Cataloging & Classification Quarterly

ISSN: 0163-9374 (Print) 1544-4554 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wccq20

Nailing JELL-O® to a Tree: Improving Access to

20th-century Music

Michael Colby

To cite this article: Michael Colby (1998) Nailing JELL-O® to a Tree: Improving Access to 20th-
century Music, Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 26:3, 31-39, DOI: 10.1300/J104v26n03_04

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1300/J104v26n03_04

Published online: 24 Oct 2008.

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 Nailing JELL-O@to a Tree:
Improving Access to 20th-Century Music
Michael Colby

ABSTRACT. Although literary warrant and use of current terminology

are principlcs which have guided the creation of Library of Congress
Subject Headings for quite some time, for many years adequate head-
ings were not established to provide access to several concepts in 20th
century music. Some of the problem areas include electronic music,
music theater, text-sound compositions and musical notation. The ef-
forts of two working groups of the Music Library Association have
resulted in improved access in many of these areas. Still, problems
remain, some due to LC's policies and practices regarding musical
styles. It may take other approaches, such as the use of a music thesau-
rus, to fully overcome the remaining issues. [Arlicle copies available for a
fee from The Haworlh Documen[ Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail
address: ge~it~o@haworlhpressi~~c.corn]

For many years, describing or accessing contemporary musical

scores and recordings in libraries using the existing Library of Con-
gress Subject Headings (LSCH) could be as difficult as trying to nail
JELL-O@to a tree. Actually, given the nature of 20th-century music, a
score could conceivably be just that: instructions to the performers to
nail JELL-0' to a tree. Finding an LC subject heading to assign to
that work would be a particular challenge.
With LCSH subject analysis is possible by type of composition
(e.g., sonatas, concertos, variations, etc.) and by instrumentation (e.g.,
piano music, brass quintets, choruses, etc.). While these headings have
proven fairly useful for the canon of Western art music, nonetheless the
patron who approaches the catalog in search of recordings of "roman-

Michael Colby, MA, MLIS, is Music Librarian at the University of California,

Davis.
Cataloging & Classification Quarterly,Vol. 26(3) 1998
O 1998 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. 31
32 CATALOGING & CLASSIFICATION QUAHTERLY

tic music" or scores of "Baroque music," for example, will likely

experience frustration.
But frustration can be even greater when trying to use LCSH to
locate contemporary music. One need not look to the cutting edge of
20th century music, either, to discover problem areas. There are many
types of compositions and uses of instrumentation, some of which
have been around for decades, which have presented real problems in
subject access. Fortunately some progress has been 'made in recent
years. This article will examine some of the problem areas and de-
scribe some of the new developments in subject access to contempo-
rary music.
Richard Smiraglia points out the complexity of determining the
"subject" of a musical work. "Most existing classifications and ver-
bal subject analysis systems concentrate on medium of performance
and form of composition, disregarding other aspects unless the biblio-
graphic entity (the published work) features some other aspect."l
According to Lois Mai Chan, the principles for establishing LCSH
include the use of current terminology and literary warrant (i.e., only
terms needed to index items actually encountered are established).=
Some sections of the Subject Cufuloging Manual (SCM) specifically
address music: H1916.3 "Music: General" outlines the most com-
monly expressed concepts for music subjects, including form, genre
and type; H1916.5 deals with jazz and popular music; H1917 address-
es music of ethnic and national groups; H1917.5 offers instructions in
how to add the medium of performance to a form or genre heading.
But these sections focus on practice of formulating the headings and
not on justifying new terminology. The SCM states that sources for
headings include reference sources and the work itself which is being
cataloged.3 For years, however, there were no acceptable LCSH for
many works which should have been established according to these
guidelines. This situation is most likely due to the practice of the LC
Music Division from 1943 until 1981, a period during which "the
music headings in the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)
represented terms authorized for use on LC printed cards, but not
terms used by the people who were devising themn4 LC did not begin
using its own music headings in its online catalog until 1981.
Until quite recently, there was no satisfactory subject heading for
those works which incorporate elements of both music and movement,
works which are often referred to as music theater. Yet definitions may
 Michael Colby 33

be found in several sources. The entry in the New Harvard Dictionary

of Music describes music theater as "[iln 20th-century music, the
combination of elements from music and drama in new forms distinct
from traditional opera."* In the New Grove Dictionary of Music and
Musicians, the term is given three definitions, the first of which is "to
designate musical works for small or moderate forces that involves a
dramatic element in their presentation."6 And the Thames and Hudson
Encyclopaedia
~. of 20th-Century Music, in the second of two .defini-
tions, states it is "a combination of music and theater on a small scale,
though without the multiplicity of means suggested by mixed me-
dia."' Obviously, the term "music theater" by itself could be inter-
preted in several different ways. But the term is an accurate descrip-
tion of works such as John Cage's Theatre Piece (for . -
performance by
one to eight performers-"mu&ians, dancers, singers et a 1 . 7 Or ~ to
Luciano Berio's C i r c l q g for female singer, piano and two percussion-
ists, which involves the singer moving to various positions (making
the circle) and playing on wood chimes. LC cataloging for this piece
(LCCN 61-001550) used only the subject heading Songs (High voice)
with instrumental ensemble.
Text sound compositions was another problem area. The term has
appeared on several works: the recording 10+2 from 1750 Arch Records,
an anthology subtitled "12 American text sound pieces"10 and the
Charles Arnirkhanian CRI recording Mental Radio: Nine T a t Sound
Compositions.11 The LC cataloging records for both of these works
(LCCN 74-750687 and 85-743058) contain the headings Vocal music
and Electronic music. A definition may be found in the NHD, not as
an entry but as the heading to a section of the article on Electro-acous-
tic music. This section reads: "In this electro-acoustic genre, which
evolved from concrete poetry, spoken words, as opposed to sun
words or wordless vocal sounds, are the primary musical material."l 5
In the realm of non-traditional notation, the phrase graphic notation
has been used to describe scores written in non-conventional notation,
as in some compositions of Morton Feldman, Earle Brown and Karl-
heinz Stockhausen. Entries may be found under this phrase in NHD
and Vinton's Dictionary of Contemporary ~ u s i c ; the l ~ phrase is also
used in the New Grove article on "Notation." Richard Burbank com- ,
piled a list of possible new headings which includes several on nota-
tion. In addition to Graphic notation, his list includes: Electronic
music notation, Equitone notation, Frame notation, Indeterminate nota-
34 C A W O G I N G & CLASSIFICATION QUARTERLY

tion, Klavarscribo notation, Numerical notation and Proportional nota-

tion.14
These phrases, of course, only touch on a few of the problem areas
in subject access to contemporary music. Burbank's list includes other
headings such as Texture (Music), Spatial music, and several headings
on music psychology. Some headings which Dan Cherubin developed
when working at the American Music Center include Organic percus-
sion, Site-specific music, as well as subdivisions for Extended tech-
niques (on existing instruments) and Musical usage (of other ob-
jects).15 David Lesniaski outlined some further subject access
problems in his work on terminology in contemporary music.l6 Ralph
Hartsock also presented a thesaurus of compositional styles of 20th-
century composers.17
But progress has been made with LCSH over the years. Headings
were established for Music with audience participation and Mixed
media (Music). The heading Leaf music offers hope for more headings
reflecting the musical use of other objects. The Music Library Associ-
ation formed a Working Group on Subject Access to Electronic Mu-
sic,l8 the result of whose work saw the approval of the use of headings
which allow the combination of the name of an instrument with the
terms electronic music into a single heading, such as Bass clarinet with
electronic music. Previously, LCSH would have required two head-
ings, one for Bass clarinet and one for Electronic music, resulting in a
split file and requiring postcoordination of the terms.
Another Music Library Association Working Group, on Terminol-
ogy in 20th-Century Music,lg addressed many other problem areas,
including some of those outlined above. The Library of Congress has
established the Subject Authority Cooperative Program (SACO),
through which libraries can submit subject headings for inclusion in
LCSH, so the group worked to identify some terms and phrases
which could be submitted via SACO. Subject proposals which came
out of the group's efforts for which new (or revised) headings have
subsequently been approved by the Library of Congress are as fol-
lows:

Eclecticism in music (SH95-10557)

Broader terms:
Style, Musical
 Michael Colby

Electronic music notation (SH96-11724)

(Here are entered works on the notation used in musical scores written
for the purpose of performing or re-creating electronic music.)

Used for:
Notation, Electronic music
Broader terms:
Musical notation

Graphic notation (Music) (SH96-9029)

(Here are entered works on music whose notation consists of or in-

cludes graphic indications other than conventional notation.)

Used for:
Notation, Graphic (Music)
Broader terms:
Musical notation

Just intonation (SH96-7885)

Used for:
Intonation, Just
Broader terms:
Musical intervals and scales
Musical temperament

Microtonal music (8885-84939)

m s was a change from the earlier established heading Microtonic music.)

Music theater (SH95-5221)

(TERM MAY BE SUBDIVIDED GEOGRAPHICALLY)
(Here are entered musical works, often small in scale and primarily of
the 20th century, that combine elements of music, drama, and some-
36 CATALOGING & CLASSIFICATION QUARTERLY

times dance in unconventional ways that result in works distinct from

traditional forms. Works on the broad area of music in the theater,
including opera, musical comedy, pantomime, revues, etc., and works
about more than one such type are entered under Musical theater.)
Related terms:
Mixed media (Music)
Broader terms:
Dramatic music

Neo-impressionism (Music) (SH95-10545)

(TERM MAY BE SUBDIVIDED GEOGRAPHICALLY)

Used for:
Neoimpressionism (Music)
Broader terms:
Impressionism (Music)
Music-20th century

Neoromanticism (Music) (SH96-971)

(TERM MAY BE SUBDIVIDED GEOGRAPHICALLY)

Used for:
Neo-romanticism (Music)
Neoromanticism in music
New romanticism (Music)
Broader terms:
Romanticism (Music)
Music-20th century

Open form music (SH95-6890)

(Here are entered works in which composed sections may be arranged

in time as chance or choice disposes.)
Used for:
Mobile form music
 Mickuel Colby

Broader terms:
Chance compositions
Serialism (Music) (SH98-308)
Used for:
Serial composition (Music)
Narrower terms:
Twelve-tone system
Broader terms:
Composition (Music)

Stochastic process in music (SH96-11594)

Used for:
Stochastic music
Related terms:
Chance compositions
Broader terms:
Music

Text-sound compositions (SH96-11853)

(Here are entered musical works consisting primarily of electronically

and/or computer-altered or computer-synthesized spoken words.)
Used for:
Sound-text compositions
Broader terms:
Computer music
Electronic music

This list shows that there now exist valid LCSH for several con-
cepts in contemporary music which had been missing for many years.
Yet some problems inevitably remain. The working group produced a
thesaurus which contains many terms which were either rejected as
subject roposals by the Library of Congress or were not even proL
d'
posed.2 Some problem areas result from the Library of Congress's
policy and practice in applying subject headings, so working through
38 CATALOGING & CLASSIFICATION QUARTERLY

SAC0 would not provide the ultimate solution. One practice of the
Library is not to assign stylistic headings to individual works of music
(scores or recordings). So, while a library catalog can now offer sub-
ject access to literature about neoromanticism in music, the library
user seeking the score or recording of a musical work demonstrating
this concept will still find the catalog of no help. Other sources, such
as bibliographies and reference works, would need to be consulted.
The Library follows a similar practice regarding notation. Subject
headings on notation are only applied to literature about the notation;
works employing the notation, such as graphic notation, are not given
the subject heading. Again, the catalog cannot fill the user's need.
The answer to such fundamental questions may not lie in improve-
ments and adjustments to the LCSH, but in new approaches to subject
access to music. One solution may be the development and application
of a music thesaurus. Work on such a thesaurus, one that would pro-
vide a standard vocabulary for music, a hierarchical arrangement of
that vocabulary, a faceted terminology, an ample lead-in vocabulary,
and a complete syndetic structure, is currently underway under the
directorship of Harriette H e r n m a ~ iThe
. ~ ~completion and adoption of
a music thesaurus promises increased access to all types of music. A
music thesaurus would not be limited by the same constraints as
LCSH, so stylistic terms describing musical scores and recordings
could be included. According to Ms. Hemmasi: "The world of knowl-
edge is too broad to be encompassed by one indexing language, such
as LCSH. Subject-specific thesauri are needed to delineate individual
disciplines and thereby to help users move in and among both related
and unrelated subjects."22 Until such work reaches fruition, improve-
ments to contemporary music have been made in LCSH and continue
to be made. Of course, it is important to bear in mind that none of
these new subject headings will be of any utility to catalog users if
catalogers do not assign them to the appropriate bibliographic records.

NOTES

1. Smiraglia, Richard. Music Cataloging: the Bibliographic Control of Printed

and Recorded Miisic in Libraries. (Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1989),
72.
2. Chan, Lois Mai. Library of Congress Subject Headings: Principles and Ap-
plication. 3rd ed. (Littleton, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1995), 18-24.
 Michael Colby 39

3. Library of Congress. Cataloging Policy and Support Office. Subject Catalog-

ing Mattuul: Subject Headitlgs. 5th ed. (Washington, D.C.: Cataloging Distribution
Service, Library of Congress, 1996), H202:l-9.
4. Smiraglia, 75.
5. The New Harvard Dictionary ofMusic, s.v. "music theater."
6. TheNew GroveDictiotlary of Music and Musiciatls, S.V. "music theatre."
7. The Thunles and Hudsort E~lcyclopaediaof 20th-CellfuryMusic, S.V. "music
theatre."
8. Cage, John. TlteatrePiece. (New York: Henmar Press: C.F. Peters, 1960).
9. Berio, Luciano. Circles: for Female Voice, Harp, Percussiotz Players. (Lon-
don: Universal Edition, 1961).
10.10 + 2: I 2 Anierican Text Soutld Pieces, 1750 Arch Records 1752.
11. Amirkhanian, Charles. Mental Radio: Nine Tat-Sound Compositions, CRI
SD 523.
12. New Harvard Dictioliury of M w i c , s.v. "electro-acoustic music."
13. Dictionary of Contemporary Music, s.v. "graphic notation."
14. Burbank, Richard, "A List of Possible Additions, Changes or Revisions to
LCSH" (University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, photoco-
py), 1-5.
15. Cherubin, Dan, "Subject Headings Developed at the American Music Cen-
ter" (American Music Center, photocopy), 1-2.
16. Lesniaski, David, "An Informal, Preliminary Listing of Possible Terms for
Subject Access to Contemporary Music" (St. Olaf College Libraries, photocopy),
1-6.
17. Hartsock, Ralph, "Preliminary Models for a Database of Composition Styles
of Twentieth Century Composers" (paper presented at the annual meeting of the Mu-
sic Library Association, Baltimore, Maryland, February 20, 1992), 1-10.
18. The Music Library Association Working Group on Access to Electronic and
Computer Music was active from 1990 to 1992. I t was chaired by Virginia S. Gifford
of the Library of Congress, with members Richard Burbank, Michael Colby, Alan
Gregory, Neil R. Hughes and Laura Snyder.
19. The Music Libnry Association Working Gmup on Terminology in 20th Century
Music was active from 1993 to 1997. I t was chaired by Michael Colby, with members
Dan Cherubin, Ralph Hartsock, David Lesniaski, and Brian Newhouse. Deta Davis
served as the liaison with the Libnry of Congress; Phillip De Sellem of the Libnry of
Congress worked with the group's proposals.
20. The thesaurus is available from http:/lwww.music.indiana.edu/tech-slmIa/
wgt2cm.txt
21. Hemassi, Harriette, "The Music Thesaurus: Function and Foundations,"
Notes 50 (March 1994): 875-82.
22. Ibid.. 882.