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1. If you want parts, rather than just a score, include “and parts” in your search. For example, doing a "boolean search":

Brahms and quartets and parts

You can also limit your search to "music scores," if you only want printed music. Of course, if you want recordings, select "music recordings." These limits are "sticky"--once you set them they persist until you clear them.

2. If you aren’t looking for works by a particular composer, but you know you want parts of piano quartets or quintets, use (again as a boolean search):

either: “piano quartets” and parts or: piano and quartets and parts

either: “piano quintets” and parts or: piano and quintets and parts

You can use any of the above tricks both in the UIUC catalog; in the iShare catalog; and in WorldCat.

At some point you will need to search for books about your topic.

Some LC subject headings to consider in the catalog

• [composer name]—criticism and interpretation
• keyboard instruments [or pianos or harpsichords]—history
• musical analysis
• music--interpretation (phrasing, dynamics, etc.)
• performance practice (music)—[geographical or temporal subdivision]
• piano music [or keyboard instrument music]—analysis, appreciation
• piano music [or keyboard instrument music]—history and criticism
• piano [or harpsichord] makers—[geographical or temporal subdivision]

There are several ways you could approach this. For example to get all books about Beethoven and either chamber music or quartets we'll use a search like this:

You could also be a bit more specific with a search like this (you'll see why "criticism" is a useful word when we get the search results):

This search results in this record:

"Criticism and interpretation" along with "analysis, appreciation" and "history, criticism" are three of the most useful subject headings to guide you books that talk about composers and their works.

You can also use a subject heading search to find items related to your topic, as subject headings are assigned to indicate what an item is "about." You can start by simply typing "chamber music" or "string quartets" into the search box, selecting "search by: subject headings" and scrolling through the list of choices. Clicking on a subject term, either in this list, or from a catalog record, will take you to all items that have that particular subject heading in our catalog.