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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.

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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 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

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Best 100 music research topics (just updated).

If you are reading this, you are probably looking for the best music research topics for your next essay. Truth be told, choosing the right topic is very important. It can make the difference between a B and an A, or even between an A and an A+. Unfortunately, choosing the best topics is not as simple as you think. Even though the internet is full of music research topics, most of them are plain and, quite frankly, boring.

Your professor wants more than this. Let’s see why you need the most interesting topics and where you can find them. Of course, you are free to use any of our 100 topics for free and even reword them as you see fit. Read on!

Choosing Good Music Research Topics

By now, you are probably wondering why everyone keeps telling you to come up with the best music topics. The truth is that there are many, many benefits to choosing an awesome topic. Here are just some of them, so you can get a better idea of the importance of a great idea:

• Excellent music research paper topics show your professor that you really did your best to get a top grade.
• A good topic is one that you know much about. It should be relatively easy to you to research it and to write about it.
• An awesome topic will pique the interest of your professor and will keep him or her reading. You will often get bonus points for this.
• Great topics make you stand out from your classmates. Your professor will notice you, and the grade will reflect this.

Where Can You Find Decent Music Topics?

Finding amazing music research topics is easier said than done. Yes, the Internet is full of websites that are offering ideas. There are even websites where you can buy bundles of topics. However, the music argumentative essay topics you will get from these websites are not of the highest quality. Most of them are actually quite boring. And remember, you classmates are probably searching for music history research paper topics on the same websites as you do. You want your research topics on music or book review topics to be original, so your professor can have a reason to award your paper some bonus points. The best place to get excellent music topics to write about is this page. The list of ideas is updated frequently, so you can get an original topic for free right now.

Music History Research Topics

Are you looking for the most interesting music history research topics? If you do, just pick one from our list for free:

• How did the Catholic church influence Renaissance music?
• Social issues described in Baroque-period music.
• Analyze the evolution of Romantic-era music.
• How did the Baroque Opera come to be?
• Who invented Medieval music and when?
• Why has western music almost disappear in the last 10 years?
• Analyze the evolution of music in the Classical era.
• Analyzing violin music performance during the Romantic Era.

Music Argument Topics

Are you looking to find an argument and support it? Then you absolutely need to check out our exceptional list of music argument topics:

• Music today is better than music in the 90s.
• The most lucrative career for a musician.
• Music helps you memorize faster.
• The most popular kind of metal music.
• The evolution of blues songs over the last 30 years.
• Music helps children develop faster.
• Hip-hop is a misunderstood music genre.
• Jazz music is not obsolete.

Music Theory Topics

Interested in writing about music theory? Our amazing academic writers have put together a list of music theory topics for you:

• Analyze the most important aspects of modern music.
• Classical music has specific medical applications.
• Hidden symbols in Renaissance-period music.
• The unique features of Baroque-age music.
• Analyze the evolution of music in the Baroque era.
• The best music compositors in the Romantic era.
• Remarkable characteristics of Romantic-age songs.
• The peculiarities of Asian modern music.

Music Industry Topics

Writing about the music industry can be fun and entertaining. Your professor will love it. Pick one of our music industry topics and start writing:

• What do you associate rock music with and why?
• Should the music industry pay songwriters more?
• How does illegal pirating of songs affect the music industry?
• Do music sharing sites help new artists become famous.
• Analyze the evolution of music labels in the US.
• What differentiates a music label from all others?
• Music talent shows and their effects on a musician’s career.
• The difficulties of signing a contract with a major music label in the US.

Research Paper Topics on Music for High School

Are you a high school student? In this case, you will need our research paper topics on music for high school:

• The best compositors of the Baroque Era.
• What differentiates modern music from classical music?
• Notable women in classical music.
• Analyze the evolution of music in the Modern age.
• How was Beethoven’s music influenced by his loss of hearing?
• How would our world be without music?
• Does music cause negative effects on US teens?

Music Thesis Topics

Writing a thesis about music is not easy. In fact, it can be one of the most difficult projects in your academic career. Start right now by choosing one of the best music thesis topics:

• What made a musician stand out in the Baroque Age?
• The most notable musical experiments in the Classical age.
• Comparing Renaissance and Medieval music styles.
• Analyze the evolution of music in the Renaissance age.
• How did royalty in the UK benefit from music in the Renaissance era?
• Discuss a folk song from the Renaissance age.
• Differences between Asian and European classical music.

Music Controversial Topics

Music, like most other disciplines, has plenty of controversial topics you can talk about. Don’t waste any time and pick one of these music controversial topics:

• Does digital music cut the profits of musicians?
• Who owns the intellectual property to a song?
• The difficulties of getting songwriting credit.
• Illegal downloads are changing the music industry.
• Should music education still be included in the curriculum?
• Analyze medieval liturgical music.
• Music should be free for everyone to download and use.

Persuasive Speech Topics About Music

Are you required the write a persuasive speech about music? If you are, you may need a bit of help. Pick one of these persuasive speech topics about music (updated for 2023):

• Music has a significant effect on advertising.
• The changes rap music has brought to the US culture.
• Indie is a term that should not apply to music.
• Metal music should be banned from the US.
• Does listening to music have a great influence on mental health?
• The amazing evolution of music in the Medieval age.
• People should be free to listen to the music they like for free.
• The fashion industry wouldn’t be where it is today without music.

Easy Topics About Music

Perhaps you don’t want to spend 5 or 6 hours writing the research paper . You need an easier topic. Choose one of these easy topics about music and write the essay fast:

• How can one become a symbol of modern music?
• My favorite singer today.
• Which musician from the past would you bring back to life and why?
• Do politics influence modern music?
• Compare and contrast two music genres.
• Analyze the evolution of music in the modern age in the United States.
• The side effects of turning the volume too loud.
• How is classical music used in Disney movies?

Music Education Research Topics

Are you interested in talking about music education? Perhaps you’ll have some suggestions to make after you’ve done the research. Just choose one of the music education research topics below:

• Can E-Learning be applied to music education?
• Can music teachers offer distance learning services?
• The advantages and disadvantages of Zoom music lessons.
• Why are music worksheets so important for high school students?
• How did the Internet change music education?
• Why are modern music studies so important?
• Should we learn more about Asian music in school?
• How can students learn music while respecting COVID19 measures?

Highly Interesting Music Topics

We know you want a top grade on your next music research paper. We advise you to select one of these highly interesting music topics and surprise your professor:

• How did pop music came to existence and why?
• Analyze the history of hip-hop music.
• Compare metal music with classical music.
• Why is rock music so popular in the United Kingdom?
• Which song would best present our species to aliens?
• Compare and contrast Korean and Chinese music.
• Analyze the popular themes of Japanese music.
• The stunning rise of K-pop bands.

Informative Speech Topics About Music

It’s difficult to find good informative speech topics about music these days. If you want to stand out from the rest of your classmates, choose one of our topics:

• Discuss the ideas presented in romantic music.
• What do people who appreciate classic music have in common?
• Analyze the most popular Bach music.
• Describe the role of market music in the Baroque era.
• Analyze the evolution of European music.
• Ways to make classical music popular with teens in the UK.
• Discuss the most popular musical instrument in the Classical age.

Music Essay Topics for College

Are you a college student? If you want an A+ on your next research paper, use one of these music essay topics for college students:

• Does modern music contain medieval themes?
• Analyze a song from the Renaissance age.
• Why is blues music so important for our culture?
• Who invented the blues genre and when?
• Analyze the evolution of American folk music.
• Most popular names in Baroque-age songs.
• Modern interpretations of medieval songs.
• Listening to blues music can lead to depression.

Need some more music history paper topics? Or perhaps you need a list of music related research topics to choose from for your thesis. Our best paper writer can help you in no time. Get in touch with us and we guarantee that we will find the perfect music topic for your needs. You will be well on your way to getting the A+ you need. Give us a try and get an amazing research topic on music in 10 minutes or less!

206 Best Music Research Topics That Rock The Stage

Music is one of the greatest sensations in human life. If you are writing a music research paper, you have to make sure that the topic is eye-catching. Most importantly, it should move and make you dance yourself. The topic that you are not interested in will not only make you weary, but the results would be unsatisfying too. That is why our writers have found music research paper topics for you to save the day. We love music very much, and so  our team  offers an Academic paper writing service , so you can trust word.

Table of Contents

Music Research Topics: History, Technical Music, Contemporary And More

Although our writers mainly offer research paper writing services , they did not hesitate for a bit when we asked them to come up with some music research topics for you. You can use any of these 206 topics for free and modify them to fit your needs and match your taste. Read on!

Music History Research Topics

• Use of songwriting in relation to the political and social situations in Nazi Germany and the French Revolution
• Musical Education between two centuries
• Evolution in the definition of music over the centuries
• Birth of Music in Mesopotamia
• Impact of Arab-Andalusian music on renaissance
• Folklore bands of wind music, a cultural manifestation of the people and for the people
• Harmonic implications studied by Pythagoras
• Music from Ancient Greek
• Importance of Music in Greek Mythology
• Song of the Sirens in the evolution of music
• Greece, music, poetry, and dance
• Athens was a center of musical poets in BC era
• Classical Greek Style Music
• Yanni: A Musician that fuses Modern and Classical Greek Music into one
• Role of Music in Greek Tragedy
• Famous musical-dramatic pieces
• Heroic poets: Arab poets that formed the bases of European music
• Performances in amphitheatres by singers-actors-dancers
• Classical musician considered himself more of a performer than an author
• Ritual dance with kettledrums around the fire: Musical Traditions of Pagan cultures
• Classification of primitive musical instruments
• Music in China
• Music in Mayan Tradition
• Apache and Native American Music
• How Africans and Columbians formed the modern American music
• The musical theory and the instruments used in Japan
• Bagaki for Japanese Emperor ceremonies
• Evolution of Indian Music
• Music in the Mughal Empire
• Anarkali: A musical myth with a royal background
• Christian Music, Hymns and Choirs

Read More:  Psychology Research Paper Topics

Technical Music research topics

• Similarity measures, including rhythmic and melodic similarity.
• Phylogenetic analysis of music.
• National Center for Music Diffusion
• Mathematical measures of rhythmic complexity and syncopation
• Musical transformations of rhythm and melody
• Automatic analysis of traditional music, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and African music
• The mathematical theory of rhythm
• Musical constructivism
• Model models (MM) and counter models (CM)
• The role of sound design in video games and its application to contemporary independent works
• Mathematical and computational modeling of musical phenomena (grouping, phrasing, tension, etc.)
• A mathematical theory of tuning and temperament systems
• Teaching mathematics through art
• Music visualization
• History of Modern Columbian Music
• Acoustic-instrumental composition, electroacoustic and sound art
• Interpretation and musical investigation
• sound production
• Transcription and music editing
• Recovery of musical heritage
• Studies of music, literature, culture, and colonial anthropology
• Music by European composers of the 16th century (Renaissance)
• Education and technology in educational scenarios of musical training

Read More:  Finance Research Topics

Music Argument Topics

• Visual Media Music Studio
• Music as an important expression in the history of the world
• Conversations about music, culture, and identity
• The architectural space as a link between music and the citizen
• Music Schools for children and young people with limited resources
• Role of practice and need for devotion in learning and acing the musical skills

Read More:  Accounting Research Topics

Contemporary Music research topics

• Impact of Coke Studio: From Pakistan to take over the world
• Effects of Modern Music on Youth
• Musical Martyrs: Freddie Mercury, Amy Winehouse, Elvis Presley
• Music of Hans Zimmer
• Production and exhibition of contemporary music
• Entertainment and music centres
• Non-formal music schools
• Music and education today
• Contemporary Mexican music
• Satanism movement in modern music
• Western musical history and “modern” music
• Journey of Music: From the Medieval Family to the Modern Family
• Importance of Opera in the modern age
• Evolution of music over time: From orchestra to electric
• Self-management and promotion of independent music
• Music of electric musicians: Alan Walker, Serhat Durmus, Chain Smokers
• Modern Music, A Wonderful Expression
• The idiomatic reality of the English language
• Modern Music in the United States
• Current music pedagogy
• Music education in the twentieth century

Read More:  Research Paper Topics

Classic Music Research Topics

• Classic music of South Asia
• Classic music of Africa
• Classic Arab music, the influence of Soad, Um Kalthum
• What makes classic music so important and why do we still have to reserve it?
• Music of Beethoven, Mozart and Brahms
• Use of classic music in the film
• Beethoven: How he lived, composed and died
• Life and music of Mozart
• Classical music by Afro-American women
• Music in classical films
• Greatest compositions of 19-20th centuries
• Style and compositions of Einaudi
• Music during the classical period
• Classical Music Criticism

Read More:  Business Research Topics

African music research topics

• The Effects of Slave Music on American History and African-American Music
• The use of Afro-Caribbean rhythms for the construction of jazz musical moments
• African folk music of Cuba
• History of African-American Popular Music
• African diversity in music
• The study of the oral and musical traditions of the Afro-Mexicans
• Studies of African Musical History and Its relationship with modern society
• South African influences on American music
• African music in Mali
• African music: South Africa
• Music of the Middle East and North Africa

Read More:  Nursing Research Topics

Pop Culture Music Research Topics

• The pedagogical models of popular music
• Music throughout the decades of musicals
• Brad Paisley and Country Music
• The Effects of Music on the popular culture
• Hip-hop/rap music: One of the most popular musical genres
• The influence of rap music on teenagers
• Irish Music: Music and Touch Other Irish Dance Music

Read More:  Qualitative Research Topics

Music Theory Topics

• Genre and music preferences
• The effect of instrumental music on word recall memory
• Sample Music and Wellness
• The music industry
• The Theme of Death in a Musical 
• The Effects of Globalization on MusicMusic psychology research topics
• The potential of music therapy to develop soft skills at the organizational level
• Listening to music as a way to relieve stress for teens
• The impact of theatricality within contemporary popular music concerts of the psychedelic, glam, and progressive rock genre 
• Trying music as therapy
• How music can help students with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyper Disorder)
• How can music help reduce work stress and maintain a healthy work environment
• Musical manifestations of man consist of the externalization

Read More:  US History Research Topics

Music Education Research Topics

• New pragmatism in music education
• Importance and effects of musical education
• Philosophy of Music Education
• Music, a tool to educate
• Competencies in music education
• Music as a strategy to encourage children’s effective learning 
• Interconnection between music and education
• Philosophy of musical education

Read More: High School Research Paper Topics

Persuasive Speech Topics About Music

• The music is a true reflection of the essay of American society
• Music and Its Effects on Society 
• Matter Of Metal Music
• Beethoven’s Twelfth Symphony: the second movement of the symphonic essay
• Messages in music
• The benefits of music trial
• Does music affect blood pressure?
• Music Industry Research: An Epic Battle With Youtube
• Entertainment and education Via music
• Whitman’s music as a means of expression
• Music and its Effect on the World
• Music: Essay on Music and Learning Disabilities

Read More:  Political Science Research Topics

Music Controversial Topics

• Whether or not profanations in music corrupt our youth
• Drugs and rock and roll
• Piracy and the music industry
• Music censorship is a violation of freedom of expression
• Music censorship
• The use and overuse of the music

Read More:  Criminal Justice Research Paper Topics

Music Industry Topics

• Freedom of expression and rap music
• Censorship in the music industry
• Influence of music on culture
• Analysis of Iranian film music
• Analysis of the Turkish Music Industry
• Analysis of the South Asian Music Industry
• Coke Studio Making and Global Impact
• The digital revolution: how technology changed the workflow of music composers for media
• Video music as matter in motion
• Acoustic and interpretive characteristics of the instruments
• The study of musical composition based on pictorial works
• Musical prosody of the interpretation

Read More:  Social Work Research Topics

Arab Music Research Paper Topic

• Arab music industry: Evolution after colonialism
• Music of Middle
• Umm Kulthum: Effects on global music
• How the Arab music still impacts Asian and American Music
• Effects of Arab music in popular French music
• Turkish and Arab Music: A Beautiful cultural fusion
• Arab Heroic Poets of Andalus and how they formed modern European music
• Revival of Arab music through electrical genre

Read More:  Medical Research Topics

Music Thesis Topics

• Film Industry Classical Music
• Finding Meaning in a Musical 
• Music and its effect on my interpretation
• How music can interact with politics
• Musical phrases and the modal centres of interest of the melody 
• Effect of ambient music on sleep trials
• Main characteristics of the musical organization
• Study Of Cadences And Other Harmonic Processes In The Light Of Consonance And Dissonance Theories
• Theoretical-experimental Study Of Percussion, Wind And String Instruments
• Recognition Of The Instruments Of The Orchestra
• Compositive Algorithms Using Unconventional Musical Magnitudes
• Development Of A Microtonal Harmony As A Generalization Of The Common Practice Period
• Mechanism related to the recognition of specific emotions in music
• Musical emotion (emotion induction)

Read More:  Biology Research Paper Topics

High School Research Paper Topics on Music

• Correlation Between Personality and Musical Preferences Essay
• Effects of Rock Music on Teenagers
• Does popular music stay popular?
• The effect of music on the interpretation of a musical
• Musical activities in a spiral of development
• Adolescents in the understanding of contemporary processes of music
• Musical activities in the content system
• Music and the value of responsibility
• Presentation of musical fragments, Performance of live or recorded musical instruments
• Life stories of composers and musical personalities such as Mozart and Beethoven
• Presentation of music related to tastes and socio-educational reality
• Exhibition of musical fragments and execution of instruments
• Presentation of different types of music, the performance of musical instruments live or recorded
• Experience composing music, with lyrics, instrumental or with sounds from the environment, what musical genre or type of sound production does it represent?
• The practice of the studied musical instruments, record the meanings that guide your performance and preparation as a student and for life
• Why is compliance with the vocal techniques of singing a duty that must be assumed consciously?
• Does all music express sound? Does every sound express a genre or type of music?
• Practice sound emission and tuning techniques
• Why is it important to make movements according to the type of music you listen to?

Music is one of the greatest inventions of the human race. All good music makes your heart beat a little faster and soothes your mind into peace. It has been evolving since the dawn of civilization, 5000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Whatever research you make about it, just make sure that it touches your heart. 

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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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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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• Published: 04 December 2023

Biological principles for music and mental health

• Daniel L. Bowling   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5303-5472 1 , 2  

Translational Psychiatry volume  13 , Article number:  374 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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• Human behaviour
• Neuroscience
• Psychiatric disorders

Efforts to integrate music into healthcare systems and wellness practices are accelerating but the biological foundations supporting these initiatives remain underappreciated. As a result, music-based interventions are often sidelined in medicine. Here, I bring together advances in music research from neuroscience, psychology, and psychiatry to bridge music’s specific foundations in human biology with its specific therapeutic applications. The framework I propose organizes the neurophysiological effects of music around four core elements of human musicality: tonality, rhythm, reward, and sociality. For each, I review key concepts, biological bases, and evidence of clinical benefits. Within this framework, I outline a strategy to increase music’s impact on health based on standardizing treatments and their alignment with individual differences in responsivity to these musical elements. I propose that an integrated biological understanding of human musicality—describing each element’s functional origins, development, phylogeny, and neural bases—is critical to advancing rational applications of music in mental health and wellness.

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Introduction

Every day, hundreds of millions of people make or listen to music. This appetite is driven by music’s core effects on emotion [ 1 , 2 , 3 ], reward [ 4 ], and affiliation [ 5 ]. The value we place on these effects supports a 200 billion dollar per year industry in the US alone [ 6 ]. More and more, music’s core effects have come into focus for their alignment with core dimensions of mental health, e.g., mood, motivation, pleasure, and social functioning. Together with rapidly increasing awareness of mental health’s humanistic and financial importance, this alignment has sparked new investments in music-based interventions from government and industry [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. This interest presents an opportunity for proponents of music’s therapeutic value to increase the specificity and rigor of its application and enhance our understanding of its clinical scope and efficacy.

Meeting this goal depends on a clear conception of music’s underlying biology as a source of principles for systematic applications towards specific clinical and subclinical goals. An awareness of such principles exists in music therapy [ 10 , 11 , 12 ], especially “neurologic” music therapies for motor rehabilitation [ 13 , 14 , 15 ], but applications in mental health remain highly variable, making it difficult to achieve a unified biologically-informed approach. Moreover, there are far too few music therapists to meet current mental health needs. In the US, for example, there are only about 10,000 board-certified music therapists, compared to about 58 million adults living with mental illness [ 16 , 17 ]. Assuming an average weekly caseload of 30 patients [ 18 ], total capacity to treat is therefore just 0.5%. Musicians represent another important source of insight, as they are ultimately the most skilled at titrating music’s neurophysiological impact. However, the inherently subjective nature of their “artistic” approach can preclude direct integration within a scientific model of health.

Given the uncertainty in defining the relationship between music and health, funders have sought to advance applications by casting a wide net. The National Institutes of Health, for example, has sponsored an extensive list of research topics involving music, including improving treatment response in cancer, stress and pain management in surgery, affect modulation in mood disorders, anxiolysis in anxiety disorders, social functioning in neurodevelopmental disorders, palliative care in advanced illness, neural rehabilitation after injury, and wellness through exercise [ 19 ]. This breadth is likely to puzzle many medical professionals and raise skepticism in more than a few. Can music really be such a panacea?

While skepticism is justified (as discussed in Section “Skepticism and need”), clear evidence of music’s effects on core mental health variables is readily apparent in our growing understanding of music’s biological foundations. Critically, these foundations provide a rational basis for standardizing and expanding music’s psychiatric applications and benefits. In this review, I outline a framework for music in human biology and describe some of its basic implications for standardized music-based interventions in mental health, with the goal of increasing biomedical integration and impact.

Developing a biological perspective

As far as we know, music has been with humans since our earliest existence. The first known evidence of human preoccupation with music comes from Stone Age flutes, carefully carved in wing bones and mammoth ivory some 40,000 years ago [ 20 ]. Over the course of recorded history, explanations of music and its power have been sought in terms of mythology, cosmology, mathematics, and physics, with many important insights along the way [ 21 , 22 ]. However, it was not until the 19th century that music came to be viewed in terms of human evolution. In 1871, based on observations of general similarity between human and animal vocalization, as well as the behavior of other “singing” mammals (like gibbons and howler monkeys), Darwin postulated a basis for music in sexual selection on social behavior. Specifically, he proposed that the vocalizations of our ancestors were likely more musical than linguistic, comprising greater regularity in pitch and time, and functioning mainly in signaling affect, attracting mates, and threatening rivals [ 23 ]. From this perspective, “music” provided the foundation for the evolution of human language, centering its underlying biology within the study of human cognition and communication more broadly [ 24 ].

Two aspects of this early account continue to shape modern biological music research or biomusicology (e.g. [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]). One is that music is, first and foremost, a form of social communication, with explicit origins in auditory-vocal interaction. The second is that singing and speaking—and thus, music and language—likely share a common origin in early hominids, as reflected by their many overlapping features, like being auditory-vocal by default, emotional expressive, and inherently social [ 25 ]. While many more specific details about the evolutionary origins of music remain under debate (cf [ 31 , 38 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]), a general view of music as rooted in social communication, with close ties to speech and language, is consistent across most theories and also central here.

Before proceeding, it is important to clarify that biomusicology chiefly concerns musicality rather than music per se. Whereas music is a cultural phenomenon of infinite variety [ 46 ], musicality is the genetically constrained and reliably developing set of neural capacities on which music production and perception rests [ 33 ]. It should be noted that this view departs significantly from common conceptions of music that center specific cultural manifestations and individual variation in preferences. Instead, a biological perspective centers music’s basic features in relation to pressures to evolve and develop neural capacities that support social communication. The following sections define this perspective with respect to four core elements of musicality—tonality, rhythm, reward, and sociality—reviewing essential concepts, biological bases, and evidence of clinical benefits, towards a framework for rational clinical translation.

Musical terms and definitions

Tones are a special class of sound stimuli that evoke a strong sense of pitch. Physically, they comprise regularly spaced pressure waves that repeat at frequencies between approximately 30–4000 Hz [ 49 ]. All musical cultures and traditions use tones [ 50 , 51 ], making neural sensitivity to tonality— defined simply as the use of tones to make music—a core element of human musicality. Tonality has primarily been considered from three perspectives. Harmony is focused on the organization of tones with respect to frequency. Melody is focused on the sequential organization of tones over time. Timbre is focused on the quality imparted to tones by their source and manner of production (e.g., a voice or a synthesizer, sounded gently or harshly, etc.) [ 52 ].

Conserved aspects of tonality

The most significant source of tones in the human auditory environment is vocal fold vibration in the larynx [ 53 , 54 ]. In speech, the frequency of vocal fold vibration fluctuates rapidly, leading to dynamic and variable tones (Fig. 1A ). In contrast, during song, these vibrations are modulated to emphasize particular frequencies and frequency relationships [ 50 , 51 , 55 ]. Beyond these “universal” features, many key aspects of harmony, melody, and timbre are widely observed across richly differentiated musical cultures and traditions.

A The same phrase spoken and sung by the same person to highlight how tones in music are related to tones in speech (based on Diana Deustch’s speech-to-song illusion). Variation in sound pressure over time (black) is overlaid with variation in the fundamental frequency of vocal fold vibration (the physical correlate of voice pitch; red). B On the left, the frequency relationships defined by the Japanese ritsu scale are presented along a vertical axis. Each relationship is calculated with respect to the lowest tone in the set (labeled “1.000”). On the right, the melody of the American gospel song “Amazing Grace” is shown using the same relationships. Conventional note letter names are listed at the right. C Timbral similarity of vocal and instrumental tones with parallel affective qualities. Top row: sound pressure waveforms with temporal envelopes shown in red. Bottom row: corresponding Fourier transforms with spectral envelopes shown in blue. These examples were selected to show similarity in temporal and spectral features of vocal and instrumental tones with parallel affective qualities.

In harmony, music almost always emphasizes a small set of tones defined by specific relationships to each other [ 51 ]. The simplest of these relationships—e.g., octaves (2:1) and fifths (3:2)—feature prominently in music worldwide [ 21 , 56 , 57 ], and particular sets of ratios called scales (or modes) are strikingly popular across cultural boundaries [ 21 , 57 , 58 ]. For example, the Western minor mode corresponds to what South Indian musicians call the Keeravani raga [ 59 ]. Similarly, the Japanese ritsu scale is also found in traditional Western folk songs like “Auld Lang Syne” and “Amazing Grace” (Fig. 1B ) [ 60 ]. In melody, tones tend to be arranged in arched or descending contours [ 21 , 51 ], traced mainly by small steps in pitch, with larger steps typically rising (Fig. 1B ) [ 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 ].

In timbre, specific temporal and spectral characteristics of tones give rise to specific perceptions of anatomical and affective source parameters, e.g., the ratio of low- to high-frequency energy in a tone is associated with size, valence, and arousal [ 65 , 66 ], rapid tone onsets signal a higher commitment of energy [ 67 ], and “rough” growl-like tones often convey anger or aggression [ 68 , 69 ] (Fig. 1C ). There is also widespread conservation in the use of tones for specific purposes. For example, lullabies typically comprise tones with relatively more low-frequency energy, sorted into simple repeating patterns [ 70 , 71 , 72 ]. Likewise, flatter contours with narrower pitch steps are favored for conveying somber affect [ 63 , 73 ]. Together, these and other broadly conserved aspects of tonality indicate a strong foundation in our shared biology.

Biological foundations of tonality

To model the biology underlying tonality, music scientists have developed vocal similarity theory (VST), the central tenet of which is that we perceive tones according to their behavioral significance in vocal communication [ 22 , 30 , 53 , 58 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 ]. VST is based on the fact that our experience with tones is dominated by the voice at evolutionary and individual time scales. This implies that the neurobiology of tone perception has primarily been shaped by pressure to contend with tones in the voice and their significance for adaptive behavior [ 22 , 53 , 75 ].

Phylogenetically, sensitivity to “tone of voice” is likely to have emerged very early in tetrapod evolution [ 79 ]. In mammals, auditory-vocal interaction is often central to social behavior and cognition, placing this sensitivity under intense selective pressure. Developmentally, the fetal brain begins responding to mother’s voice around the 24th week of gestation [ 80 ]. Over the ensuing weeks, these responses develop to the point that infants strongly prefer their mother’s voice at birth [ 81 ], an orientation that scaffolds the formation of our prototypical social bond, the modulation of affect through sound, and the development of communication more broadly [ 82 ]. Mechanistically, neural specialization for responding to vocal tones is evident throughout the auditory system, from enhanced representations of periodicity in the brainstems of humans and rats [ 83 , 84 ], to harmonically sensitive neurons in marmoset cortex [ 85 ], and pitch contour neurons in human cortex [ 86 ].

The culmination of this underlying biology is a brain that responds to tones reflexively by supplying percepts of meaning and intent as guides for behavior and cognition. This works because the acoustics of laryngeal vocalization are linked to source parameters at a statistical level [ 87 , 88 ]. For music, the implication of VST is that conserved aspects of tonality can be understood as consequences of the auditory system’s biological tuning to voices.

Applications of tonality in mental health

VST roots tonality in the bioacoustics of vocal affect, providing a principled basis for the assessment and manipulation of reflexive responses to musical tones, and their translation to psychiatry. For any given clinical goal related to the modulation of patient affect, VST predicts that proper applications of tonality require alignment with the statistical regularities that identify vocal expressions as conveying the emotion required to effect the desired physiological change. For example, a musical intervention aimed at relieving high anxiety and agitated negative mood should have tonal properties that align with a positive calming voice, such as extended falling pitch contours and low-frequency weighted timbres. Similarly, an intervention for depression should possess a gentle affirming tone, captured by more articulated contours that rise towards their ends. This approach naturally imbues musical tonality with a capacity to modulate listener feelings that parallels the corresponding tone of voice. However, because musical tones are (often) freed from the constraints of vocal expression—e.g., by instrumental production or release from linguistic demands—key regularities can be distilled and exaggerated to yield tones with supernormal neurophysiological effects.

Importantly, guidance derived from VST on how to use tonality to modulate affect largely corresponds with what musicians and music therapists have learned to do through subjective exploration and experience [ 76 , 89 ]. This is reflected in the effects of current musical treatments on dysregulated anxiety and mood. For example, receptive treatments (based on listening) can effectively reduce acute anxiety in chemotherapy [ 90 ], childbirth [ 91 ], and surgery [ 92 ]. A 2018 meta-analysis of 81 randomized controlled studies, involving over 6000 patients, found that music listening before, during, or after surgery significantly reduced anxiety symptoms, with an effect size equal to 69% of one standard deviation (Standard Mean Difference [SMD] = 0.69) [ 92 ]. Other meta-analyses indicate that music therapy can also be an effective anxiolytic beyond these acute medical contexts. A 2021 meta-analysis of 32 controlled studies with over 1,900 patients with anxiety showed significant anxiety reduction after an average of 7.5 music therapy sessions (SMD = 0.36). This effect was stronger in the subset of 11 studies with >12 sessions (SMD = 0.59), suggesting a dose-response effect [ 93 ]. For context, consider that estimated summary SMDs for first-line psychotherapies and pharmacotherapies lie between 0.28–0.44 and 0.33–0.45 respectively (but note that these numbers are based on much larger samples) [ 94 ].

Similarly positive effects of music therapy have been reported for affect disorders. A 2017 meta-analysis of 9 controlled studies including 411 patients diagnosed with a depressive disorder found that adding 6–12 weeks of music therapy to antidepressants and/or psychotherapy significantly reduced clinician-rated and patient-rated symptoms (SMD = 0.98 and 0.85 respectively) [ 95 ]. A 2020 meta-analysis focused specifically on receptive musical treatments found an even stronger effect when looking at depressive symptoms across patients with a wider variety of primary diagnoses, like heart disease, dementia, insomnia (SMD = 1.33, 17 controlled studies, 1,284 patients) [ 96 ]. The same paper also reports a significant effect for interactive treatment (based on making music; SMD = 0.57, 20 controlled studies, 1,368 patients) [ 96 ]. Both effects were apparent across variable depression severity levels and treatment courses (mean dosage was approximately 14 h, SD = 18, range = 0.33–126) [ 95 , 96 ]. For context, overall SMDs for psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy in depressive disorders have been estimated at 0.31 and 0.30 respectively (again, based on larger samples) [ 94 ].

While success of this kind might suggest that music therapy can do without VST, it should be noted that none of the aforementioned meta-analyses (and few of the individual studies that they cite) provide any details on the parameters of the music employed. This is largely because musical decisions are made on intuition rather than principle. Thus, while subjectivity has proven an essential guide in discovering music’s therapeutic applications, it also complicates scientific efforts to understand music’s therapeutic effects and standardize their application. VST addresses this challenge by providing objective guidelines for musical tonality based on specific therapeutic goals. This is a necessary step towards standardization, which is in turn required for expanding access to musical treatment.

Rhythm is the temporal patterning of sounds in music. The dominant feature of rhythm is temporal predictability, focused at rates ranging from approximately 0.5 to 5 Hz (30–300 beats per minute [bpm]) [ 97 , 98 , 99 ]. All musical cultures and traditions exhibit some temporal predictability in this range, making neural sensitivity to rhythm a second core element of musicality (no ranking implied) [ 50 , 51 ]. Investigations of rhythm typically identify two core components [ 100 ]. Pulse is the main cycle of rhythmic repetition perceived in music; it is generally what we synchronize to when we move in time with music. Meter refers more broadly to other rhythmic cycles perceived in music [ 101 ]. These encompass repetition rates that are both faster and slower than the pulse, defined by subdivisions of the pulse and multi-pulse cycles, respectively.

Conserved aspects of rhythm

As with tonality, key elements of rhythm are widely conserved across musical cultures and traditions. In pulse, acceptable rates (or tempos ) are highly constrained, showing a peak between approximately 1.33 and 2.67 Hz (80–160 bpm) across a variety of different musical traditions (Fig. 2A ) [ 98 , 102 ]. Intriguingly, this peak corresponds closely with dominant rates of periodicity in full-body human motion (e.g., 1.35–2.5 Hz [81–150 bpm] in walking) [ 98 ]. A second widely conserved aspect of pulse is that individual pulses tend to be isochronous or equally spaced in time [ 50 , 51 ]. There are traditions that also use unequal pulse spacing [ 103 ], but only in ways that retain predictability and thus allow interpersonal synchrony [ 104 , 105 ].

A A histogram of tempos from a sample of over 74,000 pieces of music. “DJ lists” refers to lists of song tempos used by disk jockeys to match pulse rates between tracks; “Radio” refers to songs found by randomly tuning into radio stations circa 2002; “Hits” refers to popular music from 1960–1990; and “styles” refers to a selection of music from divergent styles (e.g., renaissance polyphony and modern jazz). B One cycle from each of three rhythms with different meters, increasing in complexity from top to bottom. Circle size and shading indicate level of accenting (large/dark = strong), red stars and horizontal black brackets mark subgroups, and ellipsis denote repetition. Tin, Na , and Dhin are specific tabla drum strokes; tone, slap, bass , and touch are specific djembe drum stokes. The suku rhythm is based on section 5.3 of Polak (2010), with a timing ratio of 11:17:22 for the short-medium-long pulse patterns. C Hypothesized information flow through the network of brain areas implicated in rhythm perception. Additionally relevant brain areas include the hypothalamus, insula, and orbitofrontal cortex (see Fig. 3 ). The rhythm network is mostly bilateral despite being visualized in the left hemisphere here. Numbers refer to Brodmann areas. Insets show implicated structures in situ. Panel A is adapted from Moelants (2002) with permission from the author.

In meter, rhythmic cycles that are faster than the pulse also exhibit characteristic rates, mostly in the range of 2–8 Hz (120–480 bpm; typical of finger or wrist motion), and involving subdivisions of the pulse rate by factors of two or three [ 99 , 101 ]. Faster cycle rates are found in some traditions, e.g., 10–15 Hz [600–900 bpm] in djembe [ 103 ] or death metal [ 106 ], but this is relatively rare. For cycles at rates slower than the pulse, rhythmic patterning is almost always marked by variations in acoustic emphasis called accenting [ 100 ] (Fig. 2B ). A simple example of accenting comes from the marching rhythm “ one , two , one , two , ”, a repeating two-pulse cycle in which the first pulse is accented. Increasing in complexity, the meter of rūpak tāl in North Indian music is defined by a repeating seven-pulse cycle with multiple levels of accent set into groups of three and two [ 107 ]. More complex still are the drum patterns of Malian djembe music. For example, in suku, a repeating twelve-pulse cycle with multiple levels of accent is set into groups of three, each of which has a non-isochronous “short-medium-long” pulse pattern [ 103 ]. In sum, despite impressive diversity, rhythms from around the world are characterized by a restricted tempo range, multi-layered patterning, accenting, and predictability.

Further evidence that rhythm relies on conserved biology comes from the fact that the acoustic stimulus, taken alone, is often an insufficient basis for direct derivations of pulse and meter. Instead, these core aspects of rhythm depend on the interaction of sonic events and the brain [ 100 , 101 ]. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that humans possess specialized neural mechanisms that reflexively identify and reinforce temporal regularity in sequential auditory stimuli. These mechanisms (described in greater detail below) are specialized in that they are common to most humans but apparently rare among other animals. Individuals from many species can be trained to move in reaction to a pulse, but human movements are shifted forwards in time to anticipate, rather than lag behind, upcoming events [ 108 ]. We also synchronize flexibly, easily adjusting to tempo changes that disrupt or defeat synchrony in experiments with other species (parrots represent an interesting exception) [ 40 ].

More evidence of specialization comes from our curious tendency to spontaneously impose accenting on acoustic sequences that lack it. For example, we are apt to hear alternation or triplets in sequences of physically identical events, a perceptual imposition that can be differentiated electroencephalographically [ 109 ]. A final piece of evidence for specialized neural mechanisms in human rhythm perception is the global popularity of syncopation , especially in dance music [ 110 , 111 , 112 ]. Syncopation balances anticipation, built from sounds occurring on-the-pulse, against its systematic violation by sounds occurring off-the-pulse [ 113 ]. Perceiving syncopation thus depends on a conserved ability to form an internal model of regular temporal structure that is strong enough to withstand substantial ill-fitting sonic data [ 111 ]. Together, these and other broadly conserved aspects of rhythm indicate a strong foundation in our shared biology.

Biological foundations of rhythm

To model the biology underlying rhythm, music scientists have developed Neural Resonance Theory (NRT), the central tenet of which is that rhythm perception depends on endogenous oscillations in neural circuitry [ 97 , 114 , 115 , 116 ]. NRT holds that such oscillations spontaneously entrain to stimulus-evoked neural responses to modulate receptivity, prediction, and motor reactivity, thus providing a mechanistic basis for pulse and meter. While this “resonant” capacity is maximally engaged by music, its primary utility appears to be in processing spoken language, which, despite being less temporally regular than music, is still sufficiently regular (between 2–8 Hz [120–480 bpm] [ 102 ]) for entrained oscillations to aid in parsing phonemes, syllables, and phrases [ 117 , 118 ]. This implies that rhythm perception is intimately linked to vocal communication, just like tone perception.

A related aspect of NRT is that neural activity in auditory cortices readily couples with neural activity in parts of the brain that regulate movement, especially cortical areas and subcortical structures involved in motor planning, such as the supplementary motor and premotor cortices, the dorsal striatum, and the cerebellum [ 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 ] (Fig. 2C ). Activity in these parts of the brain increases in response to rhythm, even in the absence of movement [ 122 ], suggesting that auditory-motor interaction may be essential to rhythm perception. The link between rhythm and movement has also been explored in studies of groove , a psychological concept defined by variation in the degree to which a musical stimulus inspires movement. People generally agree about degrees of groove in music [ 124 , 125 ], with research suggesting a basis in common acoustical and structural features of rhythm, such as emphasized low-frequency energy (“bass”) [ 126 , 127 ] and moderate levels of syncopation [ 111 , 112 , 127 , 128 ]. Notably, groove is broadly associated with positive affect [ 111 , 125 , 129 , 130 ], making it directly relevant to mental health.

Applications of rhythm in mental health

So far, the clinical value of NRT has mainly been studied in the context of music therapies aimed at improving sensory and motor functions [ 131 ] (including speech [ 132 ]). However, even in these contexts, mental health benefits are often apparent. For example, in a 2021 meta-analysis of 17 randomized controlled studies testing musical interventions in Parkinson’s disease, a sub-analysis of 8 studies with mental health measures found significant benefits for mood, motivation, and emotional well-being in music conditions compared to standard care (SMD = 0.38, N  = 273 patients) [ 133 ]. Positive mental health outcomes have also been observed in response to receptive music therapy after stroke [ 134 , 135 ]. For example, one widely-cited study found that listening to music for at least one hour per day over a two-month period significantly lowered self-reported depression at 3 months post-stroke, as compared to standard medical care and rehabilitation [ 136 ]. Intriguingly, this study also reported benefits of music listening for cognitive function (memory and attention) in a well-controlled comparison to audio-book listening [ 136 ].

The capacity of rhythm to entrain activity in broad auditory-motor networks and simultaneously increase positive affect can also be hypothesized to account for a significant proportion of the benefits of musical treatments for anxiety and depression (see Section “Applications of tonality in mental health”). Specifically, engaging these networks with high-groove rhythms may provide an efficient way to disrupt maladaptive patterns of brain activity associated with negative affect and self-focused negative rumination [ 137 , 138 , 139 ]. Related to this hypothesis, there is growing evidence that groove is important for understanding the effects of music on cognition, particularly in the context of repetitive effortful work, which can often generate negative affect [ 135 , 140 , 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 ]. For example, in one recent study, listening to a high-groove drum loop for just 3 min was found to be more effective than noise at improving performance on a subsequent repetitive behavioral task measuring context-dependent response inhibition (a “Stroop” test). This effect of rhythm was specific to participants who reported enjoying the drum loop and its groove. These participants also exhibited significantly greater (dorsolateral) prefrontal cortical activity during the Stroop test in the drum-loop condition, as measured using functional Near Infra-Red Spectroscopy [ 141 ].

Experimental evidence for positive effects of rhythm on certain types of cognition accords with longstanding evidence from ethnographic literature. Specifically, rhythmic music has often been used to positively transform the experience of work otherwise experienced as negative and draining (e.g., harvesting food, military drills, and moving cargo) [ 145 , 146 ]. Similarly, musicians commonly experience “being in the groove” as a pleasant state of focus that offsets burdens associated with extended periods of high level performance (e.g., on tour) [ 125 , 129 , 147 ]. Such effects can be understood as rhythmically-driven increases in motivation and effort [ 143 ], potentially reflecting increased engagement of key cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical loop circuitry (see Fig. 2B ). They are particularly well-characterized in the context of physical exercise, where music can increase enjoyment and reduce perceived exertion [ 148 ], but such benefits may also extend to less muscular tasks (see discussion of the Mozart effect in Section “Another crest in the music and health hype cycle?”). In sum, the biological foundations of rhythm provide insight into how music can be applied to address challenges in mental health associated with mood, cognition, and motivation.

Music and brain reward circuitry

While the framework described so far is based on an analytic separation of tonality and rhythm, the health applications of several other core elements of musicality are better considered in terms of music as a whole. Perhaps the best example is our fundamental attraction to music, as reflected in its marked capacities to stimulate wanting, liking, and learning. Over the past several decades, neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that taking pleasure in music is closely associated with activity in classical brain reward circuitry [ 26 , 149 ], including the mesolimbic dopamine pathway between the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the nucleus accumbens (NAc) [ 4 ]. Early studies used positron emission tomography with the radiolabeled dopamine D 2 receptor ligand, [ 11 C]raclopride, to show that musical frisson [ 150 ] — moments of peak neural excitement, piloerection, and “chills” that occur during music listening—are associated with surges in dopamine binding within the NAc [ 151 , 152 ]. Additional evidence that music stimulates mesolimbic reward comes from functional magnetic resonance imaging studies showing, for example, that the magnitude of an individual’s NAc response to music correlates with their subjective liking for it [ 153 ].

At the level of brain networks, functional neuroimaging studies have also found that the time-course of musically-stimulated NAc activity is tightly coupled with that of activity in the VTA and hypothalamus [ 154 ]. This has led to the proposal of a “tripartite network” at the core of musical reward, with the hypothalamic node linking desire and pleasure to autonomic and neuroendocrine effects (Fig. 3A ) [ 128 , 154 , 155 ]. Beyond this core, musical reward also engages an extended network of brain areas including the auditory, frontal, and insular cortices, as well as the amygdala and hippocampus, all of which also exhibit temporal coupling with the NAc during music listening [ 149 , 153 , 154 ]. These extended connections are presumed to situate musical reward with respect to sensory, integrative, somatic, affective, and memory-based aspects of musical responding, respectively.

A A model of the extended musical reward network including the tripartite core (red outline) and associated cortical areas and subcortical structures (gray outline). Arrows indicate significant positive temporal correlation in blood-oxygenation-level-dependent activity between the indicated areas during pleasurable music listening. Numbers refer to Brodmann areas ( B ) A close-up of the tripartite core showing dopaminergic (blue), opioideric (green), and oxytocinergic (red) circuitry hypothesized to underpin music’s capacity to stimulate social connection. In rodent models (on which this panel is based) the derivation of reward from positive social interaction requires the oxytocinergic projections from the PVN to the NAc and VTA. C Interactions within the PVN between oxytocin and CRF. Oxytocin decreases the excitability of CRF neurons in mouse hypothalamic slices, and may further inhibit CRF release by modulating CRFR1-positive neurons. Note that music may also have effects on CRF that are independent of oxytocin. ARC arcuate nucleus, CRFR1 CRF receptor type 1, NAc nucleus accumbens, POMC proopiomelanocortin, PVN paraventricular nucleus, VTA ventral tegmental area.

Lastly, as in the processing of other rewarding stimuli like food, sex, and drugs, the hedonic aspects of musical reward are partially dependent on opioidergic mechanisms. This has been shown pharmacologically, as treatment with the (predominantly μ-) opioid receptor antagonists naloxone and naltrexone significantly reduces pleasure in response to musical stimuli [ 156 , 157 ]. Thus, although the work described in this section has been carried out almost entirely with “Western” listeners, the results, taken together with the widespread enjoyment of music around the world, strongly support the sensitivity of brain reward circuitry to musical stimulation as a third core element of musicality.

Applications of musical reward in mental health

In keeping with the central importance of reward in our everyday lives, this element of musicality has extremely broad implications for mental health. Dysfunction in brain reward circuitry contributes to a wide range of psychopathology, including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, conduct disorder, Tourette’s syndrome [ 158 ], and schizophrenia. This suggests that the benefits of many current musical treatments may be attributable to normalizing effects of tonality and rhythm on otherwise aberrant activity in brain reward circuitry. Thus, in addition to effects on core dimensions of mental health (e.g., anxiety, mood, cognition, and motivation), musical treatments have also been found efficacious in more specific cases of psychopathology that specifically feature reward dysfunction. Some examples include: substance-use disorder, where adding music therapy to standard treatment can improve motivation to rehabilitate and abstinence [ 159 ]; anorexia nervosa, where interactive music therapy can stimulate reductions in post-meal anxiety that exceed those of other treatments [ 160 ]; and Tourette’s syndrome, where music listening, performance, and even imagined performance, can be an effective tic suppressant [ 161 ].

Further evidence of music’s efficacy against reward-related dysfunction comes from treatments applied to prominent transdiagnostic symptoms, like fatigue [ 162 ], apathy [ 163 , 164 ], and anhedonia [ 165 ]. For example, in a study of nursing home residents age 60+ with mild-to-moderate dementia, a twelve-week interactive music therapy intervention significantly reduced apathy and improved communication, in comparison with a treatment-as-usual control [ 163 ]. The effect sizes were relatively small (SMD = 0.32 and 0.15 respectively), but given the central importance of apathy in dementia and other psychopathology [ 166 , 167 , 168 ], they represent an important starting point for further investigation. In sum, the capacity of music to modulate brain reward circuitry provides a strong mechanistic basis for its benefits across a wide variety of functional disorders in mental health. A better understanding of how and when music stimulates reward is thus critical to advancing music’s therapeutic benefits for mental health.

Converging evidence indicates that engaging in music with other people is an effective way to stimulate interpersonal affiliation and social connection [ 44 ]. Psychological experiments, for example, have repeatedly shown that interpersonal temporal coordination (or “synchrony”) in behavior—a defining feature of musical interaction—strengthens social bonds between participants. This has been measured in terms of increased feelings of affiliation and self-other similarity [ 169 , 170 ], trust behaviors in economic games [ 171 , 172 ], and real-world cooperation [ 173 , 174 , 175 , 176 , 177 ] (reviewed in [ 178 ]). Another line of evidence comes from physiological experiments showing that recreational forms of behavioral synchrony—e.g., in group singing, drumming, or exercise—can upregulate oxytocin secretion [ 155 , 179 , 180 , 181 , 182 ], downregulate cortisol secretion [ 155 , 181 , 183 , 184 , 185 ], modulate immune reactivity [ 182 , 184 , 185 ], and decrease pain [ 186 , 187 ].

In addition to behavioral synchrony, music almost certainly facilitates affiliation and social connection through inducing synchrony in affect. This is perhaps best illustrated by the Iso Principle for mood management in music therapy, one of a few core methods that remains consistent across diverse approaches and therapeutic goals [ 188 ]. Iso Principle is the practice of initiating treatment sessions with music that is parameterized to match the patient’s current mood, creating a basis of shared affect that can then be leveraged to shift mood through musical changes. While the neural basis of synchrony’s effects on social neurobiology has yet to be studied in detail (see [ 189 ] for leading hypotheses), at a psychological level it appears to work through empathetic processes that increase trust and promote openness to further interaction and direction [ 190 ].

A final line of evidence comes from ethnographic and historical observations indicating that music (and dance) are commonly associated with contexts involving high levels of social cohesion. Major examples include religious rituals, cooperative labor, and military drill, as well as overt expressions of group solidarity like political chants, football songs, and national anthems [ 145 , 146 ]. Taken together, these findings strongly support the sensitivity of neural mechanisms supporting affiliation and social connection to musical stimulation as a fourth core element of musicality.

Oxytocin and social reward

Although many artistic and aesthetic experiences are capable of eliciting intense pleasure, music stands out for the regularity with which it does so [ 157 ]. Research suggests that frisson, for example, are induced by music at about four times the rate that they are induced by other stimuli, including the visual arts and literature combined [ 191 ]. This begs the question of why music is so rewarding.

A potential hint comes from the fact that frisson are also induced at high rates by inspirational speech [ 191 , 192 ]. From a mechanistic perspective, this can be taken as support for the hypothesis that the reward potency of music (and speech) reflects high temporal predictability relative to other artistic stimuli [ 150 , 153 ], which is particularly well-suited to anticipatory aspects of reward processing [ 193 ]. At the same time, phylogenetic and developmental perspectives have given rise to the hypothesis that the reward potency of music reflects its basis in social communication [ 149 ]. In this non-mutually exclusive view, music’s capacity to stimulate reward processing also reflects the activity of evolved neural mechanisms that develop to afford the voice with major modulatory control over the rewards of social interaction.

Interest in the link between music and social reward has led many researchers to posit a role for the hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin in musicality [ 5 , 44 , 149 , 194 , 195 ], following on its essential functions in affiliative behavior and social bonding (Fig. 3B ) [ 196 , 197 , 198 , 199 , 200 ]. More specifically, music can be hypothesized to stimulate endogenous oxytocin mechanisms that upregulate dopaminergic (and related opioidergic) aspects of reward processing [ 198 ], thereby increasing sensitivity to musical rewards in social context. An important corollary of this hypothesis also addresses the anti-stress effects of music [ 201 ], as music-induced oxytocin release in the hypothalamus may also modulate local corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) circuitry to downregulate activity in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system (Fig. 3C ) [ 202 , 203 , 204 , 205 , 206 ].

Applications of sociality in mental health

Social functioning—as reflected in the structure, function, and quality of an individual’s social connections—is a critical determinant of mental health in patients across prominent psychiatric disorders [ 207 , 208 ] as well as the general public [ 209 , 210 ]. This implies that effects of musical treatment of the neurobiology of social functioning may be of even broader significance than closely related effects on brain reward circuitry. However, before describing the clinical evidence supporting such effects, it should be noted that the extent to which musical treatment must involve live interaction to impact social neurobiology is presently unclear. Sound recording is only 160 years old, which implies that the vast majority of our collective experience with music has occurred in social contexts. Accordingly, there is an important sense in which listening to recorded music, even alone, may remain inherently social in neurobiological terms. Our attribution of recorded music to a person (or people) with communicative intent is essentially reflexive [ 211 ], particularly when it comprises vocals. It is also clear that recorded music is often a potent stimulus for behavioral and affective synchrony. Thus, listening to music alone may stimulate social neurobiology in many of the same ways as live musical interaction. Nevertheless, until shown otherwise, it seems reasonable to assume that live interaction is the more potent stimulus for leveraging music’s effect on sociality (e.g., see [ 212 , 213 , 214 ]).

Operationally, social functioning is targeted by interactive approaches to music therapy designed to support interpersonal responding, coordination, and synchrony [ 11 , 215 ]. A large body of evidence supports the benefits of such approaches in autism spectrum disorders [ 216 , 217 , 218 , 219 , 220 , 221 ]. Some of this evidence is summarized in a 2022 meta-analysis of 26 controlled studies including 1,165 children with diagnoses of an autism spectrum disorder (ranging from mild to severe). This analysis compared music therapy to non-musical standard care or a “placebo” therapy over an average duration of 2.5 months (SD = 2.0), with session frequency varying from daily to weekly in shorter and longer studies respectively [ 216 ]. Directly after the intervention, significant benefits associated with music therapy included improvement in clinical global impression (risk ratio=1.22, 8 studies, 583 patients), reduced total autism symptom severity (SMD = 0.83, 9 studies, 575 patients), and better quality of life for clients and/or their families (SMD = 0.28, 3 studies, 340 patients). During the intervention, music therapy was also associated with significant improvements in non-verbal communication (SMD = 1.06, 3 studies, 50 patients) and behavioral adaptation (SMD = 1.19, 4 studies, 52 patients); in the 1–5 months following the intervention, music therapy was associated with reduced total autism symptom severity (SMD = 0.93, 2 studies, 69 patients) and improved self-esteem (SMD = 0.86, 1 study, 35 patients) [ 216 ]. For context, the overall SMD for autism interventions based on Applied Behavior Analysis (a common non-musical behavioral therapy) has been estimated at 0.36 for treating general autism symptoms (based on 14 studies with 555 patients) [ 222 ].

Further evidence supporting the benefits of music therapy for social functioning comes from studies on schizophrenia [ 223 ]. A 2020 meta-analysis of 15 controlled studies involving 964 adults diagnosed with schizophrenia or a schizophrenia-like disorder highlighted significant improvements in negative symptoms (such as flat affect, poor social interactions, and apathy) when adjunct interactive and/or receptive music therapy was compared to standard care (SMD = 0.56) [ 164 ]. This aligns with an earlier 2017 meta-analysis that more specifically investigated social functioning, reporting benefits from two controlled studies involving adults with schizophrenia in which music therapy was compared to antipsychotic medication (SMD = 0.72, N  = 160 patients) [ 224 ]. For context, the SMD of antipsychotic medications for treating negative symptoms in schizophrenia has been estimated at 0.35, based on 167 studies with 28,102 patients [ 225 ].

There is also some evidence that musical interventions can impact social functioning in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. For example, individual studies have reported significant benefits of interactive music therapy on language functioning [ 226 ] and receptive music therapy on social engagement [ 227 ]. However, reviews and meta-analyses suggest that such social effects are mainly derivative from primary benefits that reduce agitation, anxiety, and depression [ 228 , 229 ].

Finally, outside of the clinic, musical therapy has long been valued as a non-verbal path to social connection in children with special needs [ 215 , 221 ], as well as a way to combat social isolation and loneliness, particularly in older adults living alone and/or with serious disease [ 184 , 230 ]. In sum, music’s capacity to stimulate the neurobiology of affiliation and social connection is associated with benefits in multiple major mental health disorders and across the lifespan.

Individual differences in musicality

Despite strong foundations in our shared biology, there is also substantial individual variation in neural sensitivity to the core elements of musicality. At the low end of the spectrum are individuals who cannot carry a tune or dance in time, some of whom find music irritating and actively avoid it [ 231 ]. Conversely, at the high end are individuals who find it difficult to live without music, some of whom create works of art that transcend their geographic and temporal horizons [ 232 ]. This high degree of individual variation in musical appreciation and engagement implies that there may also be substantial variation in individual capacity to benefit from musical treatment. In this section and the next I review research on understanding individual variation in musicality, outlining how its measurement may be used to increase the precision with which musical treatments are applied. Accordingly, I argue that better applications of music in mental health depend not only on aligning the neurophysiological effects of music’s core elements with specific clinical targets, but also on matching treatment content to individual differences in musicality.

Psychoacoustic testing

Tests of tone and rhythm perception have long served as the primary way to measure individual differences in musicality. Performance on the most basic of these tests—e.g., measuring sensitivity to harmony and pulse—tends to be positively skewed [ 233 ], reflecting a commonplace competency for music similar to that which we possess for language [ 41 ]. Nevertheless, there is still considerable variation in basic test scores, and this is increased for tests that probe more sophisticated musical abilities [ 234 ].

Environmental factors

Researchers have traditionally sought explanations for individual differences in musicality based on environmental factors. One of the most important environmental factors is formal training , a process by which individuals explicitly learn specific motor skills and rules for music performance and composition [ 235 ]. Formal training is particularly important for explaining sophisticated musical abilities, e.g., as assessed by Goldsmith’s Musical Sophistication Index (Gold-MSI) [ 234 ]. Another important environmental factor is musical enculturation , i.e., the process of implicitly learning the statistical properties of the music to which one is developmentally exposed. Many studies have demonstrated effects of training and enculturation on psychoacoustic tests (e.g. [ 236 , 237 ]). Though sometimes framed as evidence against biological constraints, such effects may be better considered in terms of how biological constraints manifest in the face of environmental variation [ 56 , 78 ].

Biological factors

Progress is also being made towards understanding the genetic basis of musicality [ 27 ]. Early work provided evidence that genetic factors explain surprising amounts of phenotypic variability in psychoacoustic test performance (e.g., 70–80% in tone perception [ 238 ]), as well as time spent practicing music (e.g., 40–70% [ 239 ]; see also [ 240 ]). More recently, genome-wide association (GWA) techniques have been applied to musicality [ 241 , 242 , 243 ]. The largest of these GWA studies to date has focused on rhythm perception [ 243 ]—assessed via the question “can you clap in time with a musical beat?”—in a sample of over 606,825 individuals, accessed via an academic collaboration with 23andMe, Inc. The results indicated that beat perception and synchronization depend on many genes, with variation at 69 loci spread across 20 chromosomes being significantly associated with survey responses after linkage disequilibrium pruning. Additional analyses found enriched expression of genes implicated by these loci in brain-specific regulatory elements as well as fetal brain tissue, indicating potential roles in regulating neurodevelopment. Similar analyses focused on the adult brain found enriched expression in structures implicated in rhythm and reward, including the frontal and temporal cortices, cerebellum, basal ganglia, nucleus accumbens, and hypothalamus (see Figs. 2 C and 3B ).

Although complex traits like our sensitivity to rhythm are expected to be polygenic [ 243 ], some studies have also focused on associations between musicality and individual genes. One of the best studied genes in this context is AVPR1A , which encodes the vasopressin 1A receptor, a major component of the arginine vasopressin and oxytocin signaling pathways [ 196 , 244 ]. Genetic variation in the promotor region of AVPR1A has been associated with phenotypic variation in psychoacoustic test scores [ 245 , 246 ], time spent attentively listening to music [ 247 ], and being a dancer as opposed to another type of athlete [ 248 ]. Variation in AVPRA1 has also been associated with verbal memory [ 249 ], acoustic startle [ 250 ], amygdala activity [ 251 ], prosocial behavior [ 252 ], pair-bonding [ 253 ], and autism [ 254 ]. As intriguing as these associations are, however, it should also be noted that several studies have looked and failed to find associations between musical ability/behavior and AVPR1A polymorphism [ 242 , 255 ]. Other genes of particular interest include VRK2 , FANCL , MAPT , MAPK3 , GATA2 , GBE1 , GPM6A , PCDH7, SCL64A , and UGT8 among others (see [ 27 ] and [ 243 ]).

Lastly, progress in understanding the biology underlying individual differences in musicality has also come from studies of disordered music perception. Congenital amusia [ 256 ] is an umbrella term for lifelong deficits in music perception that prevent people from singing in tune [ 257 ], dancing in time [ 258 ], or deriving pleasure from music [ 259 ]. Deficits in tone perception (or tone deafness ) is the best studied form of congenital amusia: it runs in families [ 238 , 260 ] and is associated with decreased connectivity between the auditory cortices and the inferior frontal gyrus [ 261 , 262 ], potentially reflecting abnormal frontotemporal cortical development [ 263 ]. The prevalence of tone deafness is approximately 1.5%, with as many as 4.2% of people exhibiting a lesser form of impairment [ 264 ]. Deficits in rhythms perception (or beat deafness ) appears to be at least as common [ 264 ]. Finally the prevalence of music-specific anhedonia , which, as the name implies, occurs despite otherwise normal hedonic functioning, is estimated at about 5% [ 265 ].

Hypotheses for precision medicine

Faced with questions about whether a patient is sufficiently musical to engage in treatment, many music therapists provide reassurance, as a significant part of their practice is dedicated to finding adaptive ways to leverage music’s capacities to align with individual strengths [ 266 , 267 ]. While this resource-oriented approach has the benefit of allowing music therapists to work with almost anyone, the framework proposed here can potentially offer more systematic guidelines for determining whether a patient is likely to benefit from musical treatment. Fundamentally, patients with a history of strong engagement with music and keen sensitivity to its tonal, rhythmic, rewarding, and social elements would appear to be good candidates for musical treatment, especially if neurophysiological systems influenced by one or more core elements of musicality are implicated by their symptoms. Conversely, those patients who report disliking music, find it unrewarding, or otherwise qualify for congenital amusia, would seem to have a lower likelihood of benefiting.

In between these extremes are individuals whose specific musicality profiles —conceived as a series of measurements describing sensitivity to each core element of musicality—have important potential to inform decisions about treatment content. As an example, treatment for a patient with below-average tone perception, but normal sensitivity to musical reward, rhythm, and sociality could be personalized to align with their musicality profile by focusing on the neurophysiological effects of rhythm in an affiliative interactive context in which tonal elements are minimized or omitted.

Defining musicality profiles

While measurements of underlying biology may improve assessments of individual differences in musicality in the future, current efforts must rely on psychoacoustic tests and surveys. Among the most promising for determining suitability for musical treatment is the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire (BMRQ) [ 265 ], a survey of 20 self-reported items that assess the degree to which an individual takes pleasure in different aspects of music. For individuals with normal scores on the BMRQ, further insight may be gained through a series of basic psychoacoustic tests, like the scale test and out-of-key test (for evaluating tone perception) and the off-beat test (for evaluating rhythm perception) from the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA [ 233 , 268 ]; see MBEMA for testing children aged 6 to 10 [ 269 ]). If a more comprehensive assessment is desired, clinicians can deploy the Gold-MSI (for musical sophistication) [ 234 ] or the computerized beat alignment test (for rhythm) [ 270 ].

Although not explicitly focused on music, it may also be useful to assess a patient’s level of social functioning and anxiety (e.g., with the Social Responsivity Scale [SRS] [ 271 ] and Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale [LSAS] [ 272 ] respectively), as the results could inform decisions about the extent to which a musical intervention should target social functioning. Interactive music therapy can be hypothesized to be most effective in cases where social functioning and social anxiety are both low. By contrast, in cases where social anxiety (or anxiety more generally) is high, the most effective approach may instead require limiting social interaction, at least at first. In keeping with this hypothesis, interactive approaches to music therapy in dementia (where anxiety is often high) are significantly less effective than receptive approaches at reducing agitation and behavioral problems [ 229 ]. Similarly, in music therapy for autism—which is predominantly interactive—high comorbidity with anxiety disorders may help explain some of the heterogeneity in trial results (cf [ 273 , 274 ].). Lastly, in cases where a patient is unable to complete surveys or perform perceptual tests due to developmental delay or cognitive impairment, interviewing caregivers about the patient’s history of music engagement and social functioning can offer valuable insights into their potential sensitivity to musical treatment.

Idiosyncratic preferences

Beyond tailoring musical treatments to align neurophysiological effects with clinical targets and individual musicality profiles, treatments may also be customized based on individual music preferences or “taste” [ 275 , 276 ]. In receptive music therapy, for example, it’s common for patients to nominate songs they like, with therapists providing oversight for alignment with therapeutic goals [ 89 ]. One major advantage of this approach is that listening to preferred music can be especially rewarding [ 151 , 277 ]. This is often attributed to the familiarity of preferred music, which facilitates expectations, their fulfillment, and associated memories and emotions [ 150 , 278 , 279 ]. Other potential benefits of preferred music include fostering a sense of safety, enhancing engagement, and reducing stress [ 280 , 281 , 282 ]. However, personal memories and associations can also make the therapeutic value of preferred music difficult to control, especially if not carefully reviewed [ 283 ]. This is because what a person likes is not necessarily aligned with their therapeutic goals. A prime example is that people with depression often prefer music that maintains or exacerbates their sadness [ 284 , 285 , 286 ] (but see [ 285 , 287 , 288 ]). Accordingly, despite the benefits of preferred music, using novel or unknown music is advisable in some contexts.

Having already changed how people discover new music, algorithmic music recommendation systems may also find applications in mental health. However, the issue of mismatch between what a person likes and their treatment goals remains significant here as well. For example, listening to strongly preferred or popular music while attempting to focus tends to decrease task performance [ 140 , 142 ]. In the extreme, the lifestyle associated with many forms of popular music is linked to substance abuse, risk-taking, suicide, homicide, and accidental death among practitioners [ 289 ]. This highlights the fact that engagement with music is not necessarily health-positive (cf [ 290 , 291 , 292 ].). In therapeutic contexts, though, there are still many cases in which tailoring musical interventions to idiosyncratic preferences can be beneficial. For example, in receptive music therapy for Alzheimer’s disease, listening to familiar, preferred music appears to carry benefits for self-awareness [ 293 ]. Similarly, in depression, preferred music is likely to be the most effective stimulus for normalizing brain affect and reward functions, provided that it has been properly vetted to avoid stimulating negative affect. Finally, when a patient has normal sensitivity to musical reward but only within a very restricted genre (e.g., from their youth [ 294 ]), or, reports enjoying music despite poor tone and rhythm perception [ 295 ], understanding their idiosyncratic preferences may be necessary to design effective treatment.

In sum, determining the therapeutic value of aligning musical treatment with idiosyncratic preferences is of central importance for musical applications in mental health. That said, progress in this kind of preference matching should be incorporated within a broader precision paradigm as advocated here, which aims to align the specific neurophysiological effects of musicality’s core elements with specific clinical targets and individual differences in associated responsivity.

Skepticism and need

In this final section, I address several important points of skepticism regarding the premise of the biological framework presented here, i.e., the hypothesis that music can do more for mental health.

Benefits from music to mental health are already at saturation

In addition to the effects of musical treatment described above (see Sections “Applications of tonality in mental health.”, “Applications of rhythm in mental health”, “Applications of musical reward in mental health”, & “Applications of sociality in mental health”.), there is strong evidence that people derive mental health benefits from more casual engagement with music. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, more than half of 4,206 survey respondents reported engaging with music as a coping strategy, using it to derive reward, modulate mood, and/or reduce stress and anxiety [ 296 ]. Similar positive functions are apparent in pre-pandemic research as well (alongside more social functions) [ 2 , 297 , 298 , 299 ]. Associations between music and healing have also been found in many cultures throughout human history, suggesting a potentially ancient relationship [ 300 , 301 ]. Thus, even though music lies outside the mainstream of mental health care, many people are already using music to improve their condition.

Nonetheless, there are multiple ways in which music’s mental health benefits may be increased. First, expanding access to musical treatment is essential [ 302 ]; as stated in the introduction, music therapists in the US only have the capacity to treat 0.5% of adults with mental illness. I have argued that this necessitates standardizing and applying treatments within a biological framework. Second, the popular perception of music as entertainment needs to evolve to encompass its therapeutic benefits. Explaining musical treatments in biomedical terms and normalizing therapeutic modes of listening can facilitate this shift. Third, the balance in music education needs to pivot away from individual performance and back towards widespread attainment of basic skills (e.g., social singing and dancing, listening, reflecting, curating, etc.), with an explicit focus on developing lifelong tools for mental health and wellness [ 303 ].

Another crest in the music and health hype cycle?

Even if one accepts that music has expandable mental health benefits, the importance of music’s potential might still seem overblown, here and elsewhere. It is worth revisiting the Mozart effect in this context, as an example of music’s real effects and associated hyperbolic overinterpretation. In 1993, a study published in the journal Nature reported that 10 min of listening to a spirited Mozart sonata, versus speech-based relaxation, or silence, improved performance on a subsequent spatial reasoning task [ 144 ]. After being picked up by popular press, this finding was transformed into the notion that “listening to Mozart actually makes you smarter” [ 304 ], which was subsequently used to market books and other media for benefits purportedly backed by science [ 305 ]. Backlash from the scientific community in the form of criticism and further investigation eventually came to show that the Mozart effect amounts to a relatively small but replicable performance boost that generalizes to other types of music (and speech) which stimulate enjoyment and arousal (SMD = 0.37 in meta-analyses) [ 143 , 305 , 306 ]. Thus, while we should remain guarded against hype surrounding claims about music’s potential benefits, the example of the Mozart effect should also remind us not to counter hype with dismissal.

Low quality studies undermine claims of clinical value

The randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial remains the gold standard for evidence in clinical medicine. However, this approach was primarily designed to test the efficacy of drug therapies, a history that creates problems for using it to test behavioral interventions, such as music therapy or psychotherapy [ 307 , 308 ]. Central problems include: difficultly blinding patients and therapists to their assigned condition (treatment or control), designing appropriate “placebo” treatments, and perceived difficulty in standardizing treatment without jeopardizing therapeutic integrity [ 308 , 309 ]. These problems are compounded in trials that rely on self- and/or clinician-reported outcomes (which is standard in much mental health research [ 309 ]). Consequently, concerns over study quality have often been cited in expressions of doubt over music’s clinical value (e.g. [ 302 , 308 ]).

A quick survey of modern clinical research in music therapy shows that such criticism has been well-received. Improvements in control conditions and blinded outcome assessments have been gradually implemented and evidence from more carefully conducted trials has begun to accumulate. Over the last decade, there has also been a surge in meta-analytic syntheses of this work, most of which explicitly assess risk-of-bias alongside their conclusions, although they do not typically take the next step of adjusting effect size estimates accordingly (cf [ 96 , 310 ].). Overall, bias assessments suggest that the certainty of evidence supporting benefits from musical treatment in mental health is moderate to low. Nonetheless, this level of certainty is consistent with many treatments in psychiatry [ 94 ]. The assertion that studies of musical treatment are especially suspect is thus poorly substantiated. Interested readers should consult bias assessments in these meta-analyses [ 93 , 95 , 96 , 133 , 164 , 216 , 224 , 229 ], and review individual studies that exemplify high-quality research on musical treatments for conditions such as anxiety [ 311 , 312 ], depression [ 313 , 314 ], autism [ 274 , 315 ], psychosis [ 316 , 317 ], and dementia [ 318 , 319 ].

Mental health needs

In concluding this section, it is useful to briefly consider musical treatment in the context of current mental health needs. In 2007, mental health disorders were estimated to account for 14% of global disease burden [ 320 ]. In 2021, an estimated 22.8% of adults in the United States had a diagnosable mental illness, with 12.7% of adolescents having serious thoughts of suicide [ 17 ]. In opposition to this growing psychopathology, first-line treatments in psychiatry are often criticized for their limited effectiveness [ 94 , 320 , 321 ]. Quantifying this point, a 2022 meta-analytic evaluation of 3,782 clinical trials examining the most common adult mental health disorders across a total sample size of 650,514 patients estimated summary effect sizes of just 0.34 SMD for psychotherapy and 0.36 SMD for pharmacotherapy [ 94 ]. In depression, SMDs <0.88 represent changes in a patient’s presentation that are typically too small to be detected by a clinician, suggesting that the effects of standard treatments for depression commonly lack clinical significance [ 94 , 322 , 323 ]. A similar SMD threshold in schizophrenia is 0.73 [ 94 , 324 ]. It is crucial to note that small summary effect sizes in meta-analyses are averages, and thus obscure the reality that a minority of patients have experienced clinically significant benefits under current treatments (due to poorly understood individual differences in treatment response). Nevertheless, the data at hand clearly indicate that new treatments are urgently needed [ 94 ].

It is in this context that advancing new standardized music-based interventions is important, not only because music affects core dimensions of mental health through the biology of tonality, rhythm, reward, and sociality, but because these avenues present an accessible, easy-entry, and low-risk approach to addressing problems for which we need solutions. Music is poorly conceived as a panacea. Instead, it has real effects on human neurobiological functions that feature prominently in mental illness, and thus has important potential in treating their disorder.

The effects of music on mental health and wellness are drawing more attention now than ever before. Efforts to better understand music’s benefits and increase their integration into medicine are complicated by their impressive diversity and a lack of clarity regarding underlying biology. This review has addressed these challenges by synthesizing progress in music research from psychology, neuroscience, and psychiatry to create a framework for defining music’s neurophysiological effects and their clinical scope in biological terms. This framework includes four core elements of human musicality: tonality , based on tone perception and the bioacoustics of vocal emotional expression, with applications targeting mood and anxiety; rhythm , based on neural resonance, anticipation, and auditory-motor entrainment, with applications targeting mood, cognition, and motivation; reward , based on engagement of classic brain reward circuitry and the reinforcement of successful communication, with broad applications in stimulating positive affect and normalizing reward function; and sociality , based on synchrony and the neurobiology of affiliation, with broad applications in treating social dysfunction and increasing social connectedness. This framework rationalizes many observed benefits of musical treatment and provides a path towards a precision approach to increasing their impact. As the world continues to change and we face new challenges to mental health and wellness, music will continue to provide real biologically mediated relief. Understanding and leveraging this fact towards better treatments and interventions in psychiatry presents an important opportunity to diversify and improve care during times of pressing need.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Drs. Dale Purves, Concetta Tomaino, and Karen Parker for comments on drafts of this manuscript, as well as Drs. Daniel Levitin, Patrick Savage, and two anonymous reviewers for constructive feedback during peer review. This work was supported by NIMH grant K01MH122730.

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Bowling, D.L. Biological principles for music and mental health. Transl Psychiatry 13 , 374 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-023-02671-4

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160 Hot Music Research Paper Topics For You

Music has been part of human beings since time immemorial. As it evolves, everyone has a specific taste for a specific song, genre, or musical instrument. Some of the top genres include roots, reggae, hip-hop, jazz, and rock music. The evolution and popularity of music have made it become one of the important subjects taught in schools worldwide.

If you are in college, pursuing music as a career, one of the important tasks when writing every research paper is picking the right topic. However, selecting an exciting music topic has always been a challenge for most students. To help you with the problem, we have listed the top 160 music research topics. Go ahead and select any of them or tweak them to reflect your preference.

How To Select The Best Music Topics For Research Paper

• Special Tips to use when Selecting Research Topics about Music

Top Music Research Paper Topics

Music argument topics, music history topics, hip hop research paper topics, jazz research paper topics, music appreciation research paper topics, music education research topics, pop culture research paper topics, rap topics ideas, fun music topics.

The ability to come up with the right topic for your music research paper is an important skill that every student should develop. Here are some steps to follow when looking for the most appropriate music research paper topics.

• Go for the research topic about music that is interesting to you.
• Only pick the music topics to write about if they have ample resources.
• Ensure only to pick interesting music topics that meet your college requirements.
• Go for the topic that you can comprehensively write on.

Special Tips to Use When Selecting Research Topics About Music

If you want to enjoy every moment working on your research papers, it is advisable to cast eyes beyond what is easy and popular. This means trying to check interesting topics that will allow you to answer tough research questions about music. Here are additional tips to help you:

• Brainstorm the current music topics.
• Comprehensively research the subject of interest before starting to develop the topics.
• Consider starting with music thesis topics and finally narrow to the one you consider the best.
• Follow current affairs in the music industry.
• A closer look at the evolution of music over the years.
• Analyzing the most influential musicians of the 20th century.
• Analyzing the relationship between music and dance.
• A closer look at the most lucrative careers for musicians.
• Music and health: What is the relationship?
• How does music impact fashion?
• Which music genre has impacted music more?
• A closer look at music marketing for different genres.
• Does music help learners concentrate when doing assignments?
• How does music affect clothing style?
• Evaluating the influence of music on culture in a country of choice.
• Analyzing the use of music for advancing political propaganda.
• How has production in music changed in the recent past?
• Drawing the connections between popular and contemporary music.
• Comparing music in the US with that of Latin America?
• In what ways are music and poetry related?
• Classical music: Does it still play a major role in music production today?
• Evaluating the main processes used in music production today.
• Analyzing the importance of music theory in music production.
• Music production: Why do some musicians ask others to write their songs?
• Pirating is one of the biggest threats to the growth of the music industry.
• Music can be a great rehabilitation procedure for inmates.
• The cost of music production is a major obstacle to the faster growth of the industry.
• Exploring the factors that have made Chinese music develop slower compared to western music.
• Evaluating the most important skills that an artist needs to produce a song.
• How does music compare to other types of media today?
• How does music impact the way people think?
• What are the most notable challenges in music production?
• How does creating music impact how people think?
• Comparing the roles of women in contemporary and modern music.
• What challenges do minority groups have in music production?
• What are the legal implications of downloading music?
• Music production: How does contemporary and modern music production differ?
• What role do social media platforms play in music distribution?
• Evaluating common traits of people who like listening to classical music.
• How does music affect teen behavior?
• Is music helpful in your daily activities?
• Analyzing music as a tool of advertisement.
• The future of music.
• Exploring the significance of music in education.
• Assessing the contribution of music to the US economy.
• What is the contribution of music to the US economy today?
• A closer look at the impact of pop music on people’s culture.
• What are the key differences between 21 st and 20 th -century pop music?
• How is music production affected by different laws in the US?
• Analyzing the ethical impacts of downloading music.
• Analyzing the evolution of symphonic music.
• A closer look at the use of classical music in the video production industry.
• Women who played significant roles in classical music.
• What differentiates Mozart music from other types of classical music?
• A comparative analysis of two top classical musical producers.
• The economic impacts of free music downloading.
• How does revenue from music and film production compare?
• Analyzing the main characteristics of country music.
• Exploring the relationship between drugs and psychedelic rock.
• A closer look at the merits and demerits of capitalistic perception of the music industry.
• Analyzing the modern approaches to songwriting.
• How has jazz impacted the American culture?
• Exploring the roots of African-American melodies.
• A historical comparison of hip-hop and jazz.
• What does it take for a musician to succeed today?
• Should the government fund upcoming artists?
• Which classical artist has had the biggest impact on you?
• The impact of the British music invasion of the US market.
• How is music used in war?
• Comparing high and low culture in the current music.
• Exploring the difference between music and poetry.
• Comparing the most lucrative careers in the music industry.
• What impact does music has on children’s cognitive development?
• Analyzing the history of American music education.

Different forms of music exist that we learn in various genres. In many institutions, music argument topics are assigned to know a student’s response regarding their opinions towards a genre. These music types range from classical to country, pop, jazz, blues, afro beats, and rock music. Understanding each one and knowing examples will help students choose the right argument. Some topics include;

• Evolution of rock music in comparison with rap music.
• What is behind the various instruments and their history in creating a particular genre of music?
• How the merging of societies and cultures influence native music.
• Reasons why rock music was used in the cinemas for long periods instead of another genre.
• The effect of globalization on pop and jazz music.
• The prominence of jazz music in the US over a short time.
• How black women fought and argued over social injustice through jazz music.
• Does jazz music celebrate black culture or glorify oppression?
• Women or men – who have played more roles in the development of classical music?
• The prominence of rap music in the present generation. Result of depreciated quality of music or evolution?

Music contains a broad history, with studies on performance, composition, reception, and quality over time. The history of music is usually intertwined with the composer’s life and development of the particular genre they create. Some music history topics include;

• History of pop music in America in the 20th century.
• Musical styles of England in the 21st century.
• The history of afro-beat and their development across West Africa and the rest of the world.
• Historical performance of music: the study of Beethoven’s works.
• History of Jazz and its development in the United States.
• Music in Ancient cultures: Native music
• The role of women in music development
• History of classical music
• Different types of music in the 19th century
• Important of renaissance music in history.

Present-day hip-hop music developed its culture and lyrical pattern. The style has evolved and gotten more refined and flexible over the years. Going into its history, many facets inspired it to what it has become today. Some hip hop research paper topics include;

• The history and structure of hip hop music
• Hip hop and its ties with poetry
• Hip hop culture and fashion today
• Old school vs. new school hip hop
• Rap and hip hop culture
• Violence in rap and hip hop
• The evolution of hip hop and rap music
• The positives and negatives of hip hop and its culture
• Bland misogyny in hip hop music lyrics
• The role of hip hop in white and black cultures

Jazz has a rich history in black culture and black liberation and its development led to major cultural shifts across the world. This music genre is refined and is deep-rooted in black history. It is music for the soul. Here are some jazz research paper topics;

• What is jazz music? An explanatory approach to its culture and relevance.
• History of jazz music.
• Jazz music and pop culture
• Jazz music and its listeners: Who listens to modern jazz?
• Why 1959 was a turning point in the history of jazz?
• The significance of jazz on the civil rights movement
• The history of jazz dances in America
• Some of the best jazz musicians of the 20th century
• Development of jazz music into the post-modern era.
• A study and review of the different dimensions of jazz.

Research topics on music appreciation mainly look into the reception and criticism of a given piece of music. This is achieved while examining vital music facets such as rhythm, performance, melody, and instrumentation. Here are some good examples of music appreciation research paper topics.

• The best generations of music
• The greatest musical icon: the life and times of Michael Jackson
• Music appreciation in the 21st century
• Music philosophy and its value
• Notable mentions in music evolution
• The theory of music and its importance
• The unique and different eras of music
• Music and its welcomed effect on the brain
• Music in different continents
• The love for opera

Music education is integral and important to enlightening younger generations about musical history, culture, evolution, and present significance to society. Without music to decorate our lives, time is just a dull passage of raw emotions and existence. Music knowledge and understanding is vital, and it affects our culture and way of life. Here are some music education research topics;

• Scope of music therapy
• The role of music in political movements
• Music and society
• Music business and management
• Functions of music therapy relating to intellectual improvement
• Significance of music education
• Contemporary music and its controversies
• Music and human emotion
• Technology and the evolution of music production
• The birth and prominence of music videos

Pop culture comprises numerous categories, including music, fashion, social media, television, language, and many more. It has gradually become an integral facet of our society. It has its perks and criticisms, but it is here to stay and makes our lives a lot more interesting. Some noteworthy pop culture research paper topics are;

• What makes pop culture popular?
• Is pop culture bad or good for the present society?
• Does pop culture disrupt moral values?
• Modern technology and its effects on pop culture
• How does American pop culture affect the global economy?
• Technology and ethical issues in pop culture
• Pop culture and its educational benefits
• How is humanity’s development expressed in pop culture?
• Is it necessary to study pop culture?
• Pop culture and its demerits to the society

Rap has become a mainstay in our music genre today. After its rocky start, it has fully become integrated into our music culture and lifestyle. Rap is an expression of life situations, love, religion, family, and who we are. Some rap topics ideas include;

• Rhythm and melody
• The art of flow and rhyme in rap
• Rap dimensions: tone and delivery
• Evolution and history of rap music
• The negatives and positives of rap music
• Contemporary rap music
• The role of rap music in black communities
• Does rap incite and encourage black violence?
• The history and origin of rap
• Rap as a means of expression

Music will always be an exemplary form of self-expression and art. Over the years, it has progressed and transformed through various dynamics. Today, at least a hundred music genres out there are fun and beautiful in their diversity. There are many fun music topics, and some of them include:

• How music helps fight stress and psychological problems
• The most iconic musical instruments for creating music
• Which music inspires you and why?
• Music in the 21st century
• The most common and popular type of music
• Reflection of social issues in music
• A couple of reasons to listen to music
• What differentiates good music from bad music?
• Different dimensions of music
• Imagining a non-music world.

After selecting the best research topic about music, the next step is writing your paper. This task is even more monumental than selecting the topic. Here, you need to craft an outline, have impeccable writing skills, and complete your task within the stipulated timelines. Is this too much? If you find it a challenge to write your paper, the best option is seeking writing help. The assistance is provided by affordable writing experts who understand how to create a good music thesis statement and have an impressive experience to craft winning papers. Do you want assurance of high grades? If “yes,” it is time to work with experts!

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200 Best Music Research Paper Topics For Students

Music research topics are an excellent opportunity to trace the history of the development of individual genres or entire eras. You can create an essay or research paper with an emphasis on certain stylistic features, or delve deeper into the technical aspects of album making. Also, the research topics in music allow you to learn more about popular composers, musicians, and individual bands. You can find out the history of creating certain songs or finding out the nuances of the breakup of groups.

While music research paper topics seem easy, it still requires a good outline and reliable sources to gather information. The life of many musicians is very busy, so certain topics for music research papers may require a more thorough analysis. For example, you will need to research the biography and all creation stages of famous music industry personalities.

Any research topic about music should be analyzed, and only verified facts added. You should also avoid using emotional coloring and bias. And don't forget about formatting. Any interesting music topics require clear structuring into paragraphs, lists, and subheadings.

By popular genres & styles

Individual styles are especially appreciated in research paper topics on music. You can choose the genre or group that interests you. This will allow you to get additional motivation and focus more on facts. The main challenge in this case is to find authoritative sources.

• The impact of rock and roll on the modern music industry.
• The basic concepts of creating musical songs.
• Rock performers and their popularity in society.
• Reasons for the negative attitude towards the rock vocalist.
• Rock musicians and problems with the law.
• The nuances of alcohol addiction of rock musicians.
• The main features of creating rock songs.
• Musical agitation as the main motive of rock songs.
• The main reasons for making rock songs.
• Symbiosis of rock and classical music.
• Rock performers and popular musicians.
• The analysis of the creative personality on the example of Kurt Cobain.
• The modern musical trend in culture.
• Top 10 most popular metal groups.
• Why has metal music become so popular?
• The mix of traditional music and heavy metal.
• Analysis of lyrical constructions of metal performers.
• The symbiosis of musical instruments in metal music.
• The analysis of seventh chords in the construction of metal songs.
• The influence of metal on other genres.
• The symbiosis of metal and pop music.
• The influence of metal vocalists on American culture.
• The symbiosis of genres as the reason for the creation of metal.
• The modern icons of the metal scene.
• The best metal bands in the last thirty years.
• The analysis of the dynamics of the popularity of metal bands.
• The modern concerts on the example of metal bands
• Female vocalists in pop music.
• The reason for the creation of numerous female musical groups.
• Pop music as a tuning fork of public morality.
• Why is pop music degrading?
• How can pop music be used to improve college grades?
• The nuances of using pop music in contemporary American culture.
• How can pop music be used to improve mood?
• The symbiosis of pop music and rap culture.
• How does contemporary pop music affect young people?
• The study of pop music in the context of the social culture of Harlem.
• The classic examples of pop artists.
• Madonna: the most popular popes of personalities.
• The analysis of the popularity of Britney Spears.
• Pop icons of the past decade.
• Hip-hop as the basis of the movement for social equality.
• The origins of hip-hop and the reasons for its popularization.
• How does hip-hop affect contemporary pop artists?
• The analysis of hip-hop performers on the example of the best vocalists of the decade.
• How does hip-hop allow athletes to train?
• Modern hip-hop and new musical trends.
• The symbiosis of hip-hop and metal music.
• How does hip-hop motivate people for sporting achievements?
• The analysis of hip-hop performers on the example of female vocalists.
• Modern hip-hop and its impact on youth.
• The main aspects of the integration of hip-hop music in the modern community.
• All technical aspects of creating hip-hop music.
• The classic approach to the formation of hip-hop motives.
• The analysis of the structure of hip-hop songs.
• The best hip-hop artists of the last decade.
• The stages of the formation of jazz as a separate musical genre.
• Why is jazz so popular these days?
• The nuances of studying jazz musical combinations.
• How Jess influences the structuring of student learning.
• The nuances of jazz performers in modern America.
• The best American jazz performers.
• Jazz as the most structured musical theory.
• How can you quickly learn to create jazz compositions?
• The influence of jazz on the cultural and political elite of the United States.
• Can jazz replace other musical styles?
• Jazz fusion as an example of musical prowess.
• The technical aspects of creating a pentatonic scale in a jazz style.
• The selection of jazz musicians.
• The development of jazz in the United States.
• The main reasons for the popularization of jazz in modern society.
• Blues and its influence on the development of the music industry.
• The symbiosis of blues and jazz.
• Can the Blues be compared to classical music?
• How do contemporary artists use the Blues in pop music?
• Historical context creation of blues compositions.
• How does the Blues affect rock music?
• Can the Blues help students learn?
• How blues musicians are developing in the USA.
• Can blues be used as a springboard for classical music production?
• The best US blues artists of the last 20 years.
• Blues performers of the last ten years.
• The influence of the blues on the formation of other genres.
• The analysis of the statistical popularity of the blues.
• The critical aspects when creating Blues compositions.
• The selection of blues parties when creating music.
• The influence of classical music on pop culture.
• The classical music and the best composers of the last century.
• Beethoven and his best works.
• How did Mozart influence classical music?
• Is the symbiosis of jazz and classical music possible?
• The structure of making classical music.
• The stages of the formation of classical music in modern society.
• Can you replace pop culture with classical music?
• How does classical music affect the psychological state of people?
• The classical music and symbiosis with opera.
• The basic concept of the analysis of classical music.
• A technical comparison of the mastery of classical composers.
• The choice of classical music for the mood.
• The classical music and its influence on rock culture.
• The main technical aspects of creating a score.

The region is important for those looking for musical topics for research paper. Most genres of European music and some information about composers are open to general use. If your research topic on music is aimed at analyzing the Arab countries, then you will need more time looking for reliable information. The fact is that not all Muslim archives are in the public domain.

Western music

• The features of musical motives of Western music.
• The history of Western music with real examples.
• How has Western music changed over the past two hundred years?
• Is it possible to combine Western music with European motives?
• The features of the use of traditional Western musical instruments.
• How do Western countries use music for meditation?
• Western music in the context of modern society.
• The role of Western music in the life of native people.
• How melodic is oriental music?
• The stages of the formation of Western music in American culture.

European music

• European music and modern trends.
• British pop bands and their worldwide popularity.
• How popular are German pop bands in the USA?
• European music and national musical instruments.
• How does European music affect well-being?
• The analysis of European music with specific examples.
• Top 10 of the greatest European musical groups.
• The analysis of European music on the example of instrumental groups.
• The best pop music performers in Europe.
• How does pop music influence the development of culture?

Asian music

• Asian music: the example of ethnic trends.
• The influence of Asian music on world culture.
• The main musical instruments of Asia.
• Can you compare Asian music with European motives?
• How has Asian music changed over the past hundred years?
• The nuances of creating Asian music.
• How does Asian music influence contemporary cinema?
• The best Asian performers.
• Top 10 Asian vocalists who have conquered the whole world.
• Do national instruments influence the creation of Asian music?

By history periods

You can use music appreciation research paper topics to analyse a specific period in history. Baroque, Renaissance and other eras are especially relevant for research as they allow you to see the history of the development of music. You can concentrate on a specific time period and the most famous composers.

• Medieval music and its influence on the Crusades.
• The major trends in the medieval music industry.
• The influence of kings on the creation of medieval music.
• The main musical instruments in medieval Europe.
• Musical instruments in Central Asia during the Middle Ages.
• What kind of music was popular in the Middle Ages.
• How difficult was the life of a musician in the Middle Ages?
• The analysis of medieval music on modern examples.
• How has contemporary music influenced pop culture?
• Historical aspects of the creation of medieval music.
• The influence of medieval music and culture.
• The rhythmic pattern of medieval music.
• The medieval music during the feast.
• The influence of medieval music on classical music.
• The medieval music channel and musical comparison.

Renaissance

• The dawn of musical culture during the Renaissance.
• The analysis of Renaissance music with specific examples.
• How has Renaissance music influenced contemporary pop culture?
• The analysis of Renaissance music as a constructive masterpiece.
• The nuances of Renaissance music and, most importantly, musical instruments.
• How difficult is it to reproduce Renaissance music in today's environment?
• The analysis of structural compositions of the Renaissance.
• Renaissance music as a tuning fork of public morality.
• How has music changed since the Renaissance?
• Can Renaissance music be used to create a modern instrumental ensemble?

Baroque Age (XVI-XVIII)

• The influence of politicians on the formation of music during the Baroque period.
• How has Baroque influenced contemporary instrumental music?
• The nuances of musical constructions during the Baroque period.
• How has the baroque influenced modern instruments?
• The nuances of the Baroque in the context of the complexity of musical compositions.
• The main effect of the Baroque in contemporary music.
• The historical aspects of the creation of the Baroque as a separate genre of music.
• The influence of the Baroque on the creation of contemporary musical groups.
• The analysis of the structure and musical motives of Baroque in detail.
• Baroque in contemporary music.
• The nuances of creating songs in the Baroque style.

Classical Age (XVIII-XIV)

• The Classical Age of music in modern society.
• How did the Classical Age influence the formation of musical trends?
• The general concept of the Classical Age in instrumental music.
• The nuances of creating music based on the Classical Age.
• How did the Classical Age influence the creation of pop culture?
• The theory of creating musical compositions on the example of the Classical Age.
• The general factors of the Classical Age in instrumental music.
• The main trends and popular instruments of the Classical Age.
• The main musical compositions of the 14th century.
• The main factors in the creation of musical compositions in the 13th century.

Romantic Era (XIV-XX)

• The Romantic Era and its impact on contemporary music.
• The main principles of structuring music into the Romantic Era.
• Features of creating instrumental compositions in the Romantic Era.
• The Romantic Era and modern music trends.
• The main factors influencing the Romantic Era in the music industry.
• Key figures in the music industry and their passion for the Romantic Era.
• How did the Romantic Era form the modern style?
• How has the Romantic Era influenced rhythmic music?
• The Romantic Era in the music industry.
• The main aspects of the formation of the Romantic Era in musical culture.
• Making marching music in the Romantic Era.
• Features of creating musical compositions.
• The technical aspects that influenced modern romantic motives.

Modern Era (XX-XXI)

• Jazz music as a phenomenon of the modern roar the influence of the modern era on instrumental music.
• Technical aspects of hip-hop and Reggae.
• How is contemporary classical music created?
• Can modern music genres be combined to create something new?
• Why is the modern music industry stagnating?
• The aspects of contemporary music.
• How does instrumental music affect culture?
• Contemporary music and technical innovation.
• How is contemporary music created?
• The nuances of creating hip-hop albums.

How To Write On Music Related Research Topics

By choosing topics about music for an essay, you get the opportunity to prepare a detailed paper work with facts, genre nuances and detailed biographies of famous musicians. You need to stick to the formatting and your outline. Find reliable information for music history research topics and talk about the emergence of certain genres.

Music business research topics are especially important, as you need to consider not only the stylistic but also the commercial nuances of the bands. For example, you can prepare detailed data on annual music tours or album sales.

All music appreciation presentation topics require detailed factual focus, which can be difficult for many people. If you are not ready to do it yourself, then we can help you.

Our service will solve your problem with music research topics high school. We also guarantee that you will get a good grade. We will help you organize all the nuances so that your music history paper topics become a reason for pride and high scores.

An Inspiration List

• popular music | Description, History, & Facts | Britannica
• History of music
• Music History from Primary Sources
• Brief History of Music: An Introduction
• How Music and Instruments Began

431 Music Research Topics

If you are looking for the best music research topics, you are at the right place! In this music topics compilation, we will help you explore the world of music and its impact on individuals, cultures, and societies. You will find different perspectives on music as a universal language that transcends boundaries and unites people across the globe.

🎶 7 Best Music Essay Topics

🏆 best music research topics, 🗪 argumentative essay topics about music, 👍 catchy music essay topics, 📢 informative speech topics about music, 🌶️ hot topics about music.

• ️🗣️ Persuasive Speech Topics about Music

🎓 Interesting Research Topics about Music

❓ music topics for presentation, 📌 controversial music topics, 💡 more music topics to write about.

• Romantic Period: Music
• Taylor Swift’s Blank Space Music Video: Analysis Example
• Musical Elements in “Over the Rainbow” by Art Tatum
• Music Industry: The Impact of Technology
• Art, Music, and Dance
• “Music of the Troubadours, Tant M’Abelis” by Lafitte
• Title: Role of Music in the Spanish Culture
• Idir (A Vava Inouva) Music Video: Background, Lyrics, and Visual Effects This paper analyzes A Vava Inouva’s music video by showing the musical language used and how it has been the mirror of society, particularly in ensuring the children are moral.
• The International Music Festival Event Industry as a Business Environment The analysis based on the PESTLE system and Porter’s five forces will enable the business environment and profitability review of the international music festival event industry.
• The Psychology of Music Despite the numerous and often contradictory findings regarding the phenomenon of music, there are no doubts about the powerful connection it has with a human mind, emotions, feelings, and actions.
• Music and Mathematics Relationship This paper seeks to show the usage of mathematics in music and avail information on the effects of listening to music on mathematics.
• Artificial Intelligence and Music The paper discusses use of Artificial Intelligence is rapidly expanding, with several innovative companies adopting it to create music.
• Nursing Theory of Music, Mood, and Movement by Murrock and Higgins The purpose of this paper is to give a detailed description and analysis of the nursing theory of music, mood, and movement by Murrock and Higgins.
• The Functions of Film Music: Essay Example Music plays an important role in films. This paper will discuss how music has been used in the movie Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
• Renaissance Music: “Ave Maria” by Josquin Des Prez “Ave Maria” by Josquin des Prez is a prime example of Renaissance art. Due to the presence of the parties of several voices, this work becomes full and voluminous.
• Arnold Schoenberg’s Musical Style Arnold Schoenberg is an expressionist composer, which means that his music is characterized by a plethora is dissonance and disturbance.
• Traditional Colombian Music and Instruments The essay discusses of the first songs in Colombia, major themes of traditional songs and traditional Colombian instruments: Accordion, Guacharaca, Tip, Tambura, and Gaita.
• The Elasticity of the Music Streaming Apps Market Elasticity has a significant impact on Spotify and other music streaming platforms, as there are factors affecting people’s demand for this service.
• A Musical Performance by Music From China It is worth noting the musician’s skill and how he conveyed the work’s mood to the public with his appearance. I would love to watch a Chinese music concert again, especially live.
• “Hamilton: An American Musical” by Miranda “Hamilton: An American Musical” is a hip-hop and pop musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda that premiered Off-Broadway on February 17, 2015.
• The Influence of Rap Music on Moral Character The paper argues rap music misogynistic and promotes violence (especially toward women), crass materialism, and street crime.
• Patriotism in Music: Patriotism and Nationalism in Music Education Music changes alongside new generations and their views, reflecting the crucial ideas and issues within the society of that time.
• One Direction Band and Its Impact on Music Industry The One Direction band’s impact on pop culture was immeasurable, and most of it came from their image as teen idols.
• The “Ulay Oh”: Music Video Analysis This essay examines the “Ulay Oh” music video using Allan Johnson’s core ideas of patriarchy and male dominance.
• Music: Benefits and Positive Influences Music has many various benefits that positively affect people’s nervous system, psychological state, and educational opportunities and can be efficiently applied to medical aims.
• Difference Between Hearing and Listening to Music Music has a unique way of conveying feelings, emotions, and even stories, regardless of the country and language of a person who listens to it.
• Reality Music Television Shows The purpose of this paper therefore is to discuss the effects (both positive and negative in any) of reality music televising shows on the general music industries.
• Shubert Music Analysis the Work of Shubert Die SchöNE Müllerin, No 19 Analyzing the work of Shubert Die schöne Müllerin, no 19, and its part ‘Der Müller und der Bach’ I used the technology of LaRue, who suggests paying attention to sound, harmony, melody, rhythm and the growth of form.
• Music Listening: “Firestone” Song by Kygo The composition “Firestone” is performed by Kygo, who is its composer, featuring Conrad Sewell released in December 2014. The song belongs to the genre of tropical house.
• Evolution in Modern Indian Music Rich and diverse, Indian folk music is utilized for special occasions and educational purposes. The sources of Indian music are endless and its potentials are without limit.
• Musical Impact on Learning Process This essay aims to take a look into how music affects the learning process, and understand the positive and negative effects of its use.
• Musical Style of Luis Miguel Luis Miguel is a legendary figure in the history of Spanish music in Latin America. The professional accomplishments and musical style of Luis Miguel are discussed in this essay.
• Laura Pausini: Live Music Event Critique I will present my analysis and reaction to the live concert of Laura Pausini. The event started at 8:00 PM at James L. Knight Center and lasted for a couple of hours.
• Traditional and Contemporary Music in Africa Traditional West African music displays intricate rhythmic and metrical patterns through singing, dance, and instrumental music.
• Beethoven’s Personality and Music The secret of discrepancy between the historic personality and creative work of genius has always been interesting for researchers and music worshippers.
• Music Therapy: Review Music therapy is the controlled use of music in treatment, rehabilitation, and a means of optimizing creativeness and pedagogical work.
• Eagles’ “Hotel California” as a Musical Background Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” If the narrator of Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” had an iPhone at hand, “Hotel California” by Eagles would be a likely pick to listen to during the events of the story.
• Beethoven’s vs. Mozart’s Life and Music Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven rate among the most outstanding composers in the history of classical music.
• Medieval and Modern Music Comparison Each musical genre and school of that time was devoted to dozens of meaningful dissertations and hundreds of wonderful articles.
• Music of the Classical Period: Patronage in Music All the composers whose works are now considered the classics of world music once were fledgling talents unknown in the music circles.
• Does Music Therapy Truly Benefit Patients, or Is It Placebo Effect?
• What Is the Balance Between Freedom of Expression and Responsible Content?
• Music Piracy and Its Effect on Artists and the Music Industry.
• The Role of Music Education in Schools: Is It Essential or Expendable?
• Is There a Link Between Aggressive Behavior and Music Lyrics?
• Cultural Appropriation in Music: How to Navigate the Boundaries of Artistic Expression?
• Can Listening to Music Enhance Cognitive Abilities in Alzheimer’s Patients?
• Music Festivals and Environmental Impact: Balancing Entertainment and Sustainability.
• Music Streaming Services: Does It Provide a Fair Compensation for Artists and Songwriters?
• The Evolution of Hip-Hop: From a Subculture to a Global Phenomenon.
• Classical vs. Contemporary Music: Which Has a More Profound Cultural Impact?
• Does The Commercialization of Music Sacrifice Artistic Integrity for Profit?
• How to Break Barriers to Gender Representation in the Music Industry for Female Artists?
• The Role of Music in Shaping Social Movements: Protest Songs and Political Activism.
• How Has Digitalization Revolutionized Music Production and Consumption?
• Music and Memory: The Influence of Music on Autobiographical Reminiscence.
• The Ethics of Music Sampling: Balancing Creativity and Copyright Infringement.
• Can Background Music Improve Academic Performance?
• How Efficient is Music Therapy for Veterans with PTSD?
• The Future of Live Music Events: Are Virtual Concerts as Good as Real Ones?
• Music Distribution: Defining Distribution Channels Channels of distribution are characterized by the presence of middlemen who include wholesalers, retailers, and distributers.
• The Roots of Turkish Music: The Sound of Ney and Sufism Music had sacral and holy meaning, and the magic of deriving melodic sounds seemed was available only to those, who are closer to God than others.
• Use of Technology in Arts and Music Industry Technology in art is a form of venture where artists use digital technologies to create their works and use tech as part of their creative or presenting process.
• Big Band and Combo Jazz: Musical Groups Comparison The essay compares two types of musical groups, big band and combo jazz. Both of these directions are deeply rooted in the history of the music of the 20th century.
• Why Health Insurance Should Cover Art and Music Therapy? In the article, the author talks about the benefits of art therapy and music therapy for the mental health of patients.
• Copyright Infringement in Music and Film Industry Copyrights are legal frameworks that allow access to exclusive control and ownership of music and film industry work. Such statutory provisions seek to govern commercial aspects.
• Music Journalism in the Future Internet Age The advent of the Internet has affected the role of the traditional print music journalist to the extent of raising concerns over the prospects of the field.
• Vivaldi’s “Winter” as an Example of Baroque Music The composition “Winter” from “The Four Seasons” violin concertos series by Antonio Vivaldi is one of the most famous music pieces of baroque music.
• Music of the Renaissance The Renaissance era refers to period that marked the revitalization of art and rebirth of music. This essay explores characteristics and impacts of music during renaissance era.
• Why Is Impressionistic and Expressionistic Music So Hard to Understand? In any era, musicians kept up with the times and, under the influence of new art trends, revealed and invented their ways through musical means of expression.
• Jazz Music and Its Role in Society Jazz gets its appeal from the blend of different musical elements and the fact that different performers have different improvisation and personal interpretation.
• Sound Differences in Renaissance and Middle Ages Music Music from the Renaissance period is more complex in structure and composition and has more richness in tones and pitches.
• The Beatles Band’s Strategic Musical Evolution This paper provides insights into the formation of the Beatles, the British invasion, and their strategic musical evolution.
• How Music Affects Juveniles Essay gives an analysis of the ways through which music is capable of affecting juveniles. The discussion has presented a strong correlation between music and deviant behavior.
• How Music Reinforces Stereotypes? The contemporary entertainment world is mostly covered by music from renown artists all over the world such as Michael Jackson, Ja Rule, etc.
• The Britain Music of the 1960s In the 1960s, a new tradition in the music industry emerged in Liverpool and London that would transform Britain’s culture forever.
• Music Industry and Information Technology The music industry is a term used to describe a wide range of music-related businesses and/or organizations, and various types of musicians.
• The Catholic Church and Western Classical Music Many secular elements of culture like the creation and composition of music had their origins in the Roman Catholic Church or were influenced by the music of the Catholic Church.
• K-Pop Music Genre Popularity Analysis K-Pop, or Korean pop, is a musical genre rapidly gaining popularity, which characterized by singing talents and brilliantly choreographed dances that demonstrate during performances.
• Cultural and Individual Expression Through Music Music is viewed as one of the most effective ways of passing any information be it cultural or expression of emotions and feelings among different people.
• Music During the Vietnam War: An Intangible Weapon American music during the 1960s was initially written to express emotions. It became a social tool for applying pressure to the US government to end their involvement in Vietnam.
• The Beatles’ “Let It Be” and Youth Music Culture The Beatles were one of the most powerful musical icons of the 1960s and, as a result, their songs could serve as a good reflection of the time when the band was active.
• Classical Arab Music The Arab classical music is interesting, it is necessary to focus on the instruments, its association with culture and religion, composers, performance venues and notations.
• Musical Instrument Families and Ensembles It is important to note that several instrument families possess unique characteristics. The most used one is the strings family, which includes dobro, banjo, or autoharp.
• “The Sound of Music” Opera Review The opera “The Sound of Music” is performed by means of genuine interaction of two men being a composer and a lyricist: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein.
• Music in the Movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” Jon Brion made a daring experiment by mixing different genres of music in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind that leaves a long-lasting impression.
• Rhythm: The Essential Element of Music Rhythm is the crucial element of world music. It predates the development of other basic elements of music in frames of evolution.
• The Wiggles Musical Group: Marketing Strategies This research looks at how the Wiggles group (a children’s musical group formed in Sydney, Australia) penetrated the market and became the top in its line of business.
• Indian Culture, Tradition and Classical Music Since India has been evolving for thousands of years and differs from area to region, it has a rich and distinct culture.
• Musical Instruments: Chordophones and Idiophones Chordophones and idiophones are two types of instruments that produce sound. These musical instruments came from different cultures.
• Pink’s Music: Less Than Perfect and Raise Your Glass This paper will examine two songs written and performed by P!nk. The two pieces selected for this analysis are popular songs: Less Than Perfect and Raise Your Glass.
• Turkish Musical Instruments in Classical and Contemporary Music Turkish music is seen as oriental, with variegated intervals less than a semitone incomparable to European music. It is seen as exotic and peculiar.
• “Seussical the Musical” Theater Play Critique The production of “Seussical the Musical” intertwines the plots of several stories to create a magical world full of fantastic creatures and breathtaking adventures.
• Music Reproduction in the Future This essay explores the relationship between notions of “music,” “technology,” and “society,” and discusses qualitative specifics of the audio format in the future.
• Pop Music of Japan, Korea and China Pop music varies in styles containing several sub-genres and differs depending on its geography. This paper focuses on studying pop music of Japan, Korea, and China.
• Music Therapy and Its Positive Psychological Impact Music therapy is defined as an evidence-based and clinical use of interventions related to the musical experience.
• Film Studies: “The Sound of Music” by Robert Wise This essay discusses the film “The Sound of Music” and the locational geography shown in the movie. It also discusses the geography shown in the movie.
• Romantic Era’s Music This paper analyzes two musical pieces of the romantic era period to ascertain the characteristics that cause emotive feelings among their audience.
• The Book “Living with Music” by Ralph Ellison Ralph Ellison’s “Living with Music” is a story about jazz musicians, and a reader is transferred to 20th century America to explore the inspiring power of music people experienced.
• The Importance of Music and Its Impact on Mind The article argues certain music can enhance the mind, increase memory, relieve stress, accelerate learning, help concentrate, focus, and unleash inner abilities.
• The Evolution of Jazz Music: From Its Origins to Modern Interpretations.
• The Influence of Classical Music on Contemporary Compositions.
• The Origins and Characteristics of Reggae Music from Jamaica.
• The Impact of Music Therapy on Mental Health and Well-Being.
• The Role of Music in Different Cultures: Celebrating Diversity through Melody.
• How Technology Has Transformed the Music Industry: From Vinyl to Streaming.
• The Science Behind How Music Affects the Brain and Emotions.
• The History of Rock and Roll: Pioneers, Icons, and Cultural Impact.
• The Significance of Music Festivals in Celebrating Art and Community.
• Exploring Traditional Instruments from Around the World: A Musical Journey.
• The Contribution of African Rhythms and Melodies to Contemporary Music.
• The Art of Music Production: From Recording Studios to Mixing and Mastering.
• The Influence of Hip-Hop Music on Youth Culture and Social Activism.
• The Fascinating World of Opera: Opera Styles, Composers, and Iconic Performances.
• The Healing Power of Music: Understanding Its Therapeutic Effects.
• Music and Memory: How Melodies Can Trigger Powerful Recollections.
• The Impact of Music Education on Children’s Cognitive and Emotional Development.
• The Role of Music in Cinema: How Soundtracks Enhance the Movie Experience.
• The Fascinating History and Legacy of The Beatles: Global Music Icons.
• Music as a Universal Language: Uniting People Beyond Linguistic Barriers.
• Whether Music Distracts Students or Helps Them It is not always the case that music serves as a distraction, some studies have shown that music has numerous benefits when listened to while studying.
• Mozart Meets Beethoven: Influences in Music In this paper, the researcher seeks to investigate the impact that Mozart had on Beethoven, especially after their meeting in Vienna.
• The “Hamilton” Musical and Its Significance This discussion will be dedicated to proving “Hamilton” success as a visionary fiction – referring to its essential elements and peculiarities.
• Music as a Multifaceted Cultural Phenomenon Music is a multifaceted phenomenon with various layers, stages, and implications. It resembles self-expression that allows one to share feelings and emotions.
• Drake’s “Gods Plan”: Visual Analysis on the Music Video The music video of Canadian rapper Drake created for the song “God’s Plan” can be called unusual, both for the artist and for the entire rap direction.
• Sounds of Life: The Role of Music In this music survey paper, a reflection on childhood music will be given and how the music made me feel. Also, there will be a discussion of adolescent music and its role.
• How the Beatles Influenced Music The Beatles is probably one of the most influential music bands in the history of modern music. From the purely artistic standpoint, it essentially shaped rock music as we know it now.
• History of Aztec Music Their music also had some incorporation of the African music from the African slaves as well as the Salvadoran music from Mexico.
• Effect of Music on Education There has been a rising concern over the effect of music on education. Some scholars have conducted research and have reported various effects of music on education.
• Operations and Information Management: A Case Study of CC Music CC Music has accumulated market knowledge and expertise over the previous years, yet, the industry’s course over the past decade poses a significant obstacle.
• Entrepreneurial Profile of Private Music Teacher Mr. Phuoc Vu is a private music teacher that has been working in the industry for about 15 years. He stated his determination to always learn and improve.
• Music: “Create, Produce, Consume” by Bruenger The book “Create, Produce, Consume: New Models for Understanding Music Business” by David Bruenger explores the music industry through the lens of culture and society.
• The Classic Musical Film Grease Analysis In the Grease film, there are many unsettling concepts but many of them are linked to the participants’ strong characters which eventually results in love.
• The Musical Composition “Lux Aurumque” by Eric Whitacre The musical composition “Lux Aurumque” by Eric Whitacre can be categorized as neoclassical choral electronic music.
• “How We Listen” by Aaron Copland: The Art of Listening to Music “How We Listen” discusses three distinct levels of listening and strives to develop audiences’ listening skills and teach them the art of listening to music.
• Electric Guitar in African Music This essay explores the origins of electric guitar music in Africa, the forms enriched by African guitarists, and the impact of the electric guitar on the evolution of music.
• Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in American Musical Theatre While white actors remained prevalent, BIPOC actor representation was up 6% in non-profit theaters and reached 54.5% of all roles, which is a record high.
• The Origin of Blues Music Genre Blues was established in the environment of traveling performers, thus not all the details are available to the researchers.
• Program Music. Bedrich Smetana and Hector Berlioz The given analysis will primarily focus on Bedrich Smetana and Hector Berlioz, who are among the most prominent program music performers.
• Contemporary Russian Folk Music The purpose of this paper is to research international online communities devoted to Russian folk music in order to find out what inspires them.
• Live Musical Performances and Concerts’ Analysis The author watched and analyzed four video recordings of music performances to determine how music and the artistry of performers create a unique ambiance.
• Playing Music and Its Benefits for Health Playing music has proved to be effective in dealing with stress, and music therapy is used in treating stress disorders.
• Opinion About Classical Music Classical music loses its popularity among the wide public, which is explained by the fact that it becomes obsolete in the conditions of the modern-day world.
• EMI Music: Company Analysis The aim of the paper is to analyze the competitive environment as well as the financial performance of the company of EMI Music.
• Michael Jackson: Essay on His Influence on Music & Pop Culture Jackson has received a place in pop history as a pioneer and legend, which is why he will always be remembered as the King of Pop.
• “Memphis” Musical Theatre Production The musical “Memphis” is a story depicting a disc-jockey who preferred music that was associated with the African-Americans, and thus his vision was unpopular.
• Musical Culture and Internet Influence Music is the most ancient and common in human culture. It is characterized as an art form that reflects reality in sounds, artistic images and actively influences the human psyche.
• The Vietnam War and American Music American music was initially written to simply express emotions, later it became a social tool for applying pressure to the US government to end their involvement in Vietnam.
• Feminism and Sex in Hip-Hop Music Hip Hop music was introduced with the intention of combating poverty, racism, and violence that were prevalent in lower-income neighborhoods across the United States.
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Musical Arts Born in 1756, Mozart was one the greatest composers of the classical era. Mozart was involved in music from a very tender age of just five years.
• Gil Scott-Heron’s Influence on Modern Hip-Hop Music Scott-Heron was not only a godfather (literally) of hip-hop but also an enthusiastic soul and blues performer.
• Musical Pieces of the Baroque Era This paper explores musical pieces of the Baroque era through the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel.
• Sounds of Life: The Role of Music Music is one of the most influential aspects of life in society. I am yet to come across an individual who does not like music at all.
• The Definition and Genres of World Music The paper states that there are varieties of global music because the phrase is inclusive and encompasses diverse civilizations and musical genres.
• Digital Storytelling and Background Music Background music has long been a critical aspect of storytelling, presenting itself in various settings, including films, restaurants, and museums.
• Classical Music and Composers of That Era Classical music is one of the directions of music that originated in the middle of the 17th century and is developing to this day.
• Reasons Why Music Matters The paper discusses how music enriches and achieves sociability and commonality. Music should be embraced more in society for its benefits.
• Same Song, Different Styles: Musical Elements Analysis Throughout its entire existence, music has performed many functions in people’s lives. It is intended not only for entertainment but also for education and development.
• Latin American Protest Music of the 1960-70s This paper will analyze ten songs that belong to protest music culture written by prominent Latin American Artists.
• Impact of Kendrick Lamar Music on Racism The essay hypothesizes that Lamar’s music has conducted to a progress in abolishing racism by cultivating tolerant attitude in the society towards Afro-American population.

🗣️ Persuasive Speech Topics about Music

• The Importance of Music Education in Schools.
• Music Therapy Should Be Promoted in Healthcare Settings.
• Music Increases Productivity and Creativity in Workspaces.
• Why Should We Attend Live Shows and Support Independent Artists?
• Music Copyright and Piracy: Raising Awareness about the Need for Fair Compensation.
• The Role of Music in Relieving Stress and Anxiety: Mindful Listening.
• Promoting Music Diversity: Embracing Various Genres and Cultures in the Music Industry.
• Protest Songs Have Immense Power: How Music Can Be a Catalyst for Social Change.
• Music Should be Promoted as a Tool for Emotional Well-Being.
• The Influence of Music on Teen Behavior: Encouraging Positive Role Models in Lyrics.
• How Can Melodies Help Preserve and Enhance Cognitive Function?
• The Impact of Music on Sports Performance: Advocating for Its Use in Athletic Training.
• The Connection Between Music and Academic Performance: Supporting Music Education.
• How Can Pleasant Tunes Influence Consumer Behavior?
• The Role of Music in Building Cultural Bridges and Fostering Global Understanding.
• The Importance of Equal Opportunities for Musicians with Disabilities.
• What Are the Efforts to Preserve Musical Heritage?
• How Can Songs Motivate and Inspire Change?
• Music and Social Media: Leveraging Digital Platforms for Musical Discovery and Promotion.
• How to Encourage Sustainable Practices and Fair Contracts in the Industry?
• The Concert by the Musical Band Metallica This paper describes the concert performed by the musical band Metallica which appeared to be the culmination of the global tour in support of the new album.
• Skills for Social Promotion in the Music Industry This paper aims to discuss strategies and skills for social promotion in the music industry, specifically, strategies for self-promotion and emerging performer skills.
• Contemporary RnB (Rich & Beautiful) Music Throughout decades, the genre of RNB underwent significant changes that have to be covered in order to explain the importance of the 2000s era of RNB music.
• A Musical Performance by Music From China Organized at the Metropolitan Museum of Art a musical presentation from five Chinese was to perform on the so-awaited Music from China.
• Native American Music of the Cherokee Indian Tribe Several scholars have studied and documented the rich music history and the place that music occupies in the life of the Cherokees.
• Classical Opera and Musical Theater Conventions: “Carmen” vs. “Sweeney Todd” “Carmen” remains the most scandalous and sexiest classical operas. “Sweeney Todd” is a terrifying story shows another perspective of how art could look in the late 20th-century.
• Takht and Dabke as Part of Musical Heritage Takht is a traditional Arab ensemble that became popular at the beginning of the 18th century. Dabke music is another genre that my family and I often listen to.
• The Culture of Music Consumption: The Changing Trends and Indie Label Management This report explores the link between modern sales techniques and consumer culture for indie record music products.
• Music as a Reflection of History Since the 1960s This paper studies the relationship between music and history. It analyzes songs written between the 1960s and today, pointing out their influences, message, and subsequent impact.
• 42nd Street Musical by Stewart and Bramble The play 42nd Street is set in the times of the Great Depression and focuses on the attempt of a notorious director to stage a musical that could bring him fame and wealth.
• Social Stratification in the Music Art A detailed analysis of three songs can guide more people to learn more about social stratification and consider new ways to mitigate it.
• Classical Symphonic Music Analysis Event For this essay, I watched and analyzed four video recordings of musical performances. They are united by the classical character of compositions and features.
• Influence of Technology on Marketing of Music in the 20th Century This paper discusses how the technological developments affect the marketing of music with a mention of the broader entertainment industry as a whole.
• Hip-Hop Musical Impact on the World Hip-hop culture has had a tremendous impact on the youth today than any other culture, for example, P Diddy and Jay Z have had a tremendous impact on the business world.
• Jazz Music History and Appreciation Masterpiece jazz is a combination of soaring sophisticated Western music and jazz melodies. It originated in the United States in the early 20th century.
• Musical Career: Personal Philosophy and Career Goals My love for music is due to the emotions that this genre of art gives. Melodies are able to awaken in the souls of people warmth, delight, worries, joy, and other strong feelings.
• The Effect of Music on Serial Short Term Memory From the experiment carried out on the two groups it is really not clear whether the effect of short term recall is hindered in anyway by background music.
• The Son as a Mexican Music Genre Mexican music includes a range of genres, and the son is one of them. The word “son” means “sound,” it is played using such instruments as haupanguera, harp, guitar, etc.
• Music Festivals and Sustainable Event Management The principles of sustainable development spread far beyond the ecological realm, and every day is applied in a greater amount of spheres of human activity.
• Racism in the Music Video: Locked Up and Styles P Using the music video Locked Up by Akon featuring Styles P, this paper discusses the significance of race and racial representation in the media.
• Apple Computer Inc.: Maintaining the Music Business Apple Computer Company is an organization that deals with electronic goods. While promoting its products, Apple Computer, Inc. has expanded its market globally.
• Music History: Joseph Haydn The world of classical music is far-reaching in different masterpieces. Thereupon, the work of Joseph Haydn cannot be underestimated.
• Music Marketing in a Digital World The popular pop and rock culture seems to work best for advertisers who want to reach a larger audience. This is largely because pop is arguably the biggest crowd puller in the UK.
• Music History and Development Different Cultures all have there own specific way of communicating through music. Music is basically broken into two specific groups Eastern Music and Western Music.
• History of Museums of “Classical” Music The combination of innovative and experimental solutions in the music industry was an impetus to various difficulties and limitations within the framework of “classical music.”
• Haitian Compas Music and Its Crossover Crisis Haitian music has been affected by individuals who lived on the Caribbean Island before the colonization. It is comprised of a broad scope of influences.
• Parents Music Resource Center in the United States Parents Music Resource Center was a group created by four women in 1985. The aim of this group was to control the music that was released.
• Why Is Baroque Suite an International Music Genre? A baroque suite is a musical genre or form primarily founded and developed during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
• Western Art Music of the Classical Era Classical music refers to western art music that elaborates on the various styles of creating and singing various melodies.
• Native American Music: Cherokee Indian Tribe Different tribes had different kinds of music for different purposes, but they were all brought together by two characteristics; togetherness and drums.
• How Does Composer John Williams Unify His Films Through His Music? John Williams’ music has the quality of unifying the films he has worked on through the similar stylistic features in his composition.
• Program Notes on Classical Music The strains of classical instruments can wake a full continuum of emotions, and the familiar movements stir a variety of memories in the heart of an involved person.
• American Folk Music and American Roots Music The paper offers the evaluation of American history and national development to create an opinionated definition of folk and roots music and demonstrate specific characteristics.
• Effects of Music Therapy on Depressed Elderly People Music therapy has been shown to have positive effects among people, and thus the aim was to assess the validity of such claims using elderly people.
• Electroencephalography Waves to Control Musical Instrument Digital Interface The paper investigates current trends in turning the brain waves into music, through surveying the literature on the methods of turning waves into music.
• Music of the African Diaspora The essay illustrates that slavery is at the core of the music of the African diaspora as through the music the plight, suffering.
• Music and Movie Industry Analysis In the music and movie industry of the United States, the exploration of productivity exhibits significant fluctuations because it has increased and declined over time.
• Elvis Presley’s Influence on Music Elvis Aaron Presley an immensely talented American artist gained extreme popularity at a point in time as a vocalist, actor, and musician.
• Music Artists and Advertising Deals There has been a change in terms of the attitude of artists regarding the issue of getting involved in advertising deals as a way of supplementing their income.
• Parallel Worlds: Country-And-Western and Rap Music This paper is dedicated to working out the theme of similarity and contrasting between two streams in music, namely: country-and-west and rap music.
• Can Preference for Background Music Mediate the Irrelevant Sound Effect?
• How Has the Ability to Download Music From the Internet Affected the Music?
• How Globalization Influences Students’ Music Consumption?
• Does Heavy Metal Music Cause Suicides?
• Does Loud Music Have Anything to Do With Your Intelligence?
• How Effective Are International Copyright Conventions in the Music Industry?
• Does Music Affect Our Quality of Life and Their Own Happiness?
• How Franz Liszt’s Transcriptions Shaped the Path of Classical Music?
• Does Music Affect Public Schools Affect Students?
• How Gospel Music Was a Confort for African Americans in the Racist and Prejudist Society?
• Does Music Construct Rather Than Reflect Cultural Identities?
• How Has Music Changed Since the Middle Ages?
• Does Music Really Create Better Students Education?
• How Has Pop Music Changed Over the Last 80 Years?
• Does Music Therapy Really Help Children With Special Needs?
• How Does Music Contribute to the School Curriculum and Personalisation Agenda?
• How Does Music Improve a Child’s Learning Ability?
• How Does Music Influence Sex and Human Behavior?
• How Has the Internet Changed the Music and Movie Industries?
• Why Metal Music Does Not Create Violence in Teenagers?
• What Were Two Major Influences on German Baroque Music?
• What Effects Music Cognition for Therapeutic Effect Music Memory Recall?
• What Digital Music Distribution Is and Why It Is Significant?
• What Determines the Perception of Segmentation in Contemporary Music?
• How Electronic Dance Music Is Taking Over the World?
• Music of the Baroque Period: What is a Baroque Concerto?
• Live Music Pub: Company Analysis
• French Popular Music, Barbara (French Singer)
• Mozart’s Requiem Mass: Exploring Music History
• The 66th International Music Festival in Prague
• Reggae Music and Its Aspects
• Latin American Women and Trap Music
• Can Music Be an Enhancement to Education?
• Bachata as a Music Genre and Artists’ Creativity
• Middle Eastern Musical Culture
• Music as a Part of Life: Personal Impressions
• Robert Johnson’ Life and Music
• Music Artist Tupac Shakur
• The “Bad Habits” Music Video by Ed Sheeran
• Role of Irish Traditional Music and Culture in Australian Music
• Jazz Music as Reflection of Social Injustices
• Music and Its Impact on Cognition and Emotions
• The Beautiful Age in Art, Literature, and Music
• Music Evolution and Historical Roots
• The Influence Music Has Over Various Generations
• Philosophizing About Music and Emotions
• Cosmopolitanism in Rap Music
• Baroque and Classical Eras: Music Genre
• Classical Music Pioneers: Haydn, Mozart, Albrehc
• Mozart and Classical Period Music
• Swinging Bach: New Interpretation of Music
• The Need of Censorship in the Music Industry
• Aspects of Beethoven’s Music
• “Better Days” Song by OneRepublic: Music Analysis
• The Discussion of Favorite Music Style Period
• Jazz Music: Historical Background
• “Weird” Art: An Invitation to Analytical Perception of Music
• Hip-Hop and Violence: Does This Music Genre Promote Crime?
• Religious Music Analysis: the Rock of Ages
• Musical Style and Cultural Identity
• The Development of the Music Industry
• John Cage: Composer and Music Philosopher
• Jamaican Music’s Evolution and Forms
• Schubert’s the Trout as an Excellent Piece of Music
• Charles Luckeyth “Luckey” Roberts in Jazz Music
• Music Industry, Its Impact and the Future
• Impact of Blues on the 20th-Century Music
• Tin Pan Alley in the Music Industry Context
• Listening to Music: Several Levels
• The Relevance of the World Music Term
• “Salome” the Opera: Characters, Meanings, and Musical Essence
• Michala Petri and Lars Hannibal Music Concert
• Understanding Society Through Popular Music
• Music from Bali with Gamelan Gong Kebyar of Belaluan
• Hip-Hop Music, Culture, and Technology in Society
• The Korean Pop Industry, Culture, and Music
• Researching of Music of the Caribbean
• Tejano as a Musical Genre of Texas and Mexico
• Developing an Original Musical Instrumental
• Expressionist Music and Its Features
• The Future of Popular Music and Society
• Shrek the Musical by David Lindsay-Abaire
• Blake Shelton’s “Home” Music Video Analysis
• Music: The 00s and Modern Latin Alternative Rock
• Relationship Between the Medieval Music and Culture
• A Musical Comparison of Beethoven and West
• Movie Music: Soundtracks That Make the Movie
• Mutual Influence of Culture and Music on Each Other
• Jennifer Hudson Musical Performance Review
• Using Music to Portray and Emphasize Identity
• Madonna’s Music Impact in the United States
• Gustav Holst: Classical Music of Planetary Proportions
• Venue for “Jesu, the Virgin’s Crown, Do Thou” Music
• Response to a Musical Identity and The Queer Composition of America’s Sound
• Worldly Writing on Music: K-Pop Culture
• Perfect Outdoor Music Venue After Covid-19
• George Bridgetower: Life and Musical Work
• Hip-Hop and Early African-American Music
• What Are the Reasons for the Imperfection of Baroque Music?
• Discussion of Four Musical Pieces of Still, Gershwin, Copland, Márquez
• How Wagner’s Preludes Transformed Opera Music
• African American Musical Styles and Its Influence on the American Culture
• The Music Pieces: “The Sacred Harp”, “Billings: When Jesus Wept”, and “Chester Overture”
• Aaron Copland and His Contribution to American Classical Music
• Louis Armstrong’s Career and Innovations in Music
• Aspects of Zydeco Music
• Hip Hop’s Globalization and Influence of Hip-Hop Music in Japan
• Current Developments in the Music Industry
• Preferred Piece of Music
• Art and Music in Culture: Concepts of Beauty
• Effects of Music Therapy on the Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia
• Music at Mary Baldwin: Seung-Hye Kim
• Two Genres of Music: Rap Music and Jazz Music
• Music From the Renaissance Into the Baroque
• Jazz Music and Civil Rights Liberation
• Popular Culture and Musical Success
• Data Analysis Relevance in Music Industry
• Music Industry: A Revenue Plan for a Release
• Brain Music System: Standardized Brain Music Therapy
• Canada’s Gaming, Music, and Television Industries
• Vietnamese Folklore Music of “Then”
• Music, Art, and Dance of Latino Culture Group
• Impressionism and Symbolism in Music
• The Effect of Individually Selected Music
• The Effect of Music Therapy on the Elderly
• Music and the Second Reconstruction Relationship
• Controversies About How to Interpret Music
• Music Appreciation: A “Great” Composer
• Music as an Accelerator of a Learning Process
• Music Elements Manipulation
• Chris Anderson: Digitization of Music
• The Effect of Music Therapy on Depression
• Operations and Information Management of CC Music
• Rapalje Band’s Musical Performance in Castlefield
• Cover Versions and The Music of the Beatles
• Music of a Classical Era: Personal Opinion
• Music Therapy as ASD Individuals Alternative Treatment
• Huun-Huur-Tu Live Musical Performance in California
• Music Listening Journal Blog: Song Review
• Protest Music in the 1960s
• Electronic Music in Film: Leitmotifs and Melody
• A. Grande’s “Break Free”: Musical Video and Live
• Adolescent Music: Cultural, Moral and Political Messages
• Josquin Des Prez’s Musical Career and Works
• Christian Music and Vital Congregations
• Appalachian Music: About Music Tradition
• Contextualization: Music and Brain
• The Music Industry Versus the Internet: Mp3 and Other Cyber Wars
• The Story of Christian Music
• Thelonius Monk: Musical Genius
• Proper Education Through Music for Youth for HIV, AID Prevention
• Filmi: Indian Music Unique Element
• Jazz Music: Comparison to Music in Previous Eras
• Teaching Music in Middle Schools
• Music and Poetry Perception Ideas
• Teaching Music in the Middle Schools
• Popular Music. “West Side Story” Musical
• David Williams on Outdated Music Education Model
• Klezmer Musical Tradition in Jewish Communities
• Music Listening: “Say a Little Prayer“ Song by Bacharach & David
• Johnny Cash’s Life and Musical Career
• Copyright Infringement in US Musical Industry
• Music Language and History in Western Culture
• E-Concert Report: 20th Century Music
• Opera and Instrumental Music
• E-Concert Report: Pieces from Early and Baroque Music
• E-Concert Report: Classical and Romantic Music
• Musical for Kids: “Seussical”
• Gangstagrass: Bluegrass and Hip-Hop Music Band
• Cultural Heritage Course: Arts, Literature, Music
• Music Ministry by Roberts and Wilson-Dickson
• Mindfulness-Based Music Therapy & Chemotherapy
• “Strange Sounds: Music, Technology and Culture” by Taylor
• Music’s Importance and Influences
• The Process of Creating Music CDs
• New Insights About Bachata Music
• Music Therapy as an Additional Means of Psychotherapy
• The Fender Music Foundation: Arts Organization Study
• Mindfulness-Based Music Therapy and Cancer Treatment
• Music: “Like a Rolling Stone” by Greil Marcus
• New Insights About Bachata Music in Latin America
• Mindfulness-Based Music Therapy and Mental Health
• Musical Exoticism of Opera in the 19th Century
• Music and Speech in Deutsch’s and Levitin’s Views
• Music Therapy Effects for Breast Cancer Patients
• The Role of Music in Improving Patient Outcome
• “Grease” Musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
• Masterworks of 20th-Century Music
• Music Video Making Movement as Art Tendency
• Sports, Music, and Arts for Modernization
• Blues Music in “Blue Chicago” by David Grazian
• Duke Ellington: Jazz Legend and Music Innovator
• Music Therapy in Nurse’s Work
• Mindfulness-Based Music Therapy in Cancer Patients
• Film Studies – Bill Monroe: Father of Bluegrass Music
• Bill Monroe – Father of Bluegrass Music Film Analysis
• The Role of Music in Patient Therapy
• Alternative Medicine: Musical Therapy
• Piano’ Music Concert by Misha Dacic
• Music Album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action
• Evolution of Pop Music – Hip-Hop Genre
• Music of the 20th Century and Beyond
• Classical and Baroque Music Differences
• Music: Salu International ‘Pedersen’ Band
• Identify World Music Terms
• Music Therapy and Pain Management
• Attending Music Concerts: Musical, Jazz, Classical and Opera
• Effects of Music Therapy for Adolescents with Autism
• Psychology: Personality and Music Preferences
• Legalizing Free Downloads Of Music And Movies
• Popular and Serious Music

Cite this post

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StudyCorgi. (2021, September 9). 431 Music Research Topics. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/music-essay-topics/

"431 Music Research Topics." StudyCorgi , 9 Sept. 2021, studycorgi.com/ideas/music-essay-topics/.

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Bibliography

StudyCorgi . "431 Music Research Topics." September 9, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/music-essay-topics/.

StudyCorgi . 2021. "431 Music Research Topics." September 9, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/music-essay-topics/.

These essay examples and topics on Music were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on January 21, 2024 .

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Music Research Guide

• HOLLIS (Library catalog and more)
• Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, Bibliographies
• Recordings and Videos
• Scores and Sheet Music
• Concert Reviews
• Collected Works Editions
• Dissertations and Theses
• Music in Special Collections
• Ethnomusicology Research @ Harvard
• Jazz Research @ Harvard This link opens in a new window
• American Indigenous Music
• Senior Thesis Style Guide: Footnotes
• Senior Thesis Style Guide: Bibliography
• Multimedia Production Resources

Using the Music Library

Welcome! This guide is a curated list of resources related to music for on-campus and remote users. Bookmark this page for easy reference, and access all of Harvard Library’s online collections using your HarvardKey.

Would you like personalized help? Contact a music librarian by emailing us, using the chat button on this guide, or scheduling a research consultation. We're happy to meet virtually, or to set up an appointment to meet in person with current Harvard students, faculty, and staff. 

• Email  or  schedule an appointment with Kerry

Start Your Research

No matter what your research topic is, here are five good places to start:

• HOLLIS Harvard's main library catalogue: find books, articles, scores, recordings, and more in one search. Sign in with your Harvard Key to get more results.
• Oxford Music Online Contains Grove Music Online: includes encyclopedia articles on musical genres, topics, and people.
• Online Scores: Classical Scores Library Full, study, piano, and vocal scores of music from the Middle Ages to the 21st century, available for use online or printed/saved to PDF.
• Online Audio: Naxos Music Library Classical, world, jazz, and folk recordings, with biographical information, opera synopses and libretti, glossaries and pronunciation guides.
• Journal Articles: RILM Abstracts of Music Literature An international bibliography of music articles, collections, and books covering 10,000+ journals from the 1800s to the present. Especially good for finding book chapters and conference proceedings in addition to journal articles.
• Harvard Library Bookmark Need access to an online article? Use this bookmarklet to get quick access to subscriptions purchased by Harvard Library.
• Lean Library This browser extension provides quick and simple access to digital content purchased by Harvard Library.
• Citation and Research Management Tools Organize your research, keep track of your references, and add citations and bibliographies to your papers. The Harvard Library supports Zotero, EndNote, and OverLeaf Pro+.
• Next: HOLLIS (Library catalog and more) >>

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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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Music and Science

17 research topics, 17.1 what is a research topic.

All experiments are situated within some kind of research topic . The research topic defines the body of knowledge to which we want to contribute, and can typically be associated with a collection of publications (e.g. journal articles, book chapters) in the academic literature that span multiple years or decades.

A given research topic will typically be associated with many publications from multiple researchers or research groups around the world. These publications will typically make many references to one another, with these references (‘citations’) being sometimes supportive (‘based on the findings of X, we know already that Y…’; ‘our results support the hypotheses of X, who suggested that…’) and sometimes negative (‘our results contract those of X’; ‘we disagree with the conclusions of X, because…’). Reading recent publications within a research topic is one of the best ways of quickly familiarising oneself with a particular topic; particularly helpful here are review articles , written with the explicit goal of summarising the current state of knowledge in a particular research topic, as well as outlining potential future directions.

The definition of the term ‘research topic’ is necessarily nebulous, and there is a lot of subjectivity involved in grouping the research literature into different research topics, especially as individual papers might often be associated with multiple topics. Nonetheless the notion of research topic remains useful for categorising and describing the academic literature. Here are some examples of research topics within the field of music psychology:

Music and dementia

Entrainment and social bonding

Expectation and musical pleasure

Memory for melodies

Timbre and synaesthesia

17.2 Choosing a research topic

In most cases you will join a research topic that already exists and that has already been studied by previous researchers. In this case you can inherit some of the pre-established legitimacy of that topic, but you will eventually have to establish exactly how your research will contribute beyond what exists already. In some cases, conversely, you will be trying to establish a new research topic in its own right; in such cases, you will have to think carefully about your justifications for why the research topic deserves to be studied in its own right.

Most researchers have several moments in their careers where they have to choose between several possible research topics. This can begin as early as the undergraduate degree, where one might be choosing between different candidate final-year research projects. It is important in these situations to be able to critically evaluate different research topics and decide which possibilities work best for you. Let’s go through a few different dimensions to think about:

17.2.1 Impact

Impact can be defined as the sense in which a piece of research affects the world around it. Research can have impact in many ways, but it’s often helpful to differentiate two kinds of impact:

The sense in which the research improves our understanding of the world ( basic research, also known as fundamental research);

The sense in which the research solves practical problems in the real world ( applied research). This can be achieved for example by developing a new technology that can be applied in non-research contexts, or by generating information that influences public or private policy.

The former category (fundamental research impact) is particularly challenging to quantify. It’s intuitive that some pieces of knowledge are more impactful than others, but it’s very difficult to quantify this differential in an absolute sense. A common heuristic used in academia is to count the number of citations received by a given research article or book; the idea is that the most impactful pieces of research are those that other researchers refer to a lot in their own research. This metric is clearly imperfect, and there is an ongoing drive in academia to find better replacements.

Several factors contribute to determining whether a research project has the capacity to achieve high impact.

Perhaps the topic itself has intrinsically high potential impact . Cancer research would be one such example; successful contributions in cancer research can have immensely high impact on cancer sufferers around the world.

Perhaps the topic is understudied . This most commonly happens early on in the study of a topic, when there has not yet been sufficient time for many researchers to recognise its potential.

Perhaps the topic matches your own skills particularly well. Different skillsets are useful for different research topics; this is particularly relevant in music psychology, where musical researchers will often have deep personal experience with a particular research topic. This personal experience can be useful in all kinds of ways, ranging from identifying good research questions to developing good hypotheses to recruiting suitable participants.

17.2.2 Environment

It is essential to consider whether you have the right environment available for performing your work. There are two particularly important factors to consider:

Academic input . Will you have a supervisor? (If you are an undergraduate or postgraduate student, almost certainly) Does your supervisor have expertise in the planned research topic, and/or in the relevant methodologies for that research topic? Are there other people in the research group/department/faculty/institution who could also give you useful feedback on your work?

Resources . Does your planned research topic require special equipment, or large amounts of money (e.g. for funding travel to remote locations, or for recruiting participants)? If so, will this equipment/money be available from your group/department/faculty/institution? If not, are there relevant grants you can apply to (e.g. from your college/university/national funding body) that could support the work?

17.2.3 Personal interest

Different people find different things interesting. Music psychology is particularly attractive to many people, because it contains so many research topics that music enthusiasts can connect to in a deep and personal sense. One might therefore choose to study film music because of a particular personal interest in listening to film music, or to study music and dementia because of having a relative with dementia.

17.2.4 Personal development

Most research projects offer opportunities for knowledge and skill development. By working in a field, you will necessarily have to learn a lot about the relevant literature, and become something of an expert in the particular topic that you are studying. It’s worth taking some time to consider which research topics you would find most rewarding to learn so much about. Conducting scientific experiments moreover gives an opportunity to develop many practical skills, such as interviewing, survey design, programming, or data analysis; it’s worth considering which of these potential skills would be most valuable to you to learn, either because you think you would enjoy learning them, or because you think they would serve you well in the future.

Learning new skills is good, but it is also time-consuming. Generally you should choose topics that provide some balance between the familiar and unfamiliar; the unfamiliar aspects are useful learning opportunities, but the familiar aspects help you to work efficiently and effectively.

17.2.5 Cost-benefit trade-off

Lastly, it is important to evaluate the potential costs involved in the proposed research direction, and determine how they compare to the potential impact of the work. This becomes particularly relevant in the latter stages of planning process, but we’ll discuss this issue here anyway for completeness.

The most obvious kind of costs are financial costs: some research simply costs a lot of money. There are however several other kinds of costs which are often underappreciated in the project planning stage.

Time. It is important to consider time both in terms of wall-clock hours (i.e. how much time elapses before the start and end of a project) and in terms of person hours (i.e. how many hours the researchers need to spend actively working on the project). Wall-clock hours become increasingly important for research projects with short time windows and strict deadlines, for example undergraduate or masters’ projects.

Ethics. Certain projects bring personal costs, or risks of costs, to the participants. For example, a trial medical drug could harm participants through unknown side effects, or a survey about taboo behaviours could harm its participants if their anonymity were compromised. The research should only be undertaken if the likely benefits of the research outweigh the likely costs, and then only if the participants provide informed consent. All psychological research projects (even undergraduate projects) should generally go to an institutional ethics board for approval before the research is conducted.

17.3 Finding candidate research topics

It is one thing to appraise a given research topic along these different dimensions, but how do we identify candidate research topics in the first place? This is fundamentally a personal process, and so it’s difficult to prescribe a universal strategy here. Nonetheless, there are a couple of useful things worth considering:

Reading broadly. Most fields have a fair few high-level books that lay out the many research topics that make up the field. In music psychology, good examples would be the Psychology of Music (Deutsch, 2013 ) , the Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology (Hallam et al., 2017 ) , or The Science and Psychology of Music (Thompson & Olsen, 2021 ) .

Attending research talks. Listening to other people present their work is a great way to foster your own ideas. Most academic institutions hold regular seminar series concerning various research fields or topics, which typically include a mixture of internal and external speakers. The Centre for Music and Science at Cambridge holds fortnightly seminars during term-time, which you can learn more about here . In addition to this, particular research fields tend to hold regular national or international conferences, where researchers congregate to share and discuss their latest research. Attending one of these conferences (or workshops, which are essentially informal versions of conferences) can be a great way to be exposed to research topics and methodologies you had never really considered before, as well as meeting other interesting people in the field. Conferences can be expensive to attend in person, but many offer special discounts or funding to students. Moreover, if you can’t attend in person, it is nowadays often possible to watch recordings of the talks afterwards on YouTube, or at least to read the conference’s ‘proceedings’ book which compiles summaries of the research projects that were presented. The following conference series are particularly well known in music and science:

ICMCP - International Conference of Music Perception and Cognition

ESCOM - European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music

SMPC - Society for Music Perception and Cognition (US-based)

ASA - Acoustical Society of America

SEMPRE - Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research (UK-based)

ISMIR - International Society for Music Information Retrieval

Deutsch, D. (2013). Psychology of music . Elsevier.

Hallam, S., Cross, I., & Thaut, M. (2017). The oxford handbook of music psychology . Oxford University Press.

Thompson, W. F., & Olsen, K. N. (2021). The science and psychology of music: From beethoven at the office to beyoncé at the gym . Greenwood Publishing Group Inc.

Music Research Topics

Published by Boni on October 31, 2022 October 31, 2022

Music is a highly influential aspect of our society today. It has been part of our lives for a long time now. As music evolves, everyone has their specific taste for a given genre, musical instrument or song. Some common genres may include hip-hop, rock, reggae or roots. The evolution of music has led to the subject being incorporated in the school curriculum.

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For any student pursuing a career in music, one of the important aspects of the degree is the research paper. Getting the right topic for your research essay is always a challenge to most students however, this article will have relevant examples you can get inspiration from.

Tips on how to Select the Best Music Research Paper Topic?

Choosing a good topic for any research paper is essential, especially if you aim to attain good results in your paper. The following tips will guide you in choosing the most appropriate music research topic. 

1. Be clear on your topic

Be sure of your topic before starting to write your paper; this means that you should have adequate knowledge of what type of research you are planning to conduct. For example, if you plan to include information about the impact of music on criminal behavior, then be sure that you have sufficient knowledge about music in criminal behavior. 

2. Use sources

Make sure that you have sufficient material to use in your paper. You should use sources such as books, journals, and websites containing information on the topic you plan to write about. These sources will help with your research, as they will provide well-written articles to develop your topic.

3. Develop sources

If you do not have any material to use in your paper, there are many places where you can get sources. In this case, you have to develop your sources. For example, if the topic is about the effect of music on plastic surgery, you can use research papers on medical concepts and statistics about plastic surgery performed by newspapers and magazines. You can also conduct interviews with experts in these areas of study; however, make sure that they are reliable.

4. Seek help from a professional

The professional help you should consider getting is that of a reviewer. A music research paper is more challenging than other academic papers; it requires greater attention to detail and a deeper understanding of your research topic. Therefore, you should get a professional from a reputable service to help you review your work before submitting it. Gudwriter has the best research paper essay writing service that gurantees you quality music research papers from our qulified team of experts.

Music Research Topics Examples

Below are some of the most popular music research topics:

Music History Research Topics

History is known for its accurate records, and this is also applicable to music research. For example, if you want to write a paper on the history of Broadway musicals, you should have information about the different shows produced in the past and their influences on performers. This will ensure that you get your paper done properly.

A list of topics relating to music history would include:

1. The history of the synthesizers

2. The history of music in the United States

3. The evolution of classical music

4. The history of pop music styles

5. The evolution of folk music in America

6. How technology has influenced the evolution of music styles

7. The development and influence of hip-hop

8. The history of European classical music

9. The history of African-American music

10. The history of Latin American music

11. The effect of the digital age on the evolution of music styles

Music Therapy Research Topics

These are brilliant essay topics that research on how therapeutic music can be in the society. Examples of these topics could be:

• How does music treat psychological conditions?
• How can you calm an individual using the theme?
• What do people love most about classical music?
• Does listening to music affect your effectiveness?
• What is the impact of music as a subject in schools?
• Can music help reduce stress?
• Can an individual use music to heal eating disorders?
• Why do most psychologists prefer using music when performing their work?
• Can music lyrics help enhance your brain capacity?
• Music and therapy
• How does music help students in education?
• Scientific research and music
• How does music help learn psychology?
• What music genre is written in different countries?
• How music affects student’s productivity

Music Theory Topics

This music category is for the music theory lovers. It may help investigate the theories in music such as characteristics of music in different eras and crucial aspects of music in societies. Great examples may include:

• Brilliant characteristics of Romantic-age songs
• How music evolved in the Baroque Era
• Who were the top compositors during the Romantic era?
• Remarkable features of Baroque-age music
• Uncovering symbols during the Renaissance-period music
• How classical music relates to medical applications
• Major music directions during the 20 th century
• What are the crucial aspects of music?
• History of modern hip-hop
• Why is it that most intellectuals prefer rock music?

Music History Research Paper Topics

This is another field where you can find plenty of research topics to work on. History offers us the chance to examine and understand the origin of a particular music genre or issue related to music. You can pick any of the following topics for your music history research paper:

• Origin of black music
• History of musical instruments
• What is the female impact on the jazz music genre?
• Imperial Japanese and Chinese Music
• Who created the music?
• Music as it was used in the Holy Roman Empire
• Main aspects of modernism music
• How politics influenced music back then?
• Modern music culture
• Why are music studies important?
• Conventional archetypes in music
• How is music connected to important functions and events?
• Genius of Bach
• Folk music and how it impacts the population

Music Psychology Research Topics

Connecting psychology and music is not something new. However, the category has not been researched as it should be. Researchers have barely scratched the ground on the music psychology research topics. That is why this is a good topic to research on. Consider the following suggestions:

• Are sound therapies efficient?
• Does music education impact our abnormal activities in the brain?
• Does music impact our state of mind, mood, and overall mental health?
• How tones affect mental development in teens, children, and toddlers
• How does playing a piano enhance communication skills of individuals with communication issues?
• What are cultural differences in music?
• Changes in music consumption patterns in young people
• How has music changed how students think and act?
• Can music enhance your sleep at night?
• Does a specific genre of music champion for drug abuse that affects our psychology?

Classical Music Research Topics

For the classical sounds’ lovers, this is the category to research on. You can research on how this music works, when it started, its history, and the traits of the listeners. Below are some common example topics to pick from:

• What songs fall under the classical genre?
• What is the history of the classical music category?
• Is classical music impactful today?
• What role does classical sound play in Disney production?
• Most impactful classical projects
• Character traits of classical music listeners
• Role of women in the classical genre
• Are classical sounds and metal the same?
• How modern melodies differ from classical music
• Why is Mozart different from other composers in the classical genre

Music Thesis Topics

Other excellent research topics you can handle include the music thesis topics. These topics typically cover a wide range of areas in the music field from analysis of specific genres to examination of cultural implications. Examples may include:

• A comparative study of traditional music practices in different ethnic communities
• The psychological effects of listening to music on emotional well-being and mood regulation
• What is music’s role in the LGBTQ+ community?
• Examining how music is a catalyst for change in the Hip-Hop culture
• Investigating effects of music training on neural development and cognitive abilities
• The impact of live music performances on audience emotional response and engagement
• Use of music as a mnemonic device
• What role does music play in promoting cognitive development in children?
• A comparative study of traditional and digital distribution models
• Tracing the origin of jazz music and its influences from African Roots to modern interpretations
• Examining female empowerment in pop music lyrics

Music Controversial Topics

Popular music is always being criticized and is often the focus of research discussions. While this is normal and not uncommon, such criticism can also be turned into a paper used in studies. Below are some examples of topics related to popular music research:

1. The use of information technology (IT) in today’s music industry

2. The politics behind the use of the word “pop” in mainstream U.S. pop culture

3. The effect of hip-hop on today’s society

4. The origins of dance music

5. The use of metaphors in today’s music

6. The role of the internet in pop music

7. The effect of lyrics on the music style

8. The impact of sex and drugs in the creation of pop music and its stereotypes

9. The influence of the Beatles on other bands and musicians

10. How racism affected black musicians during the 1960s and has affected them today 

Music Argument Topics

This type of music research focuses on the use of statistical analysis, as well as on other methods such as opinion surveys and field studies. Below are some examples of argumentative research topics:

1. The evolution of music piracy over time

2. The impact of digital piracy on the evolution of music and other elements related to it

3. How access to free, illegally downloaded music has affected the sales of CDs and records

4. The effect of parental guidance on censorship in music lyrics

5. The role that education systems worldwide play in the promotion or censoring of certain genres

6. The importance and effectiveness of copyright laws in preventing illegal downloads

7. The impact of music piracy on the global music market

8. How the evolution of technology has affected the sales of CDs and records

9. The effect of global warming on musical genres

10. The dangers that peer-to-peer networks pose to the online security of users’ computers 

Learn the basic steps to follow in writing your research paper .

Hip-Hop Research Topics

Hip-hop is a music style that originated in the United States. Its popularity has spread globally, and its music is easily recognized nowadays. It is based on African American tradition and culture, and its roots can be traced to the blues music of the 1960s. The strong beat in hip-hop music was influenced by the funk music that was popular then.

Depending on your interest, you can conduct research on a wide range of topics related to hip hop; these include, but are not limited to:

1. The history of hip hop

2. The origins of hip-hop and its influences on the world’s culture

3. The impact of hip-hop on various aspects of society, including politics, music, and language

4. How hip hop has influenced the evolution of music styles around the world

5. The effect that hip hop and other forms of music have had on other aspects of culture around the world

6. The effect that social change, technology, and political powers have had on hip-hop culture 

7. The effect of hip-hop on the body image of women

8. The impact of hip-hop on the culture around the world 

9. How hip hop has affected the media and its portrayal of women

10. The use of sampling in pop music genres 

Debatable Music Topics

Debatable topics are those that people have different feelings about. For example, while some people think rap music is harmful to children, others believe it’s a positive influence in their lives. The same applies to other genres of music.

Below are several examples of debatable music topics:

1. The impact of MP3s and peer-to-peer networks on the sales of CDs and records 

2. The effects of hip-hop on society and its stereotypes 

3. The psychology behind the creation of pop music 

4. The use of sampling in pop music genres 

5. The impact of sex and drugs in the creation of pop music and its stereotypes 

6. The role that education systems worldwide play in the promotion or censoring of certain genres 

7. The effect of media censorship on hip-hop culture 

8. The influence of the law on music genres, such as hip-hop, rap, and rock-and-roll 

Music Appreciation Research Topics

Many people enjoy music and want to learn more about worldwide music styles. If you are interested in pursuing a music appreciation research topic, here are some additional topics that you may explore:

1. The history of music and how it has changed the world

2. How pop music styles differ from one country to another 

3. The effects of global warming on musical genres

4. How hip-hop has shaped modern culture, such as language and fashion

5. The impact of social change on the emergence and development of new music styles and genres 

6. How the internet has influenced the evolution of music styles

7. The use of metaphors in music 

8. How technology has influenced the evolution of music styles

9. The impact of hip-hop on modern society, including politics and language 

10. How African-American music has shaped modern cultures, such as language and fashion 

Music Education Research Topics

If you are a student in a music program, you can research your music skills and improve them. Here are several ideas for topics that you could discuss:

1. The effect of hip-hop on education and its impact on the language spoken by children

2. The history of rap music, from its roots to modern times

3. The composition of rhythm and blues songs and their histories

4. The musical arrangement of rap songs throughout history

5. The role that race plays in the creation of rap music 

6. How sex and drugs affect the creation of pop music and influence its lyrics

7. The influence of rock-and-roll on other genres, such as jazz, blues, and country 

8. The history of sampling and its importance in the creation of hip hop 

9. The history of copyright laws and their impact on musical piracy 

Pop Culture Research Topics

You can research pop culture’s appeal, from films and television shows to music. Below are examples of topics that may interest you:

1. The history of film, including horror and action movies

2. The psychology behind the creation of pop music and its components

3. The impact that different types of music have had on society, such as race and sex 

4. How technology has influenced the evolution of music styles throughout history 

5. The role that education systems worldwide play in the promotion or censoring of certain genres 

6. The creativity involved in the composition and arrangement of pop songs

7. How pop culture has influenced language around the world

8. The history of hip-hop and its impact on modern languages

9. How African-American music has shaped modern cultures, such as language and fashion 

10. The history of sampling and its importance in the creation of hip hop 

Rap Topics Ideas

Many people enjoy listening to rap music. If you are interested in learning more about this genre, here are several topics that you may discuss:

1. How rap music has evolved throughout history

2. The role that sampling has played in the creation of various hip-hop styles 

3. How societal changes have affected rap music and its lyrics

4. How sampling has influenced modern music styles around the world 

5. The evolution of hip-hop, including its impact on popular culture

6. How rap music has influenced the language of African-Americans

7. The political overtones behind rap music and its impact on modern society

8. The effect that sex and drugs have had on the creation of rap music and its content 

If you are interested in pursuing a research topic about music, you now have several ideas to help guide you. Remember that topics should be able to answer your research questions, so make sure to explore those ideas thoroughly.

You should also remember that research is an opportunity for personal growth. If you take the time to conduct thorough research and include quality sources in your project, you will learn more about these topics and yourself.

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Diverse Music Essay Topics for Students and Music Enthusiasts

Table of contents

• 1 How to Write an Essay on Music
• 2.1 Argumentative Essay Topics about Music
• 2.2 Topics for College Essays about Music
• 2.3 Controversial Topics in Music
• 2.4 Classical Music Essay Topics
• 2.5 Jazz Music Essay Topics
• 2.6 Rock and Pop Music Essay Topics
• 2.7 Persuasive Essay Topics about Music

Music is a magical world of different sounds and stories. When we talk about music, there are so many things we can explore. Writing essays about sound lets us share our feelings and thoughts about this wonderful art. In this collection, you will find 140 music essay topics.

These topics are carefully chosen to help you think and write about sound in many exciting ways. Whether you love listening to music or playing an instrument, these topics about music for an essay will spark your creativity. They cover everything, from your favorite songs to the history of music. So, get ready to dive into the sound world with these fun and interesting essay ideas!

How to Write an Essay on Music

Writing an essay about sound can be a fun and exciting way to express your thoughts and feelings about this amazing art form. Whether you are working on college essays about music, or research paper topics on music, here are some steps to help you create a great piece of writing.

• First, choose a topic that you are passionate about. It could be anything from your favorite musician to a specific sound genre. For a college essay about sound, you might want to share a personal story about how music has impacted your life. For argumentative essay topics about sound, consider issues like the importance of sound education or the effects of music on the brain. If you’re working on a research paper on sound, explore the history of a certain music style or the role of sound in different cultures.
• Once you have your topic, start with some research. Look for interesting facts, stories, and opinions about your topic. This will give you many ideas and help you understand your topic better.
• Next, create an outline for your essay. This will help you organize your thoughts and keep your writing clear and focused. Start with an introduction that introduces your topic and grabs the reader’s attention. Then, write a few paragraphs that explain your main points. Each paragraph should focus on one main idea or argument. In your writing, explain things in a way that’s easy to understand. Use simple words and short sentences.
• Also, try to include examples and personal experiences to make your essay more interesting and relatable.

Need help with essay writing? Get your paper written by a professional writer Get Help Reviews.io 4.9/5

List of Topics about Music for an Essay – 40 words

Discover a world of music topics to write about in this list! From fun ideas to controversial topics in music, these essay suggestions will inspire you to explore the diverse and exciting universe of music.

Argumentative Essay Topics about Music

Dive into the world of melodies and rhythms with these essay topics about music! Whether you’re passionate about different genres or curious about the impact of sound, these argumentative essay topics will guide you to explore and express your views on various musical aspects. So, let’s get ready to write and debate about the diverse and vibrant universe of sound.

• Is Melody Essential in Every School’s Curriculum
• The Impact of Melody on Mental Health
• Should There Be More Support for Local Musicians
• The Role of Songs in Cultural Preservation
• Does Modern Melody Lack Originality
• The Effects of Sound on Productivity
• Are Music Award Shows Biased
• The Importance of Lyrics in Songs
• Should Songs Be Used in Advertising
• The Influence of Music on Fashion Trends
• Does Melody Promote a Better Global Understanding
• Should Explicit Sound Be Censored
• Are Songs Festivals Beneficial for Local Communities
• The Role of Technology in Melody Production
• Is Classical Melody Still Relevant in the Modern Era
• The Impact of Social Media on Musicians’ Success
• Should Music Be Included in Workplace Settings
• The Role of Melody in Political Movements
• Are Music Streaming Services Fair to Artists
• The Importance of Preserving Traditional Melody

Topics for College Essays about Music

Step into the rhythm of words with these research paper topics about music, perfect for college essays. These topics offer a wide range of ideas, from personal experiences to cultural impacts, inviting you to explore the profound influence of sound. They are designed to inspire deep thought and passionate writing, helping you connect your academic skills with your love for melody.

• How Sound Influences Fashion Trends
• The Role of Melody in Different Cultures
• Personal Growth Through Learning a Musical Instrument
• The Evolution of a Specific Melody Genre
• The Impact of Songs Streaming Services on Artists
• Music as a Form of Social Protest
• The Psychological Effects of Melody on the Human Mind
• The Importance of Songs Education in Schools
• The Relationship Between Melody and Memory
• How Technology Has Changed the Way We Experience Music
• The Representation of Women in Music
• Music’s Role in Personal Identity
• The Influence of Melody on Mood and Behavior
• The Resurgence of Vinyl Records in the Digital Age
• The Globalization of Music and Its Effects
• The Economic Impact of the Songs Industry
• Melody as a Tool for International Diplomacy
• The Ethics of Music Sampling and Remixing
• The Role of Melody in Film and Media
• The Future of Live Music Performances

Controversial Topics in Music

Embark on a journey through the provocative and often debated realms of music with these 20 topics on controversial topics in music. These topics are designed to stir thought and conversation, challenging you to explore the music world’s more contentious and complex aspects. From ethical dilemmas to cultural controversies, these subjects offer diverse perspectives for deep exploration and spirited discussion.

• The Impact of Song Piracy on the Industry
• Censorship in Songs and Its Effects on Artistic Freedom
• The Portrayal of Women in Popular Song Videos
• The Commercialization of Indie Melody Genres
• The Role of Auto-Tune in Modern Music
• Melody as a Tool for Political Propaganda
• The Influence of Corporate Sponsors in Melody Festivals
• The Ethical Considerations of Posthumous Melody Releases
• Cultural Appropriation in the Song Industry
• The Decline of Traditional Songs Forms
• The Relationship Between Melody and Substance Abuse
• The Effect of Digital Streaming on Melody Quality
• The Representation of Minority Groups in Mainstream Music
• The Debate Over Explicit Lyrics and Parental Advisory Labels
• The Rise of AI in Songs Creation
• The Impact of Reality Song Shows on the Industry
• The Role of Gender in Melody Award Nominations
• Melody and Its Influence on Youth Behavior
• The Sustainability of the Music Tour Industry
• The Shift in Melody Consumption From Albums to Singles

Classical Music Essay Topics

Go on an enlightening journey through the world of melodies and harmonies with these 20 music topics to research, perfect for crafting compelling college essays. These topics delve into music’s vast and varied dimensions, from its historical roots to its modern-day impact. They are designed to ignite your curiosity and inspire in-depth exploration, blending academic rigor with a passion for music.

• The Evolution of Melody Through the Decades
• The Influence of Classical Song on Modern Genres
• The Psychological Effects of Melody Therapy
• The Role of Women Composers in Song History
• The Impact of Social Media on Emerging Musicians
• The Significance of Folk Song in Cultural Heritage
• The Development of Electronic Melody and Its Future
• Melody Censorship and Its Implications for Artistic Expression
• The Role of Song in Film and Storytelling
• The Globalization of Songs Genres and Styles
• The Relationship Between Music and Fashion Trends
• The History of Rock Melody and Its Cultural Impact
• The Use of Songs in Advertising and Consumer Behavior
• The Effects of Song Streaming on the Melody Industry
• The Intersection of Melody and Political Movements
• The Role of Songs in Shaping Youth Culture
• The Cultural Significance of Melody Festivals Worldwide
• The Preservation and Revival of Indigenous Music
• The Impact of Technology on Songs Production and Distribution
• The Contribution of Music to Mental Health and Wellbeing

Jazz Music Essay Topics

Step into the soulful and vibrant jazz world with these music topics for essays. Jazz, a genre rich in history and innovation, offers a treasure trove of fascinating themes for exploration. These essay topics will guide you through jazz’s intricate rhythms and stories, from its early beginnings to its modern interpretations. Delve into this mesmerizing music style’s legendary artists, iconic performances, and cultural impacts.

• The Origins of Jazz and Its Early Influences
• The Evolution of Jazz Through the 20th Century
• Key Figures in the Development of Jazz Music
• The Role of Improvisation in Jazz
• The Influence of Jazz on Other Melody Genres
• The Cultural Significance of Jazz in the Harlem Renaissance
• The Globalization of Jazz Melody
• The Impact of Technology on Jazz Recording and Production
• The Fusion of Jazz With Other Musical Styles
• Jazz as a Form of Social and Political Expression
• The Portrayal of Jazz in Cinema and Literature
• The Future of Jazz in the Digital Age
• The Role of Jazz in Education and Music Therapy
• Women in Jazz: Contributions and Challenges
• The Jazz Scene in Different Parts of the World
• The Preservation of Classic Jazz in Modern Times
• The Influence of Jazz on Fashion and Lifestyle
• Jazz Clubs and Their Role in Cultural Development
• The Impact of Jazz Festivals on Local Communities
• The Relationship Between Jazz and Modern Dance Forms

Rock and Pop Music Essay Topics

Rock and pop music, with its pulsing rhythms and catchy melodies, have captivated audiences for decades. This collection of 20 unique essay topics explores the depth and diversity of these influential genres. From the electric energy of rock to the widespread appeal of pop, these topics invite you to delve into the history, evolution, and cultural significance of these dynamic music styles. Whether examining iconic artists, groundbreaking albums, or the social impact of these genres, each topic offers a fascinating avenue for exploration and discussion in your essays.

• The Evolution of Rock Songs From the 1950s to Today
• The Influence of Pop Melody on Global Culture
• The Role of Songs Videos in Shaping Rock and Pop
• The Impact of Digital Streaming on the Rock and Pop Industry
• The Significance of the Beatles in Music History
• The Rise and Fall of Glam Rock
• The Role of Women in the Development of Pop Music
• The Influence of Rock Melody on Fashion Trends
• The Changing Face of Pop Songs in the 21st Century
• The Impact of Social Media on Rock and Pop Musicians
• The Fusion of Rock With Other Melody Genres
• The Role of Rock and Pop Music in Political Movements
• The Evolution of Live Performances in Rock and Pop
• The Significance of the Grammy Awards in Rock and Pop
• The Depiction of Rock and Pop Songs in Movies
• The Influence of Technology on the Production of Rock and Pop Music
• The Cultural Diversity in the Rock and Pop Melody Scenes
• The Role of Indie Labels in the Rock and Pop Industry
• The Impact of Fan Culture on Rock and Pop Song
• The Sustainability of Rock and Pop Songs in the Streaming Era

Persuasive Essay Topics about Music

Take a trip through melody and argument with these 20 music-related persuasive essay topics. Each topic, chosen for its ability to inspire compelling arguments and deep research, falls under the umbrella of musical topics for research papers. These prompts will challenge you to explore various facets of music, from cultural significance to technological impacts. As you delve into these topics, you’ll be encouraged to form strong opinions and support them with well-researched evidence, making your essays informative and persuasive.

• The Necessity of Melody Education in Schools for Overall Development
• The Impact of Classical Songs on Cognitive Abilities
• Song Streaming Services and Their Effect on the Industry
• The Role of Melody in Maintaining Mental Health
• Songs as a Universal Language Bridging Cultural Divides
• The Importance of Preserving Traditional Melody Forms
• Music’s Influence on Fashion and Lifestyle
• The Ethical Implications of Auto-Tune in Song Production
• The Role of Social Media in the Success of New Artists
• The Power of Songs in Social and Political Activism
• The Benefits of Attending Live Music Performances
• Songs as a Tool for Improving Concentration and Productivity
• The Evolution of Melody Genres and Its Cultural Impact
• The Effects of Background Song in Public Spaces
• The Role of Songs in Advertising Effectiveness
• Music’s Influence on Youth and Teen Development
• The Relationship Between Melody and Emotional Intelligence
• The Future of Virtual Reality Concerts in the Melody Industry
• The Impact of Songs Piracy on Artists and Producers
• The Role of Melody in Enhancing Cross-Cultural Communication

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Music: Developing Topics & Research Questions

• About this Guide
• Researching Musicians
• Developing Topics & Research Questions
• Evaluating Information
• Finding Streaming Videos
• Citing Sources
• Getting Research Help

Developing a Research Question Takes Research

When the scope of your paper is too big, it's hard to dig through information and to write a paper wit any depth. The goal of most research papers in college is to seek a possible answer to a particular questions related to a topic. A research question, when not too broad or too narrow, helps guide and focus your paper.

The question should also be one in which you haven't decided on a pre-determined answer. You may find that looking for sources that provide a certain answer may be too limiting. The answer you are expecting might not be supported by evidence.

Brainstorm & do some pre-research

The research question isn't a question you make up at the top of your head. It's normal to start with a broad topic in mind. After doing some brainstorming about a topic, you will need to do some reading to find an angle to pursue, and, even then, your question may change as you find more information later.

Ask questions

From your pre-research, think about questions you might be able to ask regarding the topic. Most scholarly research examines fairly narrow topics and looks at relationships between concepts. One way to limit the scope of your topic is to ask who, what, where, when, why, and how questions.

Be flexible

It's okay to continue to tweak your question; the end result should be that you have answered the question you've laid out in the introduction, even if the introduction is the last paragraph you actually end up revising in your final paper.

Picking Your Topic IS Research

North Carolina State University (NCSU) Libraries, 3:10

OER Book Chapters

• The Qualities of a Good Research Question from LibreTexts
• Research Questions from Choosing & Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research, Teaching & Learning, Ohio State University Libraries

Research is a Process

Anna Eisen (2:35)

Encourages students to develop background knowledge to create a research question.  Research questions should have topic, question and significance.  The narrator suggests using the following formulation:  I’m studying  _______________ to investigate ______________ in order to understand. Complex research questions take time to create.

Keeping your research question in mind, if you can answer TRUE to the statements below, your research question is probably workable.

• It cannot simply be answered with a yes/no. 
• It has social significance/a problem associated with it.
• There is reliable evidence available to address it.
• It has appropriate scope.

Be careful about investigating questions that you think you already have the answer to.

Choosing a Manageable Research Topic

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Editorial: The Impact of Music on Human Development and Well-Being

Graham f. welch.

1 Department of Culture, Communication and Media, University College London, London, United Kingdom

Michele Biasutti

2 Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

Jennifer MacRitchie

3 School of Humanities and Communication Arts, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia

Gary E. McPherson

4 Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Evangelos Himonides

Music is one of the most universal ways of expression and communication for humankind and is present in the everyday lives of people of all ages and from all cultures around the world (Mehr et al., 2019 ). Hence, it seems more appropriate to talk about musics (plural) rather than in the singular (Goble, 2015 ). Furthermore, research by anthropologists as well as ethnomusicologists suggests that music has been a characteristic of the human condition for millennia (cf. Blacking, 1976 ; Brown, 1999 ; Mithen, 2005 ; Dissanayake, 2012 ; Higham et al., 2012 ; Cross, 2016 ). Nevertheless, whilst the potential for musical behavior is a characteristic of all human beings, its realization is shaped by the environment and the experiences of individuals, often within groups (North and Hargreaves, 2008 ; Welch and McPherson, 2018 ). Listening to music, singing, playing (informally, formally), creating (exploring, composing, improvising), whether individually and collectively, are common activities for the vast majority of people. Music represents an enjoyable activity in and of itself, but its influence goes beyond simple amusement.

These activities not only allow the expression of personal inner states and feelings, but also can bring about many positive effects in those who engage in them. There is an increasing body of empirical and experimental studies concerning the wider benefits of musical activity, and research in the sciences associated with music suggests that there are many dimensions of human life—including physical, social, educational, psychological (cognitive and emotional)—which can be affected positively by successful engagement in music (Biasutti and Concina, 2013 ). Learning in and through music is something that can happen formally (such as part of structured lessons in school), as well as in other-than-formal situations, such as in the home with family and friends, often non-sequentially and not necessarily intentional, and where participation in music learning is voluntary, rather than mandated, such as in a community setting (cf. Green, 2002 ; Folkestad, 2006 ; Saether, 2016 ; Welch and McPherson, 2018 ).

Such benefits are evidenced across the lifespan, including early childhood (Gerry et al., 2012 ; Williams et al., 2015 ; Linnavalli et al., 2018 ), adolescence (McFerran et al., 2018 ), and older adulthood (Lindblad and de Boise, 2020 ). Within these lifespan perspectives, research into music's contribution to health and well-being provides evidence of physical and psychological impacts (MacDonald et al., 2013 ; Fancourt and Finn, 2019 ; van den Elzen et al., 2019 ). Benefits are also reported in terms of young people's educational outcomes (Guhn et al., 2019 ), and successful musical activity can enhance an individual's sense of social inclusion (Welch et al., 2014 ) and social cohesion (Elvers et al., 2017 ).

This special issue provides a collection of 21, new research articles that deepen and develop our understanding of the ways and means that music can impact positively on human development and well-being. The collection draws on the work of 88 researchers from 17 different countries across the world, with each article offering an illustration of how music can relate to other important aspects of human functioning. In addition, the articles collectively illustrate a wide range of contemporary research approaches. These provide evidence of how different research aims concerning the wider benefits of music require sensitive and appropriate methodologies.

In terms of childhood and adolescence, for example, Putkinen et al. demonstrate how musical training is likely to foster enhanced sound encoding in 9 to 15-year-olds and thus be related to reading skills. A separate Finnish study by Saarikallio et al. provides evidence of how musical listening influences adolescents' perceived sense of agency and emotional well-being, whilst demonstrating how this impact is particularly nuanced by context and individuality. Aspects of mental health are the focus for an Australian study by Stewart et al. of young people with tendencies to depression. The article explores how, despite existing literature on the positive use of music for mood regulation, music listening can be double-edged and could actually sustain or intensify a negative mood.

A Portuguese study by Martins et al. shifts the center of attention from mental to physical benefits in their study of how learning music can support children's coordination. They provide empirical data on how a sustained, 24-week programme of Orff-based music education, which included the playing of simple tuned percussion instruments, significantly enhanced the manual dexterity and bimanual coordination in participant 8-year-olds compared to their active control (sports) and passive control peers. A related study by Loui et al. in the USA offers insights into the neurological impact of sustained musical instrument practice. Eight-year-old children who play one or more musical instruments for at least 0.5 h per week had higher scores on verbal ability and intellectual ability, and these correlated with greater measurable connections between particular regions of the brain related to both auditory-motor and bi-hemispheric connectivity.

Younger, pre-school children can also benefit from musical activities, with associations being reported between informal musical experiences in the home and specific aspects of language development. A UK-led study by Politimou et al. found that rhythm perception and production were the best predictors of young children's phonological awareness, whilst melody perception was the best predictor of grammar acquisition, a novel association not previously observed in developmental research. In another pre-school study, Barrett et al. explored the beliefs and values held by Australian early childhood and care practitioners concerning the value of music in young children's learning. Despite having limited formal qualifications and experience of personal music learning, practitioners tended overall to have positive attitudes to music, although this was biased toward music as a recreational and fun activity, with limited support for the notion of how music might be used to support wider aspects of children's learning and development.

Engaging in music to support a positive sense of personal agency is an integral feature of several articles in the collection. In addition to the Saarikallio team's research mentioned above, Moors et al. provide a novel example of how engaging in collective beatboxing can be life-enhancing for throat cancer patients in the UK who have undergone laryngectomy, both in terms of supporting their voice rehabilitation and alaryngeal phonation, as well as patients' sense of social inclusion and emotional well-being.

One potential reason for these positive findings is examined in an Australian study by Krause et al. . They apply the lens of self-determination theory to examine musical participation and well-being in a large group of 17 to 85-year-olds. Respondents to an online questionnaire signaled the importance of active music making in their lives in meeting three basic psychological needs embracing a sense of competency, relatedness and autonomy.

The use of public performance in music therapy is the subject of a US study by Vaudreuil et al. concerning the social transformation and reintegration of US military service members. Two example case studies are reported of service members who received music therapy as part of their treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and other psychological health concerns. The participants wrote, learned, and refined songs over multiple music therapy sessions and created song introductions to share with audiences. Subsequent interviews provide positive evidence of the beneficial psychological effects of this programme of audience-focused musical activity.

Relatedly, McFerran et al. in Australia examined the ways in which music and trauma have been reported in selected music therapy literature from the past 10 years. The team's critical interpretive synthesis of 36 related articles led them to identify four different ways in which music has been used beneficially to support those who have experienced trauma. These approaches embrace the use of music for stabilizing (the modulation of physiological processes) and entrainment (the synchronization of music and movement), as well as for expressive and performative purposes—the fostering of emotional and social well-being.

The therapeutic potential of music is also explored in a detailed case study by Fachner et al. . Their research focuses on the nature of critical moments in a guided imagery and music session between a music therapist and a client, and evidences how these moments relate to underlying neurological function in the mechanics of music therapy.

At the other end of the age span, and also related to therapy, an Australian study by Brancatisano et al. reports on a new Music, Mind, and Movement programme for people in their eighties with mild to moderate dementia. Participants involved in the programme tended to show an improvement in aspects of cognition, particularly verbal fluency and attention. Similarly, Wilson and MacDonald report on a 10-week group music programme for young Scottish adults with learning difficulties. The research data suggest that participants enjoyed the programme and tended to sustain participation, with benefits evidenced in increased social engagement, interaction and communication.

The role of technology in facilitating access to music and supporting a sense of agency in older people is the focus for a major literature review by Creech , now based in Canada. Although this is a relatively under-researched field, the available evidence suggests that that older people, even those with complex needs, are capable of engaging with and using technology in a variety of ways that support their musical perception, learning and participation and wider quality of life.

Related to the particular needs of the young, children's general behavior can also improve through music, as exampled in an innovative, school-based, intensive 3-month orchestral programme in Italy with 8 to 10-year-olds. Fasano et al. report that the programme was particularly beneficial in reducing hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity, whilst enhancing inhibitory control. These benefits are in line with research findings concerning successful music education with specific cases of young people with ADHD whose behavior is characterized by these same disruptive symptoms (hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity).

Extra-musical benefits are also reported in a study of college students (Bachelors and Masters) and amateur musicians in a joint Swiss-UK study. Antonini Philippe et al. suggest that, whilst music making can offer some health protective effects, there is a need for greater health awareness and promotion among advanced music students. Compared to the amateur musicians, the college music students evaluated their overall quality of life and general and physical health more negatively, as did females in terms of their psychological health. Somewhat paradoxically, the college students who had taken part in judged performances reported higher psychological health ratings. This may have been because this sub-group were slightly older and more experienced musicians.

Music appears to be a common accompaniment to exercise, whether in the gym, park or street. Nikol et al. in South East Asia explore the potential physical benefits of synchronous exercise to music, especially in hot and humid conditions. Their randomized cross-over study (2019) reports that “time-to-exhaustion” under the synchronous music condition was 2/3 longer compared to the no-music condition for the same participants. In addition, perceived exertion was significantly lower, by an average of 22% during the synchronous condition.

Comparisons between music and sport are often evidenced in the body of existing Frontiers research literature related to performance and group behaviors. Our new collection contains a contribution to this literature in a study by Habe et al. . The authors investigated elite musicians and top athletes in Slovenia in terms of their perceptions of flow in performance and satisfaction with life. The questionnaire data analyses suggest that the experience of flow appears to influence satisfaction with life in these high-functioning individuals, albeit with some variations related to discipline, participant sex and whether considering team or individual performance.

A more formal link between music and movement is the focus of an exploratory case study by Cirelli and Trehub . They investigated a 19-month-old infant's dance-like, motorically-complex responses to familiar and unfamiliar songs, presented at different speeds. Movements were faster for the more familiar items at their original tempo. The child had been observed previously as moving to music at the age of 6 months.

Finally, a novel UK-based study by Waddington-Jones et al. evaluated the impact of two professional composers who were tasked, individually, to lead a 4-month programme of group composing in two separate and diverse community settings—one with a choral group and the other in a residential home, both funded as part of a music programme for the Hull City of Culture in 2017. In addition to the two composers, the participants were older adults, with the residential group being joined by schoolchildren from a local Primary school to collaborate in a final performance. Qualitative data analyses provide evidence of multi-dimensional psychological benefits arising from the successful, group-focused music-making activities.

In summary, these studies demonstrate that engaging in musical activity can have a positive impact on health and well-being in a variety of ways and in a diverse range of contexts across the lifespan. Musical activities, whether focused on listening, being creative or re-creative, individual or collective, are infused with the potential to be therapeutic, developmental, enriching, and educational, with the caveat provided that such musical experiences are perceived to be engaging, meaningful and successful by those who participate.

Collectively, these studies also celebrate the multiplicity of ways in which music can be experienced. Reading across the articles might raise a question as to whether or not any particular type of musical experience is seen to be more beneficial compared with another. The answer, at least in part, is that the empirical evidence suggests that musical engagement comes in myriad forms along a continuum of more or less overt activity, embracing learning, performing, composing and improvising, as well as listening and appreciating. Furthermore, given the multidimensional neurological processing of musical experience, it seems reasonable to hypothesize that it is perhaps the level of emotional engagement in the activity that drives its degree of health and well-being efficacy as much as the activity's overt musical features. And therein are opportunities for further research!

Author Contributions

The editorial was drafted by GW and approved by the topic Co-editors. All authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the Edited Collection, and have approved this editorial for publication.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to all the contributing authors and their participants for their positive engagement with this Frontiers Research Topic, and also for the Frontiers staff for their commitment and support in bringing this topic to press.

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15 Fun Music Topics to Research Ideas for Your Music Appreciation Class

Finding music topics to research that your music appreciation class will love can be a challenge at times. Fortunately, there are plenty of exciting and interesting music topics to research and explore when it comes to music appreciation. This blog post is jam-packed with fun music topics and ideas that make great projects and assessments for your music class.

Most music topics to research fall under the following broader categories –

• Musician of Composer Biography

Music History

Music theory, music genres, music of a culture, stylistic features of a genre, elements of music analysis.

History of Musical Instruments

Types of Music Ensembles

• Instruments of a Culture

Musical Techniques for Performance

Musical techniques for composing, music festivals, music and technology, music for the stage.

Read on to find out more details for each of these categories for music topics to research, but if you are looking for some more ways to spice up your own music curriculum, then why not grab yourself a FREE copy of the 5 Ways to Makeover Your Music Curriculum. Click here to find out more.

Musician or Composer Biography

One of the easiest and most used music topics to research in the music classroom is the biography of a famous composer throughout history. This type of music research topic can be done on any number of composers throughout history – from Beethoven to Mozart to Bach. Some of the most influential composers in history have left an indelible mark on music as we know it today. Your music students can explore the works of several famous composers from different eras and consider what made them unique and revolutionary for their time period.

If you are looking to use this type of music topic to research with your classes, there are several Bundles available in my TPT store. Use the link here to check them out – all the hard work has been done for you. All you need to do is choose a composer, which pages you want to complete, and you are ready to go! This type of music topics to research make great music research assignments.

Music Composer Bundle

Female Composer Bundle

Although Music Theory is not required knowledge for all musicians out there, exploring musical theory will give your music students a deeper insight into why certain chords sound better than others or what makes a melody memorable! This music research topic could incorporate any type of music theory and some broad music theory research topics include:

• The History of Music Notation
• Different Ways that Rhythm is Notated and Counted around the World
• The Development of Music Scales
• Music Scales from Around the World
• Chord Progressions
• Musical Form of a particular style – Sonata, Symphony, Jazz, Pop, Program Music, etc…

Another commonly used music topic to research is Music History, and typically the History of European Music. Exploring different time periods of music is a great way to introduce students to the vast range of sounds and styles within the world of music. For this type of music assignment try giving each student a different musical era to research its history, development, notable artists, and influence on other time periods. This is also an effective way to get students comfortable with using various sources for research.

The different musical eras that you could use as a music topic to research are:

• Early Music to 1400
• Middle Ages
• Renaissance
• 20 th Century – 1900-2000
• Modern 2000-present

Using Music Genres as a music topic to research can be incredibly broad for students, especially if your study is on contemporary music! For this type of music research topic or assignment try taking a closer look at subgenres within those broader categories such as punk rock or rap/hip hop. You can have your music students research where these subgenres originated from as well as any artists who helped popularize them within their respective scenes.

There are a couple of great websites that can help with this research. Be sure to check them out and try them with your classes. A word of warning – be prepared to go down the rabbit hole and lose a few hours of your time exploring these sites – they’re very interesting!!!!

• This site is a long list of different musical genres
• This site has links to music samples and playlists
• This is another long list of genres, it is a bit easier to navigate, but you do need to create an account
• This is another list site, but has lots of sub-genres and world music
• This one is my personal favorite! It has music samples all linked and mapped. You just click on a style and a music sample plays. This one would be best for comparing different styles of music
• This site has music mapped into a family tree – you can see where a style has it’s origins and influences
• This music map site has parts to click to get reading passages on each music genre. It would be great to use for researching.

Introducing students to different musical cultures from around the globe is one way to show them how versatile and varied music from different regions can sound. Researching individual instruments from each culture allows students to understand how instrumentation contributes to the genre-specific sounds as well as how it has evolved over time due to technological advancements or cultural influences from around the world.

A suggested list of music topics to research for different cultures is below:

• East Asia and Korea
• Eastern Europe
• Native American
• Philippines
• South America
• Southeast Asia
• Southwest and Central Asia
• Western Europe and Scandinavia

If you are wanting to incorporate these world music research topics into your music classes, try the Music in Cultures Around the World Bundle

Writing about music can be an interesting and creative task. With numerous music genres to draw from (see the list of websites above), there are a wealth of music topics to research and music topics for research papers that can provide a substantial focus for your music students. When exploring and researching the stylistic features of music genres, it’s beneficial to go beyond surface level observations. Your students should not only research the history and evolution of their chosen style, but also look at the artists and stylistic features that define the music genre. From the influence of other genres, instruments used, and the performers who have popularized certain sounds, researching the stylistic features of a genre provides an exciting opportunity for exploration.

Music analysis using the Elements of Music is an extremely important skill for music students to cultivate and perfect. This type of music research assignment that focuses on music analysis can give your music students a chance to research music topics and apply their knowledge of music theory and composition in order to write about music.

For this type of music research assignment, your music students can choose any piece of music, musician, composer or music style that they want to study. Once they have chosen their area of focus, they can use the Elements of Music to guide their analysis of the music selected for study. By focusing on how each of the Elements of Music are used, your music students will help to improve their listening skills, performance and composition skills as well as their critical thinking and writing skills.

For more information about the Elements of Music read this Blog Post.

If you would like a set of “done for you” music analysis and music appreciation assignments using the Elements of Music, use the link here to check out this best-selling resource!

Learning about the history of musical instruments can be a fascinating way to explore different cultures and eras. One effective way for music students to learn more about music is to complete an assignment on the history of a musical instrument. This type of music assignment requires students to research music instruments in depth and develop an extended piece of writing on their findings. Through such music topics for research papers, it is possible to gain a better understanding of the methods of sound production by each instrument as well as the many ways that music has shaped society throughout the years. Choosing a unique music instrument such as Japanese drums or stringed instruments from around the world, makes writing about music fun and interesting. When you assign each student a different music research topic, this gives each student the opportunity to explore something specific and meaningful within the larger world of culture and music.

To make it easier for you try these two different Instrument Study resources from my TPT store

Orchestra Instrument Music Worksheets

Music can often be a great topic to research and write about, especially music ensembles from around the world. Everything from traditional Chinese music to Bhangra music from India can be explored. Whether it’s the different instruments utilized in an Argentinean folk music ensemble, or the incredible rhythms found within Turkish music, anyone interested in writing about music will have a wealth of music research topics to explore. Even things that you may never have thought of like Candombe music from Uruguay or Soukous music from Congo can be investigated further and provide excellent context for a music research paper. By researching music ensembles from around the world, your music students can gain exceptional insights into cultural backgrounds as well as appreciate the variety of musical ensembles that exist across the world today.

• Other types of Music Ensembles to Research include:
• Small Ensembles – duets, trios, quartets, quintets
• Rock Ensembles – different genres from the power trio to a rock big band
• Jazz Music Ensembles – Jazz quartets, quintets to big bands
• Vocal Ensembles – duets, trios, barbershop quartet, a capella groups and choirs
• Classical Ensembles – string quartet, chamber orchestra to symphony orchestra
• World Music Ensembles – Taiko drumming, Gamelan, Chinese Orchestra to different Folk Groups

Musical Instruments of a Culture

Music and instruments from cultures around the world are an intriguing and fascinating field of study. From ancient music that has been passed down through generations to music created in today’s modern era, there is no shortage of music topics for research and writing about music. Your music students can explore the instruments used for various music styles and genres ranging from traditional Indian classical music to reggae music in Jamaica. Studying the use of these instruments, how they are made, and the methods of sound production can provide an understanding of how different cultures view music and its importance within their society. It is also an opportunity to discover a range of sounds, techniques, and instrumentation collected from other countries and regions. Delving into music topics like these opens a unique way to appreciate artists from around the world by examining their use of traditional instruments to express their ideas, stories, cultures, beliefs, emotions, and experiences.

Try the World Instrument Music Worksheets to help you study Instruments of a Culture with your music classes.

Different musical instruments require different performance techniques and practice methods to develop a music student’s proficiency on their instrument. Researching music topics about their own instrument is therefore key to developing a well-rounded music knowledge and building a variety of musical performance skills that your music students can draw on to use in their own performances. When researching the performance techniques on an instrument, it is important to consider the various musical elements that factor into music-making for that instrument such as the different ways to make a sound unique. Additionally, looking at different music cultures that have similar instruments can provide perspective on the essential elements of music-making for any instrument. By researching these music topics and exploring music from diverse cultures, music genres and styles, young musicians can broaden their knowledge and refine their performance techniques.

For those interested in exploring music composition techniques for songwriting, there are a plethora of music topics to research. Experimentation with chord progressions, sound selection and structure can all lead to finding creative ways of writing music. From analyzing music theory and learning more about the basics of music notation to creating unique rhythms and melodies, there might be boundless music topics for research papers that require study and practice.

Your students could choose to study the compositional techniques used within a certain style or genre, or even study more closely about a composer. There are plenty of songs to observe in order to further understand how music works, no matter what area of study the student has chosen. Writing about music involves learning these elements as well as charting any personal progress over time to move closer to using these compositional techniques in their own songwriting.

A music topic to research that is a little bit unusual would be to research music festivals. Music festivals have a long and varied history. From ancient music festivals that celebrated a variety of religious and cultural events, such as the Dionysius Festival in Athens, music festivals are still vital to many cultures around the world. Music festivals have grown exponentially since then and even today they continue to fascinate people globally.

Today, music festivals can range from traditional, classical music performances in concert halls all the way to modern music performances with huge stages and pyrotechnics at large outdoor concerts drawing tens of thousands of fans. Those looking to research this topic of music have a wealth of options. From legendary music composers or artists, music industry trends and the economic benefits, to exploring how music is used as a tool for activism, research on music festivals can be incredibly rewarding for any music student to study.

The history of music technology has been a fascinating area of music research throughout the years. By exploring music topics related to music technology, your music students can learn more about the music we love and how it came to be. Writing about music technology can take several approaches; from a technical breakdown of specific instruments to an exploration of its roots in social movements, there are music topics for research on music technology spanning almost any interest. Investigating music technology and its influence on music as an artform and the history can open new perspectives into how music is created, performed, and enjoyed today.

Some music technology research topics include:

• History of Recording
• History of the Microphone
• History of Electronic Instruments
• History of Amplification
• Or even try a music research topic explaining “How does a …. Work”?

Writing about and researching music can be a daunting task, especially when it comes to music for the stage. Depending on the specific topic your student chooses to research, music for theatre plays or musicals could range from orchestral and classical music pieces, to jazz and rock ensembles. In some cases, music for the stage could even be used as accompaniment for spoken words, stories or even dance. Regardless of what type of music is chosen to study, researching music topics about music for the stage allows your music students to further explore genres and understand how music is used in a theatrical context. By studying different types of music from various time periods and regions, your student’s music research paper will become more well-rounded and engaging.

Some Music for the Stage topics include:

• Musical Theatre
• Contemporary Dance

These 15 music research topics provide plenty of ideas for creating engaging lessons, research projects, and assignments that focus on both fundamental aspects of musical theory while still allowing room for creativity within each topic itself! Letting your students explore these music topics independently gives them access to invaluable information regarding various aspects related to making and enjoying great music regardless of its musical origin. So why not try one of these 15 fun music research topics with your music classes this year. By using some of these fun music research topics with your classes, you might find teaching music this way will help to ensure your class stays engaged while expanding their understanding of music appreciation!

Until next time

Happy Teaching

Julia from Jooya

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• UNC Libraries
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Creative Music Research in Special Collections: Creative Research Opportunities

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Creative Music Research Opportunities at UNC

Other creative music research opportunities.

• Creative Music Research Examples and Methodologies
• Incubator Awards "The Incubator Awards provide financial and research support for students using historical and rare library materials at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill towards projects in the arts. Students are encouraged to follow their curiosity and use archival and special collections items as source material and/or inspiration; projects do not need to rely exclusively on materials in our collections. Recipients will receive a small stipend, instruction in special collections research practices, and support from library staff as they conduct their artistic research. The Incubator Awards aim to foster engagement with UNC’s rich cultural and historical resources and encourage students to pursue new directions, topics, or methods in their work and creative process."
• Visiting Research Fellowship "The Visiting Researcher Fellowships provide short-term research fellowships to support intensive, innovative, and impactful research and artistic use of its collections. This fellowship was previously known as the Summer Visiting Research Fellowship."
• American Folklife Center Artist in Resonance Fellowship "The American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress is pleased to invite applications for Artists in Resonance Fellowships at the AFC to support artists in creating new musical works inspired by and sourced from collection materials in the American Folklife Center Archives."
• Berea College Media Archives Fellowship "The 2024 Media Archives Fellowship is an outreach program of the Special Collections and Archives (SCA) department of Hutchins Library at Berea College. The program is designed to increase the scholarly use of SCA’s non-commercial audio and video collections."
• Institute of Jazz Studies Fellowship "The Institute of Jazz Studies’ (IJS) Berger –Carter – Berger Research Fellowship provides awards of up to $1,000 for travel and accommodation in conjunction with research conducted at the IJS. The research funds are designed to foster, promote, and support research by scholars using IJS collections. To date, over 80 awards have been given to scholars and students worldwide working in a variety of disciplines that intersect at the Institute’s archival and library holdings."
• Music Library Association Dena Epstein Award "The Dena Epstein Award for Archival and Library Research in American Music was created through a generous endowment from Morton and Dena Epstein to the Music Library Association in 1995. Grants are awarded to support research in archives or libraries internationally on any aspect of American music. There are no restrictions as to an applicant's age, nationality, profession, or institutional affiliation. All proposals are reviewed entirely on the basis of merit. The decision by the Dena Epstein Award Committee and the Board of Directors of the Music Library Association is announced at the MLA annual meeting. Calls for applications are issued in the spring."
• Nasir Jones Hip Hop Fellowship "The Nasir Jones Hiphop Fellowship is the first academic fellowship named after a hiphop artist. It is intended for both scholars and artists who demonstrate exceptional capacity for increased scholarship and exceptional creative ability in the arts in connection with hiphop. Fellows are challenged to develop work and art, to paraphrase Nas, that “speaks through American youth rather than speaks about and to them.”
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Impact of background music on reading comprehension: influence of lyrics language and study habits.

• 1 Department of Applied Psychology, College of Sports and Health, Shandong Sport University, Jinan, China
• 2 School of Physical Education, Shandong University, Jinan, China
• 3 Department of Insurance, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan, China
• 4 School of Psychology, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, China
• 5 Zizhong Middle School, Linqing, China
• 6 College of Physical Education and Health, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, China

Numerous studies have explored the effects of background music on reading comprehension, however, little is known about how native language (L1) lyrics and second language (L2) lyrics in background music influence reading comprehension performance for college students. The present study used a mixed experimental design to examine the effects of listening habits (between-participants variable: non-listeners or listeners), music type (between-participants variable: L1 (Mandarin) pop music, L2 (English) pop music or no music) and text language (within-participants variable: L1 or L2) on reading comprehension of college students in East China. A total of 90 participants (50 females) were screened into non- listeners ( n  = 45) and listeners ( n  = 45), and then were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Mandarin pop music group ( n = 30), English pop music group ( n  = 30) and no music group ( n  = 30). The results showed that reading comprehension performance was negatively affected by music with lyrics compared to the no music condition. Furthermore, Chinese/English reading comprehension was reduced more by pop music in the same language as the written texts. As expected, non-listeners were more negatively affected by music with lyrics than listeners. For both listeners and non-listeners, average reading comprehension accuracy rates were the lowest in the condition of music with native language lyrics. Overall, our research findings indicate that listening to pop music with lyrics reduces reading comprehension performance. However, listening to background music cause much less distraction if the students commonly listen to music while reading. The current study supports the duplex-mechanism account of auditory distraction.

1 Introduction

Listening to music while studying is a common and popular trend for college students. Calderwood et al. (2014) found that 59% of the college students chose to listen to music during a 3-h study session, with 21% listening for more than 90% of the time. Although several studies have demonstrated positive effects of background instrumental music on reading comprehension ( Carlson et al., 2004 ; Khaghaninejad et al., 2016 ) and second language learning ( Kang and Williamson, 2012 ), irrelevant sound from vocal music may cause auditory distraction from the task at hand ( Martin et al., 1988 ; Furnham and Strbac, 2002 ; Perham and Currie, 2014 ; Zhang et al., 2018 ; Du et al., 2020 ). Efficient learning is extremely important for college students. However, high levels of auditory distraction will not only affect efficient learning, but also impair mental and physical function and cause irritation and headaches in schools ( Astolfi et al., 2019 ). Thus, it is important to explore the mechanisms that produce auditory distraction. According to the duplex-mechanism account of auditory distraction, the disruptive effect can be induced by interference-by-process or attentional capture ( Marsh et al., 2008 , 2009 ). To date, previous studies investigating the impact of music on reading comprehension have primarily focused on differences between instrumental and lyrical music (e.g., Erten et al., 2015 ), as well as the influence of differences in musical volume and speed (e.g., Thompson et al., 2012 ). Notably, these studies have not taken into consideration differences in participant preferences for listening to music while reading. In contrast, the present study investigated how differences in the lyrical language of the same song differentially influence reading comprehension based on reported music-listening habits. With the aim of testing the duplex-mechanism account of auditory distraction, our study explored the interactive effects of native language (L1) lyrics and second language (L2) lyrics in music on reading comprehension performance in L1 and L2 for listeners and non-listeners by using a 3-factor mixed experimental design.

1.1 A duplex-mechanism account of auditory distraction

According to the duplex-mechanism account of auditory distraction, there are two functionally different types of auditory distraction. Interference-by-process occurs when a similar process used consciously to complete a focal task competes with the involuntary processing of sound. On the other hand, regardless of the task processes involved, attentional capture occurs when the sound triggers a disengagement of attention from the dominant task ( Hughes, 2014 ). For example, semantic speech (e.g., “orange, banana, strawberry”) can cause distraction effects on semantic-based cognitive tasks (e.g., free recall of visually presented words “apple, mango, pear”) ( Marsh et al., 2008 ). According to the interference-by-process theory, semantically similar speech automatically spreads activation through a long-term semantic network, interfering with the similar process of navigating such networks to retrieve information for the focal task ( Marsh and Jones, 2010 ; Hughes, 2014 ). Interference-by-process explains the semantic distraction effects. Attentional capture falls into two categories: When a sound’s unique content (such as one’s name or one’s native language) gives it the ability to deflect attention, a specific attentional capture takes place. In contrast, when an occurrence draws attention despite having nothing inherently attention-grabbing about it, but rather because of the context in which it takes place, nonspecific attentional capture is created ( Eimer et al., 1996 ). For example, a sound “B” in “CCCCCBCC” or a sound “C” in “BBBBBCBB.” Our study focused on interference-by-process and a specific attentional capture.

1.2 The impact of background music on reading comprehension

Reading comprehension, an important and necessary skill for effective academic learning in college, refers to the active process by which individuals understand and construct the meaning of texts based on prior knowledge and experience ( Perfetti et al., 2005 ). Kämpfe et al. (2010) claimed that reading might be more disturbed by vocal music than by instrumental music ( Kämpfe et al., 2010 ). The duplex-mechanism account of auditory distraction has been supported by research evidence demonstrating the disruptive effects of background speech on various memory tasks such as serial short-term memory tasks. However, little is known about supporting evidence from the distraction effects of L1/L2 lyrics on L1/L2 reading comprehension among listeners and non-listeners. According to the simple view of reading model, reading comprehension consists of only two parts, word recognition and language comprehension, and both parts are necessary for reading success ( Hoover and Gough, 1990 ). For college students, mature readers whose word recognition has attained to a level of automation, language comprehension plays the more important role in reading comprehension. Lyrics in music contain semantic information, which will interfere with language comprehension ( Martin et al., 1988 ; Oswald et al., 2000 ). Thus, we expect that lyrics will induce semantic distraction effects on reading comprehension performance. Our first hypothesis was that the accuracy rates in music conditions would be significantly lower than the accuracy rates with no music for college students (H1).

The impact of background music on reading comprehension is generally contingent on multiple factors such as music types (instrumental or lyric music with various tempos, intensity, familiarity) ( Banbury et al., 2001 ; Hallam and Mac Donald, 2009 ). In addition to music types, previous studies have confirmed that the effects of music on reading comprehension can be significantly different in various levels of individual diversity (e.g., personality and music preferences) or difficulty of the reading comprehension task ( Kiger, 1989 ; Kallinen, 2002 ; Anderson and Fuller, 2010 ). For example, Anderson and Fuller (2010) suggested that disruptive effects of background lyrical music on reading comprehension was more pronounced for 7th- and 8th-grade students exhibiting a stronger preference for the lyrical music, compared with their performance in a quiet environment. Our experimental work focused on identifying interactive effects of music (pop music with L1/L2 lyrics), individual habits (e.g., listening to music in daily study) and tasks (L1/L2 written texts), which helps test whether interference-by-process and a specific attentional capture occurs.

First, pop music is the preferred music genre for most college students ( Etaugh and Michals, 1975 ; Wang and Wang, 2015 ). For example, Wang and Wang (2015) surveyed 3,688 Chinese college students in Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Shanghai, Henan and Jiangxi regions of Mainland China, and found that: (1) the proportion of college students who liked pop music was as high as 65.05%; (2) 35.23% college students chose “love” as their favorite pop music theme comparing with themes “nostalgic” 33.21%, “witty/humorous” 14.27%, “alternative” 9.49%,“other” 15.73%; (3) 47.85% college student’ favorite singers are from “Hong Kong and Taiwan.” Thus, we choose a masterpiece of classic Mandarin pop music “The Goodbye Kiss” (sung by Jacky Cheung) as the music. Although the song was released in 1993, from its release to 2020, there have been covers of the song by well-known singers almost every year. Specially, this song was covered by Michael Learns to Rock (MLTR) in 2004, and the English version of this song “Take me to your heart” became a classic of international music. Comparing the lyrics of the two songs, the Mandarin lyrics of “The Goodbye Kiss” have a total of 52 sentences, and the whole song is divided into two subsections. The shortest sentence in Mandarin lyrics has a total of five Chinese words, and the longest sentence has 19 words; the English lyrics reproduce the characteristics of the original Chinese sentence well in terms of sentence length and neatness, the shortest sentence consists of four words, and the longest is only 10 words ( Wei, 2012 ). Thus, we chose the pop music with lyrics “The Goodbye Kiss” as our vocal music.

Second, Mandarin Chinese (L1) and English (L2) are the top 2 most spoken languages in the world, and belong to two different language families ( Ethnologue, n.d. ). Additionally, all Chinese students begin their English study in their third year of primary school or even earlier, and studying English is a key subject for the Chinese college entrance examination required for admission to the university. They will continue to study English to pass College English Test Band 4/6 (CET- 4/6, essential English exams for Chinese college students) in college, and have considerable exposure to English music. English is the most important and widely studied second language for most Chinese college students. Hence, we chose Chinse college students from Mainland China who learn English as a second language for the experiment. Based on the duplex-mechanism account of auditory distraction, when a similar process is used purposefully to accomplish a focal cognitive task and the involuntary processing of sound competes with it, interference-by-process occurs ( Hughes, 2014 ). In our experiment, interference-by-process is produced when lyrics are presented to college students who are deliberately completing a focal reading comprehension task, especially when the lyrics language is the same as the text language in the reading comprehension tasks. That is, the semantic activation of lyrics competes with the semantic access of reading comprehension tasks with the same language as lyrics. Thus, our hypothesis is that Chinese/English reading comprehension accuracy rates when listening to music in the same language would be significantly lower than that in different languages or no music (H2). To be specific, we hypothesized that Chinese reading comprehension accuracy rates when listening to music with Mandarin lyrics would be significantly lower than when listening to music with English lyrics, and English reading comprehension accuracy rates when listening to English music would be significantly lower than when listening to Mandarin music.

Third, students frequently report that listening to music while studying is useful ( Etaugh and Ptasnik, 1982 ), and these students are more likely to form the habit of listening to music in daily study. However, students without the habit instinctively think that music listening can provide a distraction that might affect reading comprehension. Individual differences in inhibitory control may exist between two groups. Inhibitory control refers to the ability to suppress an inappropriate reaction or disregard distracting or irrelevant information, and increased inhibitory control in students probably makes it easier for them to ignore distractions in their surroundings and concentrate on tasks inside and outside of the classroom ( Privitera et al., 2022b ). However, non-listeners do not develop the habit of listening to music while studying, probably because they have a low level of inhibitory control to concentrate on the focal tasks. Thus, we hypothesized that college students who typically did not report listening to music during study (non-listeners) would have lower reading comprehension accuracy rates than listeners when music was present (H3).

Based on the duplex-mechanism account of auditory distraction, regardless of the quality of target tasks (e.g., Chinese/English comprehension), auditory attentional capture happens whenever a sound produces a disengagement from tasks. Numerous sound varieties (e.g., one’s own name, or her own infant’s screams for a mother) have abilities to specifically captivate attention ( Hughes, 2014 ). Native language (Mandarin Chinese) is familiar and highly dominant, and may cause a specific attentional capture. We expect that both non-listeners and listeners may be more susceptible to auditory distraction when Mandarin music is present rather than English music. That is, in general, people’s ability to understand what they read was worse when they listened to music with native language compared to music in a second language or no music at all. Thus, for both non-listeners and listeners, we hypothesized that average reading comprehension accuracy rates (without distinction between Chinese and English) would be the lowest in the condition of Mandarin music compared with the English/no music condition (H4).

1.3 Research questions

In sum, it is worth examining the effects of different habits of listening to music on reading comprehension performance, which can help clarify whether cultivating habits of listening to music while studying is valuable or not. In addition, few studies used both lyrics languages and music-listening habits while study to explore distractive effects of music on reading comprehension. To solve this problem, in this paper, we designed an experiment to explore the effects of music type, written text language and listening habits on reading comprehension among Chinese college students. Our research questions are: (1) would the accuracy rates in music conditions be significantly lower than the accuracy rates with no music for college students? (2) would Chinese/English reading comprehension accuracy rates when listening to music in the same language be significantly lower than that in different languages or no music? (3) would non-listeners have lower L1 and L2 reading comprehension accuracy rates than listeners when music was present? (4) would average reading comprehension accuracy rates (without distinction between Chinese and English) be the lowest in the condition of Mandarin music compared with the English/no music condition?

2.1 Participants

Before the experiment, we calculated the minimum sample size of each group of participants using G*Power 3.1.9.7 software ( Faul et al., 2007 ) to reach the statistical power. For observing a similar effect to relevant studies ( Peng et al., 2017 ), we use Effect size f  = 0.22, ɑ = 0.05, 1-β = 0.8 as parameters, number of groups = 6, number of measurements = 2, non-sphericity correction = 1; under the F test of ANOVA: repeated measures, within-between interaction ( Faul et al., 2021 ). Hence the total minimum number of participants should be 72, and the minimum number of participants in each large group should be 36.

The participants were screened by filling out a researcher-designed questionnaire of background music listening habits. All participants were recruited randomly from Shandong Sport University in Shandong Province of Mainland China. A total of 90 participants (50 females) between 18 to 21 years of age (Mean = 19.14, SD = 0.92) were selected. Our experiment divided the participants into 2 large groups first: listeners (45 participants) and non-listeners (45 participants). Participants in each large group were randomly assigned to one of three groups: 15 Mandarin pop music group, 15 English pop music group and 15 no music group. All six groups of participants were assigned Chinese and English texts.

Participants were native Mandarin Chinese speakers who started learning English in the third grade of primary school. None of the participants were music majors and English majors, and none of the participants had any formal musical training. They were all right-handed with normal or corrected-to-normal vision. The experimental protocol was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Shandong Sport University in China, and conducted in compliance with institutional guidelines and regulations. All participants signed an informed consent form prior to the experiment.

2.2 Experimental design

This study used a mixed factorial experimental design. There were two between-participants independent variables and a within-participants independent variable. The between-participants variables were listening habits (with two levels: listeners or non-listeners) and music type (with three levels: Mandarin pop music, English pop music or no music). The within-participants variable was text language (with two levels: Chinese or English). The dependent variable was accuracy rates for the reading comprehension tasks. Accuracy rates were defined as the mean percentage of the number of Chinese (English) reading comprehension items answered correctly in the total number of Chinese (English) reading comprehension items.

2.3 Materials and apparatus

Materials consisted of a questionnaire, pop music stimuli and written texts. The questionnaire was Researcher-designed Background Music Listening Habits Questionnaire, a self-report survey that was developed to assess participants’ habits of listening to music during study. This scale contained 15 items, each item rated on a Likert 5-point scale ranging from 1 to 5 (1 = Do not agree at all, 2 = Hardly agree, 3 = not sure, 4 = Mostly agree, 5 = Completely agree), and was scored as a continuous variable from 15 (minimum score) to 75 (maximum score). The Cronbach’s ɑ of the scale was 0.87. We used the questionnaire to screen listeners (a total score higher than 60, 60 is the average score of selecting option 4) and non-listeners (a total score lower than 30, 30 is the average score of selecting option 2) to examine distinct effects of listening habits on reading comprehension performance in the formal experiment.

Mandarin song “The Goodbye Kiss” (Mandarin name “Wen3 Bie2,” sung by Jacky Cheung) and English song “Take Me to Your Heart” (sung by Michael Learns to Rock) were used as background music stimuli, as these two songs have the same rhythm and tempo. The two songs were once popular music that are familiar to most Chinese college students. We used a music editor software Adobe Audition CS6 (Adobe Systems Inc., San Jose, CA, United States) to delete the blank space of “The Goodbye Kiss,” and the part with lyrics was kept to ensure that the participants could always be in a music environment with lyrics while carrying out reading comprehension tasks.

Chinese texts (300 character for each text) were selected from simulated tests of the College Entrance Examination; these texts are all about science and technology. English texts (150 words for each text) about education were selected from Public English Test System 3 (PET-3) tests. Preliminary tests were conducted on 120 college students, and finally 7 Chinese texts (coefficient of difficulty between 0.81 and 0.87) and 7 English texts (coefficient of difficulty between 0.85 and 0.90) were selected. There are no significant differences in difficulty coefficient of the 14 written texts. The difficulty coefficient of each text was estimated by the mean number of correct answers/4 (total number of questions). The coefficient of difficulty 0.81 indicates that, on average, three questions were correctly answered by college students. Participants read passages that were two paragraphs long, and then answered four true or false items following each passage. The items include both literal and inferential comprehension questions. Answers to literal questions involve facts such as who, when, where and what, and they can always be found in the texts. For example, “As early as 1909, Max Mow confirmed that there are some cells in the blood that can make blood, True or False.” For inferential questions, participants are required to determine a text’s meaning indirectly by using the information provided in the text. For example, “By the time most students graduate from high school, they spend less time watching TV than they do in class, True or False.” 3 Chinese texts and 3 English texts were used for assessing the levels of reading comprehension of all three groups (L1 pop music, L2 pop music and no music) of participants before the formal experiments. This was done to make sure that there were no significant differences of Chinese and English reading comprehension levels among the three groups. A different set of 3 Chinese texts and 3 English texts were used for the formal experiments. A Chinese text (difficulty coefficient 0.84) and an English text (difficulty coefficient 0.90) were selected for use in the practice phase.

The apparatus consisted of Lenovo laptops (Yoga 14 s, Lenovo Group Ltd., Beijing, China), noise-canceling headphones (SONY WH-1000XM3, Sony Corp., Tokyo, Japan) and E-prime 2.0. The music stimuli, instructions, texts and questions were all presented on Lenovo laptops using programs written in E-prime 2.0 (Psychology Software Tools, Pittsburgh, PA, United States) ( Schneider et al., 2012a , b ).

2.4 Procedure

Participants filled out the informed consent for participating in the study, then were screened by filling out the Questionnaire of Background Music Listening Habits online. Based on the questionnaire total score, the participants were divided into two large group: listeners and non-listeners. Participants in each large group were randomly assigned to one of three groups (Mandarin music, English music and no music). All three groups of participants completed Chinese and English reading comprehension tasks without music before formal experiments, and no significant differences of Chinese and English reading comprehension performance were observed among the three groups.

In the formal experiment phase, all participants were asked to complete experiment tasks in a quiet lab, with 10 participants in each group seated at individual tables with Lenovo laptops and headphones. First, participants were told to put on headphones and conduct the experiment on Lenovo laptops individually. All music was played between 60 dB ~ 65 dB(A), each participant first put on the headphones and checked to see whether the playback function of the headphones was normal. Then, Participants completed Chinese and English reading comprehension test items under each condition of music type. For each condition, half of the participants read the Chinese text first and the other half read the English text first. The 3 Chinese texts and 3 English texts were presented to participants randomly. After reading each passage, participants pressed the spacebar to end the reading (The maximum reading time for each text is 5 min), and proceeded to answer comprehension questions by pressing “T” (indicating truth) or “F” (indicating false) on keyboards. The flow chart of the experimental procedure presented using E-prime 2.0 was shown in Figure 1 .

Figure 1 . The flow chart of the experimental procedure presented using E-prime 2.0.

Participants were asked to answer questions as accurately as possible after reading the passages and to ignore the music. The accuracy rate of each participant was calculated by the total number of Chinese/English items answered correctly/12 (the total number of Chinese/English reading comprehension items). Every participant completed both Chinese texts and English texts in one of three conditions (Mandarin Chinese pop music, English pop music and no music). We tested the effects of listening to music in the same language conditions (L1 music + L1 texts, L2 music + L2 texts) or different language conditions (L1 music + L2 texts, L2 music + L1 texts). For example, participants listening to L1 (Mandarin Chinese) pop music completed L1 (Chinese) texts (the same as lyrics language) and L2 (English) texts (different from lyrics language). Music was played until all participants finished reading comprehension test items.

2.5 Statistical analyses

The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS, version 23.0; IBM SPSS, Armonk, NY, United States) was used for analysis of the data. The assumptions of ANOVA (homogeneity of variances and normal distribution) were tested. Then the reading comprehension accuracy rates were analyzed using a three-way mixed ANOVA with a within-participants factor (two types of written text language) and two between-participant variables (listening habits and music type). The alpha criterion was set to 0.05. Bonferroni correction was carried out for all post hoc analyses.

One-way ANOVA revealed that baseline reading comprehension performances of three groups (Mandarin music group, English music group and no music group) have no significant difference [Chinese: F (2, 87) = 0.226, p  = 0.718; English: F (2, 87) = 0.217, p  = 0.806].

3.1 Descriptive statistics

Means and standard deviations of the reading comprehension accuracy rates are shown in Table 1 . A three-way mixed ANOVA for reading comprehension accuracy rates, including two between-participants factors (2 listening habit, 3 music type) and one within-participants factor (2 written text language) was performed ( Table 2 ).

Table 1 . Reading comprehension accuracy rates [mean (standard deviations)] by group and condition.

Table 2 . A three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) of reading comprehension accuracy rates.

3.2 Main effect analysis and interactive effect analyses

3.2.1 main effects of music type.

We tested our hypothesis (H1) that the accuracy rates in music conditions would be significantly lower than the accuracy rates with no music for college students. We performed a three-way mixed ANOVA for reading comprehension accuracy rates to obtain the main effects and interactive effects. Significant main effects of music type [ F (2, 87) = 232.791, p < 0.001, η 2 p = 0.847] were observed as shown in Table 2 . Post hoc analyses revealed the accuracy rates in Mandarin and English music conditions are significantly lower than the accuracy rates with no music ( ps < 0.01). A mean difference of accuracy rates was −0.081 between Mandarin music and English music condition (95% CI: [−0.110, −0.051]), and was −0.175 between English music and no music condition (95% CI: [−0.205, −0.145]). Thus, the results confirmed our hypothesis H1. The result reveals that music with lyrics decreased reading comprehension performance as compared to no music.

3.2.2 Interactive effects of music type and text language

Our second hypothesis (H2) was confirmed by using a three-way mixed ANOVA. H2 was that Chinese/English reading comprehension accuracy rates when listening to music in the same language would be significantly lower than those with different languages. We observed a significant interaction between music type and text language [ F (2, 87) = 113.829, p < 0.001, η 2 p = 0.730] as shown in Table 2 . For Chinese reading comprehension, as shown in Figure 2 , post hoc analyses showed that the accuracy rates in Mandarin music group were significantly lower than English music group [ t (58) = −5.526, p < 0.001] and no music group [ t (58) = −8.420, p < 0.001]. A mean difference of Chinese reading accuracy rates was −0.286 between Mandarin music and English music condition (95% CI: [−0.392, −0.180]), and was −0.378 between Mandarin music and no music condition (95% CI: [−0.484, −0.272]). For English reading comprehension, the accuracy rates in the English music group were significantly lower than the Mandarin music group [ t (58) = −2.385, p = 0.023 < 0.05; Figure 2 ] and the no music group [ t (58) = −7.041, p < 0.001; Figure 2 ]. A mean difference of English reading accuracy rates was −0.125 between English music and Mandarin music condition (95% CI: [−0.234, −0.016]), and was −0.258 between English music and no music condition (95% CI: [−0.367, −0.150]). These results confirmed our hypothesis H2, and suggested that college students were more distracted by music in the same language as the written texts.

Figure 2 . Accuracy rates of Chinese reading comprehension and English reading comprehension for different music types. ** p  < 0.01; *** p  < 0.001.

3.2.3 Main effects of listening habits and interactive effects of listening habits and music type

Three-way mixed ANOVA was also used to test our third hypothesis (H3) that non-listeners would have lower reading comprehension accuracy rates than listeners when music was present. The results in Table 2 showed that a significant main effect of listening habits [ F (1, 88) = 634.331, p < 0.001, η 2 p = 0.883]. Post hoc analyses revealed that reading comprehension accuracy rates were lower in non-listeners than listeners ( p < 0.001). The Table 2 also showed that the interactive effects of listening habits and music type were significant [ F (2, 87) = 160.672, p < 0.001, η 2 p = 0.793]. Post hoc analyses showed significantly lower reading comprehension accuracy rates in the non-listeners compared to listeners, in conditions of music as shown in Figure 3 [Mandarin music: t (58) = −138.782, p < 0.001; English music: t (58) = −99.729, p < 0.001]. A mean difference of accuracy rates between non-listeners and listeners was −0.430 in the Mandarin music condition (95% CI: [−0.464, −0.396]), and was −0.309 in the English music condition (95% CI: [−0.343, −0.274]). These results suggest that reading comprehension performance was more negatively affected by music in the non-listeners than in the listeners, confirming our third hypothesis (H3).

Figure 3 . Reading comprehension accuracy rates in different music type groups for different listening habits. *** p  < 0.001.

Significant interaction effects between listening habits and music type [ F (2, 87) = 160.672, p < 0.001, η 2 p = 0.793] were observed as shown in Table 2 . For the non-listeners, as shown in Figure 4 , post hoc analyses revealed the accuracy rates while listening to Mandarin music are significantly lower than with English music [ t (58) = −45.508, p  < 0.001] and significantly lower than accuracy rates with no music [ t (58) = −150.401, p < 0.001]. A mean difference of reading accuracy rates was −0.142 between Mandarin music and English music condition (95% CI: [−0.183, −0.100]), and was −0.467 between Mandarin music and no music condition (95% CI: [−0.508, −0.425]); For the listener, post hoc analyses revealed the accuracy rates while listening to Mandarin music are significantly lower than accuracy rates with no music [ t (58) = −14.524, p < 0.001]. A mean difference of reading accuracy rates was −0.045 between Mandarin music and no music condition (95% CI: [−0.086, −0.003]). Thus, the results also supported our hypothesis H4 that average reading comprehension accuracy rates (without distinction between Chinese and English) would be the lowest in the condition of Mandarin music compared with the English/no music condition for both non-listeners and listeners. These results suggested that music with native language lyrics negatively affected the reading comprehension performance of college students.

Figure 4 . Reading comprehension accuracy rates in different listening habits groups for different music types. * p  < 0.05; *** p  < 0.001.

4 Discussion

The main purpose of this study was to explore the disruptive effects of background music lyrics on first language (L1) and second language (L2) reading comprehension performance among Chinese college students. We also included the influence of music-listening habits by using a 3-factor mixed factorial experimental design. First, our results showed that reading comprehension accuracy rates in music conditions are significantly lower than the accuracy rates with no music. Second, L1/L2 reading comprehension accuracy rates when listening to music in the same language are significantly lower than when listening to a different language. Third, the results showed that significantly lower accuracy rates in non-listeners than listeners when music was played. Finally, for both the non-listeners and listeners, average reading comprehension accuracy rates are the lowest in the condition of Mandarin music compared with English/no music condition. Our results provide experimental evidence in support of distraction effects of L1 or L2 music on L1 and L2 reading comprehension performance among Chinese college students. In addition, our findings also offer additional evidence in favor of the duplex-mechanism account of auditory distraction. Overall, the results support our hypotheses.

4.1 The effect of music type

Compared to the no music condition, reading comprehension performance were reduced by music with lyrics. This result is consistent with previous studies which found disruptive effects of vocal music on reading comprehension ( Anderson and Fuller, 2010 ; Perham and Currie, 2014 ; Ren and Xu, 2019 ; Dong et al., 2022 ). Thompson et al. (2012) showed that fast and loud instrumental music disrupts reading comprehension more than slow-tempo music ( Thompson et al., 2012 ). However, though the music in our study is slow-tempo, disruptive effects on reading comprehension were still observed. Lyrics had a significantly detrimental effect on reading comprehension. The finding of the current study supports the interference-by-process in the duplex-mechanism account of auditory distraction. According to the interference-by-process, music with lyrics in both L1 and L2 detracted from the performance because semantically processing of the lyrics in these two languages conflicts with semantic processing and access that reading demands ( Quan and Kuo, 2023 ). For comparison, some researchers used musical excerpts in combination with meaningless words as music stimuli. The musical excerpts with meaningless lyrics were unknown to the participants to avoid any associations between the music and semantic or episodic memory. Their results showed neither an enhancing nor a detrimental effect on verbal learning when different styles of background music were played ( Jäncke and Sandmann, 2010 ). However, the present study indicated that music with meaningful lyrics interferes with reading comprehension performance. Language comprehension plays an important role in reading comprehension performance ( Hoover and Gough, 1990 ), and both lyrics and written texts contained semantic information. According to the duplex-mechanism account, from the perspective of the interference-by-process, the semantic interference effects can be explained by assuming that semantic speech triggers automatic spreading of semantic activation over a long-term semantic network that interferes with the analogous process of steering such networks for the purpose of retrieval in the reading comprehension tasks ( Marsh and Jones, 2010 ; Hughes, 2014 ). Therefore, the lyrics act as competing stimuli with written texts and impair their access to word meaning.

4.2 The interaction between music type and text language

Regardless of whether the music and texts were in their L1 or L2 language, Chinese college students were more distracted by music in the same language as the texts. This result indicates that a more detrimental effect on reading comprehension occurred when the auditory input (music lyrics) is the same as the written text language. Based on interference-by-process, the irrelevant semantic information from the speech creates competition for the primary tasks’ dynamic semantic encoding and retrieval processes. As they both vie for semantic access, impairment can therefore be explained in terms of a relative difficulty in choosing the appropriate source of semantic information ( Marsh et al., 2009 ). When lyrics language is the same as the text, the competition process becomes stronger and thus the selection process is more difficult, which causes a more disruptive effect on reading performance. We used music lyrics with L1/L2 as different potential sources of auditory distraction, and the finding provides a further strand of support for interference-by-process.

4.3 The effect of listening habits

Our results revealed that reading comprehension performance by the non-listeners were more negatively affected by music than the listeners. These findings are in line with the results of previous studies which showed that people who seldom studied in the presence of background music performed better on reading comprehension tasks in silence ( Etaugh and Michals, 1975 ; Etaugh and Ptasnik, 1982 ). These results indicate that background music caused detrimental effects for individuals who normally study without music. In contrast, college students who regularly listen to music while studying have much experience of listening to music, and the top-down features (e.g., high working memory and high inhibitory control) can lessen the interference to cognitive activities caused by shared processing of irrelevant information ( Quan and Kuo, 2023 ; Privitera et al., 2023b ). Specifically, differences in working memory/inhibitory control between non-listeners and listeners may lead the differential effects of music on reading comprehension, because working memory may generally have an impact on individual ability to carry out cognitive tasks while listening to music ( König et al., 2005 ; Christopher and Shelton, 2017 ), and it is generally observed that those with high working memory capacity are less easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli ( Hughes, 2014 ). Recent studies also revealed that differences in inhibitory and/or attentional control could predict academic performance including reading (e.g., Privitera et al., 2023b ), thus, the relatively low working memory/inhibitory control may make non-listeners were more disrupted by music compared with listeners. In other words, though listeners are negatively affected by music, they are accustomed to reading in the presence of music, thus background music sounds are less distracting for them.

4.4 The interaction between listening habits and music type

Our results indicated that for both non-listeners and listeners, music with native language lyrics negatively affected the average reading comprehension performance. The results provide support for the duplex-mechanism account of auditory distraction: in addition to interference-by-process, sound can also produce unnecessary distraction by attentional capture. Music lyrics with the same language as the written texts distract college students by interfering specifically with the similar semantic access processes involved in the reading comprehension task. In contrast, music with native language lyrics disengages students from reading comprehension tasks. Compared to L2 lyrics, native language lyrics are high dominant and more familiar, which may make students rely too much on music rather than keeping them from reading due to music. Thus, a specific attentional capture also caused the auditory distraction. This finding of auditory distraction in different lyrics language conditions provides additional evidence in favor of the duplex-mechanism account.

4.5 Limitations and further research

Several limitations should be noted. First, the participants’ English language proficiency, cognitive control and working memory were not assessed. In future study the L2 proficiency can be balanced to explore unique music lyrics effects on reading comprehension, because recent studies have shown that L2 proficiency are correlated to inhibition and attentional control ( Privitera et al., 2022a , 2023a ), and cognitive control has been found to have a significant impact on academic performance including reading ( Privitera et al., 2023b ). Working memory/cognitive control can be included as a key variable to explore its effect on reading comprehension while listening to music among non-listeners/listeners. Second, sound without lyrics (e.g., pop music without lyrics or white noise) was not included as one level of music type. Future study can compare reading comprehension performance differences between sound without lyrics group and music with lyrics/no music group to explore the various effects of sound. Third, questions about what music genres participants listen to and their relative frequencies were not included in the researcher-designed questionnaire of background music listening habits. The questionnaire needs to be modified, and should include questions on music genres in future study. Fourth, music type should be manipulated as a within-subject factor instead of a between-subject factor in future study. Finally, this is a behavioral experiment examining music lyrics effects on reading comprehension. With the aim of obtaining the brain and neuroscience evidence to support the duplex-mechanism account of auditory distraction, future studies could explore differences in brain and neural activities when students complete reading comprehension while listening to L1/L2 music, and identify the precise locus of the interference-by-process and attentional capture. These differences may indicate that interference-by-process and attentional capture obtain the functional support of different brain regions which further supports duplex-mechanism account of auditory distraction.

4.6 Implications

The current study benefits from several strengths. It is the first study to explore effects of L1 or L2 music lyrics on L1/L2 reading comprehension performance among Chinese college students with different listening habits. For reading comprehension with L1/L2, L1/L2 reading comprehension performance reduced more when the music lyrics language was the same as the written texts. For example, L2 reading performance decreased more when both lyrics and written texts language is L2. In general, for average reading comprehension performance, music with native language lyrics affected it negatively more than L2 music/no music. The current study provided experimental evidence to support the duplex-mechanism account of auditory distraction, and revealed that the duplex-mechanism account can also be applied to auditory distraction of reading comprehension tasks other than serial short-term tasks. The novelty of our study is to distinguish effects of lyrics with native language/s language on L1/L2 reading comprehension. Reading performance difference in lyrics with L1/L2 conditions suggests that auditory distraction has two functionally distinct forms: interference-by-process and attentional capture. The contribution of our research is that choosing music and written texts with L1/L2 helps methodically separate the potential individual contributions of interference-by-process and attentional capture to the overall disruption of task performance.

Our other findings were that reading comprehension performance was reduced by pop music lyrics. In addition, non-listeners were more distracted by lyrics than listeners. These findings have practical implications. Though most college students love pop music, and they usually report that listening to music while studying is beneficial, for college students and educators, it is better not to play pop music with lyrics while students, especially students without music-listening habits, are reading articles whether in their native languages or a second language.

5 Conclusion

The present study is an important first step in examining the effects of music with L1 or L2 lyrics on L1/L2 reading comprehension performance among Chinese college students with different listening habits. By using a 3-factor mixed factorial experimental design, we showed that the results verified our hypotheses. Specifically, the key findings are: (1) reading comprehension performance was negatively affected by music with lyrics compared to the no music condition; (2) L1/L2 reading comprehension was more affected by music in the same language as the texts; (3) Non-listeners were more negatively affected by music with lyrics than listeners; (4) For both non-listener and listeners, average reading comprehension accuracy rates are the lowest in the condition of music with native language lyrics. These findings support the claim that college students’ reading performance suffers when they listen to pop music with lyrics compared to no music, and provide experimental evidence support for the duplex-mechanism account of auditory distraction.

Data availability statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Ethics statement

The studies involving humans were approved by Research Ethics Committee of Shandong Sport University. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author contributions

YS: Conceptualization, Data curation, Methodology, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. CS: Funding acquisition, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. CL: Methodology, Writing – review & editing. XS: Investigation, Writing – review & editing. QL: Investigation, Writing – review & editing. HL: Methodology, Writing – review & editing.

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by Shandong University undergraduate teaching reform (grant numbers: 2023Y251; 2023YJJGND07) and undergraduate teaching reform in Shandong province (grant number: Z2022096).

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Pamela Holt for useful discussions and critically reading the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Keywords: reading comprehension, study habits, pop music with lyrics, native language lyrics, second language lyrics, written text language, Chinese college students

Citation: Sun Y, Sun C, Li C, Shao X, Liu Q and Liu H (2024) Impact of background music on reading comprehension: influence of lyrics language and study habits. Front. Psychol . 15:1363562. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1363562

Received: 13 January 2024; Accepted: 25 March 2024; Published: 05 April 2024.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2024 Sun, Sun, Li, Shao, Liu and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Chuanning Sun, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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World Voice Day: How Germany shaped modern day opera

• Thought Leadership

As part of World Voice Day, Dr Katherine Hambridge in our Music department explains how German nationalism led to the opera you know today.

What is your research about?

My research is about the idea of the German voice, and specifically the idea of the German operatic voice in the 19 th century. Germany wasn’t a unified nation until 1871; as part of the nationalist movement in the 19 th century it became really important to establish a German operatic tradition, rather than importing popular Italian and French operas, in order to make the case for unification. A lot of people have studied composers who wrote operas in German but in my project I’m looking at singers whose voices were celebrated by critics as being German, and for whom the composers wrote. Part of my research will involve working with professional singers to try and recover what these historic singers who shaped German opera sounded like.

What sparked your interest in this particular topic?

What really interests me about my project is seeing the relationship between music culture and political movements and ideas, how they influence each other – and then, in particular, how ideas that can seem not just established but very natural or essential, like how people sing, are actually constructed by discussions in the press that define who/what sounds German or not, which then influence the way composers write for ‘German’  voices.

Can you explain more about the German singing voice and how that differs from other operatic traditions?

Patriotic writers obsessed with the idea of the German voice and German opera were reacting to the long-term popularity of Italian opera in German lands, and attempting to find something that was obviously different from the Italian tradition of singing.  German writers often stereotyped Italian operatic voices (particular the voice of castrati, castrated man with a high-pitched voices who had been the stars of the 18 th -century stage) as over-elaborate and effeminate, and used metaphors like trilling birds and insects, piccolos, and violins. The German voice was defined by critics against this stereotype; they favoured singers with large, loud, less flexible voices, who sang without ornamentation, more ‘naturally’– and tried out all sorts of metaphors to describe it — horns, organ pipes, clarinets — in an attempt to make it German, heroic, and masculine.

Why was gender so important to German opera?

The caricature of the female opera singer now — a ‘statuesque’ woman in armour — can actually be traced to these efforts in the early nineteenth century: many of the women whose voices were celebrated as “German” earlier in the century had a celebrity persona that was characterised by their androgyny, whether it was their height and build, or their cross-dressing. Like the national symbols Germania and Britannia —armoured women—these androgynous women combined the “feminine” virtues of naturalness and purity with “masculine” qualities such as (military) strength, thus establishing German opera, and the aspirational nation as exceptional and heroic. So when we hear voices singing German opera now, we are hearing the result of quite a complex nineteenth-century process of shaping what the German operatic voice should sound like.

Find out more:

• Read about the work of Dr Katherine Hambridge.
• Find out more about World Voice Day.

Ranked 6th in the Complete University Guide by Subject 2024, the Music Department has been central to the Durham University’s three-year project to become the largest All-Steinway school in the UK. 

Research-led teaching supports our students to achieve their full potential as thinking, creative musicians, and scholars. What’s more Durham enjoys a rich musical life beyond the Department with numerous choirs, orchestras, opera, jazz, and early-music ensembles, in addition to our own annual concert series attracting soloists from around the World. 

Feeling inspired? Visit our Music webpages for more information on our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. 

Durham University is a top 100 world university. In the QS World University Rankings 2024, we were ranked 78th globally. 

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