- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Research Guides
- Musical Instruments
- Western Traditional/Popular
Musical Instruments : Western Traditional/Popular
Lists and links to resources to help you learn more about the entire panoply of musical instruments.
More Online Reference
The following online reference resources contain information on a broad range of instruments. Try searching for yours!
- American Memory Project (free Web)An online multimedia library maintained by the Library of Congress. Enter the instrument name in the top right-hand search box to find images, audio recordings, and more!
- Folkstreams (free Web)A free streaming collection of documentary videos on American folk cultures, dating from the 1960s to the present.
- Garland Encyclopedia of World Music (UW-Licensed)Extensive encyclopedia articles with bibliographies, audio examples, and images.
- National Music Museum (free Web)The National Music Museum is located on the University of South Dakota-Vermillion campus. Browse their website's virtual tours and instrument checklists for photographs, descriptions, and historical information on a wide range of instruments.
- Oxford Music Online (UW-Licensed)Contains Grove Music Online, The Oxford Companion to Music, and The Oxford Dictionary of Music. Find extensive encyclopedia articles and bibliographies here!
- Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary (free Web)A collaboration between the Virginia Tech Department of Music and Virginia Tech Learning Technologies. Find audio clips and technical descriptions of instruments here!
Researching Western Traditional/Popular Instruments
This part of the Musical Instruments Research Guide suggests resources for researching musical instruments from Western non-classical traditions.
In addition to this main page, there are sub-pages that concentrate on selected instruments. Hover over the drop-down menus within the page tab to find them!
Article Databases (UW-Licensed)
Besides encyclopedia articles, you may also want to find articles in magazines or journals.
The following are article databases that cover popular and scholarly journals from a range of time periods and countries.
- International Index to Music Periodicals (IIMP)Scholarly and popular. Magazine and journal articles and reviews. Most entries contain links to full text.
- Music Index OnlineScholarly and popular. 1973-present, over 850 music periodicals from over 40 countries. Includes book reviews, obituaries, news periodicals, and news and articles about music, musicians, and the music industry. No full text.
- RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (RILM)Mostly scholarly. Journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings. Some full text.
