MLA is the primary citation format used for research in Music.
See the "MLA Citation Cheat Sheet" above for example citations of commonly used types of sources. For more help, see the link below for the Purdue OWL.
Notes:
a. MLA formatting requires that citations are double spaced and that the second and subsequent lines of each citation are indented. The formatting options on this guide prevents that aspect of formatting here.
b. When citing a url, MLA 8th edition does not require the http:// portion of the url, but does require the www.
c. How you cite a song or album depends on how you accessed it. See the OWL Purdue MLA page on Citing Other Common Sources.
d. MLA identifies musical compositions by form, number and key. For example (MLA Handbook. 8th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2016, pp. 69.):
Beethoven's Symphony no. 7 in A, op. 92
Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Trumpets and Strings in C, RV539
1. How do you cite an entry from Grove's Online?
. "Handel, George Frideric." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, www.oxfordmusiconline.com.pointloma.idm.oclc.org/subscriber/article/grove/music/40060.
(Hint: The Grove's Database's "Cite" button does not give correct MLA information.)
2. How do you cite a recording of a performance found in Naxos Music Library?
Handel, George Frederic. “Part II: Hallelujah (Chorus)” Handel: Messiah (Highlights), Warner Classics - Parlophone, Naxos Music Library, pointloma.naxosmusiclibrary.com.pointloma.idm.oclc.org/stream.asp?s=139307%2Fplnunmlpd08%2Fqn6388%5F015.
(Hint: Once in the album in Naxos, choose "Show static url." on the left, then copy the url for the specific section of the piece you're citing.)
3. How do you cite a music score out of an anthology?
Lully, Jean-Baptiste. "Armide, Tragedie en 5 Actes et un Prologue." 1686. Norton Anthology of Western Music, edited by Claude V. Palisca, Norton, 1988, pp. 385-394.
(Hint: The date after the title is the date the composition was written.)
4. How do you cite program notes?
Pedersen, Keith. "Handel's Messiah." The Messiah. 4 Dec. 2011, Brown Chapel, Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego, CA. Program Notes.
5. How do you cite an article found in full-text in a database such as JSTOR?
Wollston, Silas. “New Light on Purcell's Early Overtures.” Early Music, vol. 37, no. 4, 2009, pp. 647–655. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40390825.
6. How do you cite a music score?
Vivaldi, Antonio. Concerto in D, adapted for guitar solo by Charlie Byrd, Columbia Music, 1970. Musical Score.
. Complete Ballades, Impromtus and Sonatas, Dover Music Publications, 1 Sept. 1981. Musical Score.
(Hint: If there is no issue number, just leave that out and only show the volume number. Use the Cite fuction to get started; edits may be needed. If there is a DOI, use that instead of the url.)