This
guideline documents an English Wikipedia
naming convention. 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).
Apart from some points regarding formatting and disambiguation in #Bands, albums and songs, the naming conventions regarding articles on musicians are covered by Wikipedia:Naming conventions (people), including what is said there on groups of people ( Wikipedia:Naming conventions (people)#Articles combining biographies of two or more people). Orchestras, music production companies, etc. are however also often subject to Wikipedia:Naming conventions (companies). See also Wikipedia:Naming conventions (definite or indefinite article at beginning of name)#Names of groups, sports teams and companies
Generic name | Non-generic name |
---|---|
Symphony No. 2 (Mahler) | Resurrection Symphony |
Serenade in G major, K. 525 | Eine kleine Nachtmusik |
Aria, BWV 508 | " Bist du bei mir" |
song cycle Op. 25 (Schubert) | Die schöne Müllerin |
Variations on a Theme by Haydn | Saint Anthony Variations |
— | Pavane pour une infante défunte |
Pavane (Fauré) | — |
Quartettsatz, D 103 (Schubert) | — |
Non-generic names are italicised, except those of individual dances, songs, hymns, lieder and arias (e.g. " The Blue Danube", " Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", " A Mighty Fortress Is Our God", " Heidenröslein", " Madamina, il catalogo è questo"), and separate movements or sections of larger works (e.g. " Ride of the Valkyries").
Also a descriptive name can be a non-generic name that is not italicized (e.g. Music for the Royal Fireworks), unless it is the actual name of the work (e.g. The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Trois mouvements de Petrouchka). Most generic names are, however, nothing else than standardized descriptive names.
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):
Quotation marks should be avoided, except for the name of a theme in a set of variations in a generic article title:
Otherwise the use of quotation marks in generic artitle titles is limited to a very few cases:
Partially italicized article titles are likewise unusual for compositions (that is, apart from never italicizing comma-separated and parenthetical disambiguators):
Italics and quotation marks should not be used together in a single article title.
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:
Similar for article titles of articles on the composition types themselves:
"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,
Instrumentation included in generic names:
Compositions that fall under no generic composition type category are rare. Their article title strictly follows the common name principle:
Compositions that are one of a kind and nonetheless have a generic name not requiring additional disambiguation are even more exceptional:
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:
Common name always applies when a composer composed only one instance of a generic type of composition:
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:
Avoid however disambiguating by composer when the composer is not known with certainty, or a composer's name would be otherwise misleading:
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:
E.g.,
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 usual standardization is not possible for the aforementioned reasons, a common format is nonetheless preferably maintained across related series for a particular composer:
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:
Do not replicate stylized typography in logos and album art, though a redirect may be appropriate (for example, KoЯn redirects to Korn).
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:
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.)
For more details, see WP:Manual of Style/Titles § Capital letters.
If the title of a musical group or a recording does not share its title with any other topic in Wikipedia, use the base title, for example the Front Bottoms (not the Front Bottoms (band)), The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale (not The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale (Prince album)), or " I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (not "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (song)). If the band's name or the recording's title has the same title as other topics (musical or not), determine whether there is a primary topic for the base title by making a comparison. For example, the Beatles are a primary topic due to their historical relevance in sources and is determined to be the primary topic against other articles of the same or similar name, or " Hey Brother", which was determined by discussion to be primary rather than the other articles of the same or similar name. In a case in which the musical group or recording does not meet the primary topic criteria, use the appropriate method of disambiguation. [a]
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).
For individuals:
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:
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.
If two or more albums share their title, but they are not from the same type, simple disambiguation will still be used, for example Title (album) and Title (EP), or Electric Dreams (album) and Electric Dreams (soundtrack). If two or more albums share their title, and they are of the same type, further disambiguate by band, for example Confessions (Buckcherry album) and Confessions (Usher album). Collaborative albums and split albums—those in which two (or more) performers release an album together and that require disambiguation, will include all performers as they are credited on the album cover ( Hands (Dave Holland and Pepe Habichuela album) or December (Gabrielle Aplin and Hannah Grace EP)). Consider that titles should be concise enough and should not be "longer than necessary to identify the article's subject and distinguish it from other subjects", so if an album was released by several people, and it may compromise readability, use another shorter method of disambiguation.
In the event a performer releases two or more albums of the same name, but in different years, the year of its release will be utilized ( Patsy Cline (1957 EP), Patsy Cline (1961 EP) and Patsy Cline (1962 EP)). If a performer releases two or more albums of the same name, and other performers also have albums with the same name, use both year and performer ( Colours (album) v. Colours (1972 Donovan album), Colours (1987 Donovan album) and Colours (1991 Donovan album)). If they are released in the same year, use a method that can help to be distinguished from each other ( Uzi (Muslimgauze studio album) v. Uzi (Muslimgauze compilation album) or The Videos (Kylie Minogue VHS) v. Kylie: The Videos). In the rare event two unrelated performers share the same name (for example Embrace (English band), Embrace (American band)) , and they release an album with the same name (example: Embrace), disambiguation will be handled as: "Title of the work (year of release / nationality of the performer / band or singer / name of the performer / type of album)", resulting in: Embrace (English band Embrace album) and Embrace (American band Embrace album).
Like with albums above, unless more than one article [a] about songs of the same name exist, there is no need to disambiguate any further.
If two or more musical compositions share the same title, and disambiguation is necessary:
Artists who make a guest appearance, those who are credited with a "featuring", are not included in the disambiguation: ( "Without You" (David Guetta song) not "Without You" (David Guetta and Usher song)). Collaborative songs—those in which two (or more) performers release a musical composition together (generally include a "and"/"&", "with", "/", "+", "X", or an space between their names in the credits), and those that require disambiguation will include all performers as they are credited in the single cover: ( "Whistle" (Kylie Minogue and múm song) or "Bang Bang" (Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj song)). As explained above, consider that titles should be concise enough.
Category names and category tree definitions:
This
guideline documents an English Wikipedia
naming convention. 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).
Apart from some points regarding formatting and disambiguation in #Bands, albums and songs, the naming conventions regarding articles on musicians are covered by Wikipedia:Naming conventions (people), including what is said there on groups of people ( Wikipedia:Naming conventions (people)#Articles combining biographies of two or more people). Orchestras, music production companies, etc. are however also often subject to Wikipedia:Naming conventions (companies). See also Wikipedia:Naming conventions (definite or indefinite article at beginning of name)#Names of groups, sports teams and companies
Generic name | Non-generic name |
---|---|
Symphony No. 2 (Mahler) | Resurrection Symphony |
Serenade in G major, K. 525 | Eine kleine Nachtmusik |
Aria, BWV 508 | " Bist du bei mir" |
song cycle Op. 25 (Schubert) | Die schöne Müllerin |
Variations on a Theme by Haydn | Saint Anthony Variations |
— | Pavane pour une infante défunte |
Pavane (Fauré) | — |
Quartettsatz, D 103 (Schubert) | — |
Non-generic names are italicised, except those of individual dances, songs, hymns, lieder and arias (e.g. " The Blue Danube", " Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", " A Mighty Fortress Is Our God", " Heidenröslein", " Madamina, il catalogo è questo"), and separate movements or sections of larger works (e.g. " Ride of the Valkyries").
Also a descriptive name can be a non-generic name that is not italicized (e.g. Music for the Royal Fireworks), unless it is the actual name of the work (e.g. The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Trois mouvements de Petrouchka). Most generic names are, however, nothing else than standardized descriptive names.
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):
Quotation marks should be avoided, except for the name of a theme in a set of variations in a generic article title:
Otherwise the use of quotation marks in generic artitle titles is limited to a very few cases:
Partially italicized article titles are likewise unusual for compositions (that is, apart from never italicizing comma-separated and parenthetical disambiguators):
Italics and quotation marks should not be used together in a single article title.
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:
Similar for article titles of articles on the composition types themselves:
"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,
Instrumentation included in generic names:
Compositions that fall under no generic composition type category are rare. Their article title strictly follows the common name principle:
Compositions that are one of a kind and nonetheless have a generic name not requiring additional disambiguation are even more exceptional:
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:
Common name always applies when a composer composed only one instance of a generic type of composition:
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:
Avoid however disambiguating by composer when the composer is not known with certainty, or a composer's name would be otherwise misleading:
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:
E.g.,
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 usual standardization is not possible for the aforementioned reasons, a common format is nonetheless preferably maintained across related series for a particular composer:
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:
Do not replicate stylized typography in logos and album art, though a redirect may be appropriate (for example, KoЯn redirects to Korn).
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:
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.)
For more details, see WP:Manual of Style/Titles § Capital letters.
If the title of a musical group or a recording does not share its title with any other topic in Wikipedia, use the base title, for example the Front Bottoms (not the Front Bottoms (band)), The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale (not The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale (Prince album)), or " I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (not "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (song)). If the band's name or the recording's title has the same title as other topics (musical or not), determine whether there is a primary topic for the base title by making a comparison. For example, the Beatles are a primary topic due to their historical relevance in sources and is determined to be the primary topic against other articles of the same or similar name, or " Hey Brother", which was determined by discussion to be primary rather than the other articles of the same or similar name. In a case in which the musical group or recording does not meet the primary topic criteria, use the appropriate method of disambiguation. [a]
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).
For individuals:
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:
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.
If two or more albums share their title, but they are not from the same type, simple disambiguation will still be used, for example Title (album) and Title (EP), or Electric Dreams (album) and Electric Dreams (soundtrack). If two or more albums share their title, and they are of the same type, further disambiguate by band, for example Confessions (Buckcherry album) and Confessions (Usher album). Collaborative albums and split albums—those in which two (or more) performers release an album together and that require disambiguation, will include all performers as they are credited on the album cover ( Hands (Dave Holland and Pepe Habichuela album) or December (Gabrielle Aplin and Hannah Grace EP)). Consider that titles should be concise enough and should not be "longer than necessary to identify the article's subject and distinguish it from other subjects", so if an album was released by several people, and it may compromise readability, use another shorter method of disambiguation.
In the event a performer releases two or more albums of the same name, but in different years, the year of its release will be utilized ( Patsy Cline (1957 EP), Patsy Cline (1961 EP) and Patsy Cline (1962 EP)). If a performer releases two or more albums of the same name, and other performers also have albums with the same name, use both year and performer ( Colours (album) v. Colours (1972 Donovan album), Colours (1987 Donovan album) and Colours (1991 Donovan album)). If they are released in the same year, use a method that can help to be distinguished from each other ( Uzi (Muslimgauze studio album) v. Uzi (Muslimgauze compilation album) or The Videos (Kylie Minogue VHS) v. Kylie: The Videos). In the rare event two unrelated performers share the same name (for example Embrace (English band), Embrace (American band)) , and they release an album with the same name (example: Embrace), disambiguation will be handled as: "Title of the work (year of release / nationality of the performer / band or singer / name of the performer / type of album)", resulting in: Embrace (English band Embrace album) and Embrace (American band Embrace album).
Like with albums above, unless more than one article [a] about songs of the same name exist, there is no need to disambiguate any further.
If two or more musical compositions share the same title, and disambiguation is necessary:
Artists who make a guest appearance, those who are credited with a "featuring", are not included in the disambiguation: ( "Without You" (David Guetta song) not "Without You" (David Guetta and Usher song)). Collaborative songs—those in which two (or more) performers release a musical composition together (generally include a "and"/"&", "with", "/", "+", "X", or an space between their names in the credits), and those that require disambiguation will include all performers as they are credited in the single cover: ( "Whistle" (Kylie Minogue and múm song) or "Bang Bang" (Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj song)). As explained above, consider that titles should be concise enough.
Category names and category tree definitions: