Guide to Research for the Wind Conducting Studio

There are a number of different options when it comes to scores you can use for research and performance:

• Manuscripts
• Facsimiles
• Scholarly editions, including collected/historical sets (M2s), collected/complete works editions (M3s), and Urtext editions
• Performing editions
   

When conducting music research, you should choose your edition carefully based on your personal research needs:

• Do you need a scholarly edition that captures the composer’s final intention for the piece?
• Are you looking for a score to use in performance that includes suggestions from an expert interpreter of that style or genre?
• Have you identified what you think is a wrong note or inaccurate text in a specific edition and need to compare it to others to find out if that’s really what you’ve found?
• Etc., etc., etc.

For more information on the different types of scores, and on when and how you might use them in your research, please visit our Types of Scores and How to Find Them guide (coming soon!) 

Working with new music is sometimes tough if the score is available for rental only. This can apply to new (or new-ish) operas and large ensemble works but you may have the option of requesting a perusal score.

One way you can find out if a score is only available for hire is to check out the composer's website; they'll usually link to a publisher's site where you can inquire about renting the performing materials. A great example is Philip Glass's list of works on his website; pages for individual works include links for scores that lead to publisher's sites that have info about purchasing or renting the materials.

It's sometimes possible to request perusal scores for pieces that are available for rental instead of purchase. In situations where this is the case, it's worth reaching out to the publisher, either through their website or Zinfonia if they use this system, and to let them know that you're not planning to perform the piece at this time but that you'd like to know if you could get a score for a few weeks to study or look at before scheduling a performance. Many publishers offer this service for a nominal fee, and the user is required to return the score to them. Each publisher has a different fee structure, but as an example, Boosey usually charges something around $25 plus shipping costs for a 4-6 week perusal period. If you'd like to pursue placing a request for a perusal score and would like some help, please feel free to email the School of Music's Ensemble Librarian, Max Frank, at ensemble@umn.edu.

And remember - if the University of Minnesota Music Library doesn't have something you need, it's always worth checking to see if you can get it through interlibrary loan (even if it seems like it might be rental only - you never know!). To get started with searching for items in other libraries' collections and placing an ILL request, visit the University Libraries Interlibrary Loan homepage. There, you'll find two options for ILL systems: UBorrow and WorldCat.

• UBorrow: This is a fantastic interlibrary loan service available only to users affiliated with the 15 institutions Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA). Through it, you can borrow books, scores, CDs, DVDs, and lots of other types of media held at BTAA institutions, which include the great collections at Indiana University, Ohio State, the University of Michigan, the University of Iowa, the University of Maryland, and more. Items that you request through UBorrow usually arrive within a week (though this may take longer during the pandemic), you can keep them for sixteen weeks with one four-week renewal (though media items may have a different loan period depending on where they're coming from), and it's very unlikely that anything can be recalled from you.
  
  
• WorldCat: This service searches library collections from all over the world. While items might take longer to arrive and may have shorter loan periods than those borrowed from BTAA institutions via UBorrow, you'll find a wider range of materials represented in WorldCat

If you need help locating a score or finding anything using interlibrary loan, please reach out to Jessica at jabbazio@umn.edu!

Tip 1: Always use Advanced Search and the Catalog Only option when searching for scores.

• By searching this way, you'll get the option to limit your search results to scores only (and won't have to sift through books, articles, recordings, and other materials related to your keywords). Remember: putting in more information at the start of your search will ensure that you'll get fewer results back and they're more likely to be relevant to what you're looking for!
   
• Start your search using the search box on Libraries homepage at lib.umn.edu:
  
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• Then, use the "Material Type" menu to limit your search results to scores (TIP: If you don't see scores as an option on the list, click "Show More"):
  
  

Tip 2: Try adding a publisher name to your search.
 

• It's helpful to get to know the names of publishers that usually put out good-quality, scholarly, and/or Urtext editions for the repertoire you work with.
  • When searching for a score to perform from, you might want to use an Urtext edition. As defined by the Harvard Dictionary of Music, 4th ed. (p. 936), an Urtext edition is “a text in its presumed original state, without subsequent alterations or additions by an editor; an edition purporting to present a work in such a state.” Music Research: A Handbook, 3th ed. defines them as the following: “Urtext (Ger.): original text”; “Urtext edition: performing edition intended to be as close to the composer’s original as possible without editorial changes or additions” (p. 284). Performing editions may also be useful, but could have many additions (like bowings and articulations) added by an editor. For more information on different types of scores, visit our Types of Scores and How to Find Them guide (coming soon).
     
• Important publisher names for Urext editions vary by rep, but probably include:
  • Bärenreiter
  • Henle
  • Universal Editions
  • Wiener Editions
  • Salbert/Heugel
  • Ricordi
    ​

• IMPORTANT: Note that not all scores published by these publishers are Urtext editions! Look at the introduction to the score, description in the Libraries catalog, or the publisher website to learn more. Also, if you notice editorial markings that aren’t the same as other editions (bowings, articulations, etc.), then it’s not an Urtext edition.

• Try adding the publisher name as a keyword in your search - this will narrow your search results considerably.
   

Tip 3: Try adding an opus number or a catalog number to your search.
 

• Not sure what this is for your piece? Check the Works List in the Oxford Music Online/Grove entry or google the piece. Also, this is a great time to make sure you have the correct spelling for the names of the composer and the piece!
   
• If searching the catalog for "Brahms Op. 88" or "Brahms Opus 88" isn't getting you what you're looking for, try  leaving out the "Opus" or "Op." - search "Brahms 88" instead.
   

• Catalog numbers: These will look something like “BWV 106” for works by Bach; “D. 821” for pieces by Schubert; or K . 429 or KV 492 for compositions by Mozart. If you're not finding what you're looking for by including the letters (BWV, D, K, etc.), try just searching for the composer's name and the number instead (e.g. Bach 106).

Tip 4: Check the catalog record to make sure the item you found is actually what you want.
 

• After clicking on the title (which is a link to all of the information contained in the catalog record) look closely at the description of the item: Does it contain parts? How many pages is it? There may be useful information in the description that can help you figure out if what you've found is actually what you're looking for.

Questions? Need help? 

Please contact Music Librarian Jessica Abbazio (jabbazio@umn.edu) or the Music Library staff (musiclib@umn.edu) for help!