Research Guides: THTR 1500: Intro to Production Design: Sound Design

Sound Design

Use these resources for sound research, including sound effects and music.

Online Resources

BBC Sound Effects
This archive includes over 16,000 sound effects and field recordings used by the BBC since the 1920s.
Available to listen and download; licensed for personal, educational or research purposes.
Freesound
Freesound is a collaborative database of creative-commons licensed sound for musicians and sound lovers.
Audio Archive | Internet Archive
This library contains recordings ranging from Grateful Dead concerts, to Old Time Radio shows, to book and poetry readings. Many audios and MP3s are available for free download.
FindSounds
FindSounds searches an index of over 1,000,000 sounds on the internet. The index mainly consists of sound effects and musical instrument samples.

Recorded Sound Effects on CD

BBC Sound Effects Library by Films for the Humanities & Sciences
Call #: MEDIA 792.024 B364

Music Recordings

Naxos Music Library This link opens in a new window
Contains over 500,000 music tracks that can be listened to online. Information about composers, CD cover art, and liner notes are available. Search options allow you to locate music by genre, composers, country, work title, year, instrument, music category, or name of artist.
NAXOS is the world's leading producer of classical music. The NAXOS Music Library consists of over 500,000 music tracks that can be listened to in CD quality online. Information about composers, CD cover art, and liner notes are also available. Standard and Advance search options allow you to locate music by genre, composers, country, work title, period, year of composition, instrument, music category, or name of artist.
Naxos Music Library Jazz This link opens in a new window
Contains comprehensive collection of jazz music with over 20,000 tracks, including international jazz. Information about composers, CD cover art, and liner notes are available. Search options allow you to locate music by genre, composers, country, work title, year, instrument, music category, or name of artist.
Naxos Music Library Jazz offers close to 20,000 tracks of jazz from over 1,900 albums. Over 500 jazz artists are represented. Naxos Music Library Jazz comprises Naxos Jazz and the 22 labels of Fantasy Jazz. Naxos Jazz, along with Prophone and Proprius, brings you the world of international Jazz, covering Sweden and Scandinavian jazz artist. US-based Fantasy has the world's deepest jazz catalogue and offers the very best in blues and R&B. New jazz releases are continually added to ensure that the music library is always up-to-date. Faculty can also create playlists for educational use.

Books on Sound Design

Designing Sound by Andy Farnell
Call #: UPPER LEVEL 006.5 F235D
Publication Date: 2010
Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice, and Sound Effects in Cinema
by David Sonnenschein
Call #: LOWER LEVEL 777 S699S
Publication Date: 2001
Sound and Music for the Theatre by James LeBrecht; Deena Kaye
Call #: OhioLINK
Publication Date: 2015