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MUSC 432: 20th Century Music Literature and Theory: The New Grove

This research guide is designed to help you find sources for your final paper in 20th Century Music Literature and Theory.

New Grove Description

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians(NGII) is the major English-language music encyclopedia. It was first published in 1879-89 in four volumes under the title Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians. The 29 volume set, found in the library's Reference Collection, is the 2nd edition with the title New Grove (but is the 7th edition of the encyclopedia overall) and was published in 2001.

More than half of the entries are on composers and usually give both biographical data, musical analysis, and extensive work lists. Other people given individual entries include performers, scholars, writers, librettists, dancers, patrons, printers, instrument makers and others significant in the history of music.

Numerous entries cover a variety of geographical areas--cities, countries, and regions of the world.  The New Grove also includes hundreds of terminological and survey articles on music other than Western European art music including popular music and world music (ethnomusicology).

Grove Music Online

MLA Citation Format, New Grove in print & online.

Please bear in mind that The New Grove  is a special case: while “Dictionary” may be part of its title, it is NOT a generic dictionary.  References to “dictionaries” in style manuals simply do not apply to the various incarnations of the Grove dictionaries. The articles are written by experts and signed; some articles have been extracted and published as individual books. Thus, the following citation format is to be followed:

Basic Citation Format:

Author's Last Name, First Name (if available). "Title of the Article or Entry." Title of the Reference Book, Version (edition if other than first), Number (vol. no.), Publisher, Publication date, Location (page range).

Print:

Piccarella, John. "Hendrix, Jimi." The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., vol. 11, Oxford University Press, 2001, pp.371- 372.

Online:

Piccarella, John. "Hendrix, Jimi." Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press, 2001. https://doi-org.proxy.campbell.edu/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.47127. Accessed 08 March 2020.