Music Cataloging at Yale ♪ MARC tagging
Note: this page was created with music cataloging at Yale in mind.
The 348 field is used to indicate the musical or physical layout of the content of a resource that is presented in the format of notated music, as well as the form of musical notation itself. It is used in addition to the 300 field and any applicable 655 fields and may contain data that duplicates that in the 300 and/or 655 fields.
| Format of notated music The physical layout of the content of a resource that is presented in the form of musical notation, such as score, part, vocal score, etc. |
Both indicators are blank.
‡a = Format of notated music term
‡2 = Source of term and code: rdafnm (nm=notated music) from RDA Format of Notated Music.
The terms are used in the singular, for example "part," even when the resource has more than one part.
Examples:
348 __ ‡a chorus score ‡2 rdafnm
348 __ ‡a condensed score ‡2 rdafnm
348 __ ‡a part ‡2 rdafnm
348 __ ‡a piano conductor part ‡2 rdafnm
348 __ ‡a piano score ‡2 rdafnm
348 __ ‡a score ‡2 rdafnm
348 __ ‡a study score ‡2 rdafnm
348 __ ‡a vocal score ‡2 rdafnm
Note that the source code for format of notated music (rdafnm) is similar to the source code for Form of musical notation (rdafmn)
| Format of notated music terms and definitions The is a list of commonly used terms. For a complete list of terms, codes, and definitions, see RDA Format of Notated Music |
|
| Term | Definition |
| chorus score | a score of a work for solo voices and chorus showing only the parts for chorus, at least in those portions of the work in which the chorus sings, with the instrumental accompaniment either arranged for keyboard or other chordal instrument or omitted. |
| condensed score | a score in which the number of staves is reduced to two or a few, generally organized by instrumental sections or vocal parts, and often with cues for individual parts. |
| part | the music for the use of one or more, but not all, performers; for music for a solo performer, see score. |
| piano conductor part | music consisting of a performance part for a piano performer in an ensemble, with cues for the other instruments that enable the performer of that part also to conduct. |
| piano score | a score consisting of the reduction of an instrumental work or a vocal work with instruments to a version for piano. |
| score | notated music consisting of graphical, symbolic, or word-based musical notation representing the sounds of all the parts of an ensemble or a work for solo performer or electronic media. |
| study score | a score issued in a musical image of reduced size, not primarily intended for use in performance. |
| vocal score | a score showing all vocal parts, with the instrumental accompaniment either omitted or arranged for a keyboard or other chordal instrument or instruments. |
sources: 348 Format of Notated Music (OCLC) and RDA Format of Notated Music
| Form of musical notation The characters or symbols used to express musical content, such as staff notation, tablature, etc. |
MLA's Interim Best Practices update for form of musical notation in field 348 and 546 of May 2022 outlines interim practice for adding form of musical notation in the 348 field, as per MARC updates of June 2021. It is recommended to use field 348 ‡c; however field 546 ‡b may still be used if required by local policy.
‡c = Form of musical notation term
‡2 = Source of term and code: rdafmn (mn=musical notation) from RDA Form of Musical Notation.
Note that the source code for Form of musical notation (rdafmn) is similar to the source code for format of notated music (rdafnm)
Note: OCLC prefers that multiple controlled 348 terms be entered in separate fields.
Examples:
348 __ ‡c graphic notation ‡2 rdafmn
348 __ ‡c staff notation ‡2 rdafmn
348 __ ‡c tablature ‡2 rdafmn
When a term is not found, code the information in ‡b or ‡c without ‡2:
348 __ ‡c verbal instructions
348 __ ‡c guitar chord diagrams
| Form of musical notation terms and definitions This is a list of commonly used terms. For a complete list of terms, codes, and definitions, see RDA Form of Musical Notation |
|
| Term | Definition |
| graphic notation | musical notation that uses various suggestive lines, symbols, color, etc., to prompt or guide the performers. |
| letter notation | musical notation that uses the letters of the alphabet to designate pitches. |
| mensural notation | musical notation, beginning around 1260 and continuing through about 1600, employing four principal note-values and associated rests: long, breve, semibreve, and minim to notate duration. |
| number notation | musical notation conveying pitch by use of numbers, assigned to the notes of a scale, the keys of a keyboard, the finger positions or frets of a string instrument, or to the holes or valves of a wind instrument. |
| staff notation | musical notation in wide use for Western art music, conveying pitch and duration using a staff of parallel lines, often in combination with other staves. |
| tablature | musical notation that uses letters of the alphabet or other symbols not found in staff notation, and which generally specifies the physical action required to produce the music from a specific instrument, rather than an abstract representation of the music itself. |
Source: RDA Form of Musical Notation