Quezi

Musicians at a square dance, ca 1939 (Flickr Commons nkcr)

You got your musical chops somewhere. But in which branch of the great family tree of your ancestors did the musical talent first make itself known?

There are a number of very good sources for searching back several generations or more to find musically talented folk who were part of your family’s heritage.   The best places to look are:

Copyright records.  Search through a century or more of registered songs, musical scores, recordings and other items at the US Copyright Office.

Music licensing organizations.   ASCAP, BMI, HFA (Harry Fox), and SESAC hold the rights to music from millions of artists, and have online databases that you can search.

WorldCat. This mega-library catalog is international in scope, and contains more than a billion items.  You search it broadly, or narrow search results to just music-related items.

Newspaper Archives. Search old newspaper articles dating back to the 1700’s, for mention of your musician ancestors.

You can find in-depth discussions of these tools, and other family history resources, at Free Genealogy Tools.