writing music research paper

• MJC Library & Learning Center
• Research Guides

Researching Music & Musicians

• Getting Started

Understand Your Assignment

Create some research questions to guide your inquiry, brainstorm search terms.

• Know Your Sources
• Find Your Sources
• Citing Basics

The content of your paper is dictated by your professor's assignment prompt. Read it carefully, as following the guidelines laid out by your professor is crucial to your success. If the assignment prompt confuses you, consider attending your professor's office hour or emailing them for clarification.  MJC research librarians are happy to help you understand the guidelines laid out in your assignment.

Check out these useful links providing guidance and tips for students tasked with writing about music. These links are meant to serve as a supplement to your professor's assignment prompt and the material in this guide.

• Writing About Music From the Hunter College in New York

Research questions will keep you focused and on task. Sometimes your professor will include specific questions they want addressed within the prompt.  A research librarian can also help you develop questions based on the parameters of the assignment. Below are some generic questions that can help you get started.

• What biographical/historical  information is important to understanding your composer?
• What or who were the musical influences for your composer?
• What education & training did your composer receive?
• What are your composer’s  major works ?
• What is the most significant contribution of  your composer? Why?
• Did  your composer’s music change over time? How? Why?
• What specific musical elements does  composer incorporate into their work? To what effect?
• What styles/themes does  your composer explore?
• What other musicians have been influenced by  your composer

Below are some basic search terms that work well in our databases. A research librarian can also help you identify additional terms supporting your specific assignment.

Music -- History and criticism

Classical music

Music appreciation

Music theory

World music 

Composers and Women Composers

music - Combine this subject term with names of specific artistic movements, geographic regions, time periods, etc. (for example: Rap Music  or Music, Africa)

names of specific composers/musicians 

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• Last Updated: Feb 29, 2024 12:55 PM
• URL: https://libguides.mjc.edu/Music

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• A Research Guide
• Research Paper Topics

120 Music Research Paper Topics

How to choose a topic for music research paper:.

Music Theory Research Paper Topics:

• The influence of harmonic progression on emotional response in music
• Analyzing the use of chromaticism in the compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach
• The role of rhythm and meter in creating musical tension and release
• Examining the development of tonality in Western classical music
• Exploring the impact of cultural and historical context on musical form and structure
• Investigating the use of polyphony in Renaissance choral music
• Analyzing the compositional techniques of minimalist music
• The relationship between melody and harmony in popular music
• Examining the influence of jazz improvisation on contemporary music
• The role of counterpoint in the compositions of Ludwig van Beethoven
• Investigating the use of microtonality in experimental music
• Analyzing the impact of technology on music composition and production
• The influence of musical modes on the development of different musical genres
• Exploring the use of musical symbolism in film scoring
• Investigating the role of music theory in the analysis and interpretation of non-Western music

Music Industry Research Paper Topics:

• The impact of streaming services on music consumption patterns
• The role of social media in promoting and marketing music
• The effects of piracy on the music industry
• The influence of technology on music production and distribution
• The relationship between music and mental health
• The evolution of music genres and their impact on the industry
• The economics of live music events and festivals
• The role of record labels in shaping the music industry
• The impact of globalization on the music industry
• The representation and portrayal of gender in the music industry
• The effects of music streaming platforms on artist revenue
• The role of music education in fostering talent and creativity
• The influence of music videos on audience perception and engagement
• The impact of music streaming on physical album sales
• The role of music in advertising and brand marketing

Music Therapy Research Paper Topics:

• The effectiveness of music therapy in reducing anxiety in cancer patients
• The impact of music therapy on improving cognitive function in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease
• Exploring the use of music therapy in managing chronic pain
• The role of music therapy in promoting emotional well-being in children with autism spectrum disorder
• Music therapy as a complementary treatment for depression: A systematic review
• The effects of music therapy on stress reduction in pregnant women
• Examining the benefits of music therapy in improving communication skills in individuals with developmental disabilities
• The use of music therapy in enhancing motor skills rehabilitation after stroke
• Music therapy interventions for improving sleep quality in patients with insomnia
• Exploring the impact of music therapy on reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• The role of music therapy in improving social interaction and engagement in individuals with schizophrenia
• Music therapy as a non-pharmacological intervention for managing symptoms of dementia
• The effects of music therapy on pain perception and opioid use in hospitalized patients
• Exploring the use of music therapy in promoting relaxation and reducing anxiety during surgical procedures
• The impact of music therapy on improving quality of life in individuals with Parkinson’s disease

Music Psychology Research Paper Topics:

• The effects of music on mood and emotions
• The role of music in enhancing cognitive abilities
• The impact of music therapy on mental health disorders
• The relationship between music and memory recall
• The influence of music on stress reduction and relaxation
• The psychological effects of different genres of music
• The role of music in promoting social bonding and cohesion
• The effects of music on creativity and problem-solving abilities
• The psychological benefits of playing a musical instrument
• The impact of music on motivation and productivity
• The psychological effects of music on physical exercise performance
• The role of music in enhancing learning and academic performance
• The influence of music on sleep quality and patterns
• The psychological effects of music on individuals with autism spectrum disorder
• The relationship between music and personality traits

Music Education Research Paper Topics:

• The impact of music education on cognitive development in children
• The effectiveness of incorporating technology in music education
• The role of music education in promoting social and emotional development
• The benefits of music education for students with special needs
• The influence of music education on academic achievement
• The importance of music education in fostering creativity and innovation
• The relationship between music education and language development
• The impact of music education on self-esteem and self-confidence
• The role of music education in promoting cultural diversity and inclusivity
• The effects of music education on students’ overall well-being and mental health
• The significance of music education in developing critical thinking skills
• The role of music education in enhancing students’ teamwork and collaboration abilities
• The impact of music education on students’ motivation and engagement in school
• The effectiveness of different teaching methods in music education
• The relationship between music education and career opportunities in the music industry

Music History Research Paper Topics:

• The influence of African music on the development of jazz in the United States
• The role of women composers in classical music during the 18th century
• The impact of the Beatles on the evolution of popular music in the 1960s
• The cultural significance of hip-hop music in urban communities
• The development of opera in Italy during the Renaissance
• The influence of folk music on the protest movements of the 1960s
• The role of music in religious rituals and ceremonies throughout history
• The evolution of electronic music and its impact on contemporary music production
• The contribution of Latin American musicians to the development of salsa music
• The influence of classical music on film scores in the 20th century
• The role of music in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States
• The development of reggae music in Jamaica and its global impact
• The influence of Mozart’s compositions on the classical music era
• The role of music in the French Revolution and its impact on society
• The evolution of punk rock music and its influence on alternative music genres

Music Sociology Research Paper Topics:

• The impact of music streaming platforms on the music industry
• The role of music in shaping cultural identity
• Gender representation in popular music: A sociological analysis
• The influence of social media on music consumption patterns
• Music festivals as spaces for social interaction and community building
• The relationship between music and political activism
• The effects of globalization on local music scenes
• The role of music in constructing and challenging social norms
• The impact of technology on music production and distribution
• Music and social movements: A comparative study
• The role of music in promoting social change and social justice
• The influence of socioeconomic factors on music taste and preferences
• The role of music in constructing and reinforcing gender stereotypes
• The impact of music education on social and cognitive development
• The relationship between music and mental health: A sociological perspective

Classical Music Research Paper Topics:

• The influence of Ludwig van Beethoven on the development of classical music
• The role of women composers in classical music history
• The impact of Johann Sebastian Bach’s compositions on future generations
• The evolution of opera in the classical period
• The significance of Mozart’s symphonies in the classical era
• The influence of nationalism on classical music during the Romantic period
• The portrayal of emotions in classical music compositions
• The use of musical forms and structures in the works of Franz Joseph Haydn
• The impact of the Industrial Revolution on the production and dissemination of classical music
• The relationship between classical music and dance in the Baroque era
• The role of patronage in the development of classical music
• The influence of folk music on classical composers
• The representation of nature in classical music compositions
• The impact of technological advancements on classical music performance and recording
• The exploration of polyphony in the works of Johann Sebastian Bach

• Writing a Research Paper
• Research Paper Title
• Research Paper Sources
• Research Paper Problem Statement
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• Hypothesis for a Research Paper
• Research Question
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• AMA Style Research Paper
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• Research Paper Structure
• Research Paper Cover Page
• Research Paper Abstract
• Research Paper Introduction
• Research Paper Body Paragraph
• Research Paper Literature Review
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• Research Paper Discussion Section
• Research Paper Conclusion
• Research Paper Appendix
• Research Paper Bibliography
• APA Reference Page
• Annotated Bibliography
• Bibliography vs Works Cited vs References Page
• Research Paper Types
• What is Qualitative Research

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• Introductory Reading

Writing about Music

• Finding Books
• Finding Articles
• Finding Scores and Recordings
• Zotero Citation Manager

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• Last Updated: Apr 3, 2024 11:01 AM
• URL: https://libguides.lib.rochester.edu/musc

University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Dissertation and Thesis Research and Writing Guide for Music Students

Getting started.

• Conducting Your Research
• Writing Your Thesis or Dissertation
• Citation Resources
• Copyright Permissions
• Depositing Your Thesis or Dissertation

Music & Performing Arts Library

This is a guide to library resources for graduate students in the School of Music working on a thesis or dissertation.

Use the tabs to the left to navigate the guide and see what resources we have available.

If you have questions about the Library or accessing resources related to your thesis or dissertation work that we didn't cover in this guide, please let us know! You can contact the librarians at [email protected] or by clicking the "Email Me" button on the left.

***Please note: the information included in this guide regarding graduation and dissertation requirements is intended as a guideline only. Always check with the School of Music or the Graduate College Thesis Office if you have questions about these requirements as they will be best able to provide up to date information.

Getting Help

Need research help.

If you need help with your research or are having trouble tracking down the sources you need, you can make an appointment with a librarian to discuss your research one-on-one. Don't hesitate to reach out or schedule an appointment if you need help! You are also always welcome to ask for assistance at the service desk at MPAL.

Questions About Graduate Requirements?

If you have questions about graduate requirements, you can reach out to the School of Music Graduate Academic Affairs for clarification. They can be reached via email at [email protected]

We are also including links to the Graduate College Handbook and the Thesis Office below in case you want to consult policies or requirements yourself.

• Graduate College Handbook of Policy and Requirements
• Thesis Office
• School of Music's Student Resources

Guides to Researching & Writing About Music

• Research Guides
• Writing Guides

As you conduct your research, you may find it helpful to consult some of the handbooks below to help guide you through the research process. For help with writing about music - including selecting the right terminology as well as general style tips - be sure to check out the next tab of this box!

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• Last Updated: Jan 26, 2024 11:39 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.illinois.edu/musicdissthesis

Guide to Academic Writing: Resources for More Information

• Research Suggestions
• Writing Methods
• Bibliography and Citation Help

Grammar Tools

• Resources for More Information

Guide to Academic Writing...

• Books in the MI Library
• eBooks on Libby/Overdrive
• Web Articles and Videos
• Sample Papers
• Sources Cited Throughout Guide

On Research

On Writing Methods

On Citations and Style Guides

To access on a browser

• Go to  https://mi.overdrive.com
• In the top right corner, select log in
• Example Username: doej10256
• Example Password: 01201995

To access on a smartphone or tablet

• On the App Store or Google Play Store, download the Libby App
• Select the 3 lines at the bottom of the screen
• Under "Your Libraries," select "Add Library."
• In the search bar, type in Musicians Institute
• Log in with your credentials (same as above)
• Sourcebook for Research in Music by Allen Scott
• A Guide to Library Research in Music by Pauline Shaw Bayne
• Popular Music Theory and Analysis: A Research and Information Guide by Thomas Robinson
• Student's Guide to Writing College Papers by Kate Turabian and Gregory G. Colomb
• Stylish Academic Writing
• Business Writing: Proven Techniques for Writing Memos, Letters, Reports, and Emails that Get Results
• Cite Right: A Quick Guide to Citation Styles—MLA, APA, Chicago, the Sciences, Professions, and More by Charles Lipson
• A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations Chicago Style for Students and Researchers, Ninth Edition by Kate Turabian and Wayne C. Booth
• A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 8th Edition by Kate L. Turabian and Wayne C. Booth
• Grammarly Blog: The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Research Paper "Few things strike more fear in academics than the accursed research paper, a term synonymous with long hours and hard work. Luckily there’s a secret to help you get through them. As long as you know how to write a research paper properly, you’ll find they’re not so bad . . . or at least less painful."
• Washington Post: A guide to writing an academic paper "I keep hearing from college professors that too many of their students don’t write well. So here’s a primer written for college students on how to write an academic paper, though some of the advice would be useful for anybody writing anything. The author is Steven Horwitz, a professor of economics at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY. He is the author of two books, Microfoundations and Macroeconomics: An Austrian Perspective and Monetary Evolution, Free Banking, and Economic Order."
• Marquette University: General Tips for Writing Academic Papers
• Chicago Style Format for Papers | Requirements and Examples "The information in this article is largely drawn from Turabian style—a version of Chicago style aimed at students and researchers. When writing a paper in Chicago style, these are the guidelines to follow; for the sake of simplicity, the term “Chicago” is used here."
• Concordia University: Sample Chicago Paper (16th Edition)
• Purdue OWL: Sample Paper
• University of Tennessee Chattanooga: Sample Paper

Our master's students have published good examples of papers and proper formatting, edited by our Director of Library Services. You can read their examples under "publications":

• Musicians Institute Scholarly Press by Casey Burgess Last Updated Oct 6, 2023 157 views this year
• JSTOR Music This link opens in a new window The JSTOR Music Collection contains thirty-three leading titles in the field of musicology, music theory, ethnomusicology, and music education. Titles available in the JSTOR Music Collection are also included in a subscription to the Arts and Sciences III collection. Date coverage spans from 1844 to 2014. Much of the content is in English but German, French, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, and Dutch are also represented in journal coverage. (Please uncheck, “Include links to external content.”)
• Oxford Grove Music Online This link opens in a new window Oxford Grove Music Online is a gateway offering users the ability to access and cross-search multiple music reference resources in one location. With Grove Music Online as its cornerstone, Oxford Music Online also contains The Oxford Companion to Music, which offers more than 8,000 articles on composers, performers, conductors, instruments and notation, forms and genres, and individual works; and The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 2nd edition, which supplements Grove's more-extensive articles with content geared toward undergraduates and general users. Both of these sources are included in subscriptions to Grove Music Online.
• Alexander Street Press This link opens in a new window Alexander Street publishes more than 80 collections totaling many millions of pages, audio tracks, videos, images, and playlists. We’re concentrating on building the best collections we can across the curriculum—in literature; music; women's history; black history; psychological counseling and therapy; social and cultural history; drama, medical, theatre, film, and the performing arts; religion; sociology; and other emerging areas. With over 900,000 albums, 11 million tracks, in various genres, 3,800 videos, and 100,000 books with over 1.8 million pages, Alexander Street Press has all the resources you need to support your learning. Simply log in using your MI email username and password.
• Dolmetsch Online Music Dictionary This link opens in a new window The Dolmetsch Music Dictionary Online is part of the award-winning Music Theory and History resource
• GoogleScholar This link opens in a new window Google Scholar is a free web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines.
• Media Bias/Fact Check

Bibliography and Citations

• Guide to Citations A guide created by our Director of Library Services detailing instructions for how to create citations for different types of resources.
• Purdue OWL The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out-of-class instruction.
• Mendeley Citation Guide Learn how to write references with our series of guides on APA, MLA 8 and Harvard citation. Our guides cover both in-text and reference list citations for a range of source types including books, articles, websites, and more. Our ultimate cheat sheet brings all these guides together into an easy-to-use, comprehensive document.
• Citation Machine
• Cite This For Me
• Ginger Spending too much time trying to find the perfect language, tone, or style to phrase your ideas? We get it. Ginger is more than a grammar checker, spell checker, and punctuation checker. Ginger is an all-in-one writing tool that includes Rephrase to empower you to write your best in ways that traditional online grammar checkers can’t. Just enter your sentence and our AI will provide reliable and useful alternatives: a bit shorter, a tad longer, more formal, direct, or creative.
• Grammarly An AI-powered grammar editor that can give spelling and grammar suggestions for your writing via an app. There is also an online plagiarism checker, grammar checker, and essay checker.
• Hemingway Editor Will show what grade level your writing is at and give explicit examples of how to improve it. Copy and paste your paper into here to get editing suggestions! A desktop app is also available.
• Scribens Scribens corrects over 250 types of common grammar and spelling mistakes, including verbs, nouns, pronouns, prepositions, homonyms, punctuation, typography, and more. Online corrections are included with explanations in order to help the user progress his or her English writing skills.
• Writer's Free Online Proofreader Tool Use Writer’s free online editor to proofread your writing for errors in style, word choice, tone, grammar, spelling, and more.
• Grammarly's Plagiarism Checker Grammarly’s plagiarism checker detects plagiarism in your text and checks for other writing issues.
• Free Plagiarism Checker by QueText After evaluating the text against billions of internet sources, you will be provided with a plagiarism score showing the percentage of text that is an exact or near-match to existing text online.
• Plagiarism Checker by Chegg Checks for plagiarism mistakes hiding in your assignment.

Grammar Tools for Non-English Speakers

• MI Library's Guide to the International Phonetic Alphabet IPA can help you notate sounds when learning or singing in another language so that your pronunciation is flawless.
• Macmillan Online Dictionary Provides definitions, pronunciation (written and recorded), and sample uses of vocabulary in American English.
• Thesaurus.com An online thesaurus to find synonyms for various vocabulary.
• LAPL Learning English Guide A guide to English Literacy and Language from the Los Angeles Public Library.
• BBC's Learning English Youtube Channel Learn how to speak English with the BBC. Every day we have a new video to help you learn the English language. We also produce regular 'extra' videos across the week so come back every day to see what's new.
• English Grammar 101 Learn more about the English language and improve your writing with our online grammar lessons. Select from any of the modules to start an engaging and easy-to-follow exercise.
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• Last Updated: Dec 12, 2023 5:55 PM
• URL: https://library.mi.edu/academicwriting

Music: Research Methods

• Popular Music
• Databases and indexes
• Call numbers

Research Methods

• Dictionaries and encyclopedias
• Composition and Creative Music Technology
• Music, culture and place
• Music history
• Music in Australia
• Teaching Music
• Drumming Traditions of West Africa
• Digital collections
• Special collections
• Academic writing
• Introduction
• Qualitative and Quantitative Methodology
• Artistic Research
• Autoethnography
• Creative Practice
• Ethnography
• Indigenous Methodologies
• Narrative Inquiry
• Practice as Research
• Oxford Handbooks
• Methodology of Music Research

Many books about research methodology introduce the reader to a range of existing methods. This page selects online resources relevant to music and interdisciplinary studies and some books only have a chapter, or a case study, that applies to music, performance or creative practice. If you are seeking a particular kind of research methodology, you can meet a librarian online , or email [email protected].

SAGE research methods online  SAGE Research Methods Online (SRMO) is a research methods tool created to help researchers, faculty and students with their research projects. Researchers can browse by methods to help them design research projects, understand particular methods or identify a new method. Since SRMO focuses on methodology rather than disciplines, it is best to use music as a keyword in order to find applications to music research. You can also use the Methods Map  to read definitions of key terminology, or to find narrower definitions for qualitative data analysis  or research design.

Sage research methods foundations SAGE Research Methods Foundations provides a concise introduction to methods and research terms for those who are new to research in general or to that particular method. While a general search can provide an overwhelming number of results, SAGE Research Methods Foundations offers a targeted list of entries to guide users through the content. The navigation menu puts the entry in context, so users can easily find more general topics related to a method or continue on to more specific sub-topics. There is an A-Z section on the innovators of methods, with profiles that evaluate their contributions. The content ranges from Participatory and Arts-Based Research, Analysis of Material Culture, Narrative Research, Autobiography to Sampling.

The Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods includes the following entry: Music in Qualitative Research  

The SAGE Handbook of Digital Dissertations and Theses   includes the following chapter: Practice-as-Research in Music Performance 

The Orpheus Institute Series aims to enhance and advance discourse in the field of artistic research in music and to generate future work. A number of titles in the series are found below. The library has access to all the titles through JSTOR .

Oxford Handbooks Online   brings together the world's leading scholars to write review essays that evaluate the current thinking on a field or topic. You can search simultaneously across all handbooks by keywords. Methodologies are discussed in the following selectied chapters:

Toward a Methodology for Research into the Revival of Musical Life after War, Natural Disaster, Bans on All Music, or Neglect   by Margaret Kartomi from The Oxford handbook of music revival (2014) Music-Making As Data: Collection and Analysis   by Kristen Pellegrino from The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research in American Music Education (2014) Creating a Framework for Music Making and Leisure: Max Kaplan Leads the Way by Marie McCarthy from the Oxford handbook of music making and leisure (2017) Introduction: Situating Country Music Studies by Travis D. Stimeling from The Oxford handbook of country music studies (2017)

Methodology of Music Research is a series published by Peter Lang in Switzerland.

• Research Catalogue A non-commercial, collaboration and publishing platform for artistic research provided by the Society for Artistic Research which is free to use for artists and researchers. It aims to provide resources for teaching purposes, student assessment, peer review workflows and research funding administration.
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A Complete Guide to Writing an Effective Music History Research Paper

Reputable academic writing services can provide guidance, feedback, and support to help you produce a polished and well-researched paper.

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Writing an effective music history research paper is a task that requires careful planning, thorough research, and clear organization. If you need help or want someone to write my research papers for you, this guide will equip you with the necessary tools to craft a compelling and insightful paper on the topic of your choice.

Choose a Topic that Ignites Your Passion 

The first step in writing a successful music history research paper is selecting a topic that genuinely interests you. If you’re struggling to find a suitable topic, you can check out resources like https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/best-literature-review-writing-services-top-4-genuine-gloria-kopp-dzu3e for inspiration. When you’re passionate about your subject matter, your enthusiasm will shine through in your writing, making the process more enjoyable and engaging for your readers.

Conduct Extensive Research 

Once you’ve chosen your topic, it’s time to delve into the research phase. Start by consulting reputable sources such as academic journals, books, and online databases. Take meticulous notes, organize your findings, and identify potential gaps or areas that require further exploration.

• Utilize primary sources whenever possible, as they provide firsthand accounts and insights into the time period or musical genre you’re studying.
• Don’t overlook credible online resources, but be cautious of unreliable or biased sources.

Develop a Clear Thesis Statement 

Your thesis statement is the backbone of your research paper. It should be concise, specific, and accurately reflect the central argument or main idea of your paper. A well-crafted thesis statement will guide your research, structure your paper, and help you stay focused throughout the writing process.

Create an Outline 

An outline is a roadmap that will help you organize your thoughts and ensure a logical flow of information. Start with a basic structure that includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Within each section, outline the main points and supporting evidence you plan to include.

• Consider using a hierarchical outline structure to organize your ideas more effectively.
• Be flexible and adjust your outline as needed as you continue researching and writing.

Write a Compelling Introduction 

Your introduction should capture the reader’s attention and provide context for your research. Begin with a hook – a provocative statement, an intriguing question, or a relevant anecdote – to pique the reader’s interest. Then, provide background information on your topic and clearly state your thesis statement.

Develop Your Body Paragraphs 

The body of your paper is where you’ll present your arguments, evidence, and analysis. Each body paragraph should focus on a specific point or sub-argument that supports your thesis.

• Use topic sentences to introduce the main idea of each paragraph.
• Incorporate relevant quotes, examples, and data from credible sources to support your claims.
• Analyze and interpret the evidence, ensuring that you’re not just presenting facts but also providing insightful commentary and critical analysis.

Craft a Thought-Provoking Conclusion 

Your conclusion should summarize your main arguments and reinforce your thesis statement. However, it should not simply restate what you’ve already covered. Instead, consider presenting a broader perspective, addressing potential counterarguments, or suggesting areas for future research.

Edit and Revise 

Once you’ve completed your first draft, take a step back and critically review your work. Look for areas that need clarification, reorganization, or additional evidence. Pay attention to the flow and coherence of your paper, and ensure that your arguments are logically structured and well-supported.

• Seek feedback from peers, instructors, or writing centers to gain fresh perspectives and identify areas for improvement.
• Proofread carefully to catch any grammatical, spelling, or formatting errors.

Format and Cite Sources Properly 

Proper formatting and citation are crucial in academic writing. Follow the prescribed style guide (e.g., MLA, APA, Chicago) consistently throughout your paper. Accurately cite all sources to avoid plagiarism and demonstrate your research credibility.

By following these steps, you’ll be well on your way to crafting an engaging and informative music history research paper that showcases your knowledge, critical thinking skills, and passion for the subject matter.

Additionally, don’t hesitate to seek professional assistance if you find yourself struggling with any aspect of the research paper writing process. Reputable academic writing services can provide guidance, feedback, and support to help you produce a polished and well-researched paper. Remember, the goal is to create a high-quality work that not only demonstrates your understanding of the topic but also leaves a lasting impression on your reader.

25 Most Popular Music Research Paper Topics for Writing

Research papers aren't just for history class or the social sciences. Research papers can be assigned in any course, and that includes music class. The world's musical traditions are fertile ground for research, but because we have been conditioned from childhood to think of music as entertainment rather than a subject for academic research, it is often difficult to come up with interesting and effective topics for a music research paper. Fortunately, music research papers are often more fun to write than other types of research paper because they have such a wide range of interesting topics to explore. 

Choose from these stellar popular music research paper topics

Are you stuck looking for a music research topic? Well, you're in luck. We have twenty-five music research paper topics that will spark your creativity and get you started with your next paper. You can pick up one from this list, you can combine several of them, or maybe you will get inspired by this list and come with several topics on your own. In any case, make sure that the popular music topic for your research paper is interesting to you personally, and doesn't just sound potentially easy to write about. 

1. How is music marketed by demographic? Explore the different ways music companies target various demographic groups such as age and gender. 2. How does the categorization of music affect consumer purchasing decisions? Examine how the emphasis on genre either enhances sales or limits consumer interest. 3. Does the album have a future in the streaming era? Consider whether the album can survive in an era when singles are streamed in customized playlists. 4. How has music changed over the past half century? Explore some of the major themes and developments that have shaped popular music since the dawn of the rock-n-roll era. 5. Research the most influential musicians of a specific era. By comparing and contrasting the careers of key figures from a particular era, you can pain a picture of a moment in time. 6. What makes music "classical"? How we define "classical" music says a lot about power and privilege. Explore who decides and what criteria get used. 7. Does music have an impact on our bodies? Research medical evidence whether music can impact human health. 8. Does music have an impact on our mental health? Examine research on the use of music for mental health and therapeutic purposes. 9. Music and children: Is the Mozart effect real? How can music education impact children's academic and social development? 10. Can music education aid in memory training and memory development? Consider the current academic research and evaluate the validity of claims for music as a memory aid. 11. How does music impact dance? Music and dance are inextricably linked. Look at some of the ways that music impacts the development of dance. 12. How does a musician become successful? Examine key routes to success and what a music student can do to set themselves up for a career. 13. What other careers does a music degree prepare a student for? Research how music degrees can set the stage for careers beyond the music industry. 14. How does music impact fashion? Look at how rock-n-roll and hip hop have shaped fashion trends. 15. How is music used in advertising? Look into the reasons that artists are licensing hit singles to sell products and how that impacts consumers' views of music. 16. Classical music vs. rock-n-roll: Which has been more influential? Examine the arguments for both sides and take a position. 17. Look into the sociology of tribute bands and consider the reasons that people would dedicate their lives to imitating other musicians. 18. It is often said that "music soothes the savage beast," and farmers often use music to calm livestock. Is there truth to the notion that music has a positive impact on animals?  Explore the research and draw conclusions.

19. Music has been an important part of war throughout history, both martial music meant to rally the troops and anti-war songs. Examine the role of music in supporting and opposing war. 20. Music vs. poetry: Can song lyrics be considered a form of poetry? Why or why not? 21. How does hip-hop support African American culture and heritage? 22. Is there a problem with the close association of country music with political conservatism? 23. Select your favorite piece of music and research the influences that played a role in its creation and development. 24. Research the processes that archaeologists have used to reconstruct the sound of ancient music. 25. How do covers transform songs? Explore how covers are created now meaning.

After choosing the topic you like the most, save this list or this page to bookmarks for further references. It is good to have a library of resources at your fingertips.

Let experts rock when you are stuck

If these topics aren't enough to get you started, there is another trick to help you succeed. You can always find someone to help you with your research paper. You can contact a paper writing service online like WriteMyPaperHub and ask a professional essay writer, "Can I pay you to write my paper like an expert?" Once you do, a writer will determine what you need for your project and will begin writing a high-quality music research paper that will address your essay topic quickly, effectively, and with exceptional research and writing. You should feel free to take advantage of services like this whenever you get stuck so you can be successful with each and every music research paper.

Learning from the best and the brightest is more than beneficial. You have an opportunity to see how professional writers elaborate on a particular topic, which references they use, how they structure the whole thing. One ordered paper can be an example for your further works for months. Also, it is proven that students these days are overwhelmed with the number of assignments, and due to continuous lockdowns and limitations have less access to libraries and other necessary resources. If you feel like the pressure is too high, don't hesitate to delegate this assignment.

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The Top 10 Most Interesting Music Research Topics

Music is a vast and ever-growing field. Because of this, it can be challenging to find excellent music research topics for your essay or thesis. Although there are many examples of music research topics online, not all are appropriate.

This article covers all you need to know about choosing suitable music research paper topics. It also provides a clear distinction between music research questions and topics to help you get started.

Find your bootcamp match

What makes a strong music research topic.

A strong music research topic must be short, straightforward, and easy to grasp. The primary aim of music research is to apply various research methods to provide valuable insights into a particular subject area. Therefore, your topic must also address issues that are relevant to present-day readers.

Also, for your research topic to be compelling, it should not be overly generic. Try to avoid topics that seem to be too broad. A strong research topic is always narrow enough to draw out a comprehensive and relevant research question.

Tips for Choosing a Music Research Topic

• Check with your supervisor. In some cases, your school or supervisor may have specific requirements for your research. For example, some music programs may favor a comparative instead of a descriptive or correlational study. Knowing what your institution demands is essential in choosing an appropriate research topic.
• Explore scientific papers. Journal articles are a great way to find the critical areas of interest in your field of study. You can choose from a wide range of journals such as The Journal of Musicology and The Journal of the Royal Musical Association . These resources can help determine the direction of your research.
• Determine your areas of interest. Choosing a topic you have a personal interest in will help you stay motivated. Researching music-related subjects is a painstakingly thorough process. A lack of motivation would make it difficult to follow through with your research and achieve optimal results.
• Confirm availability of data sources. Not all music topics are researchable. Before selecting a topic, you must be sure that there are enough primary and secondary data sources for your research. You also need to be sure that you can carry out your research with tested and proven research methods.
• Ask your colleagues: Asking questions is one of the many research skills you need to cultivate. A short discussion or brainstorming session with your colleagues or other music professionals could help you identify a suitable topic for your research paper.

What’s the Difference Between a Research Topic and a Research Question?

A research topic is a particular subject area in a much wider field that a researcher chooses to place his emphasis on. Most subjects are extensive. So, before conducting research, a researcher must first determine a suitable area of interest that will act as the foundation for their investigation.

Research questions are drawn from research topics. However, research questions are usually more streamlined. While research topics can take a more generic viewpoint, research questions further narrow the focus down to specific case studies or seek to draw a correlation between two or more datasets.

How to Create Strong Music Research Questions

Strong music research questions must be relevant and specific. Music is a broad field with many genres and possible research areas. However, your research question must focus on a single subject matter and provide valuable insights. Also, your research question should be based on parameters that can be quantified and studied using available research methods.

Top 10 Music Research Paper Topics

1. understanding changes in music consumption patterns.

Although several known factors affect how people consume music, there is still a significant knowledge gap regarding how these factors influence listening choices. Your music research paper could outline some of these factors that affect music consumer behavior and highlight their mechanism of action.

2. Hip-hop Culture and Its Effect on Teenage Behavior

In 2020, hip-hop and RnB had the highest streaming numbers , according to Statista. Without a doubt, hip-hop music has had a significant influence on the behavior of young adults. There is still the need to conduct extensive research on this subject to determine if there is a correlation between hip-hop music and specific behavioral patterns, especially among teenagers.

3. The Application of Music as a Therapeutic Tool

For a long time, music has been used to manage stress and mental health disorders like anxiety, PTSD, and others. However, the role of music in clinical treatment still remains a controversial topic. Further research is required to separate fact from fiction and provide insight into the potential of music therapy.

4. Contemporary Rock Music and Its Association With Harmful Social Practices

Rock music has had a great influence on American culture since the 1950s. Since its rise to prominence, it has famously been associated with vices such as illicit sex and abuse of recreational drugs. An excellent research idea could be to evaluate if there is a robust causal relationship between contemporary rock music and adverse social behaviors.

5. The Impact of Streaming Apps on Global Music Consumption

Technology has dramatically affected the music industry by modifying individual music consumption habits. Presently, over 487 million people subscribe to a digital streaming service, according to Statista. Your research paper could examine how much of an influence popular music streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music have had on how we listen to music.

6. Effective American Music Education Practices

Teaching practices have always had a considerable impact on students’ academic success. However, not all strategies have an equal effect in enhancing learning experiences for students. You can conduct comparative research on two or more American music education practices and evaluate their impact on learning outcomes.

7. The Evolution of Music Production in the Technology-driven Era

One of the aspects of music that is experiencing a massive change is sound production. More than ever before, skilled, tech-savvy music producers are in high demand. At the moment, music producers earn about $70,326 annually, according to ZipRecruiter. So, your research could focus on the changes in music production techniques since the turn of the 21st century.

8. Jazz Music and Its Influence on Western Music Genres

The rich history of jazz music has established it as one of the most influential genres of music since the 19th century. Over the years, several famous composers and leading voices across many other western music genres have been shaped by jazz music’s sound and culture. You could carry out research on the influence of this genre of music on modern types of music.

9. The Effect of Wars on Music

Wars have always brought about radical changes in several aspects of culture, including music styles. Throughout history, we have witnessed wars result in the death of famous musicians. If you are interested in learning about music history in relation to global events, a study on the impact of wars on music will make an excellent music research paper.

10. African Tribal Percussion

African music is well recognized for its unique application of percussion. Historically, several tribes and cultures had their own percussion instruments and original methods of expression. Unfortunately, this musical style has mainly gone undocumented. An in-depth study into ancient African tribal percussion would make a strong music research paper.

Other Examples of Music Research Topics & Questions

Music research topics.

• Popular musical styles of the 20th century
• The role of musical pieces in political movements
• Biographies of influential musicians during the baroque period
• The influence of classical music on modern-day culture
• The relationship between music and fashion

Music Research Questions

• What is the relationship between country music and conservationist ideologies among middle-aged American voters?
• What is the effect of listening to Chinese folk music on the critical thinking skills of high school students?
• How have electronic music production technologies influenced the sound quality of contemporary music?
• What is the correlation between punk music and substance abuse among Black-American males?
• How does background music affect learning and information retention in children?

Choosing the Right Music Research Topic

Your research topic is the foundation on which every other aspect of your study is built. So, you must select a music research topic that gives you room to adequately explore intriguing hypotheses and, if possible, proffer practically applicable solutions.

Also, if you seek to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Music , you must be prepared to conduct research during your study. Choosing the right music research topic is the first step in guaranteeing good grades and delivering relevant, high-quality contributions in this constantly expanding field.

Music Research Topics FAQ

A good music research topic should be between 10 to 12 words long. Long, wordy music essay topics are usually confusing. They can make it difficult for readers to understand the goal of your research. Avoid using lengthy phrases or vague terms that could confuse the reader.

Journal articles are the best place to find helpful resources for your music research. You can explore reputable, high-impact journal articles to see if any research has been done related to your chosen topic. Journal articles also help to provide data for comparison while carrying out your research.

Primary sources carry out their own research and cite their own data. In contrast, secondary sources report data obtained from a primary source. Although primary sources are regarded as more credible, you can include a good mixture of primary and secondary sources in your research.

The most common research methods for music research are qualitative, quantitative, descriptive, and analytical. Your research strategy is arguably the most crucial part of your study. You must learn different research methods to determine which one would be the perfect fit for your particular research question.

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A short guide to writing about music

Available online, at the library.

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• Contributors

Description

Creators/contributors, contents/summary.

• Preface. Acknowledgments.
• 1. Writing about Music. Words about Music: Why? Choosing an Audience. Kinds of Writing. Criticism. The Author's Opinion: Clarity and Restraint.
• 2. Writing about Music by and for Those Who Cannot (Necessarily) Read It. What You Can and Cannot Do. The Reaction Paper. The Concert Review. Popular and World Musics.
• 3. Writing Music Analysis. Analysis and Its Uses. Analytical Content vs. Play-by-Play.
• 4. Three Kinds of Practical Writing. Program and Liner Notes. Summaries and Abstracts. The Press Release.
• 5. Opinion and the Writing of an Effective Essay. Presentation and Tone. The Writing Process: From Outline to Final Draft. Hints on Beginning. Collegial Editing: Essays as Peer Review Exercises.
• 6. Research in Music. The Purposes of Research. Choice of Topic. Kinds of Written Sources. Use of Sources. Citing Your Sources. Turning Research Into Writing. Whose Ideas?
• 7. A Sample Research Paper in Music. "Similar Processes, Different Results: Development in the Piano Works of Gyorgy Ligeti", by Tim Sullivan. Commentary on the Student Paper.
• 8. Style in Writing. The Meaning of "Style". Academic Style Traits. Fashioning Clear Sentences. Punctuation. Accuracy in Wording. Toward a Personal Style.
• 9. The Final Manuscript. General Format. Musical Examples and Captions. Citations. Sample Citations. Index.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

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A Complete Guide to Writing an Effective Music History Research Paper

Writing a music history research paper requires extensive engagement with musical works, composers, performers, and the cultural context surrounding composition and performance. More so than most other academic papers, music research projects demand direct analysis of musical scores, recordings, and an understanding of theoretical concepts that illuminate compositional choices. This detailed guide examines the full process of researching and writing an effective music history paper, starting with the initial stages of choosing a productive research topic and locating scholarly sources, before exploring key writing strategies for crafting a persuasive argument supported by evidence.

Writing music history research papers requires a nuanced blend of historical insights and musical analysis, and for students seeking tailored assistance, the option to write my research essay for me becomes a valuable resource, ensuring a harmonious balance between historical accuracy and musical expression in academic writing. Guidance is also provided on correctly formatting the paper, with tips for refinement that will hone academic writing skills. While challenging, learning how to produce first-rate musicological writing provides excellent preparation for more advanced studies in music.

Selecting an Impactful Research Topic

The first, crucial step in any music research project is choosing a topic that captivates your interest and allows space for thorough investigation and original analysis. When brainstorming potential subjects, start by reflecting on specific composers, performers, musical styles and techniques, compositions, or time periods in music history that spark your curiosity. However, extremely broad topics like “ Baroque Music ” or “Ludwig van Beethoven” are usually too expansive for a focused research paper. Try to drill down to more specific questions or angles that can be explored with depth and nuance.

For instance, instead of a general overview of Baroque music, consider a narrowed topic like “The Influence of Italian Opera on the Development of George Frideric Handel’s Instrumental Style in His Opus 6 Concerti Grossi.” Or instead of attempting to cover Beethoven’s entire career, investigate a question like “How Beethoven Expanded the Musical and Emotional Canvas of Sonata Form in His Middle Period Piano Sonatas through Innovations in Motivic Development.”

Carefully bounding your research to a defined time period, compositional style, or musical element will provide concentrated scope to construct an insightful argument backed by evidence from scores, recordings, archival documents and other primary sources. The litmus test for a strong music history topic is whether it allows you to make a specific, debatable, original claim that can be supported in the span of your paper.

Conducting Diligent Background Research

Once a focused research topic is selected, the next stage is gathering existing scholarly sources to contextualize the subject and inform your perspective and argument. Begin by consulting any relevant music histories or musicology journals, which can efficiently provide important background information while summarizing current academic viewpoints and debates surrounding your topic. Additionally, scholarly articles may point you to noteworthy primary sources for further investigation.

When conducting background research, take advantage of academic databases like JSTOR , Project MUSE , Oxford Music Online , and RILM , which house thousands of musicology articles. Use targeted searches to locate insightful sources. For finding musical scores related to your topic, databases like IMSLP or published anthologies of works are invaluable resources. Seek out audio recordings, musical manuscripts, composers’ correspondence, concert reviews from the period, or other primary sources that can vividly illuminate your research subject.

As you identify potentially useful sources, critically evaluate each one for credibility, accuracy, rigor, and relevance to your chosen topic and thesis argument. Give preference to recent scholarly publications over outdated materials. While gathering sources, begin taking notes on major themes, debates, and avenues of inquiry that emerge from your research. Identifying key gaps in existing literature will help motivate and strengthen your original thesis.

Formulating a Strong Thesis Statement

After surveying relevant scholarly literature surrounding your topic, the next milestone is formulating a clear, focused research question to drive your paper. This research question should address critical unknowns identified during the background research stage. Based on your specialized question, articulate an argumentative thesis statement that asserts a specific perspective or claim which you will substantiate over the course of your music research paper.

Aim for a thesis that puts forward an original point of view, analysis, or interpretation – not simply a broad, obvious statement like “J.S. Bach was a prolific and influential Baroque composer.”

Instead, work toward a specific, nuanced, debatable claim such as “J.S. Bach expanded and elevated the technical and aesthetic dimensions of the fugue in his seminal Well-Tempered Clavier through his masterful counterpoint and ingenious treatment of subject and countersubject.” This precise thesis provides inherent structure for the paper, directly points readers to the originality of your perspective, and sets explicit expectations for supporting evidence.

Writing a Logical and Impactful Outline

After pinpointing your research topic and central thesis, the next step is outlining the overall structure of your music research paper. While flexibility is allowed in organizing sections to best suit your particular subject and argument, here is a prototypical outline template:

• Open with an intriguing hook to draw readers into the topic
• Provide necessary background context on the research subject
• Close with a clear articulation of your thesis statement
• Present your main analysis and supporting evidence to substantiate your thesis
• Organize major points into logical, sequential sections with clear topic sentences
• Use text discussions and musical examples to reinforce key points
• Section 1: In-depth discussion of Topic/Element A and Evidence 1, 2, 3…
• Section 2: Exploration of Topic/Element B and Evidence 4, 5, 6…
• Section 3: Investigation of Topic/Element C and Evidence 7, 8, 9…
• Succinctly summarize main points and their significance
• Reflect on wider implications raised by your analysis and argument
• Consider future questions prompted by your research

What the Writers Want: Understanding the World of Streaming Residuals

This template allows you to systematically build your case and guide readers through your critical analysis section-by-section. Appropriate adaptations can be made, like swapping the order of sections or adding a methodology discussion, as warranted by your specific thesis topic. The outline provides direction while remaining flexible to present your evidence and ideas in the most logical way. For students seeking reliable academic support, an exploration of an Academized review unveils valuable insights, offering a well-rounded perspective on the assistance available for crafting compelling music history research papers.

Employing Stellar Academic Writing Skills

With your music research outline in hand, shift focus to crafting polished prose that effectively communicates your ideas and analysis. Keep these high-level writing guidelines in mind as you convert your outline into an engaging first draft:

• Strive for clarity, precision, and concision in conveying complex concepts
• Vary sentence structure, syntax, and length for flow and readability
• Use technical music terminology accurately and define any unfamiliar terms
• Quote directly from primary sources to reinforce key points with evidence
• Seamlessly integrate musical examples to illustrate theoretical concepts
• Break complex thoughts into digestible sections using transitions and headings
• Avoid excessive repetition and remove unnecessary verbiage
• Active voice and present tense create immediacy for readers
• Paragraph structure should be logical and parallel

Additionally, infuse your academic writing style with original turns of phrase and astute observations that grab reader interest. While musicological writing aims first for clarity, sprinkling in creative metaphors, vivid imagery, and selective rhetorical devices can further bring your musical examples and arguments to life.

Incorporating Strong Evidence and Examples

At the heart of any compelling music research paper lies direct engagement with supporting evidence from primary sources. Quote, paraphrase, or cite relevant passages from scores, personal documents, newspapers, or other sources to substantiate your claims. Analyze musical examples in illuminating detail. If critiquing a performance, integrate notes from the recording to justify your assessment. Synthesize connections between specific evidence points and your broader thesis arguments.

Address any contradictory information or alternative interpretations that go against your thesis claims – directly confronting counter evidence strengthens your overall position. While strong research should drive your central arguments, introduce creative analytical paradigms and frameworks where possible. The more you can directly showcase primary sources and your own musical insights, the more convincing your evidence will be. Lean on outside authorities sparingly, emphasizing original perspectives from your close reading of sources.

Applying Proper Formatting and Structure

With the core substance and evidence assembled, shift to polishing the formal presentation and structure of your music research paper. Follow standard academic conventions like 1-inch page margins, 12-point font size, and double spacing. Number all pages and include a separate title page with an informative title. Place images, musical examples, and appendices at the end, with figures and examples numbered sequentially for easy reference.

Apply consistent citation formatting – whether Chicago, MLA or another approved style – with a full bibliography listing all cited works. While tedious, careful formatting lends an authoritative academic quality and improves readability. Reading aloud catches awkward phrases. Check that headings, transitions, and topic sentences effectively orient readers. Ask for constructive feedback from peers; revising strengthens logic and flow. With these final refinements, transform your rough draft into impactful scholarly writing.

In summary, producing outstanding music history research requires narrowing an interesting topic, immersing in scholarly sources, formulating an original thesis, structuring a fluid and rigorous argument, substantiating claims with primary source evidence, communicating ideas clearly, and polishing academic writing conventions. While undeniably challenging, mastering the detailed research and writing process provides invaluable preparation for advanced studies in musicology. Be patient, allow time for substantial revision, and do not hesitate to ask mentors for guidance. Gradually developing sophisticated musicological writing skills will enable you to craft research papers that make meaningful contributions to the field. Commit to honing your academic voice through practice, and you will be well-equipped to engage readers with compelling music scholarship.

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216 Awesome Music Topics That Will Inspire Your Thesis

On this page, you will find the ultimate list of 216 brand new, 100% original music topics for high school, college and university students. No, it’s not a trick! You can use any of our topics about music for free and you don’t even have to give us credit. Many of these research topics on music should work great in 2023.

In addition, we have the best step by step guide to writing a research paper right here on this page. Just like the topics, you can read the guide for free. It will help you stay focused on what’s important and ensure you don’t miss any steps. And remember, if you need assistance with your academic writing tasks, our native English-speaking writers are the most reliable on the Internet!

Writing A Research Paper About Music

So, what is music? Music is a form of art that uses sound and rhythm to create an emotional or aesthetic experience. It can be created by combining different elements such as melody, harmony, rhythm and timbre. Music is a universal language that can be found in all cultures and has been an important part of human history for thousands of years. It can evoke emotions, tell stories, and communicate ideas. Music can take many forms, including vocal or instrumental, solo or ensemble, live or recorded, and can be classified into various genres such as rock, pop, classical, jazz, and many more.

But how do you write a research paper about music quickly? Well, we have a great step by step guide for you right here.

Choose a music topic. Select a topic that interests you and that you have enough background knowledge on to research and write about. Conduct research. Use a variety of sources to gather information on your topic, including books, academic journals, online databases, and primary sources such as interviews or musical recordings. Organize your research. Once you have gathered enough information, organize your research into an outline or a mind map to help you visualize how your paper will flow. Write a thesis statement. Your thesis statement should be a concise statement that summarizes the main argument of your paper. Write a rough draft. Begin writing your paper using the information you have gathered and the outline or mind map you created. Focus on creating a clear and coherent argument, and be sure to cite all sources using the appropriate citation style. Help with coursework services can aid you in succeeding with this part. Revise and edit. Once you have completed a rough draft, revise and edit your paper to improve its clarity, organization, and coherence. Check for grammar and spelling errors, and make sure all citations are correct and properly formatted. Create a bibliography or works cited page. Include a list of all sources you used in your research, including books, articles, interviews, and recordings. Finalize your paper. After making all necessary revisions and edits, finalize your paper and ensure that it meets all the requirements set by your instructor or professor. Proofread everything and make sure it’s perfectly written. You don’t want to lose points over some typos, do you?

Easy Research Topics About Music

• The history and evolution of hip-hop culture
• The impact of classical music on modern composers
• The role of music in therapy for mental health
• The cultural significance of jazz in African-American communities
• The influence of traditional folk music on contemporary artists
• The development of electronic music over the past decade
• The use of music in film to enhance storytelling
• The rise of K-pop and its global popularity
• The effects of music on our learning abilities
• The use of music in branding in the fashion industry
• The influence of the Beatles on popular music
• The intersection of music and politics in the 1960s
• The cultural significance of reggae music in Jamaica
• The history and evolution of country music in America
• The impact of music streaming on the music industry

Opinion Essay Music Topics

• Music piracy: Should it be considered a serious crime?
• Should music education be mandatory in schools?
• Is autotune ruining the quality of music?
• Are music awards shows still relevant in today’s industry?
• Should music lyrics be censored for explicit content?
• Is it fair that some musicians earn more money than others?
• Is classical music still relevant in modern society?
• Should music festivals have age restrictions for attendees?
• Is it fair for musicians to be judged on their personal lives?
• Is the current state of the music industry sustainable?
• Should musicians be held accountable for the messages in their lyrics?
• Is the role of the record label still important in the age of digital music?
• Should musicians be able to express their political views in their music?
• Does the use of music in movies and TV shows enhance or detract from the storytelling?

Interesting Music Research Topics

• The impact of music on athletic performance
• The use of music in advertising and consumer behavior
• The role of music in enhancing cognitive abilities
• The effects of music on stress reduction and relaxation
• The cultural significance of music in indigenous communities
• The influence of music on fashion and style trends
• The evolution of protest music and its impact on society
• The effects of music on Alzheimer’s disease
• The intersection of music and technology in the music industry
• The effects of music on emotional intelligence and empathy
• The cultural significance of hip hop music in the African diaspora
• The influence of music on human behavior and decision-making
• The effects of music on physical performance and exercise
• The role of music in promoting social and political activism

Research Paper Topics On Music

• The effects of music on the brain and mental health
• The impact of streaming on the music industry
• The history and evolution of rap music
• The cultural significance of traditional folk music
• The use of music in video games to enhance the gaming experience
• The role of music in religious and spiritual practices
• The effects of music on memory and learning
• The development of rock and roll in America
• The intersection of music and politics in the 21st century
• The cultural significance of country music in the South
• The use of music in autism therapy
• The impact of social media on music promotion and marketing
• The influence of music on the LGBTQ+ community
• The effects of music on social behavior and interaction

Argumentative Essay Topics About Music

• Does music have a negative effect on behavior?
• Is streaming music harming the music industry?
• Can music censorship be justified in certain cases?
• Is cultural appropriation a problem in the music industry?
• Should musicians be held accountable for controversial lyrics?
• Is autotune a helpful tool or a crutch for musicians?
• Should music education be a required part of the curriculum?
• Is the use of explicit lyrics in music harmful?
• Should music festivals be required to have safety measures?
• Does the use of profanity in music undermine its artistic value?
• Can music be used to promote political messages effectively?
• Should musicians be allowed to profit from tragedies?

Current Music Topics To Write About In 2023

• The rise of TikTok and its impact on music promotion
• The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on UK music
• The use of virtual concerts and live streaming during COVID-19
• The influence of social media on music consumption and trends
• The emergence of new genres and sub-genres in popular music
• Talk about cancel culture in music
• The debate over the use of explicit lyrics in music
• The impact of climate change on music festivals and events
• The use of artificial intelligence in music production and composition
• The influence of music on political and social movements
• The rise of female and non-binary artists in the music industry
• The effects of globalization on the diversity of music around the world
• The role of nostalgia in the popularity of music from past decades

Musical Topics About Famous Musicians

• The life and legacy of Beethoven
• The impact of Elvis Presley on rock and roll
• The career and contributions of Bob Dylan
• The influence of Michael Jackson on pop music
• The musical evolution of Madonna over time
• The enduring appeal of the Rolling Stones
• The career of Prince and his impact on music
• The contributions of David Bowie to pop culture
• The iconic sound of Jimi Hendrix’s guitar
• The impact of Whitney Houston on the music industry
• The life and career of Freddie Mercury of Queen
• The artistry and impact of Joni Mitchell
• The groundbreaking work of Stevie Wonder in R&B
• The musical legacy of the Beatles and their influence on pop music

Music Research Paper Topics For College

• The cultural significance of the accordion in folk music
• The use of sampling in hip-hop and electronic music production
• The evolution of the drum kit in popular music
• The significance of Taylor Swift in contemporary country-pop music
• The effects of drug abuse in the music industry
• The role of music in shaping political movements and protests
• The impact of streaming services on the music industry and artists’ income
• The significance of the Burning Man festival in music and culture
• The emergence and growth of Afrobeat music globally
• The role of musical collaboration in the creation of new music genres
• The use of autotune and other vocal processing tools in pop music
• The effects of social and political issues on rap music lyrics
• The significance of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in pop culture
• The impact of music on emotional regulation and mental health

Our Controversial Music Topics

• The controversy of the “cancel culture” in US music
• The impact of music piracy on the industry and artists
• The ethical concerns of music sampling without permission
• The controversy surrounding lip-syncing during live performances
• The debate over the authenticity of auto-tune in music
• The controversy surrounding the use of profanity in music
• The debate over the cultural appropriation of music styles
• The controversy surrounding music festivals and their impact on local communities
• The debate over the role of music in promoting violence and aggression
• The controversy surrounding the ownership of an artist’s discography
• The ethical concerns of musicians profiting from songs about tragedies and disasters

Captivating Music Thesis Topics

• The role of music in promoting social justice
• The impact of music streaming on album sales
• The significance of lyrics in contemporary pop music
• The evolution of heavy metal music over time
• The influence of gospel music on rock and roll
• The effects of music education on cognitive development
• The cultural significance of hip-hop music in America
• The role of music in promoting environmental awareness and activism
• The impact of music festivals on local economies
• The evolution of country music and its impact on popular music
• The use of music in advertising and marketing strategies

Classical Music Topic Ideas

• The influence of Baroque music on classical music
• The history and evolution of the symphony orchestra
• The career and legacy of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• The significance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
• The evolution of opera as an art form
• The role of women composers in classical music history
• The impact of the Romantic era on classical music
• The use of program music to tell a story through music
• The significance of the concerto in classical music
• The influence of Johann Sebastian Bach on classical music
• The contributions of Antonio Vivaldi to the concerto form
• The use of counterpoint in classical music composition
• The role of chamber music in classical music history
• The significance of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah in classical music

Interesting Music Topics For High School

• The history and evolution of the piano as a musical instrument
• The significance of Beethoven in classical music
• The impact of Elvis Presley on US music
• The emergence and growth of the hip-hop music genre
• The role of music festivals in contemporary music culture
• The effects of technology on music production and performance
• The influence of social media on music promotion and distribution
• The effects of music on mental health and well-being
• The role of music in popular culture and media
• The impact of musical soundtracks on movies and TV shows
• The use of music therapy for individuals with autism spectrum disorder
• The significance of the Coachella Music Festival in modern music culture
• The cultural significance of the ukulele in Hawaiian culture

Awesome Music Research Questions For 2023

• Should musicians be required to use their platform to promote social justice causes?
• Is music piracy a victimless crime or does it harm the industry?
• Should music venues be required to provide safe spaces for concertgoers?
• Is the Grammy Awards selection process biased towards mainstream artists?
• Should music streaming services pay musicians higher royalties?
• Is it appropriate for music to be used in political campaign advertisements?
• Should music journalists be required to disclose their personal biases in reviews?
• Is it ethical for musicians to profit from songs about tragedies and disasters?
• Should music education be funded equally across all schools and districts?
• Is it fair for record labels to own the rights to an artist’s entire discography?
• Should music festivals have more diverse and inclusive lineups?
• Should musicians be allowed to use drugs and alcohol as part of their creative process?

Fantastic Music Topics For Research

• The evolution of the electric guitar in rock music
• The cultural significance of the sitar in Indian music
• The impact of synthesizers on contemporary music production
• The use of technology in the creation and performance of music
• The influence of Beyoncé on modern pop music
• The significance of Kendrick Lamar in contemporary rap music
• The effects of misogyny and sexism in the rap music industry
• The emergence and growth of K-pop music globally
• The significance of Coachella Music Festival in the music industry
• The history and evolution of the Woodstock Music Festival
• The impact of music festivals on tourism and local economies
• The role of music festivals in shaping music trends and culture
• The effects of music piracy on the music industry
• The impact of social media on the promotion and distribution of music
• The role of music in the Black Lives Matter movement

Catchy Music Related Research Topics

• Is hip-hop culture beneficial or harmful to society?
• Is it ethical to sample music without permission?
• Should music streaming services censor explicit content?
• Is auto-tune a valid musical technique or a crutch?
• Does the music industry unfairly exploit young artists?
• Should radio stations be required to play a certain percentage of local music?
• Is the practice of lip-syncing during live performances acceptable?
• Is music education undervalued and underfunded in schools?
• Does the use of profanity in music contribute to a decline in society?
• Should music venues be held accountable for the safety of concertgoers?

Informative Speech Topics About Music

• The history and evolution of jazz music
• The cultural significance of classical music in Europe
• The origins and development of blues music in America
• The influence of Latin American music on American popular music
• The impact of technology on music production and distribution
• The role of music in expressing emotions and feelings
• The effects of music therapy on mental health and wellbeing
• The cultural significance of traditional music in Africa
• The use of music in films and television to create mood and atmosphere
• The influence of the Beatles on popular music and culture
• The evolution of electronic dance music (EDM)
• The role of music in promoting cultural diversity and unity
• The impact of social media on the music industry and fan culture

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Classical Music Research Paper: Tips for Students on Proper Writing

A good research paper on classical music is no different from a written article on any other topic. After receiving the task, it would be best if you started working on a creative project as soon as possible. A common mistake students make is leaving everything to the last minute. As a result, the work is done in a hurry; it is impossible to study the topic deeply enough. This approach to writing can be a direct path for you to get a bad grade. Below we will tell you how to write Classical Music research papers correctly. We will also give some practical tips to help you work on a professional essay.

What Is Research Work?

If you do not know where exactly to start your work, we advise you to get acquainted with ready-made examples. Well-built concert reviews examples will help you figure out which direction to go. The results are performed by professional writers who understand classical music.

How To Write A Research Paper On Music

The first thing you should do after receiving an assignment is to develop a long-term plan for writing an article. It would be best if you started by compiling a list of tasks you will need to complete as part of the work. We advise you to check the schedule and set the dates for each stage of the work. A competent time manager is one of the main criteria for writing quality work. Mark milestones on a calendar. It is convenient to use the calendar on the phone. This way, you can set up notifications and make sure you don't miss anything.

Select The Right Theme

Discuss the scope of work.

The complexity of the research work directly depends on the volume. For students of music schools, the size is often limited to 20-30 pages of printed text. For students of higher educational institutions and colleges, the volume can reach 100 sheets.

Find Sources of Information

You can find essay examples of works on your topic on the Internet. You should not just copy information and add it to your research paper. All submitted content at the university, college, and other educational institutions are checked for plagiarism. If copying is detected, you will put yourself in an embarrassing situation and not get a good mark.

Initially, it is better to seek sources of information in the library. A reference librarian can help you. He will list your books for you that may contain interesting information. It is essential to take new and relevant sources. It is desirable that the book was released no more than 5 years ago.

Another source is the Internet. This is where it will be vital for you to apply your critical thinking skills. There is much information on the Internet, but not all are true and relevant. If you want to add this or that fact to your article, it is advisable to double-check it on several resources.

Map Out Your Thoughts

Start your essay writing with a plan. You should write down the main theses and critical points, and, if possible, write headings for each section. You can take notes in each chapter. The scheme will help to combine all the available thoughts and link them into a coherent article. Always think about the reader—will he be able to understand your arguments?

Write a Draft and Edit It

After this stage, you should take a break. Set aside work for a few days and do other things. This way, you can proceed to the next step with a clear head.

Edit and Check Your Work

The final stage is editing and proofreading a research paper on classical music . You should remember that even professional writers make mistakes. Proofreading will help resolve any problems with grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

You should read the text slowly, delving into all the details and nuances. Only in this way can you not miss even minor errors and typos.

What Sections Should Include Research Work

Research works on music should consist of the following sections:

• Title page;
• List of performers;
• Definitions;
• Abbreviations and designations;
• Introduction;
• Conclusion;
• Bibliography;

Some Tips for Creating a Successful Science Project

We have put together information to help you write a quality research paper on classical music:

• Be sure to check your work for errors. There should be no grammatical, spelling, or stylistic mistakes. They can spoil the impression of even the highest quality work.
• Do not enter beyond the specified volume.
• Most often, the text is printed with one and half intervals and the 14th font.
• Be sure to include the page numbering. It must be in Arabic script. The numbers should be in the upper right corner of the page.
• Add graphics, tables, lists, charts, and other elements to the text. Such a graphic display of information is perceived as much more accessible than plain text. It is better to place photos in the application if you have pictures.
• Use the same style throughout the text.

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Music Research Topics: 40 Topic Examples for Paper or Essay

Music Research Paper Topic Examples

Music is a universal language that transcends borders and cultures, touching the depths of human emotions and shaping societies throughout history.

It is a dynamic field with many facets, making it a fascinating subject for research and exploration.

This article provides a treasure trove of music research topics. Each topic offers a unique lens through which researchers can analyze the art form that harmonizes our world.

40 Topic Examples for Paper or Essay

• The Impact of Climate Change on Coastal Ecosystems
• Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Challenges and Opportunities
• The History and Significance of the Suffragette Movement
• Cybersecurity Threats in the Age of Digital Transformation
• The Influence of Social Media on Mental Health
• The Role of Women in STEM: Breaking Barriers
• The Economics of Renewable Energy Adoption
• The Evolution of Urbanization and Its Effects on Society
• The Cultural Significance of Traditional Foods
• The Globalization of Pop Culture: A Double-Edged Sword
• The Ethics of Genetic Engineering and Designer Babies
• The Impact of Mass Media on Political Discourse
• The Art of Storytelling: Its Power in Literature and Film
• Environmental Conservation and Biodiversity Preservation
• The Influence of Music on Emotions and Behavior
• The Role of NGOs in International Development
• The Future of Space Exploration and Colonization
• The Psychology of Addiction: Causes and Treatment
• The Evolution of Artificial Life: From Turing to Deep Learning
• The Importance of Financial Literacy in Modern Society
• The Historical Development of Human Rights
• The Impact of E-Commerce on Traditional Retail
• The Intersection of Art and Technology in the Digital Age
• The Rise of Populism and Its Implications for Democracy
• The Benefits and Challenges of Remote Work
• The Cultural Significance of Festivals and Celebrations
• The Philosophy of Mind: Dualism vs. Materialism
• The Influence of Gaming on Cognitive Skills and Social Behavior
• The Role of Education in Promoting Gender Equality
• The Implications of 5G Technology on Communication
• The Ethical Considerations in Animal Testing
• The Evolution of Language and Communication
• The Impact of Artificial Sweeteners on Health
• The Cultural Exchange in World Literature
• The Challenges of Cyberbullying and Online Harassment
• The Role of Sports in Building Character and Leadership
• The Importance of Early Childhood Education
• The Psychological Effects of Color on Human Behavior
• The Intersection of Religion and Science: Debates and Harmonies
• The Socioeconomic Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic

How to Write a Good Music Research Paper

1. introduction.

Engage the reader with a compelling start. You can use an anecdote, a thought-provoking quote, or an interesting fact related to your music research topic. The goal is to pique the reader’s interest and encourage them to continue reading.

Provide context for your research topic and explain its significance. This is where you introduce the broader issues or themes related to your case and explain why it’s worth studying.

State your primary research question or thesis. This is the heart of your introduction, where you clearly define the specific focus of your research.

Briefly outline the scope of your paper and the topics you will cover. Give readers an overview of what to expect in the coming sections.

Present your central argument or hypothesis. This statement should be concise and clear, summarizing the main point of your research.

2. Literature Review

A literature review is a critical component of research, as it provides an essential foundation for a study. It serves to summarize existing knowledge, identify gaps, and establish the context for the research. 

After reviewing relevant literature, researchers can build on past work, avoid redundancy, and ensure that their research contributes new insights.

It also helps in shaping research questions, theoretical frameworks, and methodologies. A comprehensive literature review adds credibility and depth to research, making it an indispensable step in the research process.

3. Methodology

The methodology section outlines the systematic approach used to conduct the research, ensuring its rigor and applicability.

Data will be collected from a diverse sample of participants through structured surveys and in-depth interviews.

The study aims to recruit participants with varied musical backgrounds, age groups, and experiences to gain a comprehensive perspective.

Quantitative data will undergo statistical analysis, while qualitative data will be thematically coded to unearth patterns and insights.

4. Analysis and Findings

In this section, you present the outcomes of your research, for instance, on the psychological and emotional effects of music.

Your quantitative analysis reveals significant correlations between musical genres and distinct emotional responses.

Notably, participants report should elevate feelings of joy, nostalgia, and relaxation in response to specific genres.

The qualitative findings should enrich your understanding, emphasizing the significance of individual preferences and contextual factors in shaping emotional experiences.

5. Discussion

Here, you interpret the implications of your findings, demonstrating music’s profound impact on emotional well-being and cognitive processes.

The observed correlations between specific musical genres and emotional states underscore the therapeutic potential of music, offering new avenues for stress reduction and memory enhancement.

Mostly, this substantiates your central thesis that music is a potent tool for improving mental and emotional health, supporting the idea that it extends beyond entertainment.

However, it is crucial to acknowledge the study’s limitations, including potential biases in self-reporting and the cross-sectional design.

6. Conclusion

In the conclusion section, the research should shed light on the remarkable influence of music on human psychology.

Your findings highlight music’s significant role in shaping emotional well-being and cognitive processes.

Specific musical genres should evoke distinct emotional responses, indicating music’s potential for therapeutic applications in stress reduction and memory enhancement.

The study should underscore the need for a deeper understanding of the intricate relationship between music and the human psyche.

After harnessing music’s emotional and cognitive effects, you can explore innovative interventions to enhance psychological well-being.

While your research provides valuable insights, it is essential to acknowledge its limitations and encourage further investigation into the multifaceted dimensions of music’s impact on the human experience.

7. References

References validate the credibility and academic rigor of your research. After citing reputable sources, you demonstrate that your work is built on a foundation of established knowledge and research within the field.

References provide evidence to support your arguments and claims. They show that your research is based not solely on your personal opinions but on existing and expert opinions.

Properly citing sources helps you avoid plagiarism, a serious academic offense. Plagiarism involves using someone else’s work without giving them credit, which can lead to academic penalties and damage your reputation.

References serve as a guide for readers interested in delving deeper into the topic. They can use your reference list to access the sources you consulted, promoting further learning and research.

References provide context for your research, allowing readers to see how your work fits within the broader academic conversation. This can help establish the significance of your research.

8. Appendices

Appendices are essential in research to provide additional information, such as raw data, charts, or lengthy explanations, without cluttering the main text.

They enhance comprehension and allow readers to explore details at their discretion.

9. Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments in research papers serve several vital purposes.

First and foremost, they express gratitude and recognition for the contributions of individuals, organizations, or institutions that supported the research.

Acknowledgments enhance transparency by disclosing financial support, resource access, or partnerships. They demonstrate ethical research practices and ensure that potential conflicts of interest are disclosed.

Acknowledgments play a vital role in maintaining research integrity, respecting intellectual contributions, and building a sense of academic community and collaboration.

Josh Jasen or JJ as we fondly call him, is a senior academic editor at Grade Bees in charge of the writing department. When not managing complex essays and academic writing tasks, Josh is busy advising students on how to pass assignments. In his spare time, he loves playing football or walking with his dog around the park.

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Music Research Paper

This sample music research paper features: 6800 words (approx. 22 pages), an outline, and a bibliography with 49 sources. Browse other research paper examples for more inspiration. If you need a thorough research paper written according to all the academic standards, you can always turn to our experienced writers for help. This is how your paper can get an A! Feel free to contact our writing service for professional assistance. We offer high-quality assignments for reasonable rates.

Introduction

The meaning of music and dance, performance, sacred performance, chant and recitation, instruments, critical musicology, globalization, gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, nationalism, medical ethnomusicology, applied ethnomusicology.

• Bibliography

Ethnographic approaches to music and dance in the 21st century explore how modes of expression and performance practices are involved in the making of lifeworlds. Cultural production is situated in specific contexts that generate meaning as particular sonic and kinesthetic phenomena relate to discursive processes and social structures. Scholars of music and dance engage with cultural flow through dialogic encounters and interpretative analyses. These studies help illustrate how performance practices produce meanings, mediate socialities, and configure political relations.

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Ethnomusicology, which generally encompasses anthropology, dance ethnology, folklore, musicology, and sociology, situates specific theoretical issues in comparative social and historical contexts. Up to the late 1960s, the discipline explored and indexed the musical phenomena of non-Western cultures in ways that resonated with concurrent anthropological trends in area studies. Critical analysis of these approaches led to a rethinking of music in which music became not the object of culture, but rather the product and expression of human experience. In his writings on the relations between music and society, anthropologist John Blacking (1995) proposed:

We need to know what sounds and what kinds of behavior different societies have chosen to call “musical;” and until we know more about this we cannot begin to answer the question, “How musical is man?” As “humanly organized sound,” music is a bearer of meanings insofar as it exhibits and necessarily demonstrates a set of values that the society that generates it would otherwise lack. (p. 5) Relations between music, dance, and society are thus viewed as complex networks of interdependence through which a given act embodies temporal and emplaced experiences that structure social processes. Contemporary ethnomusicology pursues a rigorous analysis of how cultural production generates social significance by positioning the individual as the agent of social change through historical encounter. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Theoretical Approaches to Music and Dance

Musical and social structures mutually constitute each other through human interaction. This cultural-studies approach derives from the seminal work of Raymond Williams, who claimed that culture is not fixed as a bounded work or elite mode of production, but is instead embedded in everyday experience and activity. As a cultural materialist who challenged orthodox Marxist accounts of historical epochs or phases, Williams framed cultural practices as sites of political contestation through which groups reproduce and resist modes of domination, particularly those that critique industrial capitalism (Williams, 1977). Critical to his work are structures of feeling that configure the ways in which particular generations and social classes experience difference among social relations. These feelings beget a lived experience of a particular moment in society and history that brings meaning into the lives of individuals and the lifeworlds that they constitute. The production of cultural meaning is a fluid and dynamic process that emerges as a necessary process in which “new meanings and values, new practices, new relationships, and kinds of relationship are continually being created” (Williams, 1977, pp. 122–23).

Musical meaning is not itself generated through aesthetic critique, nor by reference to something extramusical, such as an emotion, landscape, or harmonic figure. Rather, musical elements and structures discursively relate to lived experience by an act of representation that fixes musical experiences to metaphoric and metonymic structures, forms, and works. These bounded entities are placed in a network of complex relations that can be explained through systems of representation in which musical ontologies serve as interpretive frameworks for diverse musical systems, whether Western symphonic music, Hindustani classical music, or Japanese gagaku court theater, or for categorization of musical cultures as classical, folk, popular, and traditional. Categories, however, do not necessarily correlate to an intrinsic value, but more productively relate to “how they are used and embodied in community relations to become structuring forces in musical life” (Holt, 2007, p. 29).

Ethnomusicologists today explore the discursive production of musical meaning as a contemporary response to what comparative musicologist Charles Seeger (1977) problematized as the “musicological juncture” (p. 16), or the gap of representation that occurs when communicating about one system of human communication (music) through another (speech). To redress claims that music is “untranslatable and irreducible to the verbal mode” (Feld, 1982, p. 91), ethnomusicology suggests that musical practice is less a latent mode of (artistic) representation but rather a (socially) active and engaged mode of producing reality. If speech is the communication of “worldview as the intellection of reality,” then music is the communication of “worldview as the feeling of reality” (Seeger, 1977, p. 7). What we perceive as “feelingful” occurs through the “generality and multiplicity of possible messages and interpretations . . . that unite the material and mental dimensions of musical experience as fully embodied” (Seeger, 1977, p. 91). As suggested by interpretive approaches to cultural anthropology, ethnographers study not experience, per se, but the feelingful and discursive structures through which experience occurs.

Musical experience is constituted as meaningful when social structures conjoin with individual consciousness through structures of feeling. Whereas structures suggest fixed relationships that are rigid and determined, feeling inflects the intense and personal experience of what is “believed, felt, and acted upon” (Frith, 1996, p. 252). This becomes important with regard to the construction of cultural forms, whether musical genres and styles or social categories and spaces. How people behave with regard to sound relates to what they perceive and think about such behavior. Anthropologist Alan Merriam (1964) proposed a model of musical anthropology that triangulates these axes of sound, concept, and behavior. This tripartite structure has been redressed by an interpretive analysis of dialectical processes that consist of historical construction, social maintenance, and individual adaptation and experience; in other words, an agency-centered inquiry into how people create, experience, and use music (Rice, 1987).

Feelingful experiences occur through culturally specific processes that produce and perceive sound. Recent directions in the phenomenology of acoustic phenomena argue that sound is not the property of a musical object separated from its origin, but rather, sonic significance lies in the encounter of sound as musical. Sensory dimensions of experience suggest that sonorities may be heard as affective, feelingful, and emotional when perceived as musical patterns in specific cultural contexts. Phenomenological studies suggest the ways in which people relate to each other through senses of hearing. A hearing culture may make it “possible to conceptualize new ways of knowing a culture and of gaining a deepened understanding of how the members of a society know each other” (Erlmann, 2004, p. 3). In turn, individual and social processes perceive musical encounter “not through layers of cognitive categories and symbolic associations, but with a trained and responsive body, through habits copied from others and strictly reinforced, by means of musical skills” (Downey, 2002, p. 490). Listeners’ acquired habits of assimilating sensory experience to musical systems affect them viscerally, and lived bodies are fashioned by patterns of acting in relation to music at the same time that they are responsive to sonic textures.

Performance emerges through the interaction of corporeal gestures, discursive tropes, and performative utterances in social settings that situate these actions as musical or extramusical, verbal or nonverbal, cognitive or affective, sacred or secular. These actions are held together by aesthetic principles that are represented in the social and material world, just as the social and material world is imbued with extraordinary value. Performance and listening are intersubjectively and physiologically experienced in a trained and socialized set of artistic bodily movements that reflect values and ideas (Meintjes, 2003, p. 176).

Embodied realms of experience situate cultural practices in the physiological and expressive body and the social forces that operate through those bodies. Performativity asserts the materiality of nonverbal communication and expression and the presence of the body as it is mediated by the production of sound. Whether sound is produced by a singer, a musician, or mediated by technology, the presence of the medium leaves a material trace that regulates its origin (Barthes, 1978). For example, analyses of timbre consider the grain of the voice in recording—in addition to elements of texture, attack, delay, and pitch—and interpret studio techniques as signifying practices that are deeply connected to the discursive production of style and genre (Théberge, 1997).

Embodied performance by a socialized musician or dancer suggests how bodies may be regulated or may resist forces of power (Comaroff, 1991). The discourse of bodies in motion at Greek weddings, for instance, produces the dialectical relationships and mutual dependencies that are also regulated and constrained by their repetitive power as a body politic, or collective unit. By introducing nonGreek Roma musicians at wedding parties as daulia, or drums (Cowan, 1990, p. 102), Greek townspeople exert power over the materiality of both resonant and outside bodies. As sites of reception and agency, bodies bear narratives of time and place that coalesce into corporeal memories. The ways individuals perform these narratives construct identity and differences that endow sound and movement with the capacity to represent lived experience.

As forms of social action and as meaningful activity, music and dance create and give expression to human and social experience. Epistemological concerns have critically responded to the ways in which a kinetic body and a sound dialogically compose form through performance events, structured practices, and representational strategies. Rather than treat music and dance as objects of discourse that possess meaning in and of themselves, or frame body movement techniques and sonic phenomena as abstract properties that may be reconfigured according to context, ethnographers seek to localize the very terms by which understanding and knowledge of these performative dynamics are produced.

Music Research Topics and Issues

Music plays a significant role in preserving and transmitting the world’s religions in terms of history, culture, and practice. The study of music in religious practices considers the ways in which music transforms experience into sacred meanings, narrates religious myths, and structures religious ritual and communities. The performative conditions associated with religious practice consider sacred sound not as the taxonomy of a particular belief system, but rather as a sensory spectacle through which experiences become enchanted. The sacred nature mediates by sonic utterances that may induce a phantasmagoric state of being, encode sacred language, or embody affective experience. Sound indexes religious experience through the presence of sacred instruments and the act of listening to liturgical chant. Sound also marks sacred spaces through pilgrimages and festival rituals, among other religious practices (Beck, 2006; Berliner, 1993).

The efficacy of music in sacred spaces suggests the ways in which sound may be sacred and how this sacred nature may be mediated through sonic practices. How sound conveys sacred meaning and experience in specific contexts raises ontological distinctions in that what is often perceived as musical in European and North American contexts may be considered nonmusical and sacred in other sacred spaces.

Contexts may determine how sound is received and interpreted and in what ways sound may be ontologically separate from music. Interpretation of sound also structures power relations, in which religious authority is maintained by ideological boundaries of sound seeking to differentiate between sacred practices and secular forms of expression (Baily, 2003).

Ethnographies of sacred performance practices have tended to focus on the capacity of music, dance, and ritual drama to organize religious activity through modes of social interaction that produce webs of associative meaning (Reily, 2002). Performance has been conceptualized as a medium through which participants demonstrate religious conviction and commitment; as a means to structure time, narrative, and symbolic systems; and as a mode of interaction that codifies organizational patterns and the conditions of participation in religious activity. For example, the sacred voice is a medium that binds individuals communally in religious activity. How these experiences shape and are shaped by musical practice is determined by the theological ways in which individuals engage with music and music making. More recently, ethnographers have considered ways in which religious-ritual activity depends on the act of performance in order to be perceived as sacred and, in particular, how sound and movements are mediums that frame a ritual act as sacred. As individuals negotiate moral boundaries between the sacred and the profane in contemporary contexts, the act of producing sound and movement becomes a contested arena where religious authorities judge the ethics of cultural production. Performance through music and dance may allow departure from the profane and entrance into the sacred, mark the aesthetic boundaries of secular space, or itself articulate the boundaries between the sacred and the profane by which religious practices acquired enchanted and sacred meaning.

Several bodies of scholarship have addressed musical change, religious renewal, soteriological potential, musicoreligious orthodoxy, and other related issues. These different forms of religious practice, or syncretism, may be marked through distinct genres and styles that expose moments of encounter and uneven relations of power. In colonial spaces, religious repertory may occupy cultural spaces in ways that reproduce a hegemonic religious order and erase subaltern religious practices (Comaroff, 1991). Folkloric ensembles typically relate to historical or contemporary religious practices through complex processes of aestheticization that problematically blur distinctions between sacred worship, cultural traditions, and popular culture. These distinctions are in part based on a collective memory of the sacred that is translated through aesthetic ideals. The embodiment of these ideals demonstrates how religious ideologies are manifested through bodily practices that themselves produce sacred sound, movement, and performance.

The power of sound embodied in speech patterns, or chant, may preserve and transmit knowledge and religious authority as well as mark historical change. For example, the Rigvedic texts of the Harappan in Pakistan and northwestern India are considered sacred when correctly rendered through transmission and pronunciation of Vedic hymns. Recitation of these hymns occurs through three types of spoken accent with a melodic contour dependent on the succession of accent in the sung syllables, as well as the duration of each relative pitch. The consideration of Vedic chant as the foundation of contemporary Hindustani music in South Asia is, in part, attributed to its preservation through Brahman recitation. Codification of early performance practices, such as Gregorian chant in southern Europe, began when clergy notated plainchant in order to correlate its liturgical function with the medieval Roman liturgical calendar. Compositional practices that developed from these notations are widely considered to be the conceptual and historical basis for Renaissance and late European courtly arts (Bergeron, 1998).

Some religious cultures regard practices of recitation, or the sounding of religious text, as the divine act that makes speech patterns sacred by mediating the transmission of sacred texts through the vocal performance. The significance of such performances is governed not only by the syntactic conditions such as pitch and duration, but also by audition, or the appropriate response, performed by the ethical listener (Hirschkind, 2006).

Instruments embody religious experience when endowed with the capacity to produce sacred sound. In some ritual practices, performance on a particular instrument, such as batá percussion ensembles in Cuban Santería, realizes the divine potential of the ritual event and produces religious transformation. Instrumentalperformance practice marks the shift from secular to sacred contexts; produces the appropriate performance conditions for trance, ecstasy, possession, and other states of heightened sacrality; symbolizes tropes of religious narrative and function; and transfers knowledge and participation among believers (Hagedorn, 2001; Rouget, 1985; Wong, 2001).

Sacred musical practices are often narrative—telling stories and relating myths to generate a sense of historical and religious meaning. Narrative may be considered musical through, for example, the ways in which music marks the passage of time in ritual performance and in the narrative sequence of events, or through the juxtaposition of different musical genres that layer and texture religious stories. Instruments often play a significant role in narrating epic myths with sacred content, such as within bardic traditions or Sufi mysticism. One way in which narrative components of sacred music may shape a religious community is by mediating a sense of place. The act of recalling an original event, such as an act of martyrdom or a miracle, links the event to a specific site. When enacted through song and other musico-poetic genres, the act of recall layers subsequent events to that site in ways that parse history as locally meaningful in religious communities.

During the early 1990s, musicologists readjusted paradigms in which musical performance expresses a natural mode of human existence or formalizes a universal set of aesthetic ideals (Solie, 1993). The critical inquiry espoused by “new musicology” advocated for the deconstruction of ideologies into iconicities of style that are reproduced and transformed by acts of performance. Performance practices now produce social relations that are represented in different categories of gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, generation, class and nation, and other forms of identity. Cultural meaning is discursively constructed by specific practices of signification, and links between signifier and signified are not fixed but arbitrary. These practices may construct meaningful experience in ways that depend on conventions of taste and class that are situated in a particular time and place.

Studies of place tend to be located in everyday life and explore the tactics by which people interact and engage with their environment. Gatherings, such as rehearsals among English rock musicians, are not only mediated by these practices, but also produce affective relationships to the settings in which social activities take place. Yet, as conditions of modernity separate space from place in lived experience, the physical settings of social activities are “thoroughly penetrated by and shaped in terms of social influences quite distant from them” (Giddens, as cited in Stokes, 1994, p. 1). Therefore, approaches to place, music, and dance seek to relocate cultural geographies within specific social, economic, and political spaces by addressing how individuals produce sound and movement in order “to reestablish their presence, situate events in a fixed place and time, and reembed actions within social structures” (Stokes, 1994, p. 3). Place becomes meaningful through affective processes that recognize and enable different experiences, mediate emotional relations to an environment, or produce nostalgia through acts of memory that bestow music and dance “with an intensity, power and simplicity unmatched by any other social activity” (Stokes, 1994, p. 3).

As individuals perceive what takes shape around them, they participate in the construction of a soundscape, or an environment structured by the perception and reception of sound. Soundscapes are differentiated not only by dynamics of power, class, and difference, but also by sentimentality, or the emotional and affective relationships that constitute a sense of place (Feld & Basso, 1996). An acoustemology of sound analyzes the sentimental relations to place that are embodied by sound production and reception among, for instance, Kaluli people in Papua New Guinea. Through interlocking, overlapping, and alternating singing that mimics bird calls in the rainforests, Kaluli voices index the natural environment; mediate places as sites of memory; and express an ecological sense of self, place, and time (Feld, 1982). Acoustic environments have also been critical to the historical progression of musical form in bourgeoisie European society and the displacement of instrumentalists to the role of musical interpreters. Early performance practices were comprised of extramusical, literary, or narrative material that was, in part, marked by a musician’s individualized embellishment of musical material.

In the 19th century, the concert room emerged as a performance setting that aestheticized the impression of immediate contact with the music as a listening ideal. Musical practices shifted to uphold universalist aesthetic ideals not only through listening appreciation, but also in celebration of a composer’s genius. Dramatic structures were communicated by composers such as Beethoven through “the abstract logic of pure form” and the formal properties of the music itself in ways that privileged structural-listening practices in European art music. Thus, the commodification of musical knowledge and musical emplacement fetishized sonata form in the historical development of instrumental Western art music (Leyshon, Matless, & Revill, 1998).

The commodification of musical place in a globalized world has induced a certain anxiety among critical musicologists over the ways that disembedding music and dance practices stimulates desires for authenticity by late-capital consumers in a hegemonic economic order. While the capacity for music to travel has augmented an appreciation for place and dismantled cultural borders, the poetics and politics of this have problematically differentiated relations between self and other. World music, and related configurations of art music, ritual, folk and ethnic genres, and world beat and roots music (Aubert, 2007), are authenticated by conditions of place. By privileging the geographically local as authentic, the particular can be naturalized in ways that fetishize locality through terms of belonging. The act of splitting sound from its source and reproducing it depends on uneven processes of representation that contest cultural rights and negotiate various modes of ownership (Feld & Basso, 1996). Styles associated with world music then demarcate community by linking dispersed places and allegiances that, through subjective identity, allow the strategies by which individuals register difference (Erlmann, 1999).

The globalization of world music has also been critiqued as a pastiche, or a process of reconfiguring time and space that detemporalizes the encounter between self and ethnographic others into an event beyond history, or perhaps at the horizon of a certain historical moment. For instance, the production and consumption of alternative folk rock links different historical moments into one bounded cultural space, while world-dance music may layer disparate local styles into a repetitive, temporal sequence (Erlmann, 1999). Cultural interchange and interaction in popular music thus depends upon a concept of culture that binds territory to groups in ways that demand the political engagement of cultural critique. Whereas narratives of cultural interchange such as hybridity, creolism, and syncretism tend to privilege myths of origin, postcolonial analyses encourage new approaches that no longer engender forms of being by binaries of self (self and ethnographic other), place (here and there), and time (then and now), but rather by a third space that is constituted by these boundaries.The circulatory relations of cultural flow have furthered understandings of how historical consciousness may undermine essentializing cultural strategies. Studies of the black Atlantic (Gilroy, 1993) address how black popular music and dance styles shape and are shaped by particular African retentions and situate the Atlantic as a site of crossings, mediations, and exchanges that continually reconsider the cultural flow of African and African American expressive forms.

In response to large-scale processes of migration, globalization, and transnationalism that destabilize structures of belonging, critical approaches to place have also emphasized the production of locality through cultural practices. Tropes of place may uneasily mark displacement from an imagined structure of belonging, for instance when tropes of the crowd and the machine in the South African vocal genre of isicathamiya signify a sense of nostalgia for rural agricultural economies among populations who migrated to cities in search of labor opportunities. Another example can be found in how the mapping of memory fragments onto musical events, instruments, and kinship narratives of a retired Jewish community in Liverpool, England, shapes collective relations that in turn construct an immigrant neighborhood whose identity is nurtured by newly mediated and localized imaginaries of home and community. Locality may also be produced by sound-engineering practices that index a particular place and authenticate a musical style through the technological reproduction of sound in specific performance conditions such as “live” Austin country music (Greene & Porcello, 2005).

Gender and sexuality analyses situate performers and their texts within specific musical worlds and examine how these worlds produce gendered ideologies through performance practice, singing style, repertory, performance events and occasions, lyrics and elaborations, and instrumental practice. Thus, gender and sexuality are mutually constitutive of cultural experiences, and also mutually construct processes of subjectivity and alterity in ways that have been binarily opposed to biological explanations of lived experience. As a method of cultural critique, gender and sexuality studies analyze the ways in which ideology is maintained and transformed through the performance of a gendered self. These studies also examine the ways that musical practices mediate social relations as variously gendered—masculine, feminine, and perhaps hyperreal. Because gender theorists have understood sexuality as constitutive of gendered norms, distinctions between gender and sexuality have been largely premised on identity construction as theorized in psychoanalytic discourse. Lacanian theory argues that linguistic signs triangulate the enlightened self from its other in ways that destabilize a sense of identity by the desire for an object that might represent such identity. By reading social and cultural texts for hidden and repressed desires, critical theorists reveal conditions of heteronormativity that shape and are shaped by cultural practices. Ultimately, gender and sexuality studies suggest how social distinctions may be magnified rather than ameliorated by the performative act of music making and structured movement.

A substantial body of literature has been devoted to highlighting and documenting women’s contribution and women’s roles in musical performance. As professional entertainers, as dramatic personalities, and as audiences, women convey social values and transmit cultural meanings in ways that may be different from those performed by men. The expression of sentimentality by women through forms and repertoires, such as sung poetry among Bedouin women in upper Egypt, resist, maneuver, and maintain patriarchal norms of modesty, honor, and shame that have been typified in Mediterranean studies (Abu-Lughod, 1986), whereas songs sung by Berber women in northern Morocco strategically empower potentialities of marital life (Magrini, 2003). Performance events and contexts have been analyzed with discourses surrounding these practices through elements of lyrics, style, technology, and appropriate behavior. These suggest how identity may be encoded and performed as masculine, feminine, or ambiguously gendered. Postmodernist approaches to the paradigmatic relations between musical and social structures have produced seminal readings of the gendered hierarchies in composition, such as immanent relations between the masculine and the feminine in sonata form (McClary, 1991), formulations of the Western music canon, constructions of ontological difference through gender (Solie, 1993), and the potential of music itself—as a performance rather than as text, to disrupt the masculine musicological narratives within which it is often contained (Abbate, 1991).

The broad compass of vocal performance in different registers constructs gendered and sexualized identities by embracing some, and refusing other, conventions of style and genre. Voice may characterize a range of erotic and emotional relationships among women who sing and women who listen in ways that “resonate in sonic space as lesbian difference and desire” (Brett, Wood, & Thomas, 1994, p. 28). This sapphonicvoice is found in operatic practices by female singers who assume “pants” roles, or castrato male roles sung by women, as well as other singers and singing personalities (Brett et al., 1994). Koestenbaum (1994) argued that the brea between registers is a gendered split that emplaces a voice between male and female. The ways in which the brea is negotiated may be “fatal to the act of natural voice production” (p. 220) when gender and sexuality are transferred beyond normativity, such as the sapphonicvoice’s synthesis of register; this replaces its splitting, or the falsetto register’s failure to disguise this break. The combination of different registers may refuse vocal categories and polarities of natural and unnatural, and may establish interpretations of female desire, male desire, and the relations of class, age, sexual status, and identity through vocal performance (Koestenbaum, 1994).

The performance of gender engages with the kinds of subjects that musical and dance performances engender, both onstage and among audiences, and the ways that such performance relates to everyday life as lived, embodied, and theorized. For instance, a feminized atmosphere at a wedding in Morocco is not dependent on the presence of female dancers, but rather on the performance of femininity among communal relations that may differentiate between gender, sexuality, and class. Perceptions and representations of Asian American femininity have shifted due to North American taiko performance that represents social space through gesture, movement, and the presence of women in drumming practices. In post-Apartheid South Africa, Zulu ngoma song and dance is critical to the performance of masculinity and the anxieties of retaining the presence of individualized expression and stylized body movement in the midst of unemployment, an AIDS epidemic, and a history of violence in KwaZulu-Natal (Meintjes, 2003).

Critical race studies examine how constructions of difference on the basis of body type and color are perpetuated by the representation of essentialized metaphysical conditions. Concepts of race are linked to the emergence of modern scientific inquiry into the natural world and are largely considered a product of Enlightenment thought and observation. The late 18th century produced a world “observed, processed and remapped on the imagination of Europe” (Radano & Bohlman, 2000, p. 13) in which race and music constituted logics of difference that categorized the natural world and sought to make it understandable. Moreover, racial discourse contributed to the formation of musical difference as human difference was mapped onto musical difference, that is, to the object of music itself. The epistemic model that measured harmonic relations on a mathematically proportionate scale and unified differences in pitch influenced Enlightenment thought on the structure and substance of not only resonating, but also racialized bodies. How music participates in the construction of race and racial imaginaries ultimately raises ontological questions of whether music itself represents these qualities, or whether our understandings of music are shaped by and through racial relations.

Racial constructs are connected to music through structures of understandability, that is, the capacity of sound to signify and communicate meaning, and through materiality, or the technologies, objects, and bodies that represent music and musical histories through particular ideologies (Brown, 2007). For example, the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner claimed that the language of European opera and vocal music was degraded through the inability of European Jewish composers to fully control the language of music, which Wagner instantiated in terms of 19th-century German universalism that was first and foremost predicated on language and an assumption that music instantiates comparative linguistic properties. Elsewhere, race interacts with other systemic hierarchies, such as the historic provision of wedding and court entertainment by Jewish musicians in predominantly Muslim worlds situated along the Silk Road, from Bukharan weddings in central Asia to the Abbasid and Omayad caliphates of the 11th century. Categories in which instruments function as a racial mapping of power relations may be critiqued by participants themselves, such as Karnatak and Hindustani musicians who negotiate caste systems in South Asia that distinguish between the permissibility of Brahmin performance on the Karnatic vinalute and the delegation of instrumental performance on untouchable leather-skinned drums to less privileged castes. Conditions of difference, shaped by cultural practices, help to better understand relations of power in systems based on class, caste, kinship, religion, and other forms of belonging and ownership.

Racial conventions of blackness, whiteness, and other morphologies play a critical role in ideological distinctions of music as rational and intellectual, or as orally transmitted, communal, and embodied. The naturalization of certain structures as African retentions, such as improvised movement, antiphonal oppositions, and repeated cycles of interlocking rhythmic patterns, reinforces the putative inseparability of music and dance in the African diaspora (Meintjes, 2003). This becomes problematic when what is musical and universal is defined against conceptions of blackness as physical and embodied.Yet, performance practice and histories may join as lived experience in ways that affirm how blues practices in African American working-class communities in the southern United States influenced the emergence of jazz, gospel, soul, R&B, rock, hip-hop, and other black vernacular music. The problem of race translates into a cultural critique in which creative strategies destabilize the tropes through which they emerge by means of intertextuality, subversion, and other signifying techniques (Radano & Bohlman, 2000).

Ethnicity, like other forms of difference that participate in processes of exclusion and inclusion, is constructed on the basis of shared beliefs in a “common ancestry, memories of a shared historical past, and elements in common, such as kinship patterns, physical continuity, religious affiliation, language, or some combination of these” (Shelemay, 2001, p. 249). Musical and dance practices instantiate ethnic relations by performing social boundaries that reproduce and subvert ideologies; these relations simultaneously also produce meanings, that is, “a patterned context in which other things happen” (Waterman, 1990, p. 214). Ethnic identity is often discussed in terms of minority relations and population movements that are themselves predicated on political difference. Often, ethnic boundaries “define and maintain social identities which can only exist in context of oppositions and relativities”; thus, ethnography can engage with how “actors use music in specific local situations to erect boundaries, maintain distinctions between us and them, and use terms such as ‘authentic’ to justify these boundaries” (Stokes, 1994, p. 6).

Cultural nationalism is a complex process by which institutions and actors integrate diverse populations into structures of national belonging. Ethnography investigates the ways in which music and dance practices—and the discursive spaces that are dialogically created and inhabited by such practices—generate national imaginaries in local contexts. Early forms of nationalism celebrated the universal claim to a single shared language and a set of particular customs and traditions situated in an ethnonational framework. Scholars have since criticized collective national identity as a product of state apparatuses that seek to reify lived experience into internationally recognized forms. Thus, the invention of tradition has been linked with nation-building projects in which state power emerges through the performance of national imaginaries and the efficacy of imagined communities (Askew, 2002). The extent to which symbolic production produces and sustains state hegemony through particular genres suggests whether these processes might be “multivalent, multivocal, and polyphonic” (Askew, 2002, p. 273) and how agents and institutions are involved in negotiating, defining, and contesting that which constitutes the nation. Musical ethnographies reveal the strategic shifts that characterize nationalist projects, ask whether events coincide with or interrupt official ideologies, illustrate why specific forms are chosen to represent the nation, and address how issues of authenticity and preservation are managed in these endeavors. Though global capital flow, access to electronic media, and transnational migration of people have decentered and deterritorialized processes of nationalism, the mediating structure of the nation continues to relate how people cross lines of difference through local transactions and cultural production.

Representation of the nation through music depends on a belief in the representational potential of music, that is, music’s capacity to embody a cultural whole that exists prior to its mediation. The production of national symbols, therefore, depends upon a modern discourse that is represented by cultural mediation. This discourse emerged from Johann Gottfried Herder’s claim that based national identity on the common narratives and histories of a given people and, in particular, on the capacity of language and folksong to represent such shared experiences. Herder’s proto-nationalist theory is comprised of a geographic model where music marks a place, such as the landscape of the nation, an acoustic model whereby sound distinguishes the nation as a whole, and a narrative model in which music encodes stories that represent the history of the nation (see Bohlman, 2004). The quintessential image of the nation, or a “preexisting entity that is more indefinite than definite,” is reflected by national music, “for whom it becomes the task to bring out as much of the definition as possible” (Bohlman, 2004, p. 83).

Conversely, nationalistic music does not harbor relations among a nationalized people, but rather services competition between nation-states. Nationalistic music secures the geographic identity of the nation-state by marking borders and producing alterity through the production of national difference. Alterity may be differentiated on the basis of class, race, ethnicity, and gender dynamics that exclude those whose presence prescribes the need to regulate desires and who trigger ambivalence as a condition of modernity. The marking of borders is instantiated by a presentation of the nation that embeds power in performance, or through a means of communicative interaction in which the act itself is privileged over that which it mediates. Thus, nonverbal performance may communicate messages whose meaning is located in elements of sound and movement and in dialogic interaction between performers and audiences, or between modes of modernity—contingent on the specifics of the temporal and spatial moment.

Early studies of population movement addressed patterns of assimilation and acculturation through theories of culturecontact that failed to engage with political disparities and the contradictions of multiculturalism in modern societies. More recent approaches redressed these patterns as a postmodern condition that negotiates instantiations of nationalism, transnationalism, and displacement through the appropriation of expressive culture and the making of political alliances among transnational populations (Garofalo, 1992). However, the rigidities and essentialisms of diasporic identity created by multiculturalism may articulate or contradict the politics of national, postcolonial, and minority identities even as they stress emergent forms of culture, uneven relations of cultural hybridity, and ambivalent relations to national homelands (Ramnarine, 2007). Contemporary diaspora studies thus emphasize the “newness” of the diasporic experience, and address political belongings and further substitutions as historically specific and shaped by a historical consciousness. Fragments of this consciousness are inscribed within an in-between space by which immigrants may register a sense of loss, exile, and rupture through cultural production. Diasporic music making may thus be a practice of everyday life in local communities by individuals making strategic choices through music festivals, individual biographies, song texts, musical instruments, and intellectual movements. Politically articulated readings of these social relations and creative processes reveal economies of desire in colonial encounters, performances that mourn and remember ancestors, intercultural borrowings in African-Peruvian theater, or state interventions in the creation of broader diasporic groups (Ramnarine, 2007).

Studies of popular culture and music have helped to differentiate between experiences of voluntary and forced migration. The actions and behavior of refugees affect how groups produce and give meaning to their music as they negotiate loss and trauma, and pursue a state of stability that is represented by resettlement. For instance, Vietnamese refugee communities in the United States tend to display a preference for love songs and Western-oriented popular music that convey anticommunist nostalgia for a pre-1975 period of French, U.S., and Japanese colonial influence in Vietnam (Reyes, 1999). Other histories of dispossession and violence have prompted ethnographers to consider the social construction of place, self, and other through aesthetic experience as a means for understanding the performative capacities of particular histories and repertories of violence and “the ensuing meanings violent performances carry for victims, perpetrators, and witnesses alike” (McDonald, 2009, p. 59).

Future Directions

Medical ethnomusicology seeks to integrate disciplines of music; health sciences; integrative, complementary and alternative medicine (ICAM); the physical and social sciences; medical humanities; and the healing arts through integrative research and applied practice. Research in music, medicine, and culture recognizes the dynamic and diverse practices by which specialized music and sound phenomena function as therapeutic strategies and as a means to cure illness and disease. Ethnomusicological discourse has demonstrated the extent to which specialized music emerges from a spiritual or religious ontology and is practiced in ritual or ceremonial events. When music combines with or functions as prayer or meditation, it may constitute preventive and/or curative practices that can be situated among a set of local medical practices. Medical ethnomusicology focuses on the performance of healing and the culture of health in order to better understand disease and illness, health and healing, as well as the performative nature of diagnosis, treatment, and healing. Recent studies and interventions include locating sites of ritual healing in ngoma practice among disparate communities; correlating beliefs about spirit possession to the intricacies of indigenous health care systems in Tumbuka communities; advocating and critiquing how the decline of HIV infection rates in Uganda correspond to the use of local musical traditions that support medical initiatives; engaging with science and religion through a focus on music, prayer, meditation, and healing; and the ways that these processes intimately link with transformational cognitive states in Tajikistan (Koen, 2008).

Applied ethnomusicology refers to work in the public sector that encourages the advocacy, curation, documentation, education, and performance of music and dance. These efforts apply the perspectives, principles, theories, and methods of ethnomusicology to encourage public awareness and participation in broadly defined fields of cultural practice. Advocacy engages with public-policy issues, such as arts access and participation, artists’ rights, censorship, intellectual property, and cultural heritage through institutional and noninstitutional efforts. The Society for Ethnomusicology debates and assumes positions on the ethics of music and fair use, music and torture, and the rights of human subjects in scholarly research. Cultural initiatives facilitate opportunities for performers and performance practices through festival and concert organization, recording and documentary film production, and museum exhibitions.

Efforts to document and archive materials are encouraged through the acquisition and digitalization of archives, collaboration between institutions, improved access, and the support of scholarship, publications, and public programs. Public education and outreach develop curriculum at the primary and secondary levels; establish performance ensembles and programs to nurture skills; and foster audiences and public awareness through the promotion and distribution of related events, productions, and publications. Performance of music and dance by specialists is encouraged not only as a research method in observing participants, but also as a means to preserve, transmit, and produce communities based on knowledge production and creative expression.

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• Hirschkind, C. (2006). Theethicalsoundscape:Cassettesermonsand Islamic counterpublics. New York: Columbia University Press.
• Holt, F. (2007). Genre in popular music. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Koen, B. D. (2008). The Oxford handbook of medical ethnomusicology. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Koestenbaum, W. (1994). The Queen’s throat: Opera, homosexuality, and the mystery of desire. New York: Poseidon.
• Leyshon, A., Matless, D., & Revill, G. (Eds.). (1988). The place of music. New York: Guilford Press.
• Magrini, T. (Ed.). (2003). Music and gender: Perspectives from the Mediterranean. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• McClary, S. (1991). Feminine endings: Music, gender, and sexuality. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
• McDonald, D. A. (2009). Poetics and the performance of violence in Israel/Palestine. Ethnomusicology, 53 (1), 58–85.
• Meintjes, L. (2003). Sound of Africa! Making music Zulu in a South African studio. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
• Merriam, A. P. (1964). The anthropology of music. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
• Radano, R. M., & Bohlman, P. V. (2000). Music and the racial imagination. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Ramnarine, T. (2007). Musical performance in the diaspora. London: Routledge.
• Reily, S. A. (2002). Voices of the magi: Enchanted journeys in southeast Brazil. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Reyes, A. (1999). Songs of the caged, songs of the free: Music and the Vietnamese refugee experience. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
• Rice, T. (1987). Toward the remodeling of ethnomusicology. Ethnomusicology, 31 (3), 469–488.
• Rouget, G. (1985). Music and trance: A theory of the relations between music and possession. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Seeger, C. (1977). Studies in musicology, 1935–1975. Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Shelemay, K. K. (2001). Soundscapes: Exploring music in a changing world. New York: Norton.
• Solie, R. (Ed.). (1993). Musicology and difference: Gender and sexuality in music scholarship. Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Stokes, M. (Ed.). (1994). Ethnicity, identity, and music: The musical construction of place. Oxford, UK: Berg Press.
• Théberge, P. (1997). Any sound you can imagine: Making music/ consuming technology. Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press.
• Waterman, C.A. (1990). Jùjú:Asocialhistoryandethnographyofan African popular music. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Williams, R. (1977). Marxism and literature. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Wong, D. A. (2001). Sounding the center: History and aesthetics in Thai Buddhist performance. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

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Research Guides

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APA Style 7th Edition Tutorials for Students in Psychology and Social Work

What is apa style.

• The Importance of Citing

Why is APA Style needed?

How do i get started with apa style, let us practice what we have learned, attribution and acknowledgement.

• Basics of APA Style Tutorial
• Reference Entry Elements
• Reference Examples
• Reference List
• In-Text Citations
• Student Paper Format
• Managing References - Zotero

Origination of APA Style

• Where did APA Style come from?

Commonly Used APA Related Terms

Abstract : Abstract is a brief synopses of article. It provides a brief but comprehensive summary of the article. 

Citing : In the context of academic writing, citing is the act of acknowledging the sources of information you have used when writing your work.

Citation:  A citation gives credit to a source, and contains publication information such as author(s), title and date.

DOI (digital object identifier): It is a unique alphanumeric string assigned to a digital object, mainly a scholarly article, to provide a persistent link to its location on the internet. 

In-Text Citation : It is a brief note that appears within the body of the paper and briefly identifies the cited work by its author and date of publication. An in-text citation should always match the corresponding entry in the reference list at the end of paper.

Paraphrasing : A paraphrase restates another’s idea (or your own previously published idea) in your own words. 

Plagiarism : It is the act of presenting the words, ideas, or images of another as your own; it denies creators of content the credit they are due. 

Quoting : It is the act of reproducing the exact wording used by the original author. Direct quotations appear within quotation marks and end with a citation.

Reference : It contains details about one cited work, generally including four elements:  author, date, title, and source.  

Reference List : It identifies all the sources you cited in the text of your paper. It generally is at the end of the paper and definitely on a new page after the text of your paper. 

APA Style is the most common writing style used in college and career. Its purpose is to promote excellence in communication by helping writers create clear, precise, and inclusive sentences with a straightforward scholarly tone. It addresses areas of writing such as how to

• format a paper so it looks professional;
• credit other people’s words and ideas via citations and references to avoid plagiarism; and
• describe other people with dignity and respect using inclusive, bias-free language.

APA Style is primarily used in the behavioral sciences, which are subjects related to people, such as psychology, education, and nursing. It is also used by students in business, engineering, communications, and other classes. Students use it to write academic essays and research papers in college, and professionals use it to conduct, report, and publish scientific research.

In addition, APA Style provides you with a powerful tool that will hep you avoid deliberate or unintentional plagiarism. Please review the Avoiding Plagiarism Guide created by the APA experts to understand what two common types of plagiarism are and how to avoid them. 

Why is learning citations important? Citations help readers understand where the information used in your paper comes from, enabling them to trace the path of that information. When readers wish to explore a specific point or reference cited in the text, citations make it easier by providing information about your sources in a standardized format.

Besides showing readers where you obtained information, using citations also has a strong ethical purpose. In academic writing, it is important to credit ideas that are not your own. Citations allow you to integrate the ideas of others with your own thoughts in a fair and honest way.

The reference formats for APA Style manuals are as follows:

APA Style provides a foundation for effective scholarly communication because it helps authors present their ideas in a clear and concise, and organized manner.  Uniformity and consistency enable readers to (a) focus on the ideas being presented rather than formatting and (b) scan works quickly for key points, findings, and sources. When style works best, ideas flow logically, sources are credited appropriately, and papers are organized predictably and consistently. 

Students are encouraged to first learn about APA Style by reading works written in APA Style. A couple of guides created by APA experts from the American Psychological Association can help you with that:

Anatomy of a Journal Article   https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/anatomy-journal-article.pdf

Scholarly journal articles share a common anatomy or structure. Each part of an article serves a specific purpose. The handout of  Anatomy of a Journal Article explains how journal articles are structured and how to become more efficient at reading and understanding them. Understanding the structure of a scholarly article and the purpose of each part helps you grasp a strategy called targeted reading. Targeted reading means to read specific sections of research articles first to determine if the article seems useful for your research topic. This way you will save time, find useful article faster, and choose which articles to read in full.

Reading and Understanding Abstracts https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reading-abstracts.pdf

Abstracts are short summaries of scientific research articles. The handout of Reading & Understanding Abstracts explains the definition and purpose of abstracts and the benefits of reading them, including analysis of a sample abstract. The skill of reading and understanding abstracts of scholarly articles not only saves time but also helps you conduct better research and write more effectively.

APA Style Writing Principles https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/writing-principles.pdf

The poster created by APA experts shows the three main principles of APA Style: clarity, precision, and inclusion and lists steps on how to achieve them. As a student writer, you always should write your academic paper with clarity, precision, and inclusion. 

Research Article Activity https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/apa-style-research-activity.pdf

Reading research articles is not an easy task for you as a student. The Research Article Activity designed by APA Style experts aims to make it easy to read and understand a scholarly article. This activity worksheet helps you find, cite, analyze, and summarize a research article. Completing this activity breaks down a lengthy research article into easily understandable chunks. This way helps you better understand the study in the article before you write about it. 

The information in this Guide   is courtesy of   the official APA Style website by the American Psychological Association.

Source Credit: Information on this LibGuide comes from APA Style website https://apastyle.apa.org/ This website has a wealth of free and authoritative resources designed to help anyone new to APA Style.

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• Last Updated: Apr 6, 2024 12:06 PM
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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

• Applying Critical Thinking
• Purpose of Guide
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Reading Research Effectively
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
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• The C.A.R.S. Model
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• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
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• Secondary Sources
• Tiertiary Sources
• Scholarly vs. Popular Publications
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Insiderness
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• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Writing Concisely
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Footnotes or Endnotes?
• Further Readings
• Generative AI and Writing
• USC Libraries Tutorials and Other Guides
• Bibliography

Critical thinking refers to deliberately scrutinizing and evaluating theories, concepts, or ideas using reasoned reflection and analysis. The act of thinking critically implies moving beyond simply understanding information, but questioning its source, its production, and its presentation in order to expose potential bias or researcher subjectivity. Applying critical thinking to investigating a research problem involves the act of challenging assumptions and questioning the choices and potential motives underpinning how the author designed the study and arrived at particular conclusions or recommended courses of action.

Mintz, Steven. "How the Word "Critical" Came to Signify the Leading Edge of Cultural Analysis." Higher Ed Gamma Blog , Inside Higher Ed, February 13, 2024; Van Merriënboer, Jeroen JG and Paul A. Kirschner. Ten Steps to Complex Learning: A Systematic Approach to Four-component Instructional Design . New York: Routledge, 2017.

Thinking Critically

Applying Critical Thinking to Research and Writing

Professors like to use the term critical thinking; in fact, the idea of being critical permeates much of academe writ large. In the classroom, the idea of thinking critically is often mentioned by professors when students ask how they should approach a research and writing assignment [other approaches your professor might mention include interdisciplinarity, comparative, gendered, global, etc.]. However, critical thinking is more than just an approach to research and writing. It is an acquired skill used in becoming a complex learner capable of discerning important relationships among the elements of, as well as integrating multiple ways of understanding applied to, the research problem. Critical thinking is a lens through which you holistically interrogate a topic.

Given this, thinking critically encompasses a variety of inter-related connotations applied to college-level research and writing * :

• Integrated and Multi-Dimensional . Critical thinking is not focused on any one element of the research design, but rather, is applied holistically throughout the process of identifying the research problem, reviewing of literature, applying methods of analysis, describing the results, discussing their implications, and, if appropriate, offering recommendations for further research. The act of thinking critically is non-linear [i.e., applies to going back and changing prior thoughts when new evidence emerges]; it permeates the entire research endeavor from contemplating what to write to proofreading the final product.
• Normative . This refers to the idea that critical thinking can be used to challenge prior assumptions in ways that advocate for social justice, equity, and inclusion in ways that are transformative and have lasting impact. In this respect, critical thinking can be a method for breaking out of dominant culture norms so as to produce research outcomes that illuminate previously hidden aspects of exploitation and injustice.
• Power Dynamics . Research in the social sciences often includes examining aspects of power and influence that shape social relations, organizations, institutions, and the production of knowledge. This involves how power operates, how it can be acquired, and how power and influence can be maintained. Critical thinking can reveal how societal structures perpetuate power in ways that marginalizes and oppresses group and within historical , political, economic, and cultural contexts.
• Reflection . A key aspect of critical thinking is practicing reflexivity; the act of turning ideas and concepts back onto yourself in order to reveal and clarify your own beliefs, assumptions, and perspectives. Being critically reflexive is important because it can reveal hidden biases you may have that could unintentionally influence how you interpret and validate information. The more reflexive you are, the better able and more comfortable you are about opening yourself up to new modes of understanding.
• Rigorous Questioning . Thinking critically is guided by asking questions that lead to addressing complex concepts, principles, theories, or problems more effectively and to help distinguish what is known from from what is not known [or that may be hidden]. In this way, critical thinking involves deliberately framing inquiries not just as research questions, but as a way to focus on systematic, disciplined,  in-depth questioning concerning the research problem and your positionality as a researcher.
• Social Change . An overarching goal of critical thinking applied to research and writing is to seek to identify and challenge sources of inequality, exploitation, oppression, and marinalization that contributes to maintaining the status quo. This way of thinking can help humanize the research problem, extending the scope of interpretive analysis beyond the boundaries of traditional approaches to understanding the topic.

In writing a research paper, the act of critical thinking applies most directly to the literature review and discussion sections of your paper . In reviewing the literature, it is important to reflect upon specific aspects of a study, such as, determining if the research design effectively establishes cause and effect relationships or provides insight into explaining why certain phenomena do or do not occur, assessing whether the method of gathering data or information supports the objectives of the study, and evaluating if the assumptions used t o arrive at a specific conclusion are evidence-based and relevant to addressing the research problem. An assessment of whether a source is helpful to investigating the research problem also involves critically analyzing how the research challenges conventional approaches to investigations that perpetuate inequalities or hides the voices of others.

Critical thinking also applies to the discussion section of your paper because this is where you interpret the findings of your study and explain its significance. This involves more than summarizing findings and describing outcomes. It includes reflecting on their importance and providing reasoned explanations why the research study is important in filling a gap in the literature or expanding knowledge and understanding about the topic in ways that inform practice. Critical reflection helps you think introspectively about your own beliefs concerning the significance of the findings but in ways that avoid biased judgment and decision making.

* Mintz, Steven. "How the Word "Critical" Came to Signify the Leading Edge of Cultural Analysis." Higher Ed Gamma Blog , Inside Higher Ed, February 13, 2024; Suter, W. Newton. Introduction to Educational Research: A Critical Thinking Approach. 2nd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2012

Behar-Horenstein, Linda S., and Lian Niu. “Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in Higher Education: A Review of the Literature.” Journal of College Teaching and Learning 8 (February 2011): 25-41; Bayou, Yemeserach and Tamene Kitila. "Exploring Instructors’ Beliefs about and Practices in Promoting Students’ Critical Thinking Skills in Writing Classes." GIST–Education and Learning Research Journal 26 (2023): 123-154; Butcher, Charity. "Using In-class Writing to Promote Critical Thinking and Application of Course Concepts." Journal of Political Science Education 18 (2022): 3-21; Loseke, Donileen R. Methodological Thinking: Basic Principles of Social Research Design. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2012; Hart, Claire et al. “Exploring Higher Education Students’ Critical Thinking Skills through Content Analysis.” Thinking Skills and Creativity 41 (September 2021): 100877; Sabrina, R., Emilda Sulasmi, and Mandra Saragih. "Student Critical Thinking Skills and Student Writing Ability: The Role of Teachers' Intellectual Skills and Student Learning." Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences 17 (2022): 2493-2510.Van Merriënboer, Jeroen JG and Paul A. Kirschner. Ten Steps to Complex Learning: A Systematic Approach to Four-component Instructional Design. New York: Routledge, 2017; Yeh, Hui-Chin, Shih-hsien Yang, Jo Shan Fu, and Yen-Chen Shih. "Developing College Students’ Critical Thinking through Reflective Writing." Higher Education Research & Development 42 (2023): 244-259.

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FAQs About Research Paper Writing Services

How do essay writing services work.

If you’ve never ordered from an essay writing service before, then you might not know what to expect — or where to start. More and more college students are turning to these sites to help them with the increasing number of essays that they are assigned every semester — but how do essay writing services work?

The research paper writing services connect you with professional and academic writers, who are either employed by the site or work as self-employed freelancers, to work on your paper. The professional research paper writer will see the subject area you request, the number of words or pages that are needed, the deadline for the paper, and other information that you provide.

The research paper helper may contact you to request additional information, or to keep you updated on the progress of your paper. Because the writer that has been assigned to your paper will have knowledge of your subject area, they will use a variety of specialized resources to write your assignment.

Once your paper has been completed, you will receive a PDF draft from the professional writer — this is the stage where you can ask for any revisions to be made. If you’re happy with what has been written, the full version of the paper will be released to you, and is officially all yours!

Are research paper writing websites legit?

Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing illegal about using a custom research paper writing website. As long as you follow the correct procedures of your university, you also can’t get into trouble for academic misconduct.

Writers who work for research paper writing services are normal human beings, who happen to have a passion and a talent for writing. Usually, these writers are paid a large percentage of what you pay to the research paper help site — sometimes, they are also paid to work specific hours.

Before you start spending money though, it’s important to verify the integrity of the site you’re looking to use. The essay writing services space has exploded in popularity in recent years, which means that some people want to take advantage of this. There are plenty of sites that will take your payment and run, leaving you out of pocket and without an essay for your upcoming deadline.

Make sure to check the reviews of the sites you’re looking at — especially those on impartial sites such as TrustPilot. It can also be helpful to look at the About Us section on the website, to learn more about the company. Finally, if it seems too good to be true, it likely is — don’t trust sites that are charging something like $10 for thousands of words, with a same-day turnaround.

Can I entrust someone to write my research paper? Is it safe?

Research paper assistance sites mentioned on this list are 100% safe to use, and you don’t need to worry about any negative repercussions from using their services. The most reputable sites will have a confidentiality policy, where your interaction with their research paper writers will remain anonymous. Nobody will know you have used the site unless you share this information yourself.

Most sites put their professional paper writers through strict verification processes — this ensures not only their writing ability, but also that they are a real and trustworthy person. They may ask their writers to provide government issued ID, and proof of their employment or academic qualifications.

You may also be concerned about if your payment is secure when using a term paper writing service — many of these sites use secure payment methods such as PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay and more. There is also support for a number of international, fee-free payment options.

A good research paper writing service will also have stringent anti-plagiarism measures. This includes checking the finished product a number of times through different services, and some sites will have their own purpose-built plagiarism checkers.

Will my essay be plagiarism-free?

One of the main concerns when ordering an essay from a writing service is whether it will be flagged for plagiarism. Having this happen to one of your assignments can get you into serious trouble. You may be investigated by your school’s academic misconduct department, and you could even be expelled from your high school, university, or college.

Professional research paper services include a guarantee of plagiarism-free content. Your paper will contain only unique content, with no copy-pasted information. All sources will also be properly referenced in the style that you request.

To achieve this, sites use plagiarism checkers from a variety of sources. Many custom research papers and term papers are checked multiple times, and every effort is taken to reduce the similarity percentage of the finished product.

Specifically, many sites will ensure that their research papers pass the plagiarism check enforced by Turnitin — one of the most popular assignment submission platforms that many universities use. The platform has a strict plagiarism checker that will flag an assignment if it is above a certain similarity percentage.

You can be confident that your essay will be plagiarism-free when ordering from a paper writing service; and if it isn’t, you may be entitled for a free refund under their money back guarantee.

How much does it cost to hire professional research paper writers?

The price to buy a research paper online will vary depending on a few factors. Many sites will allow you to input your basic requirements, and give you an estimation of the price based on this. The factors that can increase or decrease the cost of your paper include its length, the deadline for submission, the education level, and sometimes the subject area.

The specific cost of paying for an essay may be calculated per page, or per 100 words. In most cases, our research found that the standard price for a 1 page, high-school level essay with a 2 week turnaround was between $10 and $12.

If you want to save on your research paper, then make sure to request the services of a writing site well in advance — the more time you give them to complete your paper, the less it will cost.

Can you get caught using term paper writing services?

This is a common concern for people who are looking to find a research paper service to write academic papers for them. Plagiarism not only includes using uncited sources from the internet, but also trying to pass off someone else’s work as your own. As we covered earlier, this can get you into a lot of trouble.

When buying an essay to use as a model answer, as reference material, or ideas, you cannot get caught or punished for using it. Your professors won’t need to see the essay that you bought, and you won’t need to cite your usage of it; because for all intents and purposes, it does not exist.

Things become less clear when you consider, or intend to submit a research paper that you bought. Many sites do not encourage this, and it should not be the main reason that you look for a service to write your essay for you. You have a much higher chance of being caught for submitting a bought research paper as your own, but you may also get away with it … do so at your own risk!

So, to conclude, our overall choice for the best research paper writing service is PaperHelp. We’re crowning them as our winner based on their high quality services, low prices, and fast delivery. Their customer reviews and testimonials show that people trust them to deliver on-time, and to take attention to detail in their work.

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The news and editorial staff of the Delco Daily Times had no role in this post’s preparation.

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A professor worried no one would read an algae study. So she had it put to music

Dead fish washed ashore in a red tide in 2018 in Sanibel, Fla. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

Dead fish washed ashore in a red tide in 2018 in Sanibel, Fla.

An anthropology professor at the University of South Florida recently published a paper she knew barely anyone would read. At least, not outside her field.

The paper, co-authored with three other professors, had to do with the impact of algae blooms and depletion of coral reefs on the region's tourism industry. The work was glum, says Heather O'Leary . It involved tracking visitors' reactions to the environment on social media.

"Part of the data for months was just reading tweets: dead fish, dead fish, dead fish," she recalls. "We were really thinking every day about the Gulf of Mexico and the waters that surround us, especially in St. Pete as a peninsula, about those risks, and the risks to our coastal economy."

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But attending concerts at USF's School of Music inspired and gladdened her. So she reached out to its director of bands, Matthew McCutchen .

"I'm studying climate change and what's going down at the coral reefs," he remembers her saying. "And I've got all this data and I'd like to know if there's any way that we can turn it into music."

Indeed there was. Composition professor Paul Reller worked with students to map pitch, rhythm and duration to the data. It came alive, O'Leary says, in ways it simply does not on a spreadsheet.

Matthew McCutchen, Heather O'Leary and Hunter Pomeroy at the University of South Florida Symphonic Band & Wind Ensemble show at USF Concert Hall. Aiden Michael McKahan/University of South Florida hide caption

Matthew McCutchen, Heather O'Leary and Hunter Pomeroy at the University of South Florida Symphonic Band & Wind Ensemble show at USF Concert Hall.

"My students were really excited to start thinking about how the other students, the music students, heard patterns that we did not see in some of the repetitions," she says. With music, she added, "you can start to sense with different parts of your mind and your body that there are patterns happening and that they're important."

In this case, she says, the patterns revealed the economic impact of pollution on coastal Florida communities. The complex challenge is a symptom of other, bigger problems. "The world is going to see more and more of these purportedly 'wicked problems,' the ones that take multiple people with different types of training and background to solve," O'Leary says.

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The University of South Florida is excited about this composition . Other departments are getting involved, including communications, education and library science. Now, a group of faculty and students are working to bring together music and the environment in related projects, such as an augmented reality experience based on this composition. The group, which calls itself CRESCENDO (Communicating Research Expansively through Sonification and Community-Engaged Neuroaesthetic Data-literacy Opportunities) wants to spread awareness about the algae blooms, data literacy and democratizing science.

Edited for radio and the web by Rose Friedman. Produced for the web by Beth Novey. Produced for the radio by Isabella Gomez Sarmiento.

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April 10, 2024

After being insulted, writing down your feelings on paper then getting rid of it reduces anger

• Anger management
• Graduate School of Informatics
• Nobuyuki Kawai
• Yuta Kanaya

A research group in Japan has discovered that writing down one's reaction to a negative incident on a piece of paper and then shredding it or throwing it away reduces feelings of anger.

“We expected that our method would suppress anger to some extent,” lead researcher Nobuyuki Kawai said. “However, we were amazed that anger was eliminated almost entirely.”

This research is important because controlling anger at home and in the workplace can reduce negative consequences in our jobs and personal lives. Unfortunately, many anger management techniques proposed by specialists lack empirical research support. They can also be difficult to recall when angry. 

The results of this study, published in Scientific Reports , are the culmination of years of previous research on the association between the written word and anger reduction. It builds on work showing how interactions with physical objects can control a person’s mood.

For their project, Kawai and his graduate student Yuta Kanaya, both at the Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, asked participants to write brief opinions about important social problems, such as whether smoking in public should be outlawed. They then told them that a doctoral student at Nagoya University would evaluate their writing. 

However, the doctoral students doing the evaluation were plants. Regardless of what the participants wrote, the evaluators scored them low on intelligence, interest, friendliness, logic, and rationality. To really drive home the point, the doctoral students also wrote the same insulting comment: “I cannot believe an educated person would think like this. I hope this person learns something while at the university”. 

After handing out these negative comments, the researchers asked the participants to write their thoughts on the feedback, focusing on what triggered their emotions. Finally, one group of participants was told to either dispose of the paper they wrote in a trash can or keep it in a file on their desk. A second group was told to destroy the document in a shredder or put it in a plastic box. 

The students were then asked to rate their anger after the insult and after either disposing of or keeping the paper. As expected, all participants reported a higher level of anger after receiving insulting comments. However, the anger levels of the individuals who discarded their paper in the trash can or shredded it returned to their initial state after disposing of the paper. Meanwhile, the participants who held on to a hard copy of the insult experienced only a small decrease in their overall anger. 

Kawai imagines using his research to help businesspeople who find themselves in stressful situations. “This technique could be applied in the moment by writing down the source of anger as if taking a memo and then throwing it away when one feels angry in a business situation,” he explained. 

Along with its practical benefits, this discovery may shed light on the origins of the Japanese cultural tradition known as hakidashisara (hakidashi refers to the purging or spitting out of something, and sara refers to a dish or plate) at the Hiyoshi shrine in Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture, just outside of Nagoya. Hakidashisara is an annual festival where people smash small discs representing things that make them angry. Their findings may explain the feeling of relief that participants report after leaving the festival.

The study, “Anger is eliminated with the disposal of a paper written because of provocation,” was published in Scientific Reports on April 9, 2024, at DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57916-z .

Yuta Kanaya, Nobuyuki Kawai

Media Contact:

Matthew Coslett

International Communications Office, Nagoya University

Email: [email protected]

Top image: Physically disposing of a piece of paper containing your angry thoughts in a shredder (left) effectively neutralizes the anger, whereas putting it in a plastic box (right) does not. credit: Photos by Yuta KANAYA

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