Music Cataloging at Yale ♪ MARC tagging
This is a list of commonly used names of instruments, voices, and ensembles as found in the Library of Congress Medium of Performance Terms for Music (LCMPT). This is not a complete list. Please consult Classification Web (subscription required) or the Library of Congress Medium of Performance Thesaurus for Music website for the complete list.
These terms are used in conjunction with MLA's Best practices for using LCMPT (version 1.41, 3/31/2020)) and Recording medium of performance for musical works (RDA 6.15) in
the 382 field in bibliographic and authority records. See Medium of performance (MARC 382) for MARC coding in the 382 field
Instruments: keyboard | wind: woodwind | brass | bowed string | plucked string | percussion | electronic | other | early | unspecified
Voices
Ensembles: instrumental | vocal
| Voices | Vocal ensembles |
| voice (unspecified vocalized part) ° singer (a performer who uses her or his voice to produce musical tone) ° child's voice ° child soprano voice ° boy soprano voice ° high voice ° soprano voice ° countertenor voice ° tenor voice ° medium voice ° mezzo-soprano voice ° baritone voice ° low voice ° alto voice ° bass-baritone voice ° bass voice ° basso profondo ° lead singer ° female voice ° male voice ° speaker (a performer who uses a speaking, rather than a singing, voice) |
vocal ensemble (two or more unspecified voices) ° solo vocal ensemble (solo voices) ° chorus (unspecified chorus of voices) ° children's chorus ° chorus changing voices ° equal voices (all the voices parts are for one type of voice) ° girls' chorus ° boys' chorus ° men's chorus (adult male voices) ° mixed chorus ° spoken chorus (performers who use a speaking voice rather than a singing voice) ° women's chorus |
| Instrumental ensembles | |
| instrumental ensemble (diverse instruments that cannot be described by a more specific term) ° orchestra ° chamber orchestra ° string orchestra ° band ° band versus wind ensemble: ° a "band" is a large ensemble consisting primarily of winds, brass, and percussion. ° may include non-wind instruments. ° a “wind ensemble” is an ensemble consisting of two or more mixed wind instruments. ° consists solely of wind instruments. source: MLA's Best Practices for Using LCMPT, page 12 ° big band (generally 10-15 solo instruments, sometimes including a vocalist) ° brass band (brass instruments, sometimes percussion) ° keyboard ensemble (two or more varied keyboard instruments) ° harpsichord ensemble ° organ ensemble ° piano ensemble ° wind ensemble (two or more mixed wind instruments) (see band for the difference between "band" and "wind ensemble") ° woodwind ensemble (two or more different woodwind instruments) ° flute choir ° oboe ensemble ° clarinet choir ° saxophone ensemble ° brass ensemble (diverse brass instruments that cannot be described by a more specific term) ° cornet ensemble ° trumpet ensemble ° horn ensemble ° trombone ensemble ° tuba ensemble ° bowed string ensemble mixed or unspecified ensemble of bowed string instruments) ° violin ensemble ° viola ensemble ° cello ensemble ° plucked instrument ensemble ° guitar ensemble ° harp ensemble ° lute ensemble ° mandolin ensemble ° percussion ensemble ° handbell choir ° mallet ensemble ° marimba ensemble ° steel band ° electronics (unspecified electronic sounds, either produced live or from a recording) ° live electronics ° processed sound |
|