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Music: Primary Sources: Recordings & Scores

Use this guide to get started researching in Music

Primary Sources in Music

You may have heard the term primary sources before. Primary sources can include original documents, creative works, and relics or artifacts.

In music, examples of primary sources include but are not limited to:

  • Sheet music
  • Audio and video recordings (historic or recent)
  • Original (manuscript) music scores
  • Other documents by or about a musician or musical event (concert programs, review articles, photographs, diaries, letters, etc.)
  • Objects and equipment such as instruments, batons, etc.


This section contains contains the following sections:

  1. Locating Scores - Find music scores at Knox, other I-Share libraries, on the internet, and elsewhere
  2. Locating Music Recordings - Find music scores at Knox, through Naxos, and elsewhere
  3. Naxos - Use this subscription streaming service to find classical music, jazz, and more