Writing about Music

at Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore Colleges

Last Revised: February 2024

Introduction

This is a style guide for formal writing in Tri-Co music courses. It is based on the following two sources, which you can access via Tripod, the Tri-College Library catalog, from tripod.brynmawr.edu, from tripod.haverford.edu, or from tripod.swarthmore.edu for further guidance. For instructions on including score, audio, and video examples in your essay, consult the Tri-Co’s Music Example Guide.

Also see:

• Holoman, D. Kern. 2014. Writing about Music: A Style Sheet, 3rd ed. Oakland: University of California Press.

• University of Chicago Press. 2017. The Chicago Manual of Style Online, 17th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Visit the guide online (from any campus network): https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html

In particular Visit the Author-Date examples from the CMS, which is the standard to be used for references to books, scores, journal articles, etc.

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Contents of This Guide

• Referring to Musical Works
• Terminology, Hyphens and Dashes
• Writing About the Past
• Citing Sources
• Examples and Fair Use
• Score Examples
• Audio Examples
• Video Examples
• Transcriptions and Figures
• Making Audio and Video Examples with Hijack, Fission, and Camtasia

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