Finding Music Materials

This guide covers search tools for finding music materials.

Find streaming video

The University of Minnesota Libraries offers access to a number of options for finding streaming video. Check below this list for more information on how to use several of these resources!

TIP: There's no need to search each of these resources individually to see if they have what you need. See the Locate materials in the Libraries catalog tab linked from the menu for this guide for guidance on searching for streaming recordings by title!

TIPS: Not finding what you need in our streaming video databases?

The streaming video databases linked below include lots of content, but not everything. If you're not finding what you're looking for, try these other options:

Tips for using Medici.tv

Medici.tv is a fantastic place to find on-demand opera, ballet, master classes with major teachers and performers, documentaries, AND streams of live concerts from major venues around the world:

An image from the Medici.tv homepage highlighting the top level menu options of concerto, operas, ballets, documentaries, master classes, and calendar of live events. 

Though you can't create your own playlists in this resource, the Medicit.tv staff add new suggested playlists every week. There's always something new to watch, so check this resource often for new videos!

Tips for using Met Opera on Demand

Met Opera on Demand offers access to over 50 years of audio and video recordings from the Metropolitan Opera's archives, and it even includes some of the most recent productions in HD. Scroll down past the images of highlighted performances to find a search box that will allow you to search for specific composers and titles:

An image of the search box on the Met Opera on Demand homepage.

Scroll farther down and you'll find the options for browsing the resource by title, composer, or performer. Some titles are included as video and audio, and some as one or the other:

An image of the Met Opera on Demand homepage section that allows users to browse by title, composer, or performer.

 

Once you've chosen an opera to watch/listen to, you'll find useful features and information in the record for it. Use the individual tracks on the right side of the video to navigate through the recording:

An image of the Met Opera on Demand player with the individual tracks circled to highlight how to navigate through the recording.

 

Met Opera on Demand also provides helpful information for citing a performance like the cast and performance date. This information is available below the video or audio player:

An image of a Met Opera on Demand record for an individual opera with arrows highlighting useful information for formatting a citation for a recording.

Tips for using Opera in Video, Classical Music in Video, Dance in Video, and Theatre in Video

The Alexander Street Press suite of video databases puts a world of concert music, opera, theatre, and dance at your fingertips. Each of these databases offers the option to search for specific titles or names using the search bar at the top, and the dropdown menu provides categories by which you can browse. Click the "Filter" icon to get started browsing:

An image of Alexander Street Press's Opera in Video database with arrows pointing to the search bar in the upper right corner and the filter button that leads to the options for browsing.

 

The built in filters include options to limit by concerts, festivals, rehearsals, and other useful keywords, browse by composer or performer, and use the collections to discover performances, master classes, lectures, interviews, and more:

An image of the Alexander Street Press Opera in Video database showing the options for browsing: Subject, Publisher, Person, Content Type, Language, and Release Date.

 

One of the great features of Alexander Street Press databases is that you can create a free account that will allow you to create playlists and make clips from longer recordings. To get started, click the sign in icon in the top right corner, then the "Sign in" button (more instructions on this coming soon!):

Image of the Alexander Street Press database interface with the "Sign in" icon in the upper right corner circled.

 

Image of the Alexander Street Press database interface with the "Sign in" dropdown menu open and the "Sign in" button visible.

Last Updated: Oct 2, 2024 4:54 PM