Guitar Music in Collections: A New Web-based Index Is Launched

Abstract

Is there any really good way to locate specific pieces of guitar music within published collections and anthologies? Might there be already a best way? Anyone who has taught or studied classical guitar is familiar with collections like Das Gitarrespiel or the Noad anthologies. But it is hard to remember with accuracy which pieces are in which of these editions or in dozens of others like them. Library and trade catalogs are not of much help. What is needed for this problem is in-depth indexing rather than traditional cataloging. These print indexes of song anthologies and collections have more recently been supplemented by a number of Web-based resources that are designed to satisfy the same need. The online format has the obvious advantage that it can be updated as often as its creators may wish, and if properly maintained, it will never go out of date. Indeed, we may have already come to the end of the era of print indexes to the ever-expanding world of music scores in collections.