CMOS for Musicians

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As a music student, you have most likely used the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) or its student
version, called Turabian, to format your class papers. CMOS not only has rules for footnotes and
bibliographies, it also governs style. Among other things, style determines which words you capitalize
and italicize, when you spell out a concept, and when you use symbols. These stylistic details not only
provide a uniform way of representing information, but they actually convey meaning.

Formatting the titles of musical works or knowing music-specific vocabulary is not intuitive. Western
art music developed out of several different cultural and linguistic contexts over an extended
period of time. For this reason, how we format the titles of musical works and use music-specific
vocabulary often depends on linguistic and historical conventions as well as style conventions—in
the case here, CMOS.

CMOS is the go-to style guide for music, but it does not cover everything. CMOS recommends D.
Kern Holoman’s book, Writing about Music: A Style Sheet, as a supplemental guide for finer details
concerning style when writing about music.

Capitalization Schemes
Sentence Case In sentence case—also called sentence style—only the first word is capitalized and
all proper nouns are capitalized. In other words, we capitalize the title like we would
capitalize a sentence. CMOS uses both schemes to capitalize the titles of works. For
more on sentence style, see CMOS 8.158.

Title Case In title case—also called headline style or headline case—the first and last words, and
all major words, are capitalized. In CMOS, major words include nouns, pronouns,
verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and some conjunctions. For more details about what
constitutes a “major word” in headline style, see CMOS 8.159.

Language Capitalization schemes often depend on the language. For example, titles in English
are formatted in title case, whereas titles in Italian or Latin are usually formatted in
sentence case with only the first letter of a title and any proper nouns capitalized.
For more on capitalization schemes and how they relate to languages, see Holoman
1.20 and 2.42–2.50.

Titles of Musical Works

Musical works can have three kinds of titles, and each is formatted differently.
1
Titles Given by These titles are usually in their original language and follow capitalization schemes
the Composer for that language.
2
Generic Titles These titles consist of the genre or form and often the identifying opus or index
number. Generic titles follow title case for capitalization and are generally not
italicized. Generic titles can be assigned by the composer but are often assigned by
scholars or librarians after the death of a composer.

In the mid-20th century, German music librarian Wolfgang Schmieder compiled

the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis numbers, or BWV numbers, connected to all of Bach’s
works. Likewise, the Köchel-Verzeichnis numbers, or KV numbers, that organize
W.A. Mozart’s work are named after Austrian music historian Ludwig von Köchel,
who cataloged all of Mozart’s work in the mid-19th century.

apu.edu/writingcenter/resources
apu.mywconline.com
Titles of Musical Works (continued)

Common Names/ 3 Last, we have common names or nicknames of works. These names often emerge
Nicknames from stories—some true, some not—associated with the works. These titles are usually
put in quotation marks.

Johann Sebastian Bach titled Clavier-Übang, better known as the “Goldberg

Variations,” after his pupil Johann Gottlieb Goldberg. Goldberg supposedly
played these variations at night to help a Russian envoy manage his insomnia.

The table below provides examples of commonly known works. Not every work will have each of the three kinds
of titles, but it is highly likely there will be at least two.

Composer 1
Title Given by Composer Generic Title
2
Common Name
3

Johann Sebastian Bach Clavier-Übang (or Theme and Variations in “Goldberg Variations”
Keyboard Practice) G Major, BWV 988

Johann Sebastian Bach Das wohltemperierte (for one work within this
Clavier (or The Well- larger collection) Prelude
Tempered Clavier) and Fugue in C Minor,
BWV 847

Ludwig von Beethoven Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp “Moonlight Sonata”

Minor, op. 27, no. 2

Joseph Hayden Symphony No. 94 in G “Surprise Symphony”

Major, H. 1/94

Antonin Dvořák Z Nového světa (or From Symphony No. 9 in E “New World Symphony”
the New World) Minor, op. 95, B178

Titles for Songs, Operas, and Musicals

In general, italicize the title of a full work and put quotations around titles of songs from within the work.
Capitalization schemes generally first follow the capitalization appropriate to its original language and then
follow CMOS conventions. Consider the titles in the following table:

Composer Original Language Full Work Songs within the Work

Guiseppe Verdi Italian La traviata “Addio del passato”

George Gershwin English Crazy for You “Embraceable You”

W.A. Mozart German Die Zauberflöte (or The “Der Hölle Rache kocht in
Magic Flute) meinem Herzen” (“Queen
of the Night Aria”)

Because La traviata and “Addio del passato” are in Italian, we follow sentence case, whereas the other titles in
the table are in English and German, so we follow capitalization schemes appropriate for those languages. See
Holoman 2.42–2.52 for capitalization schemes for various languages commonly encountered in Western art music.

2
Titles for Movements within a Work
Sometimes movements
within a larger work (e.g.,
symphony, piano sonata,
dance suite) have their Sonata in B-flat Major, KV 570 W.A. Mozart
(1756-1791)
own titles, but at other I. Allegro
times they are only II. Adagio
identified by their tempo III. Allegretto
marking. Typically, all the
movements being
played in a concert are
listed separately in a
program.

When to Capitalize and Not Capitalize

A a
Most piano sonatas start with a
Within prose, you have probably seen fast sonata-allegro movement, but
Beethoven opens his Piano Sonata
vs. musical terms both capitalized and in lower
case. So when is it Sonata, and when is it No. 12 with a slow-moving theme and
sonata? Generally, when musical terms are five variations.
used as the titles for movements, they are capitalized. If they are
used to signify broader concepts—genres, kinds of movements,
keys, etc.—then they are written in lowercase. Consider the In Mozart’s Sonata in B-flat Major, the
examples to the right for the terms sonata and major. first subject is in B-flat major, and the
second subject is in F major.

A A
When to Italicize and Not Italicize
Other than italicizing the titles of works, you want to minimize italicization in your essay. vs.
Consider the following two principles to decide if you should italicize a word or not:

 Italic typeface can be used for single words borrowed from languages other than English. The changed
typeface cues a reader to switch pronunciation or signals a change of cultural context.

 Dynamic markings and their abbreviations (e.g., forte, ff, piano, mf) are generally italicized. When used in
prose, tempo markings or other interpretive nuances are not always italicized (e.g., crescendo, pizzicato,
ritardando); however, it can be helpful to italicize them to signal context (e.g., “the legato passage” vs.
“play this passage legato”) or to avoid confusion (e.g., “a tempo” vs. “a tempo”).

Additional Resources
Chicago Manual of Style. 17th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017.

CMOS is the go-to style and documentation guide for most publications in music, including musicology,
ethnomusicology, and music theory. This style guide contains information on formatting citations of musical
works, formatting musical terms, and how to format musical symbols. The following sections are most relevant for
formatting music:

 Names, terms, and titles of works: CMOS 8.193–8.197

 Spelling and treatment of musical terms: CMOS 7.71–7.75
 Formatting titles in languages other than English: CMOS 11.6–11.10

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

3
Example of Formatting
Here’s an example of a program note containing the style elements we’ve discussed. How are titles and musical
terms capitalized or italicized in accordance with the ways discussed in this handout?

Title of musical work Preludes for Piano George Gershwin

(1898–1945)
transcribed for two pianos by Gregory Stone
Tempo markings as (1900–1991)
titles for movements I. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso
II. Andante con moto e poco rubato
within the work
with Jane Doe, piano

The American composer George Gershwin is best known as a songwriter for musical theater,
but he was also a talented pianist. He did not perform classical piano repertoire in public, as he
considered his music reading ability inadequate, but he did perform his own works and was an
Title given by composer incredible improviser. In a 1926 recital, he performed several “jazz preludes” on piano. Three
of those preludes were published in the following year. These Preludes for Piano demonstrate
Gershwin’s ability to meld jazz idioms with concert forms. Today, I will be performing the first
two preludes with Jane Doe.
Generic title
Ever the showman, Gershwin’s opening prelude—Prelude No. 1 in B-flat Major—sounds like
an orchestral overture for a musical. He treats the piano as if it is a brass, wind, and percussion
ensemble. One can imagine trumpets or clarinets soloing the melody lines above the ensemble’s
chordal accompaniment. The syncopation in both the accompaniment and melody drives the
Generic title piece forward. As a songwriter, Gershwin was a master of melody. He was also fascinated
with blues music. The second prelude—Prelude No. 2 in C-sharp Minor—melds Gershwin’s
talent for writing melody and his knowledge of blues music. His use of “blues notes”—lowered
notes of a musical scale, often the 3rd or 7th degree—combined with an elastic tempo (rubato)
makes the melody mournful. The ostinato accompaniment gives the melody a weight it would
otherwise not have. Blues notes, elastic tempo, and ostinatos are three elements of blues music
that Gershwin uses to give character to this melody.

Originally written for solo piano, these works have since been transcribed for two-piano
performances. The preludes’ dense textures makes them challenging for the solo pianist. Even
Italic typeface to signal though these textures are divided or doubled between two performers in these arrangements,
a language change they remain challenging to play together. In two-piano arrangements, the first piano (primo)
and avoid confusion. usually plays the melody lines, while the second piano (secondo) plays the accompaniment.
However, in these arrangements, the piano that plays the main themes and the piano that plays
Notice that almost all the accompaniment alternates; therefore, performers have to change their dynamic shading to
musical terms in this emphasize who has the primary part. Likewise, the syncopation and elastic tempos mean that
program note are not performers must frequently communicate in performance—either by making eye contact or
breathing together—to coordinate entrances and play together.
italicized or capitalized.
Crawford, Richard and Wayne J. Schneider. “Gershwin, George.” Grove Music Online/Oxford Music Online.
Published online October 16, 2013. Accessed April 25, 2018. doi: https://0-doi-org.patris.apu.edu/
10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2252861

Wyatt, Robert. “The Seven Jazz Preludes of George Gershwin: A Historical Narrative.” American Music 7,
no. 1 (Spring 1989): 68-85. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3052050

4 Rev. 3-2019