"This is a detailed compilation of information concerning Western musical instruments, their combinations, ranges, and techniques, intended to assist composers and arrangers."
"...includes entries on all the styles and forms in Western music; comprehensive articles on the music of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Near East; descriptions of instruments enriched by historical background; and articles that reflect today's beat, including popular music, jazz, and rock."
"This illustrated dictionary... provides definitions for 'the chief musical terms met with in scientific, theoretical, and practical treatises, and in the more common annotated programmes and newspaper criticisms', ranging from short explanations of the Italian words for tempi, through descriptions of ancient instruments to expansive articles on such topics as acoustics, copyright, hymn tunes, the larynx and temperament."
Contains signed articles on people, places, genres, instruments, etc. Most composer articles have works lists, which serve as indexes to that composer's Collected Works; extensive bibliographies (organized from oldest to newest).
Handbook of Instrumentation by 
The Harvard Dictionary of Music by 
A Dictionary of Musical Terms by 
