & Synth, Drums & Perc, Software, Computer, Recording/Live Sound, MIDI. Also includes user forums and a series of "how to" articles.

How Stuff Works: Musical Instruments

Topics include: How Acoustic Guitars Work, How Electric Guitars Work, How MIDI Works, How Band Equipment Works, and more.

Instrument Encyclopedia

"Beginning with more than 140 artifacts from the Stearns Collection at the University of Michigan, this resource features musical instruments from around the world." Search by keyword. From the Cultural Heritage Initiative for Community Outreach (CHICO) at the University of Michigan School of Information..

Metropolitan Museum of Art: Musical Instruments

Images and information from the Met's collection of musical instruments from around the world.

MIMO: Music Instrument Museums Online

"Welcome to the world's largest freely accessible database for information on musical instruments held in public collections." Search or browse by Instrument Family, Museums, or News. Also available in Spanish/Espanol and other languages (select language option at top right of their page). From the University of Edinburgh, Cite de la musique, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Muziekinstrumentenmuseum, Association "Amici del Museo degli Strumenti Musicali," and others.

Musical Instruments

"The great majority of musical instruments fall readily into one of six major categories: bowed strings, woodwind, brass, percussion, keyboard, and the guitar family, the first four of which form the basis of the modern symphony orchestra." From NAXOS.

Musical Scales and Chords

"Our guitar and piano chord database has over 84.000 chords and 500.000 chord charts. Just enter a chord name, we'll try to understand what you're searching for ;)" See also their Articles, Chord Progression Analyzer, and Scale Navigator. From Scales-Chords.com.

Odd Music

"Oddmusic is home to unique, odd, ethnic, experimental and unusual musical instruments and resources."

OnMusic Dictionary (formerly Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary

An illustrated dictionary of musical instruments and terminology from the Virginia Tech Department of Music. You can also look up major composers and view a Musical Symbol Chart.

Ten Fun Traditional Folk Music and Bluegrass Instruments

"Instruments commonly used in folk, bluegrass, jug band, and old time music." From ThoughtCo.com.

Berkelee Shares: Drum and Percussion Lessons

Videos and some free PDF articles provided by Berklee College of Music. Full courses are not free.

DrumBum.com: Free Drum Lessons

Instructional videos and other information of interest to drum players and percussion instrumentalists. Please scroll down their page to see the full list of lesson sections/topics.

Free Drum Lessons.com

Video lessons for basic and advanced percussion techniques. From FreeDrumLessons.com.

Percussion Instruments

Categories include: Tuned Percussion, Untuned Percussion, Auxiliary Percussion, Latin Percussion, Drum Kit.

Acoustic Guitar: Lessons

Articles and video lessons for acoustic guitar players.

Berkelee Shares: Guitar Lessons

Videos and some free PDF articles on guitar playing. From Berklee College of Music. Full courses are not free.

Guitar Chord Library

"An Illustrated Guide to Playing Guitar Chords." From ThoughtCo.com.

Guitar.com: Lessons

Video lessons for guitar players.

Guitar Player: Lessons

Video lessons on various guitar techniques (electric and acoustic).

Guitar World: Lessons

Articles and video lessons for electric guitar players. Topics include: Acoustic Guitar, Blues and Jazz, Metal, Rock, and Shred.

How Acoustic Guitars Work

Topics include: Guitar Parts, Sound, Tones, Notes, Tempered Scale, Strings and Frets, and more. From How Stuff Works.

How Electric Guitars Work

Topics include: Guitar Pickups, Amplifiers and Distortion, Electric Guitar History, and more. From How Stuff Works.

How to Play Guitar

Topics include: Basic Guitar Chords, Chord Transitions and Fills, How to Play the 12-bar Blues, How to Play 4 Guitar Licks, How Electric Guitars Work, How Acoustic Guitars Work. From How Stuff Works.

Dummies.com: Piano

Tips, techniques, how-to videos, and a little history on pianos and pianists.

Piano Chord Visualizer

Click a key on the virtual piano then choose a chord to see and hear the notes played. Click the "Pick a Different Root" button (lower right side of page) to explore other notes and chords.

Piano Lessons Online

Video lessons arranged in three categories: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced. Videos are available in a variety of formats (Windows Media, YouTube, etc.).

Piano Nanny: Free Piano Lessons

From basic musical concepts to advanced playing techniques.

Piano World

In addition to directories of information on pianos, piano playing, and pianists, this website provides a forum, a Frequently Asked Questions page, and assorted trivia.

Piano Technicians Guild

Offers a wealth of information for piano players and owners:

• Buying a Piano
• Piano Care - Topics include: How Often Should my Piano be Serviced?, The Special Care and Maintenance of the Teaching Piano, How Should I Take Care of my Piano?, Basic Rules of Piano Care.
• Piano Learning Center - Topics include: Just For Fun, Online Games, Piano Art, Worksheets & Activities, Lesson Plans, See How a Piano Works, Benefits of Learning to Play, Find A Registered Technician, Find A Piano Teacher, Become A Piano Technician
• The History of Pianos
• Piano Manufacturers

Virtual Piano Keyboard

Play a piano online! Requires the Adobe Flash plugin.

See also: VirtualPiano.net.

Berkelee Shares: Keyboard Lessons

Videos and some free PDF articles about piano/keyboard playing. From Berklee College of Music. Full courses are not free.

How MIDI Works

Topics include: MIDI Instruments and Controllers, Multi-Track Recording Software, MIDI and Virtual Instruments, and more. From How Stuff Works.

Synthtopia

"Synthesizer and electronic music news, synth and music software reviews, and more."

• Software / MIDI / Digital Audio / Software Synthesizers

AllAboutJazz.com

Jazz music reviews, videos, news,

Blues Foundation

Self-described as "world-renown as THE organization dedicated to preserving our blues music history, celebrating recording and performance excellence, supporting blues education and ensuring the future of this uniquely American art form."

Delta Blues Museum

Includes news and podcasts on Blues music.

The Geography of Jazz

"Trace the roots of jazz and explore its historic geography." From National Geographic. Tip: you can click and drag the map to explore or click on photos to jump to a new area on the map.

How Jazz Works

Overview of concepts, styles, performers, and history. From How Stuff Works.

JazzTimes

Articles, news, featured jazz artists/singers/musicians, and more.

Jazz Music Library

This database is available to members of Thrall. Jazz Music Library aims to be "the largest and most comprehensive collection of jazz available online - with thousands of jazz artists, ensembles, albums, and genres."

JazzTimes Reviews

Jazz album reviews.

Ken Burns Jazz

Hosted at PBS.org, this website contains portions of Ken Burns' Jazz documentary.

New York Times: Jazz News and Reviews

News, reviews, and more.

NPR: Jazz and Blues Music

News, reviews, and more from National Public Radio (NPR)

Photographs from the Golden Age of Jazz

"The William P. Gottlieb Collection, comprising over sixteen hundred photographs of celebrated jazz artists, documents the jazz scene from 1938 to 1948." Provided by the U.S. Library of Congress

Rhythm & Blues Music

Find information on R&B and soul music, its subgenres and biggest stars, plus reviews and music recommendations. From ThoughtCo.com.

Smithsonian Jazz

"A Jazz portal intended to preserve and promote one of America's greatest art forms - Jazz." Provided by the Smithsonian Institution.

SwingMusic.net

News, images, a forum, and a History of Jazz (in two parts). Other sections include: The Big Band Era and the Rise in Popularity Of Big Band Music, , Jazz Vocalists, Mainstream Jazz Soloists, and Modern Swing Bands.

Classical FM: Discover Musice

Topics include: Instruments, Mood, Music Theory, Occasions, Periods & Genres, Women in Music, and more. See also their Composers section.

How to Enjoy a Live Concert

"This guide focuses on classical music, a tradition that originated before recordings, radio, and the Internet, back when all music was live music." From NAXOS. Please note: follow the links beside the article to navigate to other sections of this guide.

1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die

Based on a book bearing the same title. You can explore a subset of the "1,000" recommendations by genre.

Listening to Music

A Free course (OpenCourseWare/OCW) from Yale University.

A-Z Lyrics Universe

Provides the words to popular songs.

The Aria Database

Diverse collection of information on over 1000 operatic arias. Designed for singers and non-singers alike.

metrolyrics

Provides song lyrics to popular music performers. Provided through a partnership between Gracenote, AOL Music, Billboard, and NME music news.

The Music Notation Project

"The Music Notation Project explores alternative music notation systems that seek to improve upon traditional music notation in order to make reading, writing, and playing music more enjoyable and easier to learn."

"How to Read Sheet Music":

The following lessons are freely available:

• The Basics of Reading Music
• Basics of Counting Rhythms
• Reading Rhythms Exercises
• Dotted Notes - Reading Syncopation
• Accents and Markings

Internet Broadway Database

"IBDB (Internet Broadway Database) archive is the official database for Broadway theatre information. IBDB provides records of productions from the beginnings of New York theatre until today." The League of American Theatres and Producers.

Musicals.net

News, forums, and other information about current and past musicals and their performers.

Musicals 101

Topics include: History of Musicals, Musical Film Index, Reviews & Essays, Making Broadway Musicals, How to Put on a Musical, Theatre in New York: A Brief History, Musicals Who's Who, among many others.

Broadway.com

ArtsJournal: Music News

BBC - Music News

BET - Music News

R & B, soul, rap, hip hop, blues, and more.

Blues Foundation: Blues News

Broadway Buzz

News on Broadway musicals. Includes videos, photos, and reviews.

Classical Music News

Country Music News

JazzTimes: Jazz Music News

Met Opera News

Provided by The Metropolitan Opera.

MSN Music News

Musicals.net

News about current and upcoming musicals.

MTV

National Public Radio: Music News & Programs

New York Times: Music

Pollstar

Music concerts, news, and reviews. You can browse or search for events / performers / performances.

Rolling Stone

From AllMusic.com:

Classical Music Reviews

Country

Jazz

Pop + Rock

Other Genres

Common Sense Media: Music Reviews

Information of interest to parents/families.

Fanfare

Archive of news and reviews of classical music. Some articles require subscription.

Metacritic: Music Reviews

Collected reviews of recently released albums and contemporary music.

National Public Radio (NPR): Music Reviews

Rolling Stone: Music Reviews

8notes.com

"Free Sheet Music, Riffs, Lessons and Tools for musicians."

BlankSheetMusic.net

Design and print blank sheet music pages for free. Advanced functions require registration.

ChoralWiki

"Here you will find free choral/vocal scores, texts, translations, and other useful information." You can search or browse by text, composer, and other criteria.

Easy Sheet Music

Categories include: Songs from around the World, Popular Classics, Boogie & Blues, Opera Classics, and Mission - Not That Difficult.

Free-Scores.com: Directory of Free Sheet Music

Browse by instrument (wind, string, keyboard, etc.).

Music Paper

"Blank music papers in PostScript and PDF formats. All are for 81/2 x 11 paper (portrait orientation) unless otherwise noted." For General, Solo, Ensemble, Band, Orchestra and Choral. From the University of Virginia.

The Mutopia Project

"The Mutopia Project offers sheet music editions of classical music for free download. These are based on editions in the public domain, and include works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Handel, Mozart, and many others." Search or browse.

African-American Sheet Music (1850-1920)

"The sheet music in this digital collection has been selected from the Sheet Music Collection at the John Hay Library at Brown University. The full collection consists of approximately 500,000 items, of which perhaps 250,000 are currently available for use. It is one of the largest collections of sheet music in any library in the United States. The sheet music, primarily vocal music of American imprint, dates from the 18th century to the present day, with the largest concentration of titles in the period 1840-1950." Provided by the Brown University Library.

Archive of Popular American Music

"The UCLA Music Library's Archive of Popular American Music is a research collection covering the history of popular music in the United States from 1790 to the present." Sheet music is made available in PDF format (view with Adobe Reader).

Charles H. Templeton Sheet Music Collection

Genres include: blues, country, fox trot, jazz, marches, minstrel, miscellaneous, piano solos, popular music, ragtime, show tunes, show tunes, and war songs. Search or browse by genre, title, composer, subject. Browse links are located further down the page. From the Mississippi State University. You can read more about this collection at this link.

Eastman School of Music: Sibley Music Library - Musical Scores

"Scores and books in the public domain. Many of these are unique to the Sibley Music Library collection." Search or browse. From the University of Rochester.

Historic American Sheet Music

"The Historic American Sheet Music collection presents 3,042 pieces of sheet music drawn from the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library at Duke University, which holds an important, representative, and comprehensive collection of nineteenth and early twentieth century American sheet music. This selection presents a significant perspective on American history and culture through a variety of music types including bel canto, minstrel songs, protest songs, sentimental songs, patriotic and political songs, plantation songs, spirituals, dance music, songs from vaudeville and musicals, "Tin pan alley" songs, and songs from World War I. The collection is particularly strong in antebellum Southern music, Confederate imprints, and Civil War songs and music. Also included are piano music of marches, variations, opera excerpts, and dance music, including waltzes, quadrilles, polkas, etc." From Duke University Libraries.

Inventions of Note Sheet Music Collection

Provided by the Lewis Music Library - MIT Libraries.

The Juilliard Manuscript Collection

"Considered to be one of the finest music collections to be donated to an institution in recent years, the collection includes materials of great interest to performers and scholars." Includes original sheet music from Bach, Beethoven, Bizet, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Dvorak, Liszt, Mahler, Mozart, Puccini, Rachmaninov, Ravel, Stravinsky, and others. [Please note: This is primarily an academic/historical resource. If you are simply looking for free sheet music, please check out the other sites in this category.]

The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music

Contains over 29,000 pieces of music and focuses on popular American music spanning the period 1780 to 1960. All pieces of the collection are indexed on this site and a search will retrieve a catalog description of the pieces. An image of the cover and each page of music will also be retrieved if the music was published before 1923 and is in the public domain.

The Loeb Music Library

"The Loeb Music Library is engaged in an ongoing program to digitize scores and libretti selected for their rare or unique natures and their popularity as objects of research and teaching. By providing online access to historical editions from its holdings, the Library seeks to make primary source materials available for classroom and research use at Harvard and to scholars all over the world. As items from the collection are digitized, they are made available in the library's Virtual Collection of Digital Scores and Libretti. The digital versions can be viewed online or downloaded as PDFs. The scores and libretti in this Virtual Collection include first and early editions and manuscript copies of music from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries by J.S. Bach and Bach family members, Mozart, Schubert and other composers, as well as multiple versions of nineteenth century opera scores, seminal works of musical modernism, and music of the Second Viennese School. Many, such as variant editions of nineteenth century operas and related libretti, fall into intellectually related sets that are meant to be seen and used together. As a group, they give scholars a window into the study of historical performance practice." From Harvard College Library, Harvard University.

The Moldenhauer Archives

"The Moldenhauer Archives at the Library of Congress contain approximately 3,500 items documenting the history of Western music from the medieval period through the modern era and is the richest composite gift of musical documents ever received by the Library."

The Morgan Library and Museum: Music Manuscripts Online

"The goal of the Music Manuscripts Online project has been to create and to provide online access to high-quality images and descriptions of music manuscripts owned by The Morgan Library & Museum. Since the project began in 2007, more than 900 manuscripts containing approximately 42,000 pages have been digitized and described. These include works by J. S. Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Fauré, Haydn, Liszt, Mahler, Massenet, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Puccini, Schubert, and Schumann, among many others."

MuseData

Search or browse sheet music (printable PDFs) and MIDI files for the following composers: Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Arcangelo Corelli, Antonín Dvorak, George Frederick Handel, Franz Josef Haydn, Benedetto Marcello, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giovanni Rovetta, Georg Philipp Telemann, and Antonio Vivaldi. This database "is a project of the Center for Computer Assisted Research in the Humanities (CCARH)" at Stanford University. Their PDFs can be reached directly at this link.

Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music

"Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music contains more than 62,500 pieces of historical sheet music registered for copyright: more than 15,000 registered during the years 1820-1860 and more than 47,000 registered during the years 1870-1885." Provided by the Library of Congress.

Music Library at University of South Carolina: Sheet Music Collection

"This searchable database provides access to the bibliographic records and, for those pieces in the public domain, access to images of the cover and each page of music. Currently, the collection contains over 10,000 pieces of classical, popular, and sacred music from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Use the Availability tab/option to locate online editions.

Music Library Digital Scores Collection

"The Music Library Digital Scores Collection contains manuscript musical scores dating from the 17th through 19th centuries. The majority of the collection is comprised of 17th and 18th century operas, opera excerpts, and other vocal music." Search or browse. From the University of Washington Libraries.

Music Treasures Consortium

"The Music Treasures Consortium provides online access to the world's most valued music manuscripts and print materials, held at the most renowned music archives, in order to further research and scholarship. Researchers can search or browse materials, access metadata about each item, and view digital images of the treasure via each custodial archive's Web site. The consortial collection will grow as members add more materials." Search or browse. From the Library of Congress.

The New York Philharmonic Digital Archives

"The New York Philharmonic Digital Archives houses multiple score and part collections, including those of Leonard Bernstein and Andre Kostelanetz as well as the oldest items of the Philharmonic's own music library which dates back to the founding of the Orchestra in 1842. The Bernstein and Kostelanetz collections are the complete libraries of those conductors donated to the New York Philharmonic after their deaths. They include not only orchestral scores and parts, but also chamber music, vocal, piano, and miniature study scores. All items from these collections that are significantly marked by the conductor are available online; unmarked parts are not included in the digitization project."

Petrucci Music Library: International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)

"The Petrucci Music Library is an Internet-based collaborative music score library, and is currently the main project. You will find tens of thousands of scores composed by thousands of composers here, all available for free download."

The Aria Database

Diverse collection of information on over 1000 operatic arias. Designed for singers and non-singers alike.

A Glorious List of the World's Greatest Opera Arias

Text with videos. "If you're a newcomer to opera or just looking for some recommend recordings of the best arias ever written, here is our complete guide." Highlights include selections from Bellini, Donizetti, Mozart, Puccini, Purcell, Rossini, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, and others. From Classic FM.

Glossary of Opera Terms

From the National Opera Center of America. See also their list of operatic Voice Types.

How Stuff Works: Opera

"Learn about Opera and get information on topics related to Opera."

The Metropolitan Opera

Information about current and past performances and singers/performers. See also their Articles to learn more about opera.

NAXOS: A-Z of Opera

Includes an introduction to opera history, famous operas and their composers and singers, a Synopses of Opera, an Index of Operas by Composer, and Opera Libretti. Also check out their Classical Music Education resources also on that page.

New York Times: Opera News and Reviews

Scroll down their page for current headlines.

Opera for Dummies:

Opera Vocabulary

Timeline of the Great Operas

Tips for Choosing and Attending an Opera

Understanding an Opera's Libretto

Operabase

Quoting the website's description: "Operabase has documented operatic activity worldwide since 1996, with over 215,000 performances on file. It records the work of artists in over 600 theatres, and publishes season information to opera-goers in 7 languages. The majority of Operabase's information is provided free of charge."

OperaGlass

Categories include: Libretti, Source Texts, Performance Histories, Synopses, Discographies, and Opera Composers (listing over 4,800 composers for more than 25,000 operas). Click "Operas" for the Opera Index.

Opera Today

"Opera news, commentary, and reviews from around the world."

Synopses

Summarized stories / plots of major operas and their singers / characters. From Metropolitan Opera.

World of Opera

News, opera show reviews, and audio highlights. From National Public Radio (NPR).

American Federation of Musicians

American Musicological Society

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)

Country Music Association (CMA)

Conductors Guild

Film Music Society

The National Association for Music Education

NAMM: International Music Products Association

RIAA: The Recording Industry Association of America

ArtistWorks

Free to Members of Thrall. "ArtistWorks for Libraries provides patrons with world-class instruction through self-paced video lessons from Grammy Award-winning music and artistic professionals." Includes singing lessons.

The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time

This list from Rolling Stone contains brief information about each singer as well as audio samples.

Art Song Central

"Art Song Central is principally an archive and directory of free, printable sheet music for singers and voice teachers. An emphasis is placed on standard classical and traditional repertoire."

Berklee Shares: Voice and Singing Lessons

Videos and some free PDF articles provided by Berklee College of Music. Full courses are not free.

"A Brief History of Singing"

From antiquity to modernism. By John Koopman, Conservatory of Music, Lawrence University.

Learn to Sing

Topics include: Body Basics, Breathing Better, Warming Up, Find Your Voice, Practice, Tips, and Video Tutorials. From BBC.

Singing

Topics include: Breathing Basics for Singing, Exploring the AABA Form in Songwriting, Practicing, Writing Songs, How to Read Music Note Values, Opera Voices and Their Ranges, Audition Tips for Singers, and more. From the "For Dummies" series.

Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder

An open-source audio recording tool available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, and Linux.

Cubase

Industry standard Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). See also Steinberg.net for WaveLab and related software.

IK Multimedia

Virtual instruments, samplers, and related audio software and hardware.

MIDI Association

Learn about MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) and MIDI products. Includes a tutorial on "Making Music with MIDI."

Native Instruments

Virtual instruments, samplers, and related audio software and hardware.

MuseScore

"Create, play and print beautiful sheet music."

Shareware Music Machine

This website features reviews and links to downloadable shareware, freeware, trials, and other resources.

Sonic State - Synth Site

Information and reviews on drum machines, samplers, music keyboards, software, and more.

Copyright Registration of Music

From the U.S. Copyright Office. Be sure to check out the rest of the Copyright.gov website for more information on copyrights and related concepts and considerations.

Songwriter and Composer Portal

Information for aspiring composers and songwriters. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)

Writing Songs

Topics include: The Songwriting Process, Starting with Melody, Starting with Harmony, Using Related Chords, Songwriting Example, Harmonic Movement, Modulating Between Keys, Musical Dynamics, Writing Lyrics, Song Structure. From HowMusicWorks.org.

Glossary of Terms

Topics include: Arranging, Chord Scale Voicings, Ear Training, Harmony, and Music Technology. From Berklee College of Music.

Music Dictionary Online

Select terms by clicking on letters A-Z at top of their website.

NAXOS Music Glossary

Musical terms with an emphasis on classical music.

OnMusic Dictionary

Browse or search for musical terms or composers.

Popular Music Glosary

A list of major music genres with concise explanations. From FactMonster.com.

From FunTrivia.com:

Classical Music Trivia

Fun Trivia: Music Quizzes & Trivia

Test your knowledge of music, from contemporary times to back in history.

Rock and Roll Trivia

Music Lists & Trivia

"A collection of top selling albums, most-played songs, celebrity playlists, music timelines, must-have records, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, and more." From Infoplease.com.

SongFacts.com

"Song meanings, lyrics and trivia." Browse or search by recording artist or music track / album title. "Random Songfacts" and quizzes are also available.

Free Music Streaming Services

Members of Thrall can enjoy FREE access to hundreds of thousands of songs through the following services:

• African American Song
• American Song
• Classical Music Library
• Contemporary World Music
• Jazz Music Library
• Smithsonian Global Sound

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BBC International Radio

The BBC World Service on the web. Multilingual news coverage with channels broadcasting in different languages.

Europeana Radio

"Almost 200,000 tracks collected from sound archives across 12 European countries are now available on Europeana Radio. You can browse a wide range of sound recordings (Classical, Folk, Traditional and Popular music, Languages and dialects, Spoken-word, Soundscapes and Natural recordings), play them on random mode, and tag the musical genres recognised. The tagging feature means that all users can become archivists by tagging the musical genres of the recordings whilst listening to them."

Jazz at Lincoln Center:

All Jazz Is Modern - Streaming Jazz around the World

Jazz Radio Archive

Live365.com

"Thousands of Free Online Radio Stations." Search for stations or browse by genre.

National Public Radio (NPR) - Local Stations

News, music, radio programs, special features, and more.

Pandora Internet Radio

Locate recording artists and songs. Registration can be required for certain activities, and some songs/albums require a subscription.

Podcasts & Podcasting Sources

List of major podcasts on the Web. Directory from the Thrall's Current Interests Center.

Radio Locator

A search engine. Formerly known as the "MIT List of Radio Stations on the Internet." From the site description: "We have links to over 10,000 radio station web pages and over 2500 audio streams from radio stations in the U.S. and around the world." Search by city, zip code, radio station call letters, musical genres, or state / country / geographical region.

WQXR: New York Times Classical Music Radio Station

Click the "Play" link at the top of their page. The website also features classical music news, playlists, program schedules, and more.

BBC: World Routes

World Music. "Explore music from around the world.... A mix of interviews with top performers, live concerts, a monthly CD round-up, and special location features."

Contemporary World Music Database

Available to members of Middletown Thrall Library. The Contemporary World Music database contains tens of thousands of tracks from around the world. Flamenco, gospel, reggae, worldbeat, fusion, jazz, African, Bollywood, other many other genres await your exploration.

Folk Music

"Explore notable folk musicians, songs, and histories with this guide to traditional folk and roots music. Read album reviews, discover festivals and events, and track the recorded and oral history of the most famous folk songs." From ThoughtCo.com.

Folk Music Index to Recorded Resources

Search, or browse by keyword, publisher list, or index sources. Also contains links to other indexes.

List of Folk Music Traditions

Browse by geographical regions: North, Central, South American, the Caribbean, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, and Australia. Provided by Wikipedia (note their disclaimers)

NPR: World Music

Artist / band highlights, videos / audio, reviews, interviews, news, and more. From National Public Radio (NPR).

Smithsonian Global Sound

Available to members of Middletown Thrall Library. This database is described as "a virtual encyclopedia of the world's musical and aural traditions. The collection provides educators, students, and interested listeners with an unprecedented variety of online resources that support the creation, continuity, and preservation of diverse musical forms."

World Music

"Travel the world with artists from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, South America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Learn about musical instruments from a range of musical traditions and get recommendations on artists, songs, and albums."