First Find Your Literature! Writing an Essay the Organised Way ...

Don't panic!

Keep calm and just search

We thought we'd share a blogpost we wrote last year about finding useful literature online.  It might help you source just the right articles etc for your essay assignment.  But don't leave it too late - writing takes time, and you also need time to sort out your referencing and bibliography!



Ready?  Source those e-resources!

And don't forget - the library staff are happy to help, too.

A Fellowship for a Composer at the University of Oxford

Have you seen details of the forthcoming Bodleian composer fellowship?  If you're a composer wondering about that vital "next step", then you could hardly find a better one!  

• https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowships

Pianist Needed! New Carter Larsen Repertoire to Sample

Recently, we were given six handsomely bound volumes of piano music by Carter Larsen, along with two CD recordings of his music.  The composer claims influences by Mozart, Beethoven and Liszt, amongst others. At first glance, some pieces seem to resemble Liszt - others resemble Einaudi.  But we haven't ventured out of the library to try them out on a piano!

So, if any of our students or teachers are up for trying out a very large amount of music by a prolific but comparatively unknown contemporary composer, please come and ask to see these new donations!  They'll hit the shelves within the next couple of days.

• More about Carter Larsen: http://carterlarsen.com/

Masterclass Online Resource

Here's an American commercial online resource featuring key people in the arts, sport, culture and food giving their professional advice in a workshop setting.  You can explore classes at your own pace with the on-demand videos and workbooks.

"The general consensus among critics is that while the classes do not teach technical skills to improve proficiency in the craft, they provide insight into the grueling nature of artistic pursuits and striving for perfection while inspiring a love of the craft". Wikipedia.

It's based on a one user - one subscription (no library subscription). There are some excellent classes here, that you might want to explore.

Click below to access:

Masterclass workshops online

New Online Resource on British Theatre

Theatre Voice is an online audio - and some video - resource about British theatre, and features journalists from across the UK press and practitioners from across the theatre industry. It was set up in 2003 to see if theatre could be talked about in a new way: allowing critics to be more expansive than the usual space constraints of the print media allowed; to enable actors, writers, directors and designers to be heard talking in detail and at length about their work; and to help members of the public interact more directly with theatre-makers and commentators.


Click link below to take you there:

Theatre Voice

3rd Manhattan Music Competition

We've been notified of this competition for piano, strings, and singers. No transport required. Details all online, deadline 28 February 2018:-

• https://www.manhattancompetition.com/

Go Pro! Find Literature for your Essay Using These Simple Tips

Essay?  Giving you a Headache?!

If you’re looking for material for an essay, the first place you’ll think of is the library catalogue. Some topics just seem tricky to search for!  Read the question carefully and rephrase it for yourself. Turn it round and examine what you're actually being asked for.  Then ask yourself how you're going to answer the question!

Here are some professional searching tips to give you a better chance:-

GO PRO!

1. Search everything! Don’t forget that the Catalogue Plus option searches all our electronic resources as well as all the books that we have in the library. Before you start searching, check the Catalogue Plus button.  
2. Use the tricks of the trade. You need to be a bit canny to find the best stuff. For example, a Catalogue Plus search like this is a good start:  "Collaborative improvisation" AND jazz - using "quotation marks" keeps the words together in your search, and using the AND in block capitals tells the search that this phrase AND the word jazz must be in any results that it retrieves.  These techniques help with any kind of essay, jazz or classical, teaching or traditional music.
3. Go Advanced. You can refine your search even more after that, by using the Advanced Search function. It lets you eliminate resources that you don’t want to search, and makes your results more useful. (For example, results found in RILM are often only summaries, not entire articles or books. So you can choose not to search in RILM.)
4. If you find Catalogue Plus a bit mind-boggling, go to the catalogue home page and click on the link on the right-hand side for E-Resources.  Our e-resources include Oxford Music Online and JSTOR, and they'll both have lots of info to help you.
5. Do come and see us in the library if you need help. Once you’ve tried a few times, you’ll soon get the hang of it.  The catalogue link again?  https://rcs.koha-ptfs.co.uk/cgi-bin/koha/opac-main.pl
   

In Oxford: Seminar Series: Instruments of the 18th Century

Instruments of the Eighteenth Century
Seminars run 1-2pm at the Bate Collection of
Musical Instruments, Faculty of Music, St Aldates

Should you find yourself in or near Oxford on a Wednesday lunchtime, these might be very interesting indeed! See the events programme here.

And a Conference for Teachers of Traditional Music

As part of the Celtic Connections festival here in Glasgow, there's a three-day conference being held here at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, about traditional music pedagogy, taking an international perspective. Click on the link below to find out more about it.

Pedagogies, Practices and the Future of Folk Music in Higher Education

Thursday 18 – Saturday 20 January 2018

• You can see the programme here.

Of Interest to All Singers: How To Breathe (and Other 18th century Stuff)

Thursday 18th January, 5.15 pm, University of Glasgow

Here's an interesting event which may appeal to people concerned with historical performance and authenticity.  It's run by EAERN, the Eighteenth-Century Arts Education Research Network based at the University of Glasgow.

"In the fourth EAERN workshop we welcome Mhairi Lawson who will be presenting 'How to breathe and other stuff from the late 18th century'. Joining Mhairi will be two singers: David Lee and Sarah Short. The workshop will take place on Thursday, 18 January at 5:15pm in Rm 2, 14 University Gardens.

"Wine and refreshments will be available. Please do consider coming along.

"We also have posted a blog reflecting on the first year of the project and we encourage you to head to our website and read what we have been up to: https://eaern.wordpress.com/2017/12/24/2017-round-up/https://eaern.wordpress.com/2017/12/24/2017-round-up/ "

Kick-Start Your Research in 2018!

Research fairs in Edinburgh and Glasgow

Dream on! Couldn't find a picture of a research fair ...

A reminder that National Library of Scotland is convening research fairs on Wednesday 7 February 13.00- 16.00 in George IV Bridge, Edinburgh and Monday 12 February 13.00- 16.00 at the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow.

NLS has broadened the target audience out this year to include private researchers, inventors, academics and postgraduates.

The layout of both venues will be the same as last year with internet access on the tables/ booths for each “stall”.  You'll be able to explore stalls highlighting different services:- 

• Access, Enquiries & Reading Rooms; 
• IP and Digital; Archives & Manuscripts; 
• General Collections; 
• Moving Image Archive; 
• Rare Books and Music, 
• Maps. 

We're told that, as last year, the relevant managers will decide how to staff their stalls, and Veronica will be running tours of behind the scenes in Edinburgh.  NLS will be using social media (of course!), so watch out for more news!