LCMPT
Library of Congress Medium
of Performance Thesaurus for
Music
Hermine Vermeij, UCLA
What is medium of
performance?
 The
instruments, voices, etc. used in the
performance of a musical work
 (Almost)All musical works have a medium
of performance
 Examples:


Beethoven’s Symphony no. 5: orchestra
Schubert’s String quintet in C major: 2
violins, 1 viola, and 2 cellos
How we use LCSH to record
medium of performance
 LCSH
headings for music conflate
genre/form and medium of performance
 Incredibly complex rules for heading
construction

For some light reading, consult H 1917.5 in
the Subject Headings Manual
 Examples:
Orchestral music
String quintets (Violins (2), viola, cellos (2))
What’s wrong with LCSH?
Part 1
Concertos (Piano)
 Denotes the genre/form (Concertos) as
well as the medium of performance
(Piano)
 “Infers” orchestra, because most
concertos are accompanied by an
orchestra
What’s wrong with LCSH?
Part 2
Quintets (Harpsichord, bassoon, flute, viola,
cello)
 Constructed according to complex rules:
first keyboard instrument(s), then wind
instruments in alphabetical order, then
string instruments in score order
 Text string cannot be parsed by a
machine
What’s wrong with LCSH?
Part 3
Sonatas (Flute and piano)
Suites (Flute and piano)
Flute and piano music
 Three headings that are all for the same
instrumentation
 No way to retrieve all music written for
flute and piano
What’s wrong with LCSH?
Part 4
Percussion ensembles
 Covers all pieces written for two or more
percussionists
 Very little granularity
?
?
?
?
Solution: LCGFT and LCMPT
 In
2007 the Library of Congress and the
Music Library Association began a
collaboration to remove music
genre/form terms from LCSH and add
them to the Library of Congress
Genre/Form Terms(LCGFT)
 Medium of performance terms were
determined to be separate from
genre/form  New thesaurus!
LCGFT



Work on the music portion of LCGFT is
ongoing
LC and MLA hope to have a tentative list
ready by early 2015
Once ready, music LCGFT terms will be postcoordinated with LCMPT terms to replace the
music LCSH headings that have been used
purely for genre/form access

Subject headings that are used topically will
remain in LCSH.
LCMPT
 Released
in February 2014
 Over 800 terms
 Generally singular, lowercase
 Three top terms: ensemble, performer,
and visuals
 Each term has at least one broader term
 Many terms have scope notes
Availability of LCMPT

Classification Web

As linked data (breaking news!):
Download LCMPT
in MARC UTF-8
format:
http://classification
web.net/LCMPT/
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/performanceMediums.html
LCMPT record example
010 $a mp2013015268
040 $a DLC $b eng $c DLC $e lcmpt
162 $a flute
462 $a Boehm flute
462 $a concert flute
462 $a transverse flute
562 $w $g $a ductless flute
680 $i The flute of European art
music. For generic uses of flute see $a
ductless flute $i or $a duct flute.
lccn
preferred term
crossreferences
broader term
scope note
LCMPT Hierarchy Overview
washboard band
wind ensemble
zither ensemble
ensemble
audience
instrumental ensemble
accordion band
balalaika orchestra
band
bowed string ensemble
concertina ensemble
continuo
dulcimer ensemble
electronics
gamelan
gonrang
keyboard ensemble
harmonica ensemble
jug band
khrū̜ ang sāi
mahōrī
orchestra
percussion ensemble
pipe band
pīphāt
plucked instrument ensemble
plung orchestra
string band
toy orchestra
mixed media
vocal ensemble
performer
chorus
solo vocal ensemble
actor
audience
celebrant
conductor
dancer
tap dancer
instrument
aerophone
electronic instrument
friction instrument
idiophone
keyboard instrument
mechanical
instrument
membranophone
percussion instrument
plucked instrument
string instrument
toy instrument
mixed media
mime
signer
voice
singer
speaker
visuals
LCMPT Best Practices
 Provisional
best practices now available:
http://bcc.musiclibraryassoc.org/BCCHistorical/BCC2014/ProvisionalBestPracticesf
orUsingLCMPT%20FINAL.pdf
 Fuller best practices will be developed
once LCGFT for music is released
MARC coding
 LCMPT
terms are coded in the 382 field in
both bibliographic and authority records
 MLA and LC put through several MARC
proposals in the last few years to massage
the 382 to be more granular
382 overview





1st indicator – Usually 0 for Medium of
performance
2nd indicator – Coded 1 in bib records for
Intended for access
$a – Medium of performance (where most of
the LCMPT terms go
$b – Soloist (when there is a featured
instrument or voice)
$d – Doubling instrument (when a performer
plays more than one instrument)
382 overview (continued)
 $n
– Number of performers of the same
medium
 $p – Alternative medium of performance
 $s – Total number of performers
 $v - Note
382 example (simple)
Medium of performance: string quartet
382 01 $a violin $n 2 $a viola $n 1 $a cello
$n 1 $s 4 $2 lcmpt
382 example (complicated)
Medium of performance: clarinet (doubling
castanets) and oboe (doubling finger
snapping)
382 01 $a clarinet $n 1 $d castanets $n 1 $a
oboe $n 1 $d finger snapping $n 1 $s 2 $2
lcmpt
+
+
382 example (bonkers)
Medium of performance: soprano soloist
accompanied by flute (doubling penny
whistle), toy piano (or celesta), and
handbell choir.
382 01 $b soprano voice $n 1 $a flute $n 1
$d penny whistle $n 1 $a toy piano $n 1 $p
celesta $n 1 $a handbell choir $2 lcmpt
+
or
Bi-level examples (1)
Medium of performance: flute choir
(piccolo, 4 flutes, alto flute, and bass flute)
382 01 $a flute choir $2 lcmpt
382 01 $a piccolo $n 1 $a flute $n 4 $a alto
flute $n 1 $a bass flute $n 1 $s 7 $2 lcmpt
Bi-level examples (2)
Medium of performance: 2-6 violins
382 01 $a violin $n 2 $s 2 $2 lcmpt
382 01 $a violin $n 3 $s 3 $2 lcmpt
382 01 $a violin $n 4 $s 4 $2 lcmpt
382 01 $a violin $n 5 $s 5 $2 lcmpt
382 01 $a violin $n 6 $s 6 $2 lcmpt
382 01 $a violin ensemble $2 lcmpt
+??
Back to those LCSH examples
650 #0 $a Concertos (Piano)
382 01 $b piano $n 1 $a orchestra $2 lcmpt
655 #7 $a Concertos. $2 lcgft*
*Music LCGFT terms not released yet
650 #0 Quintets (Harpsichord, bassoon,
flute, viola, cello)
382 01 $a harpsichord $n 1 $a bassoon $n 1
$a flute $n 1 $a viola $n 1 $a cello $n 1 $s 5
$2 lcmpt
650 #0 $a Sonatas (Flute and piano)
650 #0 $a Suites (Flute and piano)
650 #0 $a Flute and piano music
OR
OR
382 01 $a flute $n 1 $a piano $s 2 $2 lcmpt
AND
655 #7 $a Sonatas. $2 lcgft*
OR
655 #7 $a Suites. $2 lcgft*
OR
[No 655]
650 #0 Percussion ensemble.
382 01 $a timpani $n 1 $a triangle $n 1 $a
snare drum $n 1 $a bongos $n 1 $s 4 $2
lcmpt
Still in flux

Piano 4 hands, etc.


Temporarily:
382 01 $a piano $n 2 $s 2 $v piano, 4 hands $2
lcmpt
Popular music

Sometimes it makes sense to include a 382 like:
382 01 $a electric guitar $n 1 $a guitar $n 1 $a
electric bass $n 1 $a drum set $n 1 $s 4 $2 lcmpt
… but usually it doesn’t.
Still in flux (continued)
 Recording



number of ensembles
$n only refers to the number of performers
Currently no good way to record a piece
for two orchestras, etc.
MLA is looking into a new MARC subfield for
number of ensembles
 How
will this work in BIBFRAME?
For now
 Music
catalogers are continuing to use
LCSH terms in 650s
 Encouraged to add 382s to bibliographic
records as well
 Adding 382s to authority records for
musical works
In the future?
 Retrospective

Current subject headings have a wealth of
information that can be converted to
LCMPT vocabulary
 New


conversion
interfaces
Ability to plug in certain instruments and
voices  Retrieve all musical works written
for those media
Ability to facet by medium of performance
Have a new term?


The thesaurus has been launched, but
maintenance will be ongoing
All proposals for new or changed terms should
go through the SACO Music Funnel Project:
http://www.loc.gov/aba/pcc/saco/Music_Funnel.html

Currently proposed terms include:





agogo
glass harp
jhāñjh
prepared violin
veṇu
The possibilities are endless
Composers love to come up with new and
strange ways to perform music.
Deconstruction no. 2 – Songo-go
For tenor voice, tam-tam, toy dart guns, golfer
with ping pong balls, Walkman, and clock
tower bells
(Must be played at 4:00 p.m. to be timed
correctly with the bells)
(And also the tenor has to dance)
Thanks to
 Janis
Young, LC PSD
 MLA Subject Access Subcommittee



Casey Mullin, Stanford University
Nancy Lorimer, Stanford University
Kevin Kishimoto, University of Chicago
Want more?
Subject Analysis Committee
Tomorrow (June 30) 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Presentation and discussion on LCMPT
LVH-Pavilion 01 (Las Vegas Hotel)
Questions?
Hermine Vermeij
UCLA Cataloging & Metadata Center
hermine@library.ucla.edu