Instructions for Authors

Online Submission

Registration and verification of your name are required to start any publication process. By submitting an article for publication via email (musau@oegmw.at), you confirm that you are the main author of the manuscript.

Categories of publications

Research article:

Conventional research papers; free in length but at least 3000 words; appropriate references, hyperlinks, figures, tables, and supplemental research material (if available). Authors considering an article exceeding 15,000 words are asked to contact an editor regarding topic and proposed length.

Special issue:

Topical issues of at least four and up to eight articles, edited by volume editor(s) and the MusAu team. Individual chapters should follow the same guidelines as stand-alone research articles. The production schedule and a potentially more uniform word count is set by the volume editor(s).

Discussion paper:

Preferably provocative and/or inventive contributions aimed at stimulating scholarly discussion; usually 1000–5000 words, unless otherwise agreed upon, and appropriate references. Authors considering a discussion paper are asked to contact the editorial team regarding the topic.

Media review:

Comprehensive review of newly published scholarly books or other relevant types (including digital resources such as DVDs or software); at least 1500 words.

Language

Non-English submissions will not be considered. If English is not your first language, you are asked to arrange for language editing and proofreading prior to submission. If you need such a service, we can put you in contact with a qualified freelance editor. Please note that edited manuscripts will still undergo peer review.
The MusAu editorial team strongly encourages prospective authors to use inclusionary language in their submissions. In this spirit, all gender-specific formulations to refer to generic or unknown individuals, as well as gender binary ones such as "he/she," are to be avoided and should be rewritten using either plural or singular "they" forms.
Since 2022, MusAu offers the possibility of including a German-language version of accepted articles. Should you wish to include a version of your article in a language other than German, please contact the editors in advance for case-by-case decisions in terms of both topical suitability and practical feasibility. This optional version has to be prepared by the author on the basis of the peer reviewed and edited English-language text and will be revised by a suitable language editor.

Abstract

All research articles, special issue chapters, and discussion papers have to be supplied with a structured abstract. The abstract describes the purpose, value, approach, and results of the article. It usually has 150–350 words (the maximum is 500 words). On special request, a German translation of the English abstract can be published alongside the main (English) abstract.

Manuscript requirements

  • Please submit your article in Microsoft Word DOCX format (Word 2007 or newer).
  • Please use the following Microsoft Word standard styles: headlines 1 to 3, footnotes or endnotes, and quotes. Do not manually format text in boldface or resize the font to create a headline. Do not manually indent standard text to label quotes, as the formatting will be overwritten during the import. Use the corresponding style to ensure that the quote is converted correctly.
  • The MusAu import of DOCX files ignores every manually specified font, font size, font color, and indent. Footnotes are automatically converted to endnotes. All fonts (including symbol fonts such as Symbol standard, Windings, and the Bach musicological font) are converted to the MusAu standard font.
  • MusAu is compatible with the Unicode standard. If your text contains special symbols, use the corresponding Unicode character (if possible).
  • Standard text formatting (bold, italic, underline, strikeout, superscript and subscript, alignment), tables, lists (numbered and unnumbered), hyperlinks, and Unicode characters are supported.
  • It is possible to embed media types like YouTube and Vimeo video clips, Adobe and Shockwave Flash objects, SoundCloud audio, Wikimedia files or PDF documents (through Google Viewer).
  • All MusAu papers are published with a cover picture. This usually is an image in your article or a newly uploaded picture. Authors are recommended to find an individual image for their paper. Book reviews normally use a picture of the book cover.

References

Please use the Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.), using notes (the "author-date" style is not accepted). A bibliography is not required. We strongly recommend the use of reference management software such as Endnote or Citavi. We also recommend consulting Kate L. Turabian, Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 8th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013).

Text formatting

  • Please use justified text, American spelling and provided styles (see above, chap. Manuscript requirements).
  • Abbreviations according to CMS: anon., b., ca., cf. [confer], c.f. [cantus firmus], chap., col., d., ed., e.g., et al., fig., fol., i.e., m. (pl. mm.), MS (pl. MSS), n.d., no., op., p. (pl. pp.), pl. (pl. no.), repr., rev., sec., supp., trans. Spell out months. Use standard abbreviations for work catalogues (BVW 1080, Hob. XXI:2, D 960, K. 426, MH 832, WAB 108 etc.).
  • Dashes: Use the en-dash to indicate a continuous range: 1737–1806, pp. 36–47, mm. 1–10. Use unspaced em-dashes. Please format digits according to the instructions given in the Chicago Manual of Style.
  • Measure numbers: Use the abbreviated forms "m." and  "mm." To indicate a specific beat within a measure, use a period to separate the measure number from beat: m. 3.1, m. 5.2–4, mm. 7.4–8.2.
  • Numbers: As a general rule, spell out single numbers from one to one hundred (using a hyphen between two words: "twenty-four") as well as round numbers ("thousand") and centuries ("nineteenth century"). Use numerals for years, dates, pages, measures, opus numbers, and for a series of numbers. Write out note and interval values ("quarter note," "fifth").
  • Life dates: The editors advise to insert life dates of historic figures in round brackets after mentioning a person for the first time. In which cases the inclusion of life dates is considered beneficial and whether life dates are added at all is left to the author's discretion.
  • Quotation marks: Use double quotation marks ("...") generally and single quotation marks ('...') for a quotation inside a quotation.
  • Translated quotations: Any quotation from a text other than English has to be translated into English, supplemented by the original wording
  • Protected spaces: Use protected (hard) spaces before page, chapter, and measure numbers, work catalogue and archival numbers, and prior to "major," "minor," "sharp," "flat," and "natural."
  • Capitalization: Capitalize all key and pitch-class names (e.g., F minor, F sharp), historical eras (e.g., Baroque). Musical genres (in the broadest sense) are capitalized only when used as a title (e.g., Toccata in D minor, Sonata no. 27, Offertorium in F major, Mozart's Te Deum K. 141).
  • Italicization: Individual title of all works (including short works) that are not based on a genre name (e.g., Das Veilchen, Die schöne Müllerin, Le nozze di Figaro). Exceptions are made when the title is identical to the incipit (see next point).
  • Incipits should be set in quotation marks (if they are not identical to a genre name), also when the incipit is identical to a song title (e.g., the duet "Là ci darem la mano" from Don Giovanni, "Im wunderschoenen Monat Mai" from Dichterliebe).
  • For all other text formatting questions, please refer to the Chicago Manual of Style.

Figures and images

All figures and tables should be legible, numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals, and supplied with a short legend for explanation. The text should refer explicitly to the figures. Please use high resolution graphics, which will be scaled down to an appropriate size. The use of colors is preferred. The MusAu journal software provides standard table styles which authors are asked to use. 

Supplementary material

We welcome any supplementary data that is submitted for publication if it adds value to the article. It may even be the key material (such as, for instance, a first-time list a of a composer's works in XLS format). However, any supplement should not be crucial for understanding the article. Please refer directly to the supplement somewhere in the article and insert a hyperlink to it.
You may submit any adequate and common file format, such as PDF, JPG, DOCX, XLSX, MID, MP3, SIB, MUS, etc. The file format should be as common as possible to enable a majority of readers to open it. If possible, always use the newest format version (e.g., XLSX instead of XLS, etc.). For visual attachments, please provide a corresponding PDF file of the data too. We also ask for scores to be submitted in original SIB/MUS/CAP and PDF and MusicXML formats.
Recommended file formats: PDF (PDF/A), HTML, JPG, TIFF, GIF, SIB, MUS, CAP, MusicXML, MP3, TEI, MEI. We would not recommend (but do accept) WPD, DOC, XLS, PPT, AAC, WMA, OGG, MOV, 3GP, MMAP, and BMP. Macros and compressed files (ZIP, RAR) are not accepted. Executable files (EXE) are not permitted, unless you are the author.
Please note that supplementary material will not be edited. Authors are responsible for ensuring that it will be displayed correctly.

Upon acceptance of the manuscript, all materials reprinted or adapted from other sources must be accompanied by a statement from the corresponding archive/library management, copyright holder, author, and/or publisher granting permission for reproduction in MusAu under CC-BY license!

Acknowledgements

MusAu expects authors to adhere to the highest standards of publication ethics. Authors are directed to the COPE international standards for authors. In particular, the following practices are not accepted:

  • Misrepresentation, i.e., fabrication or falsification of data,
  • Plagiarism, including self-plagiarism (text recycling) of the author's own work in whole or in part. Duplication of data that has previously been published in another language than English is not necessarily considered redundant, but should be clearly indicated.
  • Misappropriation of other peoples' work,
  • Copyright infringement.

 Upon manuscript submission, all authors confirm...

  • that the article or its contents have not been submitted simultaneously to another journal,
  • that the article has not been accepted for publication or published before,
  • that the article's publication under a CC-BY license has been approved by all co-authors and all copyright owners that may be concerned by the publication.

Further information

Any correspondence, queries, or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the editorial team.