Subject headings are often a more accurate and comprehensive way of searching for a topic than keyword searching. Subject headings can be found on the left-hand column of search results in the catalog, or at the end of a book's catalog entry.

Here are some sample subject searches:

• World music
• Ethnomusicology
• Music--Instruction and study
• Music--Africa--History and criticism
• Women musicians
• Gospel music
• Music--15th century
• Gamelan
• Woodwind instruments

For handbooks or guides to singing diction, or proper pronounciation, try searching broadly for subjects like "singing, choral singing, music, song, diction, pronounciation," or try searching based on the language - for example, "French language--Pronounciation" or "Spanish language--Pronounciation." 

Below are some examples from the library, and be sure also to check out these links to helpful websites for diction help online:

The library has many song collections, or anthologies, that provide exact text and translations for many pieces of music. These can be great resources for performance or for research on a particular song or language in music.

When searching for these collections, try searching for "songs" and then the language or country of origin, like "songs, French" or "songs, Germany." You can also try searching by the song composer or time period.