Editors should generally follow it, though
exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect
consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the
talk page.
This page contains naming conventions for music-related articles, covering both classical musical works and popular bands, albums and songs.
The first step for disambiguating classical compositions is rather a reference to their composer, while popular music is rather disambiguated by a type qualifier. Cross-over rather follows the popular music convention, e.g.
Swanee (song), not
Swanee (Gershwin).
A generic name for a generic composition type is not italicised. This is language-independent, e.g. Liederkreis (German for
song cycle) is not italicized in
Liederkreis, Op. 24 (Schumann).
Composition titles that are
incipits and have been put to music by several composers are usually regarded as generic names, and so not italicized, e.g.
Stabat Mater (Dvořák), unless the composition belongs to an otherwise defined composition type like
cantata, e.g.
Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 1.
In some exceptional cases what in the wording looks like a generic name is treated as a non-generic name (this can only be done for
primary topics that would need no further disambiguation):
Partially italicized article titles are likewise unusual for compositions (that is, apart from never italicizing comma-separated and parenthetical disambiguators):
Generic names of compositions (sonata, partita, quartet, symphony,...) should not be capitalized beyond the first character of an article title in descriptive article titles. Examples:
"Fixed set" principle for an article on a group of compositions: in
Cello Suites (Bach) the second word is capitalized: it is a generic name for a fixed set of 6 suites belonging to the same group. In the baroque to classical era such set often consisted of 6 or 12 similar works for a single opus number.
Cello suites (Britten) is not a fixed set (three different opus numbers, not composed as a single set), so "suites" not capitalized in the article title, it is a descriptive article title.
Generic names of compositions are capitalized in article titles on a single composition,
Always when the generic name is part of an English-language non-generic article title:
For extinct languages like Latin the convention can be less clear, so depends largely on consensus and how the available sources would generally write the name:
When the name of a non-generic composition is neither unique nor the
primary topic under this name, add the composer's last name as parenthical disambiguator:
A non-generic article title for an article on a composition that is unique to a composer is only disambiguated by composer's name or composition type when such disambiguation is needed:
When disambiguation is needed for a non-generic article title that applies to several works by the same composer, use composition type or catalogue number:
Unless the composition type is truly one of a kind (exactly one composer with exactly one instance of the type) or is a set of variations disambiguated by their theme, generic compositions with a generic article title are always disambiguated by catalogue number and/or the name of the composer:
Key signature, catalogue number, opus number, and other additions to a composition's article title
Key signature
The
key signature of a composition is only added to the article title when it is part of the
common name of the composition. For generic names of compositions the formatting of the key signature is as described in
Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Music#Accidentals, however avoid (♭, ♯) in article titles.
As a disambiguating term, key signatures can only be used in
natural disambiguation, so they're never enclosed in parentheses, nor after a comma.
As key signatures are not always mentioned, can be ambiguous, and are often difficult to remember, they can't serve as an exclusive disambiguating term, unless, exceptionally, as part of a non-generic common name article title, e.g. Te Deum in C.
Catalogue number
Disambiguation by catalogue number is usually avoided while these numbers have a low recognisability potential, and can only be used for these composers that have a single widely used catalogue covering all of their compositions:
Mozart:
K.: there is another reason to avoid this one as much as possible: there is a lot of variation in the numbers in subsequent editions of the catalogue. When K. numbers are used in article titles nonetheless, use the oldest available catalogue number, usually the one in the
original 1862 version of the catalogue, as these oldest numbers appear the most recognisable ones. However, when a composition has as well been numbered in the main catalogue (in one or more editions) and also, in one or more editions, in the Anhang (Anh.) of the catalogue, it is best to differentiate: use the oldest K. Anh. number unless when it is certain that Mozart is the composer of the piece, in which case the oldest main catalogue number should be used. All available K. and K. Anh. numbers should be mentioned in the article.
Schubert:
D – use Deutsch numbers only according to the latest version of the
Deutsch catalogue in article titles, and where applicable explain former numbers in the article.
Telemann:
TWV – use latest numbers; use also TWV (not
TVWV) for catalogue numbers of Telemann's vocal music.
An advantage of disambiguation by catalogue number is however that compositions can be uniquely identified without taking a stance on who composed them:
Uns ist ein Kind geboren, BWV 142 – composer uncertain, but disambiguated from similar works by, among others, Graupner and Telemann
Catalogue numbers can be added as disambiguating term after the common name:
Also opus numbers can not be used as exclusive disambiguating term, they're always followed by the last name of the composer in parentheses.
Other additions
Following types of qualifiers should only be added to an article title when they're part of the common name. For generic titles they are generally not considered sufficient as an exclusive disambiguating term, so would usually require an additional composer/catalogue type of disambiguating term:
Only when period, style, way of naming compositions etc can be confusing the added first name can give additional clarity, e.g.
Requiem (Michael Haydn). A particular example of this is
Johann Sebastian Bach and his many composing namesakes. Conventionally J. S. Bach's compositions would be the primary topic in any genre, i.e. without disambiguating term (Brandenburg Concertos) if not needed, and disambiguated or serialized by BWV number (
Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582) or (Bach) parenthetical disambiguating term (
Orchestral suites (Bach)). Only descriptive titles (including category names) would usually give the full name for any composer after "by" (
List of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach,
Category:Compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach). For the other Bachs, if parenthetical disambiguation by name of the composer is needed: add the initials (with periods and spaces) in the parenthesis:
Last name can signify something completely different...
E.g. (Ireland) as a disambiguating term would rather refer to
Ireland than to
John Ireland, so the
precision criterion for article titling calls for (John Ireland) when the name of the composer is used as a parenthetical disambiguating term.
Composer uncertain
Use (attributed to <most likely of the named composers>) as disambiguating term for a composition when all of the following applies:
the composition isn't part of a series that uses the standard series format (see below);
its composer isn't known with certainty, but there is at least one name of a composer to whom the composition has been attributed;
there is no other way to avoid the composer disambiguating term (e.g. using a primary topic nickname, or disambiguating by a catalogue number that doesn't imply authorship, disambiguating by composition type, etc.)
When a composer wrote more than one composition of a similar type, multiple articles on such compositions form a series. The most standardized format for article names of such a series is as follows:
[composition type] No. [number] ([last name of composer])
Symphony No. 104 (Haydn) (keep the parenthetical disambiguator even if the article title is unique without it)
For concerto series, composition type includes soloist instrumentation (e.g. "Cello Concerto"). Also for sonata series the (soloist) instrumentation is mentioned in the composition type ("Violin Sonata"). Similar for most other types of chamber music ("Partita for keyboard", "Flute Quartet"). For other numbered series the instrumentation is only mentioned when not what one would usually expect, e.g. "Symphony for Organ". Other additions when well-established, e.g. "Hungarian Rhapsody" for the series of compositions by Liszt.
Deviations from this standardized format are only possible:
when the numbering is part of a composition's non-generic name, and only that non-generic name is used to indicate the composition, e.g. Second Rhapsody
when the composition type has only been used in a series by one composer, which makes the composer disambiguator redundant, e.g.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 19
When the usual standardization is not possible for the aforementioned reasons, a common format is nonetheless preferably maintained across related series for a particular composer:
Try to stay close to the standardized format: similar layout, capitalization and disambiguator format throughout the series are preferable.
A stand-alone list of a composer's compositions is titled "List of compositions by <composer name>". Alternatively, when the main list of a composer's compositions is under the name of a broadly used catalogue for these compositions, "List of compositions by <composer name>" should be a redirect to that catalogue page. Examples:
Having two separate pages listing all compositions of a composer is only possible when one is a bullet list (e.g. grouped by genre) and the other a sortable table. Further: make sure to follow all provisions at
Wikipedia:Content forking#List formats. Examples:
For partial lists, replace "compositions" in the article title by another term that defines the list or add a qualifier at the end of the article title. Examples:
Catalogues of compositions of a composer often contain separate lists of lost works, arrangements, the composer's copies of someone else's compositions, and doubtful and/or spurious works. In most cases such "Anhang"-related items are contained in the main list (e.g.
List of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach#BWV Anhang). Exceptionally, when such works take a prominent place in the composer's oeuvre, they are listed on a separate page (e.g.
List of adaptations by Ferruccio Busoni).
"works"
An article title starting with "List of works ..." implies creative works in multiple media (e.g.
List of works published posthumously), otherwise a more
precise descriptor of the works contained in the list should be used.
Compositions may be described under article titles without opus number, catalogue number, nickname and other characteristics that may be highly recognizable to some readers: series should always have
navboxes with such additional information and/or link to a list article that contains the details.
Category sorting
Choose a clear
sorting scheme for all compositions in a category, that is also as intuitive as possible to readers less familiar with the topic.
Do not replicate stylized typography in logos and album art, though a redirect may be appropriate (for example,
KoЯn redirects to
Korn).
Capitalization
For capitalization of "The" in running prose when it is the first word of a band's name, see
MOS:THEMUSIC.
Capitalization of band names should be consistent with the guidelines for
trademarks.
Capitalization of song titles and album titles should be consistent with the guidelines for
composition titles; in particular, capitalize the first and last word and all other words except:
prepositions shorter than five letters (as, in, to, like, over, with; see
List of English prepositions, and keep in mind that some of these words are not always prepositions)
Short verbs (Is, Are, and Do) and pronouns (Me, It, and His) are capitalized.
In the rare case that a remix is independently notable and contains "(Remix)" in its track title, "remix" should not be capitalized. The same should be done for other track names with generic parentheticals or generic qualifiers after dashes, although such tracks are unlikely to be notable. (If redirects are categorized or connected to Wikidata items, then the convention should apply to such redirects.)
This is the guideline for disambiguation of
non-classical music articles. It is intended only as a guide to assist in the correct methods of disambiguation when there is no primary topic for the base name's title. For disambiguation styles of classical music refer to
Compositions (classical music).
General
Do not pre-emptively
disambiguate pages. If the name of an article about a musical group or a recording does not share its title with any other topic discussed in Wikipedia that it might be confused with, use the base title as a
primary topic.
If there are two or more articles sharing their name,
determine if any of those articles is primary relative to the other article(s).
If there is no primary topic for the usage of a title, the base title will be occupied by a disambiguation page, for example
Next to Me, or it will be redirected to an appropriate page, for example
Hurricane.
Disambiguation for musical groups should be done by using an appropriate disambiguation term. The most common is "(band)", but it can also be done through other methods:
Use "(group)" when the musical ensemble members do not perform by playing musical instruments, the members are mainly vocalists, and other people perform by playing musical instruments. This includes all non-performing
boy bands and
girl groups, for example
TLC (group)
In both cases, if a person or a musical group shares their name with another person or musical group, and there is no primary topic, disambiguation may be performed through methods that can help to distinguish one topic from another:
Unless more than one article[a] about albums of the same name exist, there is no need to disambiguate any further. For example, it has been determined that there is no primary topic for "Down to Earth", so "
Down to Earth" is a disambiguation page. As multiple albums share the same name, "
Down to Earth (album)" will redirect there.
For
demo albums use either "(album)" (or "(EP)" if it meets the criteria; see below) or "(demo)".
For
extended plays use "(EP)", unless "EP" is itself part of the title: The Black EP or
Another One Rides the Bus (EP). To determine if an album is a studio album or an extended play check the length and the number of songs. In most circumstances, a recent extended play will not last over 35 minutes and will not have more than 8 songs; while an extended play released before the 2000s decade would not last over 25-30 minutes. Note that an EP can include multiple remixes of a same song, for example
A (Ayumi Hamasaki EP), so these should be excluded from the final length.
If there is no defined performer of an old song (over 50 years), the lyricist(s) and/or the composer(s) are not well-recognized, or multiple notable performers that have covered it are better known than the original recording artist, the year of publication will be used (
"Young Love" (1956 song) or
"Dancing on the Ceiling" (1930 song))
Note that there may be occasional exceptions for redirects; these are determined when a song may not be the primary topic for its title, but results to be the most preferred option for readers's searches and/or it is a highly valued recording by multiple reliable sources. The consensus can be reached through a discussion on the talk page or through
Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion.
The top category of music-related topics is named
Category:Music. It contains people categories, such as
Category:Music people, subject to the principles of
WP:COP, and other categories, e.g.
Category:Music by genre. Eponymous music people categories, however, generally don't contain biographical articles apart from the article on the person after which they are named, per
WP:COPSEP and
WP:OCEPON, as they generally should only contain articles regarding the topics for which the person is known. E.g.
Category:Johann Sebastian Bach should not contain articles of his family members, students or on individual Bach scholars. "Family" categories are however fully in the people category tree and only contain biographical articles, e.g.
Category:Bach family.
Except for the parent category, that is
Category:Musical compositions, the term "compositions" is always understood as being musical compositions and needs no further disambiguation. Like for mainspace article titles, "works" should only be used in category names when referring to creations in multiple media or of different type, otherwise more specific descriptors, such as "compositions" should be used, see e.g.
Category:Works by musician.
^
abcAn RFC closed in June 2016 has established a consensus that further disambiguation is only required when multiple songs or albums of the same name have articles.
^An RFC closed in August 2013 has established consensus that "(entertainer)" "should be restricted to cases where a subject's notability across different areas of entertainment is roughly the same".
^
abPer community consensus, and only for Asian releases labeled as such, use "(single album)" instead of "single", "album" or "EP".