Strings Guide 

Books and printed music are arranged according to the Library of Congress' Classification System. The library has circulating (stacks) and non-circulating (reference) collections. Each collection is divided in to three sections.

• M = Printed music/scores (organized by instrument/genre)
• ML = Books about music and musicians
• MT = Books on music theory, pedagogy, and technique

The best finding aid is the CIM/Case library catalog.

Where are the Beethoven violin concertos?  Use the following table to identify the call number under which you would find all violon concertos (M 1012-1013) or other compositions such as etudes or sonatas.  Scores & parts are organized first by instrumentation and then by genre. 

To locate printed music for a specific instrumentation, you may use the subject search in the library catalog.   Each resource has been tagged with specific subject headings that describe its content.  For comprehensive repertoire lists for ensembles, see the Bibliographies & Repertoire Lists tab in this guide.

Subject headings for printed music typically use the name of the instrument(s) followed by the word music (e.g. piano music, flute music)  To find duets for two distinct instruments, use the the following form:

• violin music
  
• violoncello and continuo music
  

Subject headings for string ensemble music will be listed under typical terms.  However, if the ensemble consists of the same instrument, use the plural form of the instruments name.

• String Trios
• String Quartets
• Violoncellos 3