Skip to main content
A Singapore Government Agency Website How to identify
Official website links end with .gov.sg
Secure websites use HTTPS
Look for a lock () or https:// as an added precaution. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Information

This website is in the midst of an information transfer, and some links may not work as intended. If assistance is required, please email us at ref@nlb.gov.sg (opens in new tab)

National Library Reference Guides

Music 101

Explore books, journals, recordings, and databases on Western, world, and Singapore music using this NLB resource guide.

Last updated 7 July 2026

Introduction

Music is often defined as an art of sound or tones that express ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color. As a field of study, music includes composition, performance, history of musical styles and forms, theory, and philosophy of music. This resource guide will help you to have a fundamental understanding and appreciation of the history of music and how it found its place in every known culture throughout the course of human history.

Music subject headings and call numbers

Search Terms

Call Number

Music History

780.9

Composers, Performers

780.92

Music Theory

781

Vocal Music

782-783

Instrumental Music

784-788

Western and World Music

Books

To help you begin your research on this topic, here are some recommended works on western music that are available at the National Library Board libraries. For contact details and locations of the libraries, please visit https://www.nlb.gov.sg.

  • Burrows, J. (Ed.) (2019). The complete classical music guide (opens in new tab). London : DK Publishing. (Call Number: 780.9 COM -[ART])
    This guide covers a span of more than 1,000 years, charting the evolution of musical instruments, styles, and genres. Biographies of major and lesser-known composers offer rich insights into their music and the historical and cultural contexts that influenced their genius.

  • Kamien, R. (2016). Music : an appreciation (opens in new tab). Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education. (Call Number: RART 780 KAM)
    This book includes some of the greatest music ever created. Roger Kamien’s excellence as an interpreter of music has made his program number one in the market and this book has been used by over half a million students since its conception.

  • Inglis, I. (Ed.). (2006). Performance and popular music : history, place and time (opens in new tab). Aldershot, Hampshire, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate (Call Number: RART 781.64078 PER)
    From the Beatles and Bob Dylan to Michael Jackson and Madonna, from Woodstock and Monterey to Altamont and Live Aid, this book provides an indispensable assessment of the importance of live performance in the practice of popular music, and is an essential guide to some of the key moments in western music history.

  • Kostka, S. & Payne, D. (2004). Tonal Harmony, with an Introduction to Twentieth-Century Music (opens in new tab). New York, N.Y.; London:McGraw-Hill (Call Number: 781.25 KOS)
    A practical guide to music theory, designed as first-year music theory curriculum for music students.

Encyclopedias/Dictionaries

In addition to books, there are encyclopedias and dictionaries that cover a wide range of western and world music as well.

Journals

Journal articles provide more up-to-date information than books in most cases. A new idea or terminology in any discipline can sometimes be found in journal articles first instead of books. Appended below are periodicals related to music.

  • The Musical Times (opens in new tab). (1957-). London, England: The Musical Times Publications Ltd (Call Number: RART 780.5 MT)
    The world’s oldest, continuous quarterly-published classical music magazine, founded in 1844.

  • BBC music magazine (opens in new tab) (1992-). London, England: BBC magazines (Call Number: 780.5 BBCMM)
    The world’s best selling classical music magazine.

  • Psychology of music (opens in new tab). (1973-). Manchester, England: Society for Research in Psychology of Music and Music Education (Call Number: RART 781.1105 PM)
    Psychology of Music publishes peer reviewed papers directed at increasing the scientific understanding of any psychological aspect of music.

  • Leondardo music journal (opens in new tab). (1991-). Oxford ; New York : Pergamon Press (Call Number: 780.5 LMJ)
    LMJ is devoted to aesthetic and technical issues in contemporary music and the sonic arts.

Audio Recordings

  • Guillaume Dufay. (2002). Sacred music from Bologna Q15 (opens in new tab). [sound recording]. London, England: Signum (Call Number: 782.3232 DUF -[ART])
    Recorded Aug. 31-Sept. 2, 2000, St. Andrew’s Church, West Wratting. Sung in Latin.

  • Pater Hubert Dopf S.J.(Director). (1984). Gregorian chant (opens in new tab) [sound recording] Holland: Philips (Call Number: 783.5 GRE)
    Slow, measured and hypnotic, Gregorian Chant has enhanced the solemnity of liturgical worship for more than 1400 years, when services featured recitations from the scriptures, psalms sung by priests and responses from the assembled congregation. Its popularity has soared over the last 20 years as the atmosphere of calm stillness it evokes has proved to be the perfect antidote for many to the relentless stress and pressures of modern life.

Databases

Should you prefer to read materials online, we also have several resources from the web. Please refer to the list of databases below pulled from our subscribed e-databases. They are all available at the National Library, Singapore. They can be accessed via our multimedia stations or you can get on the wireless@SGx network within the library. Some of them are also accessible remotely. You will need a myLibrary account in order to use our e-resources. Access our digital databases here: https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/

  • JSTOR: the scholary journal archive
    JSTOR provides online access to archived contents of important scholarly journals, mainly in the humanities and social sciences. Researchers are able to retrieve high-resolution, scanned images of back issues of journals and pages as they were originally printed. Existing titles are updated and new titles are added on an ongoing basis.
    Limited to 15 concurrent access from home. Available at all libraries and from home.

  • medici.tv (opens in new tab)
    The medici.tv platform is home to the world’s largest video-on-demand catalogue in the classical music industry with concerts, operas, ballets, documentaries, master classes and jazz programmes available to stream in high definition (HD). The video content available on this platform is rated PG13 and below.
    Available at libraries and from home.

  • NAXOS Music Library
    Naxos Music Library is an online streaming music database offering music from over 770 labels, including well-known names like Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classical, Warner Classics – Parlophone (former EMI Classics) and many more.
    Available at all libraries and from home.

  • National Library Online (opens in new tab)
    National Library Singapore's database of digitised and born-digital heritage materials.

  • Proquest arts & humanities database
    This interdisciplinary database provides full-text articles from scholarly peer-reviewed journals and selected trade and consumer publications in arts, humanities, cultural studies, philosophy, modern languages and literatures, religion, history, geography, music, theatre, film and more.
    Available at all libraries and from home.

Electronic Journals/Website

  • Home. (2016). Retrieved October 28, 2016 from the Alternate Music Press website: http://alternatemusicpress.com/ (opens in new tab)
    The Multimedia Journal of New Music is an online archive for the print version of Alternate Music Press.

  • About. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2016 from the ECHO website: http://www.echo.ucla.edu/ (opens in new tab)
    ECHO : a Music-Centered Journal is an online journal created and edited by graduate students in the Department of Musicology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

  • Home. (2016). Retrieved October 28, 2016 from the Gramophone website: http://www.gramophone.co.uk (opens in new tab)
    Gramophone Online is part of the print journal Gramophone magazine. Contents include daily international classical news and services, features on musicians, etc.

Other Websites

Singapore Music

Video and sound recordings

  • Alexander S Abisheganaden, Cultural Medallion Recipient 1988 Music (opens in new tab). (2007). [videorecording]. Singapore: Editude Pictures for National Library Board Singapore, in collaboration National Arts Council Singapore (Call Number: RSING 780.92 ALE / NL Online (opens in new tab))
    Video interview with Alexander S Abisheganaden, 1988 Cultural Medallion Recipient for Music. A veteran performer of both the guitar and double bass, Alexander Abisheganaden talks about his early beginnings into music, graduating from the Royal College of Music to setting up the Singapore Classical Guitar Society in 1967. A teacher and a musician, Alex arranged and wrote many pieces for the guitar, promoting music through the guitar and influencing generations of musicians, included are brief performances of Flamenco Rhapsody and “Huan Yin-Vanakam”.

  • Channel NewsAsia. (2006). Arts incorporated. Episode 3, Music industry (opens in new tab) [videorecording]. Singapore : MediaCorp News Pte Ltd. (Call Number: RSING 338.477 ART)
    Arts Incorporated reveals the secret behind a happy and successful marriage between art and commerce. In this episode we get a glimpse of how acute business acumen is a basic ingredient in the business of music and how the music business is run.

  • David Lim Kim San, Cultural Medallion Recipient, 1979 Music (opens in new tab). (2009). [videorecording]. Singapore: Editude Pictures for National Library Board Singapore, in collaboration National Arts Council Singapore (Call Number: RSING 780.92 DAV / NL Online (opens in new tab))
    Video interview with David Lim Kim San. In the video, Lim discusses his early childhood and Peranakan heritage; teaching career; leadership of the Singapore Youth Choir and hopes for its future; the SSO connection and how to cultivate an audience; as well as the future of music in Singapore. The video also includes an interview with Jennifer Tham, SYC’s conductor, on his contribution to music education.

  • Leong Yoon Pin, Cultural Medallion Recipient, 1982 Music (opens in new tab). (2007). [videorecording]. Singapore: Editude Pictures for National Library Board Singapore, in collaboration National Arts Council Singapore (Call Number: RSING 780.92 LEO / NL Online (opens in new tab))
    Video interview with Leong Yoon Pin (1982 cultural medallion recipient for music). Leong talks about the time he took up the study of music at the Teacher’s College and when he started working life as a primary school teacher thereafter. He shares on how he got interested in music and composing, his works, e.g. Dayong Sampan, as well as on wide-ranging topics such as conducting, and his involvement with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

  • Leong M. W. (2005). NUS music in the park : 21 August 2005 (opens in new tab) [videorecording]. Singapore: Produced by Centre for Instructional Technology in collaboration with Development Office, National University of Singapore (Call Number: AV 784.2 NUS)
    Concert staged at the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage of the Botanic Gardens to celebrate the centenary of the National University of Singapore. The highlight of the concert was the first public performance of extracts from the ‘Centennial Symphony’, which was composed by Dr. Robert Casteels, Associate-in-Residence from the NUS Centre for the Arts.

  • National Library Board & Ngee Ann Polytechnic. (2007). On the record : homegrown bands from then and now (opens in new tab). [sound recording]. Singapore : National Library Board (Call Number: RSING 782.42164 ON)
    Tells the story of Singapore’s English popular music scene through interviews with prominent local bands and musicians. Discover how Singapore’s English popular music scene has evolved from the 1960s to today and how Singaporean musicians such as Rita Chao and My Precious, have won fans here and abroad.

  • Singapore Broadcasting Corporation. (1986). SSO concert and chorus (opens in new tab) [videorecording]. Singapore : SBC (Call Number: RSING 780.43 SSO)
    Organised by the Ministry of Community Development in conjunction with the Singapore Festival of Arts 1986, this is a recording of a performance by Singapore Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Choo Hoey. It was recorded at Victoria Concert Hall and originally broadcast on 11 August 1986.

Websites

The Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS) deals specifically with music copyright and the usage of musical works. This website provides information on how to seek protection and promote the copyright interests of composers, authors and publishers of musical works and their related lyrics.

  • Home. (2018). Retrieved April 13, 2024 from the Music Rights (Singapore) website: https://www.mrss.com.sg/ (opens in new tab)
    Music Rights (Singapore) Public Limited (MRSS) is the official administrator of copyright licences for all commercial uses of recorded music and music videos. Information on copyrights and the music publishing companies can be found on this website.

  • About RIAS. (2019). Retrieved April 13, 2024 from the Recording Industry Association (Singapore) website: https://www.rias.org.sg/ (opens in new tab)
    Provides information on copyright and piracy in order to support the recording industry in Singapore.

Accessing National Library Board Singapore Resources

Accessing the Print Materials

You can search the library catalogue (for physical materials) in the library and from home (https://catalogue.nlb.gov.sg (opens in new tab)).

To search Lee Kong Chian Reference Library’s Holdings

If you wish to search for only materials available in the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library, please always filter by library on the left frame after you have keyed in your search term and click “Apply".

Things to note:

Once you have identified the title that you need, please double-check the following information and write down the necessary info:

i. The “Status” of the item: the item is available in the library, if the status displayed is “on shelf”.

ii. Double-check that the item is in Lee Kong Chian Reference Library under “Library”.

iii. Write down the Collection Code (e.g. Reference Singapore) and the Call Number of the item. This helps you to locate the item within Lee Kong Chian Reference Library. Please refer to the table below for more information (Note: Please feel free to approach the counter staff for help in locating the books.)

Most of the featured books and periodicals are located at the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library.

Accessing the Databases

The National Library Board (NLB)’s eResources are free for all NLB members. Click here (opens in new tab) to find out how to register as a member.

If you’re having problems registering or logging in, please contact us (opens in new tab). If you wish to find information in the databases but am not sure where to begin, or need recommendations on which databases to use, please send an email to ref@nlb.gov.sg (opens in new tab) for help. The librarian will get back to you within three working days.

The information in this resource guide is valid as at April 2024 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history on the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

All Rights Reserved. National Library Board 2024.