Always ask yourself, "Could someone else find the source I've cited based on my citation?"

When I was a graduate student in music, I scratched my head and agonized over citation formats and even wonderered "Why is this so important?" Now that I spend more time researching in music, I understand why! We absolutely have to cite our sources clearly and according to established formats so that others who read our work (especially if your primary reader is also your professor) can easily follow our trail or sources. It is in everyone's best interest that your citations showl exactly what they need to show, No matter what format you use, you'll be providing a minimum of informaton about the authorship, title, edition, date, and, often in music, the format (score? recording? etc.) of the source you are citing. This shows your "chops" as a music researcher. When you perform or compose you strive to make each sound exactly the right one. Do the same when you are citing your sources. If you aren't sure that your citation is correct, as your professor or me.  

My colleague Misti Shaw, formerly Music Librarian at De Pauw University in Chicago, now at Indiana University Music Library, has created an excellent guide to citing sources in music. She kindly has given me permission to use part of her work. This guide reflects the use of Chicago/Turabian style, which is the standard for music writing. The boxes below reflect an earlier (8th ed.) of the Chicago/Turabian style, and I will be updating those as soon as I can. The Chicago Manual of Style is available as an electronic resource to current CSU East Bay students, faculty and staff at the link below this paragraph. Use your net ID and password to access it from off campus. 

Cite your musical score as you would a book. 

B:  Composer Last Name, First.  Name of Musical Work.
                City, State (if city isn't well known): Publisher, Year.
ex:  Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus.  Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525.
                Bryn Mawr, PA:  Theodore Presser, 1960.

N:  ¹Composer First Name Last, Name of Musical Work 
(City, State: Publisher, Year).
ex:  ²Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Eine kleine Nachthmusik, K. 525
(Bryn Mawr, PA:  Theodore Presser, 1960).

For scores in collected editions, cite similar to a book in a series with the title of the edition NOT in italics (use regular type). Use the title page in your volume to gain information such as Series, Workgroup, editor(s), etc. Keep titles of the specific work in their original language and italicize. Use sentence style capitalization—for example, in German, nouns are capitalized, verbs and adjectives are not. After the title, go ahead and translate foreign terms to English. Reihe = series. Band = volume. Werkgrupp = workgroup. Teilband = part. Replace Roman numerals with regular numbers: Series 2, NOT Series II. If there is more than one city listed, choose the first one. “Vorgelegt von” or “herausgegeben von” (edited by) is where you locate editor names.      
You'll notice that Series and Workgroup often have accompanying genres/titles. For example, Series II: Bühnenwerke, and Werkgruppe 5: Opern und Singspiele. You can leave these titles off. series 2 and workgroup 5 suffice.

If your volume contains a whole opera but your paper only concerns one aria, then indicate the aria in your footnote, using the "Chapters and Essays" tab above to inform your citation. You'll also want to do this if your volume contains two concertos and you're only concerned with one, or if you're only concerned with one movement from a symphony, etc. In other words: cite the whole in the bibliography, but add the "part" in your footnote. An aria should go in quotation marks. But whole compositions or movements can stand alone. See Misti for assistance.

Examples:
B: Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. Così fan tutte. Edited by Faye Ferguson 
                and Wolfgang Rehm. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart neue
                Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke, series 2,  workgroup 5,
                vol. 18, parts 1 and 2. Kassel:  Bärenreiter, 1991.

B: Haydn, Joseph. Konzerte für Violoncello und Orchester. Edited by 
                Sonja Gerlach. Joseph Haydn Werke, series 3, vol. 2.
                München: G. Henle, 1981. 

B: Schumann, Robert. 3. Symphonie, Opus 97.  Edited by Linda Correll 
                Roesner. Robert Schumann neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke, 
                series 1, workgroup 1, vol. 3. Mainz: Schott, 1995.

For footnotes, change to First Name Last, replace periods with commas, replace “Edited by” with “ed.” or “eds.” and put publication information in parentheses. 

Cite a song from an anthology/collection as you would a book chapter.

The basic order of information:  composer and work; essential performers such as soloists, conductor, ensemble; publishing information; medium; date.  Remember to consult your professor to be certain you are including all desired information.

B:  Composer last name, First.  Name of musical work,*
                performer First Name Last.  Record label (followed
                by) CD identifying number. Format. Year.
ex:  Beethoven, Ludwig van.  Piano Sonata no. 29,
                Rudolph Serkin. ProArte Digital CDD 270. CD. 1992.
               
N:   ¹Composer First Name Last, Name of musical work,*
performer First Name Last, Record label (followed by)
CD identifying number, format, Year.

ex: ²Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata no. 29,
Rudolph Serkin, ProArte Digital CDD 270, CD, 1992.

*If the musical work is a format, such as Symphony, Sonata, or Prelude,
then do NOT italicize the name of the musical work.

B:  Composer last name, First. Name of work, 
                performer First Name Last.  Record label.
                Format. Year.

ex:  Beethoven, Ludwig van.  Piano Sonata no. 29,
                Rudolph Serkin. ProArte. MP3. 1992.              

N:   ¹Composer First Name Last, Name of musical
                work, performer First Name Last,
                Record label, format, Year.

ex: ²Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata no. 29,
                Rudolph Serkin, ProArte, MP3, 1992.

To cite liner notes, insert the name of the notes author and the words "liner notes to," followed by the album title. Following is the rest of the sound recording citation.

Example:
N:  Carol Yaple, liner notes to Black Angels, Kronos Quartet, Elektra Nonesuch 9 79242-2, CD, 1990.

B: Yaple, Carol. Liner notes to Black Angels.
          Kronos Quartet. Elektra Nonesuch
          9 79242-2. CD. 1990.

B: Orff, Carl.  Carmina burana.  San Francisco Symphony and Chorus, conducted by Herbert Blomstedt. London Records 430 509-2.  CD. 1991.

B: Bartók, Béla.  Concerto for Orchestra.  Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Fritz Reiner.  Recorded October 22, 1955.  RCA Victor 09026-61504-2.  CD. 1993. 

B: Miles Davis and his Orchestra.  Boplicity. (Davis, arranged by Gil Evans). Originally recorded April 22, 1949.  In The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, rev. ed.  RE-033-4. CD. 1987. 

N: ¹Richard Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier, Lott, Von Otter, Bonney, Moll, Vienna State Opera, conducted by Carlos Kleiber, recorded 1994, Deutsche Grammophon 073 008-9, DVD, 2001.

N: ² Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Requiem, K. 626 (completed by Süßmayr), English Baroque Soloists, conducted by John Eliot Gardiner, Philips 420 197-2, CD, 1987.

N: ³ Frédéric Chopin, Berceuse in D-flat Major, op. 57, Josef Hofmann, piano, Columbia A 6078 (Mx 49327-3), recorded March 26, 1918, in The Complete Josef Hofmann, vol. 3, VAI Audio VAIA/IPA 1036-2, CD, 1993.

These example citations generated by Professor Jeffrey Hollander.