Music Classification Systems

Citation

Kidwell, C. (2003), "Music Classification Systems", Library Review, Vol. 52 No. 6, pp. 279-280. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242530310482079

The author claims in the introduction that the purpose of this manual is “to relieve the ‘stress’ level for general catalogers with no special background or knowledge of music by providing some practical guidelines in the classification of music materials and to clarify and explain the most commonly used classification systems in the United States”.

He begins by discussing the differences between music and other library materials, the varying needs of users, and the resultant complexities in classification. After providing an overview of the history and background to music classification McKnight provides chapters on the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), Library of Congress Classification (LCC) and the Alpha‐Numeric System for Classification of Recordings. Each of these begins with a summary of the development of the scheme, then goes on to give practical guidance on its application. The penultimate chapter deals with shelf arrangement in the classification of music materials with regard to DDC and LCC, and finally McKnight presents some concluding observations.

The author’s coverage of the topics is somewhat unbalanced. Of the total 144 pages, 71 are devoted to the chapter on LCC, whilst DDC numbers only 27, despite McKnight’s own admission in the conclusion that the latter is the more complex scheme to apply. This is perhaps representative of the American bias which is clearly detectable. The Bliss Classification is not even mentioned, whilst references to other schemes such as McColvin and the Universal Decimal Classification are only fleeting. Even if these omissions can be accepted as falling outside the scope of the book as defined in the introduction, Coates’ British Catalogue of Music Classification – which has an important place in the history of music classification as being the first fully faceted scheme – deserves some coverage owing to its great influence on the revision of the DDC music schedules in 1989.

Much of the DDC chapter is simply a distillation of either the introductory material in volume 1 – adapting the examples to include excerpts from the music schedules – or the guidelines to class 780 in the user manual. Given the brevity of this chapter, a disproportionately large portion of it is allotted to describing the different varieties of “note”, whilst no examples are given to illustrate frequently occurring situations such as number building for chamber music. It also seems incongruous that many of McKnight’s examples refer to the 20th edition of DDC, which – whilst still “post‐Phoenix” – has already been superseded. The flow chart for vocal music on p. 35, which claims to have been reproduced from the Dewey manual is sufficiently complete to serve McKnight’s points, but is misleading in the way it omits two operations (“is the score a collection?” and “is there a specific vocal executant?”) without acknowledging so.

McKnight is clearly more at home with LCC, which he covers comprehensively, providing critical comment in addition to simple description. Of particular value is his flowchart for the classification of sacred choral music, which sets out the factors to be considered in a clear and logical fashion. A minor point with regard to this section is that McKnight provides many examples of the use of Cutter numbers to specify composers, instruments etc., but the actual process of Cuttering is not explained until a later chapter, and could usefully have appeared earlier in the book.

While Music Classification Systems does not rival the scope exemplified by earlier works such as those of Redfern and Bryant, it usefully adds to the literature on music classification by examining the schemes in their present manifestations. This is especially useful in relation to DDC, as the vast majority of comprehensive literature on music classification schemes was written before the radical revision of class 780. The examination of ANSCR – the scheme with which the average cataloguer is least likely to be familiar – is a particularly welcome addition to the limited existing literature relating to this system. McKnight writes in a clear, unfussy style, which, combined with a clear structure of paragraph headings, makes his prose eminently readable. Although not without its limitations, this work can be recommended as a concise introduction to music classification.