Guitar: A Resource and Information Guide

Arts Library, UCSB

Note: This is a guide to selected resources on the guitar available in the Arts Library at UCSB. To access electronic items with the icon from off-campus, you must be affiliated with UCSB (student, faculty, or staff), and you must configure your browser to connect to the library's proxy server.

Pegasus, UCSB's online library catalog, contains information on books, scores, recordings, videos, periodicals, and other materials in the collections of the UCSB Libraries. Below are some examples of Pegasus searches you can use to find books on the guitar as well as scores and recordings of guitar music.

To find books on the guitar, choose Subject begins with... from the first pulldown menu and try the following Library of Congress subject headings:

guitarists	guitar makers
guitar bibliography	guitar methods
guitarists biography	guitar music bibliography
guitar construction	guitar music discography
guitar history	guitar music history and criticism
guitar instruction and study	guitar performance
guitar maintenance	guitar tuning

To find recordings or scores, it is best to go into Advanced Search (click on the tab at the top). Scroll down to the Limit by Format menu to limit your search to scores, recordings, or a specific type of recording (compact disc, LP, 78-rpm, etc.). Then add the appropriate terms at the top. Examples:

Advanced Keyword Search

Author	leo brouwer
Subject	guitar music
Limit by format:	Score

Author	takemitsu
Title	equinox
Limit by format:	Score

Author	eliot fisk
Limit by format:	Sound Recording

If you know the opus or thematic index number of the work you are looking for, enter it in the Title field, combined with the composer's name in the Author field:

Browsing

Browsing through the library collections for books and scores is one way to learn about guitar repertory and literature. See M, ML, and MT Class Numbers for Guitar. In most M classes, scores are arranged alphabetically by composer; in most ML and MT classes, books are arranged alphabetically by author. For example, separate works for solo guitar are shelved under M127, and works for solo guitar by Leo Brouwer are found under M127 B. Remember that to do a comprehensive search, you always need to search in Pegasus and not merely rely on browsing the shelves; many books or scores may be checked out to others! Browsing electronically in Pegasus is easy. Go to Advanced Search and select Call Number (LC) from one of the Field to Search pulldown menus. Then simply enter a class number:

Advanced Keyword Search

Call number (LC)	m127	[solo guitar music]
Call number (LC)	m1037.4 g8	[guitar with orchestra]
Call number (LC)	ml1015 g9	[books on guitar]

You can also search for books, scores, recordings, and other library materials in Melvyl, the library catalog for the combined ten UC campuses. Melvyl, available from the UCSB library's home page, contains records for over 23 million items. You can search by title, journal title, author (including composer or performer), subject, general keywords, or combinations of these fields. For subject searches, use the headings listed above. You can limit your search to books, scores, recordings, or other formats. In addition, you can limit to any one UC campus, by year(s), and/or by language. To combine search terms, select the Advanced option:

Advanced Search: Entire Collection

Author (last name first)	berio
Title	sequenza xi
Format:	Scores (music)

In Melvyl, you may request from other UC campuses items not held at UCSB (or held at UCSB but checked out). To make a request, use the Request button on your search result page and fill in the online form. You will usually receive the requested item(s) within within just 3-5 days.

Two other electronic library catalogs that may prove helpful are the RLG Union Catalog and WorldCat; both contain millions of records for the combined holdings of libraries around the country and beyond. To access them, go to the library's home page, point to Research in the lefthand column, select the Article Indexes & Databases link, and scroll down the alphabetic list.

To find journal articles on the guitar, you will need to search elsewhere than in the library catalogs described above. The most useful indexes of music journal literature are the three listed below. Go to the library's home page, point to Research in the lefthand column, select the Article Indexes & Databases link, and scroll down the alphabetic list.

RILM Abstracts of Music Literature

1969 to present, though the most recent citations do not include abstracts or subject indexing. RILM indexes music literature of all types: journal articles, reviews, books, dissertations, conference proceedings, etc. General keyword searching is available. You can limit by language and by type of publication (book, dissertation, journal article, review, etc.).

International Index to Music Periodicals, Full Text (IIMP-FT)

Citations and abstracts for articles and reviews from ca. 380 music periodicals. Indexes the following guitar periodicals currently received at UCSB: Classical Guitar (1982-91, 1996-), Guitar Player (1993, 1996-), Guitar Review (1994-), Soundboard (1996-[?]). In addition, IIMP-FT contains the full texts of several dozen music periodicals back to 1996, including Guitar Player.

Music Index Online

1979-2000. Citations of articles, reviews, and obituaries from more than 640 music periodicals from around the world; coverage is 1979 to 1999. No abstracts, but coverage of the guitar periodicals currently received at UCSB is much more complete than in IIMP.

Ref. = located in the reference section of the music library.

Boetticher, Wolfgang. Handschriftlich überlieferte Lauten- und Gitarrentabulaturen des 15. bis 18. Jahrhunderts. RISM B/VII. 1978. Ref. ML113 .I6 v.BVII

A descriptive bibliography of 726 manuscripts dating from before ca. 1820 and containing lute or guitar tablature (also theorbo, chitarrone, etc.). Arrangement is by country, city, repository. An index in the back pocket provides access by instrument, type of tablature, and chronological period, and there is an index of personal names as well.

Chaîné, Jacques. The Orphée Data-base of Guitar Records. 1990. Ref. ML156.4 .G8 C5 1990

A "discography dedicated to finger-style guitar performance in all its varied manifestations" (p. ix). Lists over 6,500 recordings on LP, compact disc, and cassette. The emphasis is on classical guitar, but includes acoustic and electric guitar and lute, and flamenco, jazz, folk, and popular music in addition to classical. Arrangement is by performer, but there is a composer index.

Classical Guitar Music in Print. 1989. Ref. ML128 .G8 J36 1989. See also the 1998 supplement, Ref. ML128 .G8 J36 1998

Both volumes list published music for solo guitar, guitar ensemble, chamber ensemble with guitar and one or more other instruments (including voice), and guitar with orchestra or other large ensemble. Includes methods and studies. Arrangement is by instrumentation. Each volume has a composer and title index, and each provides limited access to works in collections: if the works are also published separately, they are listed both separately and under the collection; if not, they are listed both ways only if the collection includes at most six works.

Helleu, Laurence. La guitare en concert: Catalogue des oeuvres avec guitare du XX siècle (duos, trios, musique de chambre, orchestre, concertos. [1985]. ML128 .G8 H48 1980z

Lists twentieth-century works for guitar and one or more other instruments or voices, including guitar solo with orchestra, orchestral music that includes one or more parts for guitar, and choral music with guitar. Entries are arranged by instrumentation.

Lyons, David B. Lute, Vihuela, Guitar to 1800: A Bibliography. 1978. Ref. ML128 .S7 L9

Ca. 2,000 classified, unannotated entries that list "both periodical and monographic literature concerning not only the lute but also the guitar, vihuela, theorbo and related instruments" (p. 9) during the period 1500 to 1800. Also cited are modern editions that include tablature, and manuscripts, listed by country, city, and shelf number. Topics included are composers and performers, iconography, history, instruction, construction, etc. There is an author index but no title or subject index, making access difficult.

MacAuslan, Janna and Kristan Aspen. Guitar Music by Women Composers: An Annotated Catalog. 1997. Ref. ML113 .M887 no. 61

In part 1, works are listed by instrumentation. Included are solo works, guitar ensembles, guitar with other instruments, and guitar with voice. Part 2 gives brief biographies of the composers whose works are listed in part 1. Indexed by title and composer.

McCutcheon, Meredith Alice. Guitar and Vihuela: An Annotated Bibliography. 1985. Ref. ML128 .G8 M38 1985

Provides ca. 1,000 classified, annotated references to writings on guitar history, music and analysis, composers, performers, iconography, and construction. Excludes literature on jazz, folk, and flamenco. Appendix 1 lists guitar periodicals, and appendix 2 is a bibliography of pre-1800 published guitar music (including method books and ensemble music); library locations are given and available modern editions are listed.

Moser, Wolf. Gitarre-Musik: Ein internationaler Katalog. 1985. Ref. ML128 .G8 M68 1985

Lists guitar music by instrumentation: original and transcribed solo guitar music (including collections and instructional pieces); works for two, three, four, and five or more guitars; and works for guitar with other instruments, including voice. There is a composer index.

Rezits, Joseph. The Guitarist's Resource Guide: Guitar Music in Print and Books on the Art of Guitar. 1983. Ref. ML128 .G8 R49 1983

Includes ca. 14,000 brief entries for published guitar music, as well as music for lute, mandolin, and vihuela. The information was taken from publishers' catalogs. Also lists books on the guitar, though McCutcheon, Guitar and Vihuela (see above) lists far more.

Schwarz, Werner. Guitar Bibliography: An International Listing of Theoretical Literature on Classical Guitar from the Beginning to the Present. 1984. Ref. ML128 .G8 S4 1984

Provides the most comprehensive available listing of literature up to 1984 on all aspects of the guitar. Includes over 4,700 entries for books, journals, journal articles, reviews, festschrifts, etc. Covers the sixteenth century to the present, with emphasis on the twentieth century. Classified arrangement. Unlike the McCutcheon bibliography, does not include annotations. Author index and an index of persons as subjects.

Smith, Dorman and Laurie Eagleson. Guitar and Lute Music in Periodicals: An Index. 1990. Ref. ML128 .G8 S64 1990

Indexes musical works in six American journals, including the following held at UCSB: Guitar & Lute (ML1 .G84), Guitar Review (ML1 .G8575), the journal and newsletter of the Lute Society of America (ML1 .J68, ML1 .L98), and Soundboard (ML1015 .G9 S68).

Ref. = located in the reference section of the music library.

Bone, Philip J. The Guitar and Mandolin: Biographies of Celebrated Players and Composers. 1972. Ref. ML399 .B6 1972.

Biographical dictionary that includes both performers and composers. Many entries are more than a page long. Numerous illustrations.

Kaiser, Rolf. Gitarrenlexikon. 1987. ML102 .G8 K3 1987

Numerous figures and illustrations.

Prat, Domingo. Diccionario de Guitarristas. 1986. Ref. ML102 .G8 P7 1986.

Reprint; originally published Buenos Aires, 1934. A biographical dictionary that also contains much information on South American guitar music (especially Argentine), the guitar in Spain, and guitar history, especially in the 1920s and 1930s.

Summerfield, Maurice J. The Classical Guitar: Its Evolution, Players and Personalities since 1800. 2d ed. 1991. Ref. ML399 .S85 1991.

A biographical dictionary of classical guitarists. Includes bibliographical and discographical listings. Each entry is illustrated.

Zuth, Josef. Handbuch der Laute und Gitarre. Ref. ML128 .L88 Z8 1972.

Reprint; originally published Vienna, 1926. Includes terms as well as biographical entries for performers, composers, and guitar makers. Scholarly; includes bibliographical references.

Classical Guitar Composers List

Composers who have composed or been transcribed for solo classical guitar are listed chronologically, alphabetically, and by nationality. Links are included for some of the composers listed, but many are broken.

Classical Guitar Midi Archives

Hundreds of MIDI files of works for guitar solo, duet, and ensemble. The site includes an illustrated history of the guitar and an explanation of tablature, as well as links to other guitar Web sites.

Guitar Foundation of America (GFA)

The leading guitar organization in the United States. The GFA publishes Soundboard and sponsors an annual solo guitar competition. It also maintains an archive, searchable online, that includes guitar music dating from the seventeenth to twentieth centuries, as well as books, periodicals, and various file materials.

International Guitar Research Archive (IGRA)

The IGTA, located at California State University at Northridge, is an important collection of early published guitar music (over 8,000 titles). Ca. 25 percent of the collection was published in the United States, mostly in the nineteenth or early twentieth centuries, especially around 1850. Copies of public domain editions in the collection are available. The archive is partially searchable online. The site includes a link to the American Guitar Society.