Art Song: Call Numbers and Subject Headings

The Music Library uses Library of Congress call numbers.   All call numbers begin with a letter, and for music, they are as follows:

• M         All musical scores will begin with the letter M.   Scores are located in the Music Library
• ML       Think of ML as standing for music literature, or books about music.  These can include dictionaries, histories,      biographies, and all other types of books.  With the exception of Music Reference, these are located in Lied Library.
• MT      MT contains books about music theory and music education.  Most of these books can be found in Lied Library.  Also in the MT section are teaching pieces, anthologies, studies and etudes, and orchestral excerpts.  These teaching pieces can be found in the Music Library.

 After the initial letter M, scores are grouped according to type of composition.  See our Guide to the Library of Congress Music Scores Classification for a complete listing of where to find certain types of compositions. 

There are many different ways to search for art songs in our collection.  Below are some of the more common subject headings you may use. 

For Scores, Recordings, and DVDs:

• Song Cycles
• Songs

For Books about Art Song:

• Interpretation, Phrasing, Dynamics, etc. -- Singing
• Performance Practice (Music)
• Song Cycles -- History and Criticism
• Song Cycles -- Interpretation, Phrasing
• Songs -- History and Criticism

TIP: If you have the title of a particular song you are looking for, a keyword search on the song title (NOT the composer) often works best.   For example, if you are looking for Irving Berlin's "Annie Get Your Gun,"  search on the song title.  Click here to see the results.  The list contains all of the DVDs, sound recordings, and song collections that contain the song "Annie Get Your Gun."

Art songs and other materials will sit on the shelves in the libraries together by call number.   Listed below are typical representative call numbers for songs and other material you may be interested in.

• M1619: Collections of Songs by various composers
• M1620: Collections of Songs by single composers
• M1621: Separate Works
• M1621.4: Song Cycles
• ML54.6: Song Texts and Translations