Music Citation Guide (Chicago Style)

As you scroll, you'll find footnote and bibliography entry templates and examples of citations for real sources for the following types of encyclopedia and dictionary entries:

• Digital entries from Oxford Music Online/Grove Music Online
• Print entries from The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
• Digital entries from The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online
• Print entries from The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music

Encyclopedias, dictionaries, and reference sources are called tertiary sources. Based on the information from primary sources (scores, recordings, letters, etc.) and secondary sources (journal articles, books on individual topics), these types of reference sources provide indisputable background information - for example, that Bach was born in 1685 and died in 1750. Tertiary sources index, synthesize, or summarize information, and are intended for a broad audience who are unfamiliar with the topic.

Exploring tertiary sources like encyclopedias and dictionaries will give you a feel for your topic and their bibliographies can lead you to other useful sources, but most of the time you shouldn't cite them in your research papers. If they include information you can't find anywhere else, however, you may need to - and in those cases, follow the formatting examples below.

Each encyclopedia and dictionary will have its own quirks, but most should align with one of the examples below. If you have questions or need help with formatting a footnote or bibliography entry for an encyclopedia or dictionary, contact Jessica Abbazio, Music Librarian, at jabbazio@umn.edu.

Notes:

• The access date is the date that YOU viewed the resource.
   

• Use the shortened URL http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com for Grove/Oxford Music Online entries -  if you add the longer version from your browser’s address bar, a reader may not be able to access our library's subscription to view the content you're citing.

• If an entry has two authors, list them in footnotes following the format First Name Last Name, separated by “and." For examples of how to list author names when an entry has more than two authors, see the “Book with two or three authors” and “Book with four or more authors” on the “Books” tab of this guide.

• If an entry has two authors, list them in bibliography entries following the format Author 1 Last Name, First Name Last Name, and Author 2 First Name Last Name. For examples of how to list author names when an entry has more than two authors, see the “Book with two or three authors” and “Book with four or more authors” on the “Books” tab of this guide.
   

• List the VOLUME in which the entry you’re citing appears in Roman numerals. In a footnote, list the PAGE of the information you’re citing in Arabic numerals. In a bibliography entry, list the STARTING AND ENDING PAGE NUMBERS of the entry you’re citing in Arabic numerals.
  
   

Digital Grove/Oxford Music Online Entries

Footnote template:

12. Author First Name Last Name, “Entry Title,” in Grove Music Online, ed. Deane Root, accessed Month Day, Year, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.
 

Example of a real footnote:

12. John Daverio and Eric Sams, “Schumann, Robert,” in Grove Music Online, ed. Deane Root, accessed October 31, 2018, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.

Bibliography entry template:

Example of a real bibliography entry:

Print Grove Entries

Footnote template:

1. Author First Name Last Name, “Entry Title,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, eds. Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan, 2001), Volume #: Page Number.
 

Example of a real footnote:

1. Nicholas Temperley, “Atwood, Thomas,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, eds. Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan, 2001), ii: 151.

Bibliography entry template:

Example of a real bibliography entry:

Notes:

• The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online is not truly an online database - this digital resource is simply a scanned version of the print version of the Garland. This means that citations for the digital and print versions are very similar.
   
• This resource isn't set up like most encyclopedias and dictionaries, which are alphabetical by topic. The Garland is divided by volumes with correspond with different regions of the world, and they read more like a textbook with in-depth articles about various musical traditions, instruments, and figures. Each volume of the Garland is numbered and has a different editor, so check the information in the search results for that person’s name to include in your citation (along with the name of the entry's author)
   
• Citing an individual entry/section rather than the volume as a whole shows your reader exactly what entry/section is most relevant to your research/argument.

Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online Entries

Footnote template:

7. Author First Name Last Name, “Entry Title,” in The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online, vol. #, Subtitle of Volume, ed. Editor First Name Last Name, accessed Month Day, Year, https://search.alexanderstreet.com/glnd.
 

Example of a real footnote:

7. Steven Cornelius, “Afro-Cuban Music,” in The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online, vol. 3, The United States and Canada, ed. Ellen Koskoff, accessed June 8, 2020, https://search.alexanderstreet.com/glnd.

Bibliography entry template:

Example of a real bibliography entry:

Print Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Entries

Footnote template:

10. Author First Name Last Name, “Entry Title,” in The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online, vol. #, Subtitle of Volume, ed. Editor First Name Last Name (City of Publication, State or Country: Name of Publisher, Year of Publication), Page Number.
 

Example of a real footnote:

10. Barbara B. Smith, “The Music and Dance of Micronesia,” in The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online, vol. 9, Australia and the Pacific Islands, eds. Adrienne L. Kaeppler and J.W. Love (New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1998), 738.

Bibliography entry template:

Example of a real bibliography entry: