Writing About Music: Style Guide

Be Consistent! Capitalization
Humanistic writing on music usually follows the Chicago style Named periods of music history are capitalized as proper
(based on The Chicago Manual of Style) as well as its own names and adjectives:
stylistic conventions. No matter what style is followed, the the Middle Ages, Medieval chant
most important thing is that you be consistent and clear so that the Renaissance, the Renaissance madrigal
the reader can understand your references and easily track the Romantic period, Romantic composers
down your sources. The word ‘classical’ carries different meanings depending on
whether or not it is capitalized. ‘Classical’ denotes the
Chicago Notes-Bibliography Citation Style
Classical era, while ‘classical music’ is as synonym for ‘art
Citation conventions vary according to the type of source and music’ as opposed to popular or folk music:
whether the citation appears in footnotes/endnotes or in a Mozart and Haydn were Classical composers
bibliography. An abbreviated online guide can be found here: She was trained as a classical violinist
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html.
See the following sources for complete citation guides: Titles of Musical Compositions
The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. (Chicago: a) Titles of operas, oratorios, motets, tone poems, and other
University of Chicago Press, 2010). long musical compositions are italicized:
Laurie J. Sampsel, Music Research: A Handbook (New Orfeo The Magic Flute
York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 262-271 Die Zauberflöte Messiah
(Appendix E). b) Titles of songs and other short compositions are given in
quotation marks:
Spell Out Notes, Keys, and Chords
“Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring”
Avoid using abbreviations and symbols for music elements:
“Sweet Surrender”
middle C, E, G-natural, A-flat, F-sharp
c) Titles consisting of generic terms are capitalized but not
the keys of F-sharp minor and E-flat major
italicized or put in quotation marks:
the triad D-F-sharp-A
Brahms’s Ballade op. 118 no. 3
Italics for Foreign Languages Schubert’s Piano Sonata in B-flat Major
Italicize all foreign words unless they are particularly familiar Chopin’s Waltz in C-sharp Minor
in English usage: d) Movement titles are generally capitalized; individual
tempo, cello, symphony movements from larger works take quotation marks:
tempi, celli, opéra comique Andante from Mozart’s Symphony in G Minor
tempo, tempos, but tempi Kyrie from Beethoven’s Missa solemnis
libretto, librettos, but libretti “On a Rainy Night” from Beckwith’s Lyrics of the
crescendo, crescendos, but crescendi T’ang Dynasty
e) Titled assigned by composers should be italicized,
Use of Hyphen in Adjectival Forms nicknames or common names appear in quotation marks:
noun: adjective: Schumann’s Scenes from Childhood
twentieth century twentieth-century music Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique
quarter note quarter-note movement Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto
eighth note eighth-note triplet Mozart, Symphony no. 41 in C Major (“Jupiter”)
thirty-second note thirty-second-note passage
f) Names of individual movements from larger compositions
Naming a Musical Example (including choral works), when such movements are
referred to by title, are given quotation marks:
It is important to clearly identify the musical examples you
select. Provide all the necessary details: composer, title, “And He Shall Purify...” from Handel’s Messiah
movement (if present), and measure numbers: “Wohin” from Die Schöne Müllerin
Ex. 1. Mozart, Symphony no. 41 in C Major “Air with Variations” (The Harmonious Blacksmith)
(“Jupiter”) K. 551: I, mm. 17-23 from Handel’s Suite no. 5 in E Major
In the text of the essay, refer to this example as Ex. 1

Based on “Citing Music Sources in Your Essay and Bibliography” from the Music Library of the University of Western Ontario
(http://www.lib.uwo.ca/music/citing.html)
Sienna M. Wood, 2017