music meaning essay

Guide on How to Write a Music Essay: Topics and Examples

Let's Understand What is Music Essay

You know how some school assignments are fun to write by default, right? When students see them on the course syllabus, they feel less like a burden and more like a guaranteed pleasure. They are about our interests and hobbies and therefore feel innate and intuitive to write. They are easy to navigate, and interesting topic ideas just pop into your head without much trouble.

Music essays belong to the category of fun essay writing. What is music essay? Anything from in-depth analysis to personal thoughts put into words and then to paper can fall into a music essay category. An essay about music can cover a wide range of topics, including music history, theory, social impact, significance, and musical review. It can be an analytical essay about any music genre, musical instruments, or today's music industry.

Don't get us wrong, you will still need to do extensive research to connect your opinions to a broader context, and you can't step out of academic writing standards, but the essay writing process will be fun.

In this article, our custom essay writing service is going to guide you through every step of writing an excellent music essay. You can draw inspiration from the list of music essay topics that our team prepared, and later on, you will learn what an outstanding essay on music is by an example of a music review essay.

What are Some Music Topics to Write About

There are so many exciting music topics to write about. We would have trouble choosing one. You can write about various music genres, be it country music or classical music; you can research music therapy or how music production happens.

Okay, forgive us for getting carried away; music makes us enthusiastic. Below you will find a list of various music essay topics prepared from our thesis writing service . Choose one and write a memorable essay about everyone's favorite art form.

Music Argumentative Essay Topics

Music essays can be written about an infinite number of themes. You can even write about performance or media comparison.

Here is a list of music argumentative essay topics. These edge-cutting topics will challenge your readers and get you an easy A+.

• Exploring the evolution of modern music styles of the 21st century
• Is it ethical to own and play rare musical instruments?
• Is music therapy an effective mental health treatment?
• Exploring the Intersection of Technology and Creativity in electronic music
• The Relevance of traditional music theory in modern music production
• The Role of musical pieces in the Transmission of cultural identity
• The value of historical analysis in understanding the significance of music in society
• How does exposing listeners to different genres of music break down barriers
• Exploring the cognitive effects of music on human brain development
• The therapeutic potential of music in treating mental disorders

Why is Music Important Essay Topics

Do you know which essay thrills our team the most? The importance of music in life essay. We put our minds together and came up with a list of topics about why music is so central to human life. Start writing why is music important essay, and we guarantee you that you will be surprised by how much fun you had crafting it.  

• Popular Music and its Role in shaping cultural trends
• Music as a metaphorical language for expressing emotions and thoughts
• How music changes and influences social and political movements
• How the music of different countries translates their history to outsiders
• The innate connection between music and human beings
• How music helps us understand feelings we have never experienced
• Does music affect our everyday life and the way we think?
• Examining the cross-cultural significance of music in society
• How rock music influenced 70's political ideologies
• How rap music closes gaps between different racial groups in the US

Consider delegating your ' write my essay ' request to our expert writers for crafting a perfect paper on any music topic!

Why I Love Music Essay Topics

We want to know what is music to you, and the best way to tell us is to write a why I love music essay. Below you will find a list of music essay topics that will help you express your love for music.

• I love how certain songs and artists evoke Memories and Emotions
• I love the diversity of music genres and how different styles enrich my love for music
• I love how music connects me with people of different backgrounds
• How the music of Linkin Park helped me through life's toughest challenges
• What does my love for popular music say about me?
• How the unique sounds of string instruments fuel my love for music
• How music provides a temporary Release from the stresses of daily life
• How music motivates me to chase my dreams
• How the raw energy of rock music gets me through my daily life
• Why my favorite song is more than just music to me

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Music Therapy Essay Topics

One of the most interesting topics about music for an essay is music therapy. We are sure you have heard all the stories of how music cures not only mental but also physical pains. Below you can find a list of topics that will help you craft a compelling music therapy essay. And don't forget that you can always rely on our assistance for fulfilling your ' write my paper ' requests!

• The effectiveness of music therapy in reducing stress and pain for cancer patients
• Does pop music have the same effects on music therapy as classical music?
• Exploring the benefits of music therapy with other genres beyond classical music
• The potential of music therapy in aiding substance abuse treatment and recovery
• The Role of music therapy in Addressing PTSD and Trauma in military veterans
• The impact of music therapy on enhancing social interaction and emotional expression in individuals with developmental disabilities
• The use of music therapy in managing chronic pain
• Does musical therapy help depression?
• Does music reduce anxiety levels?
• Is music therapy better than traditional medicine?

History of Music Essay Topics

If you love analytical essays and prefer to see the bigger picture, you can always write a music description essay. Below you can find some of the most interesting topics for the history of music essay.

• The Significance of natural instruments in music production and performance
• Tracing the historical development of Western music theory
• How electronic music traces its roots back to classical music
• How the music industry evolved from sheet music to streaming services
• How modern producers relate to classical composers
• The Origins and Influence of Jazz Music
• How folk music saved the Stories of unnamed heroes
• Do we know what the music of ancient civilizations sounded like?
• Where does your favorite bandstand in the line of music evolve?
• The Influence of African American Music on modern pop culture

Benefits of Music Essay Topics

If you are someone who wonders what are some of the values that music brings to our daily life, you should write the benefits of music essay. The music essay titles below can inspire you to write a captivating essay:

• How music can be used to promote cultural awareness and understanding
• The benefits of music education in promoting creativity and innovation
• The social benefits of participating in music groups
• The Impact of Music on Memory and Learning
• The cognitive benefits of music education in early childhood development
• The effects of music on mood and behavior
• How learning to play an instrument improves cognitive functions.
• How music connects people distanced by thousands of miles
• The benefits of listening to music while exercising
• How music can express the feelings words fail to do so 

Music Analysis Essay Example

Reading other people's papers is a great way to scale yours. There are many music essay examples, but the one crafted by our expert writers stands out in every possible way. You can learn what a great thesis statement looks like, how to write an engaging introduction, and what comprehensive body paragraphs should look like. 

Click on the sample below to see the music analysis essay example. 

How to Write a Music Essay with Steps

Writing music essays is definitely not rocket science, so don't be afraid. It's just like writing any other paper, and a music essay outline looks like any other essay structure.

• Start by choosing a music essay topic. You can use our list above to get inspired. Choose a topic about music that feels more relevant and less researched so you can add brand-new insights. As we discussed, your music essay can be just about anything; it can be a concert report or an analytical paper about the evolution of music.
• Continue by researching the topic. Gather all the relevant materials and information for your essay on music and start taking notes. You can use these notes as building blocks for the paper. Be prepared; even for short essays, you may need to read books and long articles.
• Once you have all the necessary information, the ideas in your head will start to take shape. The next step is to develop a thesis statement out of all the ideas you have in your head. A thesis statement is a must as it informs readers what the entire music essay is about. Don't be afraid to be bold in your statement; new outlooks are always appreciated.
• Next, you'll need a music essay introduction. Here you introduce the readers to the context and background information about the research topic. It should be clear, brief, and engaging. You should set the tone of your essay from the very beginning. Don't forget the introduction is where the thesis statement goes.
• One of the most important parts of essay writing is crafting a central body paragraph about music. This is where you elaborate on your thesis, make main points, and support them with the evidence you gathered beforehand. Remember, your music essay should be well structured and depict a clear picture of your ideas.
• Next, you will need to come up with an ideal closing paragraph. Here you will need to once again revisit the main points in your music essay, restate them in a logical manner and give the readers your final thoughts.
• Don't forget to proofread your college essay. Whether you write a long or short essay on music, there will be grammatical and factual errors. Revise and look through your writing with a critical mind. You may find that some parts need rewriting.

Key Takeaways

Music essays are a pleasure to write and read. There are so many topics and themes to choose from, and if you follow our How to Write a Music Essay guide, you are guaranteed to craft a top-notch essay every time.

Be bold when selecting a subject even when unsure what is research essay topic on music, take the writing process easy, follow the academic standards, and you are good to go. Use our music essay sample to challenge yourself and write a professional paper. 

If you feel stuck and have no time our team of expert writers is always ready to give you help from all subject ( medical school personal statement school help ). Visit our website, submit your ' write my research paper ' request and a guaranteed A+ essay will be on your way in just one click.

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FAQs on Writing a Music Essay

Though music essay writing is not the hardest job on the planet, there are still some questions that often pop up. Now that you have a writing guide and a list of essay topics about music, it's time to address the remaining inquiries. Keep reading to find the answers to the frequently asked questions. 

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Blog > Essay Advice , Personal Statement > How to Write a Great College Essay About Music (with examples)

How to Write a Great College Essay About Music (with examples)

Admissions officer reviewed by Ben Bousquet, M.Ed Former Vanderbilt University

Written by Alex McNeil, MA Admissions Consultant

Key Takeaway

Ask any admissions officer if they’ve read a college essay about music, and they’ll definitely say yes. Between music extracurriculars and academic interests in music, it’s is one of the most common college essay topics.

So does that mean that you shouldn’t write your college essay about music?

Not necessarily. But as with any common college essay topic, some approaches are better than others.

Let’s get into it.

Why you should (and shouldn’t) write your Common App essay about music

As we explained in our Stanford Items exercise , writing your college essay on a common topic isn’t off-limits. In fact, most college essays share common topics and themes. Trying to find a completely unique, never-been-done-before topic is almost impossible. And writing about a quirky topic in hopes of coming across as unique usually backfires.

In other words, it’s likely that you’ll write about the same topic as someone else.

The problem arises, however, when you write about a common topic in a cliche way . Cliches are always a danger in college essays, but in especially college essay topics that tend to surface again and again.

To avoid cliches, your college essay about music needs to be deeply personal, specific, and meaningful. You’ll want to let go of any over-generalizations or truisms and focus on the details of your own story.

Because you’ll need to write meaningfully and vulnerably, you should only write your college essay about music if you have something genuine and significant to say.

The Best Ways to Approach Your College Essay about Music

College essays about music aren’t off the table, but you should be thoughtful in how you write about them. The following two approaches will help you avoid cliches and find an authentic, meaningful story that fulfills all the requirements of a personal statement .

Writing about music as an academic interest

If you’re interested in studying music in college, then you can consider writing your college essay about music as an academic interest. A college essay about your academic interest in music can show fantastic intellectual fit with a school.

Let’s say you want to study music theory or composition. You might write about a topic you find compelling, a problem you’ve solved, or even a recounting of your journey becoming interested in the subject.

Or maybe you’re an aspiring performer planning on studying music performance. As an admissions officer, I read outstanding essays about students performing their favorite pieces, creating emotional music projects, and teaching lessons to young children.

No matter your topic, your goal with this approach is to show an intellectual spark, a curiosity and passion that will demonstrate to your admissions officers that you’ll be a great addition to the music community on their campuses.

Writing poignantly about a deeply meaningful extracurricular

The previous approach is great if you want to study music, but what if music is just an extracurricular passion of yours? Don’t worry—you can still write about it.

In that case, the best way is to focus on meaning. Remember: personal statements should be deeply-meaningful reflections on your personal strengths.

To start, reflect on your music extracurricular. Is it playing guitar in a band? Playing trombone in your school’s symphony? Learning piano from your grandma? How your love of poetry turned into a love of songwriting?

Next, think about what strengths you have to showcase. If you play guitar in a band, maybe you want to highlight your collaborative spirit. If you love poetry and songwriting, perhaps you focus on your creativity.

Writing about your love of music in a way that draws upon your strengths will make sure that your Common App essay avoids the following two approaches and gives admissions officers a reason to admit you.

Approaches to Avoid

While the following two approaches aren’t necessarily bad, they are the most cliche ways of approaching a college essay about music. You might want to consider avoiding them.

An inauthentic tale of triumph

Let me tell you a cliche story.

When I was in fourth grade, I decided to join the school orchestra. I found it exceedingly difficult at first. No matter how hard I tried, I never could seem to place my fingers correctly on the fingerboard. Every sound I made mimicked a screeching cat. But I decided not to give up. I practiced every day after school and on the weekends. By the time I was in ninth grade, I had made it into my high school’s top orchestra.

Is that a lovely story? Yes, absolutely. Is it hearty enough for a college essay? No. While it tells a good narrative of growth and progress, it remains on the surface of the writer’s life. It comes across as a convenient way to brag about your strengths instead of exploring them in a genuine way. In this example, the story also focuses on events that happened way too far in the past.

A song that changed your life

This approach is by far the most common cliche in college essays about music. We’ve all been there: a favorite song that transports you to a moment in your life whenever you hear it. It makes sense that you’d want to write about yours.

But there’s a problem with this approach. Too often, it reads as trite or unoriginal, and the end result usually doesn’t say much about the writer. And when it does, the message an admissions officer gets doesn’t typically give them any more reason to admit you. Since you want your college essay to be meaningful, even vulnerable, and strengths-based, you’re better off choosing another topic that better speaks to who you are.

Key Takeaways + Examples

College essays about music aren’t for everyone. But when you get it right, you can strike the perfect chord with admissions officers (you’re welcome for the pun).

As you go, dig deep, find something genuinely personal, and try to avoid the most common and cliche ways of approaching the topic.

Want to see some examples of college essays about music before you get started? Check out our examples, The Time Machine and The Band .

Liked that? Try this next.

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“Without music, life would be a mistake,” wrote the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche . Albert Einstein, who was an accomplished violinist, said that nothing gave him as much pleasure as music , and that this would have been his occupation had he not pursued science. Today neuroscientists, musicologists, psychologists and anthropologists continue to ponder why humans enjoy music so much. The discovery of 40,000-year-ago bone flutes in a cave in Germany, perhaps the oldest musical instruments on record, suggests that music has accompanied Homo sapiens since ancient times. But what is its function?

The question has puzzled experts for centuries and there is still no conclusive answer. In the 5th century BC, the school of Pythagoras suggested that music governed the harmony of the stars , whereas current scientific research—from an evolutionary and biological perspective—considers that music serves rather to govern the harmony between human beings.

One of the purposes for music is social cohesion says Jeremy Montagu, a musician and professor at Oxford University. In an essay published in the journal Frontiers in Sociology , Montagu argues that music is so primitive that it predates language. He maintains that a mother’s humming to soothe her baby is music and that this likely happened before humans could speak.

According to Montagu, the bond that music establishes between mother and child is also present in a group of workers or in the ancestral men who danced and sang before a hunt or a battle. “In causing such bonding, [music] created not only the family, but society itself ,” he writes. During the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, nothing helped connect people and break the sense of isolation as much as music , sung or played from balconies or through online videos.

Communicates emotions

The hypothesis that music played an essential role in the formation and survival of groups and in conflict mitigation is one of the most widely accepted. Mark Tramo of the Institute for Music & Brain Science at Harvard University defines it as a factor of social cohesion. “Men needed to organise to hunt and defend themselves. It paved the way for us to communicate with each other and to share emotions,” he explains. The emotional factor is essential; Montagu defines music as “sound that conveys emotion”.

The ability to communicate emotion is precisely what made music persist after the development of language. A study by psychologists at the University of London and the Austrian Academy of Sciences showed, for example, that even when listening to a short excerpt of a piece of music, an individual is more likely to perceive sadness or happiness in the face of another person, even if the latter maintains a neutral facial expression.

In its task of forging bonds between people, music also reveals one’s personality, according to a study by social psychology experts at the universities of Cambridge and Texas. The participants were asked to judge each other’s personality based solely on their list of ten favourite songs . Psychologists noted that the participants correctly identified the personality traits of their study partners and concluded that musical taste is a reliable source of information about an individual. A study led by Adrian North of Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University surveyed more than 36,000 people in over 60 countries to link musical preferences with personality traits . The results were curious; for example, classical and heavy metal music fans differ in age, but overlap quite closely in personality traits. According to North, they share a “love of the grandiose”. “They’re quite delicate things,” says the researcher. “Lots of heavy metal fans will tell you that they also like Wagner, because it’s big, loud and brash.”

Promotes happiness and creativity

Given music’s emotional capacity, it makes sense that we listen to music that makes us feel good. A study conducted by the Chemnitz University of Technology (Germany), which surveyed more than 800 people on the reasons that motivate them to listen to music, found that the main reasons are related to the regulation of arousal and mood and to achieve self-awareness, even more than social cohesion or communication. Studies have shown that about two-thirds of the population experience what is known as frisson , a pleasurable chill when listening to music that gives us goose bumps; some researchers have even dubbed it a “skin orgasm” . Researchers at Eastern Washington University showed that people more prone to this effect exhibit a personality trait called openness to experience , and that cognitive factors such as imagination or intellectual curiosity weigh even more heavily in this experience than purely emotional ones.

At a deeper level, scientists are exploring the brain mechanisms of musical experience. Research published in Nature and led by Daniel Levitin , neuroscientist and author of the book This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession , indicates that music acts on the brain in a similar way to drugs, sex or food. Songs activate the frontal lobe, produce dopamine and act on the cerebellum, which is able to synchronise itself to the rhythm of the music, leading to pleasure . Both playing and listening to music stimulate the production of oxytocin, popularly known as the love hormone. Music “is like a toy for the brain,” says Levitin.

And that “toy” also stimulates creativity. While many people welcome absolute silence during tasks that require concentration, at least one study has found that a moderate level of ambient sound is more conducive to creativity than a lower level of noise, especially in the most creative people. Explanations have been provided by a phenomenon called stochastic resonance , whereby not only humans but also certain animals improve some of their functions under sensory stimulation.

In children’s brains, musical activity increases cognitive and motor skills . A team of neurologists at Harvard University found that children who have three years or more of training with musical instruments have better motor coordination and auditory discrimination skills, learn vocabulary more easily and have better non-verbal reasoning skills, which implies better understanding and analysis of visual information, such as identifying relationships, similarities and differences between shapes and patterns. Continued musical practice throughout the later years of schooling is associated with better grades in mathematics, science and language.

Music is therapeutic

Of all the functions of music, perhaps the most mysterious is its possible therapeutic use. The British neurologist Oliver Sacks reported in his books cases of patients with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease whose symptoms improved when they listened to songs . Other research shows that stroke patients who listen to music of their own choice not only improve their mood, but also their visual attention and ability to do other tasks . Neurological music therapy is now an active field of research that is attracting increasing interest .

In his book Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy: How Music Captures Our Imagination , composer and pianist Robert Jourdain writes that music “relaxes brain flow” while “stimulating and coordinating brain activities”. For him, this “magic” happens to all people. “Music lifts us from our frozen mental habits and makes our minds move in ways ordinarily cannot,” he states. Or in more direct words, as reggae genius Bob Marley sang in Trenchtown Rock , “one good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”

Joana Oliveira  and  Javier Yanes

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• Frontiers and Knowledge in Music? A Few Notes
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Communications, more publications about ventana al conocimiento (knowledge window), comments on this publication.

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• Music Essay

Essay on Music

Music is like a universal language of life. It is basically the sound that is brought together through the harmony of various instruments. Our life would have been totally empty and different without music. It is something that every human being enjoys. It is a very powerful thing. Music helps to destress, heal, and motivate.

If you are looking for a short essay on music, then take a look at the short essay given in the following. This is created by the in-house exports of Vedantu keeping the understanding ability of the students. Those who are looking for references can look up to this following essay. It will be easy to figure out the pattern of how to write an essay on music. One can also download the Vedantu app to get access to the same file.

Music Essay for Students

“Without music, life will be a mistake” the statement of Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher, simplified the importance of music in one’s life so easily. Music has a magical impact on humans. It's the best form of magic. 

The origin of the word ‘music’ is the Greek word ‘mousike’ which means ‘art of muses’. Music is a form of art and artists decorate it. The music consists of lesser words with deeper meanings. Frequently people use music as a painkiller to escape from the pain of life.  ‘Musical Notations’ is the leading form to write music. This provides a reference to an artist so he can share with others if necessary. Music is a mood freshener and accompanies us in our pocket devices, on televisions, movies, and the most effective in live concerts.

Different forms of music have different effects on human nature. Music is the greatest creation of mankind in the course of history. A combination of deem lights and calm music encourages the listener to eat less and enjoy the food more. Listening to music positively in a car influences one’s mood leads to safer behaviour and fewer road rages ultimately minimising accidental destructions.

If the students love the music, it helps them in recalling the information more significantly along with improvement in verbal intelligence. The studies have found that listening to favourite songs helps fibromyalgia patients to experience less chronic pain. Music has a direct effect on our hormonal levels. Listening to music decreases the level of the hormone cortisol in our body and counteracts the effect of chronic stress.

The heart-touching music is nothing but creativity with the purest and undiluted form. The combination of vocal or instrumental sounds in such a way that it produces beauty and expresses emotions. Anyone can make their day by enjoying music by listening or by composting or by playing. The global facts say parents intensively use music to soothe children even to interact.

Music touches the heart through the ears. It has divine power to act as an energy booster. Some music assists in motivation while some play the best role in sympathy. Music helps us to fight insomnia. Listening to classical or relaxing music, just before going to bed, improves one’s sleep.

Though music helps to counteract depression and loneliness, people underestimate the impact of music on the human mindset in the age of irony age. On the other side of the coin, there are some types of music that can result in deleterious effects on the human mind and body. Listening to music with high decibels can damage neurons. The effect on the brain subjected to continuous exposure to electronic amplification of rhythmic music is similar to that of drugs.

Genres of Music

While talking about a wide variety of music that ranges from ages belonging to different places, cultures, and types, the list of genres is endless. However, some of the major genres of music are stated as below:

Folk & Traditional Music

Traditional music holds an impression of the culture that it represents. It is usually illustrated and sung with folk music. Folk music is taught by one generation to another vocally through singing it and by listening to it. Various dance performances are in order to make it stay intact through ages. In India, the state of Rajasthan is well known for its Traditional-folk music with its dance. Several other regions are also popular.

Art music describes the characteristics of both classical and contemporary art forms. It is usually sung by just one person and demands a high level of attention from its listeners. It is quite well known in Europe.

Religious Music

The type of music that is affiliated to the worshipping of God by singing it, is known as Religious Music. Every religion has its own style and way of singing it. Christian music is one of the most famous religious music known all over the world.

Popular Music

As the name suggests, the type of music that is popular and accessible to everyone and everywhere is known as Popular Music. Such music is composed mostly by the entertainment industry for the purpose of monetary income. As compared to other types of music, Popular Music attracts a notable audience through different concerts or Live shows.

It has gained immense popularity over a period of time and varies from country to country and from culture to culture. One can listen to it on public platforms, digital platforms, television commercials, radio, and even at shopping centres.

Popular music can be subcategorized into numerous types such as Hip Hop Music, Rock Music, Polka Music Music, Jazz Music, Pop Music Latin Music, Electronic Music, Punk Music, and many more. Among different types of Popular Music, Hip Hop Music is vividly famous, especially among the youth population. The culture of Hip Hop music originally started in New York City and now has taken over its place everywhere. The culture of Hip Hop dance has also emerged because of the same. With passing time, a lot of changes are happening in the field of Music but it will never go out of style.

Music is a healer to all human emotions from sadness to depression. It is a cause of happiness. Music content has many genres to play. Emotional expressions have been regarded as the most important criteria for the aesthetic value of music. Sometimes, some crises of life are impossible to express in proper sentences and their music plays its best part. Log on to Vedantu to find exciting essays on other topics and learn how to frame one perfectly from experts.

FAQs on Music Essay

1. What Role Does Music Play in Our Life?

Music is a very important part of our life as it is a way to express our feelings as well as emotions. For some people, music is a way to escape from all the pain. It gives you relief and allows you to destress yourself. Music plays a crucial role in our life rather than just being a source of entertainment. More importantly, music is something that can be enjoyed by everyone irrespective of their caste, creed, age, or gender.

2. Why is Music So Powerful?

Music is a language of emotion in that it can represent different feelings of a soul without any boundaries or limitations. When people feel really low and think that no one understands them, they listen to music. It is a good weapon to imitate emotions and reduce them. Music is something that can be felt from within our soul. Music is connected with Nature. There are numerous incidents of various singers where singing had led towards the showering of rains. 

3. How Can I Write an Essay on Music?

Get to know the topic. You can't start writing about music until you've familiarised yourself with the concept. Do research thoroughly. Understand the important points and jot them down. Then draw a structure and start writing an essay. A student needs to realise the importance of music and the belonging of its culture for a better understanding and ease of writing. Talking to different artists from this field may also help in writing the essay. Refer to this essay framed by the experts of Vedantu and compile on your own.

4. Is Music a Means of Therapy?

In this modern era where everyone is busy living their hectic life, music plays an important role in soothing one’s mental health. Over a course of time, it has been scientifically proven that music acts as a therapy for a person suffering from depression or anxiety. Even the sound of waves in the ocean helps to heal a person mentally. Thus, psychologists suggest hearing calm and soothing to gain relief from worldly distress.

267 Music Essay Topics + Writing Guide [2024 Update]

Your mood leaves a lot to be desired. Everything around you is getting on your nerves. But still, there’s one thing that may save you: music. Just think of all the times you turned on your favorite song, and it lifted your spirits!

Our specialists will write a custom essay specially for you!

So, why not write about it in a music essay? In this article, you’ll find all the information necessary for this type of assignment:

• 267 brilliant music essay topics,
• a sample paper,
• a step-by-step guide and writing tips.

And don’t forget to bookmark  custom-writing.org  where you can find helpful essay tips in articles like this one.

🔝 Music Essay Topics: Top 10

• 🎵 Music Essay Definition
• 🎼 Essay Topics
• ✍️ How to Write
• 📑 Essay Sample

🔗 References

• Compare different recording formats.
• The purpose of music.
• Ternary and rondo: compare and contrast.
• Music as a lifestyle.
• The benefits of singing.
• Ethnomusicology as a career.
• Evolution of the radio.
• The importance of school musicals.
• Music as a tool for meditation.
• Music in sports.

🎵 Essays about Music: What Are They?

A music essay describes or analyzes a piece of music, its context, or one’s personal attitude towards it. This type of assignment requires a compelling primary argument and a clear structure.

To write well about music, you don’t have to be a professional musician. All you need is to be able to listen, understand, and evaluate it. You should also provide your interpretation and opinion on it.

Writing about Music: Assignment Types

An essay on music is a popular assignment in high school and college. However, many students find it hard to describe sounds in a written form. In this article, we will give you some tips on writing about music.

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Here are the typical tasks that you might receive:

• Concert report. It requires describing the music you’ve heard using as many details and terms as you can.
• Historical analysis of a piece. Your aim is to describe the historical context of a piece or its relation to the historical setting. For this type of assignment, you may need to do some research.
• Song analysis. In this type of essay, you explore song lyrics’ meaning and show how they work together with the melody.
• Performance or media comparison. Here you need to compare several interpretations or performances of one piece of music.

All of these assignments require a different approach and topic. You will find topics for these types of tasks below.

How to Choose a Music Essay Topic

First things first, you need to find a suitable music essay topic. To accomplish this task, you might want to take the following steps:

• Analyze your relationship with music . What role does it play in your life? Your topic choice will be different if you are a musician or merely a listener.
• Think about how music influences your everyday life . For instance, you can study how listening to music affects our mental health. Impressing your readers with some historical facts from the world of music is also a great idea.
• Try reflecting on the role of different music genres in your life . Whether you prefer rap or classical music, exploring a genre is an excellent topic idea. Topics related to musical instruments are also worth attention.
• Narrow your topic down. Otherwise, it will be too difficult to focus your essay on just one idea.

🎼 Music Essay Topics List

The first thing you need to do is to choose your topic. We have prepared a variety of music topics perfect for research papers and short essays. You can also use them for speeches or college application essays.

Argumentative Essay about Music: Topics & Ideas

Argumentative essays about music are usually concerned with a specific music-related issue you choose to address. Just like with any other argumentative essay, you should present both sides of the topic. Also, reliable facts are a must for this type of essay.

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• The influence of modern technologies on the music industry. Technologies allow artists to create and promote their songs independently. Because of this, record labels are less critical to musicians than before. However, the emergence of new technologies also gave rise to piracy. Do the positives outweigh the negatives? 
• What’s the effect of  pop music on the modern generation? Today’s pop songs are usually commercial . Because of this, some people say that pop has ruined the current generations’ perception of music. Others argue that contemporary pop music expanded the possibilities of the genre.  
• Rock music makes people more aggressive.  Some consider rock music merely an arrangement of aggressive tunes that foster violence. On the counter side, science has proven that people who prefer rock to other genres are calmer and more concentrated. Which position do you agree with? 
• Can people with hearing impairments become famous musicians?  Many believe that access to fame and fortune is limited for disabled people. The deaf may seem especially unsuited for the  music business . Yet, the examples of Beethoven, Neil Young, and Chris Martin show that hearing problems don’t have to be an issue.  
• Will  streaming  completely substitute physical copies?  Digitalization is on its way to replacing LPs and CDs. For most people, it’s simply more convenient. But their opponents claim that an MP3 file can never sound as good as a physical copy.
• Some music genres can be a catalyst for violence.  While their beats may be calm, hip-hop and rap’s  lyrics are often aggressive and brutal. Does it have adverse effects on a listener? 
• Can a person become addicted to music?
• Censorship on the radio: why stations shouldn’t bleep out obscenities. 
• Is mandatory musical education in high schools practical?
• The impact of Mozart’s music on toddlers.
• Should a musician’s personal life affect people’s perception of their art? 
• How susceptible are teenagers to political messages in songs?
• Music influences one’s mental and physical capabilities .
• Are children who listen to music more intelligent than others?
• Music genres are inherently dependent on musical instruments .
• Is music as an art form more popular than cinema ?
• Debate whether rap musicians promote a frivolous and careless lifestyle .
• Many musicians became famous only because they’ve had connections. 
• Music festivals are the best form of entertainment.
• Does music always sound better live than on records? 
• Is classical music better than modern genres?
• Is it justified that some religions view music as a sin?
• Typically, music defines a culture and its traditions: true or false? 
• Rap music has a strong connection to rebellious movements. 
• Jamaican music’s link to the stoner lifestyle is unjustified.
• Synesthesia: how is music related to visuals?

Opinion on Music: Essay Topics

Opinion essays about music might seem similar to the argumentative type. Here, you are expected to write your personal opinion on a topic. Naturally, you can have many opinions on musical topics. Why not broadcast them? Keep in mind that you also need to provide reasons for your point of view.

• Music therapy can help people with mental illnesses.  It’s a well-known fact that music affects the human brain. This ability makes it perfect for treating mental health problems. On the one hand, psychologists established that listening to classical music increases one’s  cognitive capacity . On the other hand, listening to heavy rock impacts responsiveness. 
• The questionable treatment of women in the  music industry .  While it may seem that both sexes are treated equally, women still earn much less than they deserve. Moreover, the extreme sexualization of girls persists as one of the most pressing problems in the industry. 
• Which musician or band impacted your worldview ? Discuss what makes your favorite artist special. Consider analyzing their lyrics, genre, and evolution. If you want to, add a review of one of their albums .
• What are the challenges of being an independent artist? Typically, independent artists deal with all the financial, promotional, and distributional affairs by themselves. In the increasingly complex music business, this is not an easy task.
• Is  social media  efficient for promotion?  Almost every modern artist uses social media to promote their albums or songs. Users often check their networks for updates, which increases the musician’s visibility. But do such methods help in the long run? 
• Passion is the essential personal quality for every musician . If an artist is not eager to continually produce high-quality output, they’re unlikely to succeed. However, qualities such as responsibility, honesty, hard work, and creativity are also vital.
• Is music good for stress relief? 
• How does music connect people ?
• Analyze qualities that good musicians shouldn’t have.
• Who are the most excellent musicians in the country genre ?
• Is it possible to live without interacting with music ?
• Choose three successful rappers and analyze their influence.
• How can a musician become famous without having money or connections? 
• What are the difficulties of being in a band? 
• Who impacted the development of indie music the most?
• Is pop music losing its popularity? If so, why?
• Three factors that affected your choice of a favorite genre .
• Which artists are the most prominent in power metal?
• Which record label is the most influential now? 
• Can Justin Bieber’s songs be considered legendary?
• Did Kanye West introduce a new kind of rap?
• Which rock bands lost their fame because of a scandal ? How did it happen?
• Discuss Dire Straits’ impact on music history .
• Who are currently the most successful women pop singers ?
• Why are some music genres more popular than others?
• What does success in the music world depend on? 

Topics for a Persuasive Essay about Music

Is there anything music-related you want to convince people of? A persuasive paper is your chance. Carefully craft your arguments to show your readers you’ve always been right about the beauty of cowbells. If it’s not your jam, consider these essay topics about music:

• A seven-string guitar is superior to a six-string one. The additional string gives more room for creativity. It might be challenging to master, but in the end, the music has a fuller sound . Do you think it’s worth the effort?
• The lyrics don’t matter as long as the melody is good. It’s possible to like songs from different countries, even if the listener doesn’t understand the language. The singing is simply part of the composition. Does this mean that what the vocalist says is unimportant?

• Most people living in big cities neglect country music. People from urban areas tend to think that country music is tasteless. For them, its tunes and lyrics sound too simple. Does the strong association with cowboys, farms, and long roads simply not appeal to the city lifestyle?
• Should rap music be performed only by black people?  The genre hosts a large portion of  African American artists . Not only that, but black rappers are widely considered the best of their craft. Do white artists do the genre justice? 
• Music that artists make merely to get money is soulless. Passion is a critical factor for every musician. If money is the primary driver for creating a song , the result is inevitably flawed. Do you agree?
• Pop music is undergoing a transformation. Listeners acknowledge pop as the primary genre of contemporary music . Yet, new musical instruments are changing the game. Even the lyrics touch on more serious topics than before.
• Indie is the new pop. Indie music is a relatively novel genre. Still, it continues to gain popularity. The light-hearted tunes paired with existential lyrics have captured the audience’s hearts. Is it possible to envision the future of music without bands such as Coldplay, The 1975, and the Arctic Monkeys?
• The meaning of freedom for jazz as a musical genre .
• Punk rock has recently witnessed a renaissance.
• Exposing plants to classical music makes them grow faster.
• Classical music: intellectually stimulating or relaxing ?
• Is it justified that some countries legally prohibit artists from performing?
• Is it easier for children to learn with music? 
• Can a person ever become a great artist without a natural talent ?
• Should workplaces allow their employees to listen to background music ?
• Jimi Hendrix’s guitar skills are still unmatched.
• The impact of pop music on European culture and trends.
• Kurt Cobain’s death should have been a wake-up call for the music industry .
• Why is music beneficial to society?
• Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s legacy can be felt even today.
• Nintendocore is a legitimate genre that the industry should take more seriously.
• Should you listen to a bands’ music even if you disagree with their opinions ?
• Musicians should receive more government support.
• Patriotic songs make people feel passionate and energetic about their country.
• Depressive and sad tunes can worsen a person’s mood.
• Doctors and therapists need to understand the importance of music. 

Music Evaluation Essay Topics

Do you want to know how to evaluate music? The point is to divide your overall impression into several parts. Music evaluation requires much attention and concentration, so try to do your best to stay focused while listening.

Use these criteria for evaluating music performances:

Now all you need to do is choose a topic and get down to writing!

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• Discuss the rise and fall of hardcore punk. Many bands that started in the hardcore punk scene softened their sound over time. Why did this genre disappear from the mainstream?
• Copyright laws are going too far .  It’s getting increasingly difficult to use somebody else’s intellectual property. Creators on YouTube have to fear lawsuits for creatively repurposing copyrighted music. Moreover, laws such as the DMCA are frequently abused to generate revenues. 
• More bands should use their influence for political purposes. Renowned artists have a broad reach. Bands like Rise Against or Anti Flag use this influence to raise political awareness among their fans. Is it a fair approach?  
• Borrowing and plagiarism in contemporary music . New artists don’t emerge without having listened to other musicians. They draw inspiration from their predecessors. Thus, songs are always a mix of already existing tracks. In your essay, discuss the difference between homage and plagiarism.
• What are the similarities between poetry and song lyrics? Songs and poems are similar in that they deliver a message to the audience. Their creation demands extensive knowledge of rhyming, literary devices, and other components.
• Why do some musicians ask others to write lyrics for them? It is a common practice to have a crew of songwriters who create texts for performers. Sometimes it happens due to a lack of imagination or inspiration. Does finding out that your favorite artist doesn’t write their lyrics destroy the magic of their music?
• How can popular music diversify as a genre? Pop music reached its peak. Adding and borrowing elements from different genres can be one way to diversify a streamlined genre.
• The history of music as political propaganda. 
• Explain the difference between high and low contemporary music culture .
• How is contemporary music related to that from other periods?
• What are the connections between pop music and the hip-hop genre?
• What connects popular music and contemporary culture ?
• How does music in the United States relate to Spanish music ?
• Analyze the evolution of Indian music .
• Discuss why certain albums manage to climb to the top of the charts.
• The link between social classes and musical genres. 
• Differences and similarities of music and other art forms .
• How does a musical instrument’s origin influence its development?
• What is the role of traditional music today?

• What are the main processes in music production? 
• How is music theory relevant today?
• Analyze which contemporary artists’ albums had an effect comparable to that of Queen’s A Night at the Opera .
• Eurodance: Europe’s most extravagant genre.
• Songs and everyday life of Michael Jackson vs. Madonna: who wins the ultimate pop crown?
• What difficulties has Eminem faced throughout his career?
• Over-ear headphones provide a better sound experience than on-ear ones.

Topics for an Expository Essay on Music

An expository essay explains or describes a subject. In the colorful world of music, topics can range from the physics of sound waves to artists’ social impact.

• The importance of Blues music in the late 19 th  century and now.  Blues originated in the 19 th  century American South. It was an outlet for  African Americans to express their sorrows. Later, it exceeded by far the cultural boundaries that confined it. 
• The role of music in prison camps.  Singing was an essential part of life in the Nazi concentration camps. One of the most well-known songs of that time is called  Peat Bog Soldiers . In your expository essay, explore why prisoners started singing and how it developed.  
• How did Chester Bennington’s death impact the music industry? Linkin Park was a giant in the business for decades until depression made their lead singer take his own life. The event sparked debates surrounding mental health and pressure in the creative industry. What long-lasting effects did these discussions have?
• How did Baroque music reflect the zeitgeist? Compared to the Renaissance period, Baroque was in all aspects very pompous. The artists of the Sun King’s time didn’t shy away from the extravaganza. This ideal is especially prominent in architecture. How does music fit into the picture?
• Investigate the development of musical harmony. The Ancient Greeks already had an idea of some tones fitting together better than others. However, it wasn’t until the 1600s that tonality became a crucial part of music theory.
• Music in commercials: an analysis. Songs and jingles are commonplace in TV commercials. But what are they good for? In your essay, you can compare the success of advertisements with and without music.
• What causes music trends to change? It’s easy to define various eras of music . Naturally, the invention of new instruments has influenced this development. What other factors played a role in these transformations?
• Why is 4/4 a universal beat?
• Examine the origins of The Star-Spangled Banner .
• The effects of dissonance on the human mind .
• How do staccato, legato, and other forms of articulation influence the perception of a musical piece? 
• Discuss the significance of music in video games. 
• Music drives people’s motivation.
• Explain the calming effects of nature sounds .
• How does music influence literature? 
• Celtic music is known to have an extraordinary impact on the psyche. How does it work?
• How does music impact the discharge of hormones such as dopamine?
• Music therapy is suitable for those who have bipolar disorder. 
• What made Falco such a unique artist?
• How does the perception of a silent film differ from that of a movie with sound? 
• A rock concert by Kansas: How the relevance of live concerts changed over time. 
• Is being able to read music important for a composer ?
• How did Beethoven write music after losing his hearing?
• Should all songs have proper rhythm and structure?
• Why do so many indie artists become commercial? 
• Is it essential for song lyrics to rhyme?

History of Music: Essay Topics

If you’re interested in the evolution of music, you’ve come to the right section. Historical research reveals the significance of music throughout time. Unsurprisingly, songs and melodies have been part of human culture for centuries. Dive deeper into this exciting subject with one of the following ideas:

• How did the Catholic Church influence music development in Europe? During the Middle Ages , religious movements had a significant impact on music. Consequently, composers used to create more sacred music. It became a way of personal expression since it often contained religious texts. 
• The cultural meaning of Renaissance music and its influence on other styles . During the time of the Renaissance , sacred and secular music heavily impacted each other. As a result, more variety emerged. The chanson and madrigal, for example, became popular around Europe.
• Research archaeological findings of early musicality.  The search for the oldest musical instrument delivers thrilling insights. Archaeologists have excavated a flute made of ivory and bird bones, dating approximately 43,000 years ago. They found it in a cave in Germany where Neanderthals lived.  
• History of early music and appearance of  musical instruments.  The beginning of the human culture was the turning point of  musical instruments’ appearance. They were primarily used for spiritual rites; typically, they were horns or drums for ceremonies.
• Louis Armstrong’s contributions to the jazz world.  Jazz originated in  New Orleans and was a favorite among African Americans. Louis Armstrong’s improvisations forever changed the genre, making the soloist-improviser the center of the performance.
• The phenomenon of pop music and its origins. Popular music dates back to the second half of the last century. It comes from the US and the UK. Its main peculiarity lies in the variety of tunes and lyrics .
• Native American music before the discovery of the New World . Incas and Aztecs had particular styles of music. Findings show that these ancient civilizations used instruments for ceremonies. Researchers also discovered that various American cultures mingled, thus creating new techniques. 
• The use of string instruments in classical Greek songwriting.
• Famous composers of 18th century Italy and their influence. 
• Mozart vs. Beethoven: comparison of techniques.
• Deliver a thoughtful analysis of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony .
• What role do acoustic instruments play in jazz compositions?
• Explore the history of the Ocarina.
• Due to what circumstances did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart become one of the greatest musical geniuses in history?
• Influence of the Romantic period on modern music.   
• How and why were the swing era and jazz connected?
• Rock and roll as an international language in the 20th century.
• Explore the rise of techno music.
• Is there a historical connection between music and math? 
• How did music become a staple subject in many schools?
• The greatest musicians of World War I. 
• Industrialization and its effect on music development.
• How did female producers such as Kate Bush impact the music industry?
• Analyze Frédéric Chopin’s contribution to classical music .
• Music evolution in ancient Greece vs. the Roman Empire. 
• How does archeology help to uncover musical traditions ?
• Tupac’s influence on modern rap music .

Classification Essay about Music: Topic Ideas

In a classification essay, you explain how a whole relates to parts or vice versa. To do it, you need to divide one broad category into several subcategories. Each classification paragraph focuses on one subcategory, so you need to find a key feature that will be your basis of division. For example, you can divide music by genre, volume, musical instruments, etc.

Here is our list of musical topics for this essay type:

• The most popular types of alternative music among teenagers.  Naturally, teens like different kinds of rock and experimental music . Try to dig deeper and ask some teenagers about their preferences to get a clear picture.  
• Types of modern dance music . Describe the tendencies and popular genres. You can also focus on a specific country.
• The most popular types of jazz music in Europe.  Although jazz emerged in the United States, this genre became recognizable all over the world. You can analyze the most popular streamed songs, or the concerts and other mass events.
• Rock music in the ’70s.  You can describe the genres, styles, or types of performers. The concerts, clothes, and lifestyles are also suitable for this topic. 
• Blues musicians of different time periods. Analyze the lyrics, the musical instruments they used, and how long their careers lasted.
• Classification of music for children . Some of it can be for dancing, development, or just listening. Research the purposes of different kinds of music for children.
• Types of music used in films. The soundtrack is one of the main things we remember after watching a movie. There can be popular songs or tracks composed specifically for a film .
• Rock bands that represent different subgenres.
• Rap subgenres in the United States.
• Periods of classical music.
• What motivates people to start a musical career?
• Different kinds of music for relaxation.
• The industries where composers work .
• Types of opera singers and instrumental music. 
• Different professions in the music industry.  
• Unpopular genres of independent music.
• Different types of music listeners .

College Essay about Music: Topics

When you apply to your dream college, you need to write an impressive essay. Admissions officers pay attention not only to your grades and achievements but also to your personality. Your writing can indicate your motivation, academic interests, and how well you fit into the college.  Writing an essay about “music in my life” is a great way to demonstrate your passion and creativity.  

Choose one of these topics related to music for your college essay:

• The role of music in your life . Describe what music means to you, how often you listen to it, and how it helps you in life. For example, you can write about inspiration, motivation, or the sense of freedom that it gives you.
• What are the essential aspects of music for you? Try to write down everything you like about music. It might be melodies, lyrics, vocals, or mood. You can choose several aspects if you feel that you can’t decide.
• The time when music changed your life.  In this essay, you can pick one occurrence or describe how music changed your life gradually. It’s important to indicate where you started from and where it led you. 
• How do you see the future of the music industry? Demonstrate to the admissions officer how well you know the art and the business.
• Your  role model  in the music industry.  You may write about the qualities of the person you admire and why you want to develop them in yourself. Remember that admission officers want to read about you, not your idol.  
• How did your musical  taste change over the last ten years?  Describe the evolution of your preferences. Explain why you have changed some of your past choices. Do you think your musical taste has improved?  
• Your favorite musical genre .
• Does listening to music help to heal body and spirit?
• What is the best music performance you have ever seen?
• Why do people become fans of particular musicians?
• Your favorite song lyrics .
• Can people be judged by their musical taste?
• Why is music an essential part of human culture? 
• Quote about music that appeals to you the most. 
• How can music education help you in the future?
• Do you prefer listening to music or performing it? 
• How can music change your mood?
• Why you want to become a musician.
• Which culture has the most beautiful ethnical music?  
• Is music more of an art or business?
• What are the essential parts of musical education ?

Other Music Essay Topics

• Why do supermarkets play music? Think of the reasons why marketers use music in advertising and how it impacts customer behavior.
• An analysis of Robert Wise’s The Sound of Music . Evaluate how the director uses music to tell a story.
• The impact of music on the human brain.  Examine the latest research in the mental health field and how music therapy affects depression treatments. 
• The workings of the music industry . Assess how contemporary audio technology and touring lifestyle affect musicians.
• The role of music in different cultures. Choose and compare two countries to analyze their perspectives on the music industry.
• Music on television . Evaluate how the music of TV shows and movies impacts the audience’s feelings and behavior.
• Oliver Sacks’ contribution to music psychology. Explore the theories he discusses in Musicophilia and describe its influence on music psychology.
• Should all music be available for free download? Think about the ethical and legal aspects of this issue.
• How did music psychology help the development of music education ? Try to find a correlation between these two fields.
• Britney Spears and the adverse effects of teen popularity. Writing about this topic, you might want to focus on how her early fame affected her life. What happened after her famous breakdown in 2007?
• The half-life of one-hit-wonders. Focus your paper on quantitative research. How long do one-hit-wonders stay famous on average? Why do they fail to maintain their success?
• Journalism and the music industry. Examine the effects positive or negative press had on a musician of your choice.
• Festivals and sponsorship.  Discuss the benefits that corporate sponsors and the creators of music festivals gain from working together. 
• Rock songs and pessimistic lyrics.  Why do most popular rock songs have such sad and angry lyrics? 
• Discuss the development of your music taste. Write about what pushed you to change and how it influenced your life.
• The psychology of music.  Examine what someone’s favorite music genre can tell about their personality.
• Is ASMR music? ASMR artists make quiet sounds to soothe their audience. But can we really consider it music?
• A historical analysis of jazz. Explore how African Americans influenced the flourishing culture of jazz that has spread worldwide.
• The effect of classical music on children’s cognitive abilities. Supposedly, classical music is great for kids. Study this theory and make your conclusions.
• Discuss the characteristics of modern Latin American music . Dive into its diversity and describe the reasons for its popularity.
• How do Chinese artists make traditional music? Write about its complex creation process. Analyze the importance of articulation for composers.
• The history of music . With this essay, explore the six periods of music history. To top it off, you can predict what music will be like in the future.
• The music industry goes online. Discuss the importance of the internet for the industry and the challenges associated with it.
• The magic of instrumental music. Pick your favorite orchestra pieces and find unique features in each of them.
• Musical education: the sound of success?  Does everyone need a musical background?
• Explore the latest techniques in songwriting . Look into the song creation process of contemporary musicians. How do they get the audience to enjoy their art?
• Compare and contrast e-pianos and keyboards. In doing so, consider their structure, sound, and features. 
• The Woodstock festival as a game-changer. How has the Woodstock Music and Art Fair influenced the current state of the music industry? Additionally, investigate how current festivals hold up to the standards set by Woodstock.
• Music therapy for stroke patients . Find out whether incorporating elements of music therapy can support the treatment of patients who suffered a stroke.
• How do amplifiers work? If you’re a musician, you’ve likely used an amplifier before. Now it’s time to figure out what they are actually doing.
• The Killers’ contributions to indie rock. How would you define their style of music? What makes them a key player in indie music?
• Analyze the music in Grease . Pick some of the most popular songs from the musical and write about their influence on American culture.
• What’s the best way to interpret songs?  Describe methods to deconstruct songs and how the music style affects this process. 
• Teufel vs. Sennheiser: the ultimate comparison.  German sound equipment manufacturers are known for their cutting-edge technologies. But which brand is the best? 
• What role does harmony play in music composition? Choose several pieces of music and describe how the artists used harmony.
• How necessary are double bass drums? Do musicians place them on stage just to impress people, or do they have actual use?
• Compare regular festivals and free ones. Why spend hundreds of dollars on Coachella if you can go to Woodstock for free? In your essay, focus on the differences such as size, participating artists, and general entertainment .
• A historical analysis of choral music.  Singing in groups is a practice common across various cultures. You might choose one or two to work on.
• How did The Rolling Stones influence British culture? The Rolling Stones are one of the longest-standing rock bands of all time. Naturally, this left significant marks on their home country.
• How important are regional accents for English-language singers ? When working on this theoretical topic, include some examples and your personal opinion.
• The world of musical instruments: medieval music.  This fun essay can focus on different types of medieval instruments and their evolution. 
• Does the creative process differ for electronic and acoustic music? Look at how artists usually write songs. Do they start with the melody, the rhythm, or the lyrics? Does it depend on the medium? 
• The correlation between poems and medieval songs.  Find out how composers were reinventing poetry to create songs. 
• Hip-hop and gender equality . What is the role of women in the development of this music style? Don’t forget to give examples.
• When politics interferes with art: Eurovision. Analyze the role of the political situation in this song contest. Is there anything left of its original idea?
• How did Vladimir Vysotsky become a beloved musical figure outside of Soviet Russia? It’s unusual for Russian-language musicians to gain fame outside of their home country. Research how Vysotsky managed to mingle in the USA and have some of his work posthumously released in Europe.
• K-pop conquers the world .  You may narrow the topic down to a specific artist. Focus on the influence of Korean music in other cultures. 
• Music school students vs. amateurs. Discuss the different experiences and outcomes of music school students and those who learn to play instruments at home.
• Do music choices shape one’s identity , or is it the other way around? It’s an exciting question that lets you dig deep into the psychology of music.
• The music of dissents.  Energizing songs play an essential part in rebellions and revolutions. For example, analyze how protesters used music during the Arab Spring.
• The development and popularity of electronic music.  Starting from the early experiments, analyze the development of this style and its increasing influence 
• How do artists use social media to promote their music? You might want to choose one or two examples to illustrate the tools they use.
• Organum as one of the oldest written types of music . Study the development of this music style throughout various cultures.
• The appeal of Metallica’s  Nothing Else Matters. Many people consider the song one of their favorites. Examine its structure, melody, and lyrics. What makes it unique? 
• Africa’s hidden musical gems.   African  music is as diverse as its people. Pick two countries and compare their style. How do they differ from Western art? 
• Did people’s music  tastes improve compared to previous decades?  Here, you have the chance to express your views on the evolution of people’s music preferences.
• Is the life of pop stars as easy as people think? Share your thoughts on whether famous musicians and singers have a leisurely lifestyle.
• Physiological reactions to different types of music . Study how your body reacts to various beats and tones.
• Why do people tend to listen to specific songs on certain occasions? In your essay, ponder the effects of love songs or powerful anthems on one’s  mood . 
• What does someone’s ringtone say about their personality ? Think about how it affects your perception of a person.
• The impact of music on the individual’s  productivity .  Studies suggest a positive effect on people’s performance when they listen to something pleasant while working. But all the noise can get overstimulating. That’s why finding the balance is central. 
• Music is natural. In the depth of nature, there is music. Rain, a bird’s song, or the tapping of a squirrel’s feet melt together to create a beautiful composition. Music is everywhere—one only needs to listen carefully. 

If you haven’t found what you’re looking for, you’re welcome to use our topic generator .

✍️ Music Essay: How to Write

So, you have chosen your essay title. Now it’s time to start writing! But before you begin, read the sections below and learn how to organize your work.

How to Describe Music in Writing

You might think that writing about music is like dancing about architecture. Well, it is not an easy task, but we know how to cope with it.

Follow these tips while writing:

• Make a comparison.  Explain which characteristics of a piece remind you or are identical to those of another one. It’s better to avoid comparing music from different composers in this case. Instead, evaluate and analyze two musical pieces from the same composer.
• Describe the melody and dynamics.  You may want to use musical terms to show your knowledge and proficiency. Define the genre and what kind of instruments and tones are used.
• Explain how it makes you feel.  You can use basic human emotions to describe the feelings of a listener. For example, it can be anger, tenderness, irritation, excitement, or nostalgia.
• Use metaphorical language.  You may try using your imagination to create analogies. Be careful not to make your metaphors overcomplicated, as it may confuse the readers.

Essays about Music: Descriptive Words

Do you want your essay on music to be interesting and expressive? Then you may want to use descriptive vocabulary. Here are some of the terms that you can use in your essay to make it sound more professional:

• Tempo is the “speed” of music. There are fixed expressions to define tempo—for example, largo, moderate, or presto. You can also describe how fast the music feels.
• Timbre is the term that evaluates the “color” of music. Even if two instruments play the same note of the same volume, the sound is still different. This is how you can notice the color of the tone. For example, gentle, clear, heavy, or warm can be the adjectives to describe timbre.
• Dynamics define the volume levels of music. The volume can be the same all the time, for example loud or soft. If the volume of music changes, you can use such expressions as “gradually gets louder” “or suddenly becomes soft.”
• Harmony characterizes how all the notes and chords sound together. The sequence of chords—chord progression—defines how satisfying the melody is for the listener. For example, if the transitions are smooth, you can use such words as “relaxed” or “warm.”

Music Essay Outline

Like any other assignment, writing about music requires a proper essay outline that will guide you through the writing. The following sections will help you with that.

Before you start, here are some tips that will help you prepare for writing:

• Do some prior research. Try to learn as much as possible about the piece you will be writing about. It’s also helpful to listen to the music several times with headphones to notice more details.
• Don’t be afraid of asking questions. Consult your instructor if you’re unsure about your topic or the piece you have chosen.
• Choose the topic that you like. If you’re passionate about a subject, it is always easier to write about it. Who said that homework could not be interesting?
• Follow the recommendations that your instructor gives. It includes word limit, formatting style, deadline, and essay type.

Music Essay Introduction

The introduction is the section where you come up with a brief explanation of the topic. You may start it with a quotation, definition, or short statement that catches your reader’s attention and leads them to the essay subject.

A thesis statement is usually the last sentence of the introduction that defines the content of body paragraphs. It needs to be specific and not longer than two sentences. If you decide to shift the focus of your essay while writing, it’s crucial to change your thesis too.

Different types of essays require different thesis statements. Let’s take a closer look:

Music Essay Body

Your essay’s body is the most significant part of your writing. Here, you provide evidence and explanations of your claims.

The typical body paragraph structure includes:

• A topic sentence explaining the argument for a particular paragraph.
• An introduction to the evidence you gathered to support an argument.
• Quotes and facts (don’t forget about proper citation!) and their explanation.
• A connection between the evidence and the essay topic.
• Paragraph transitions  leading your reader to the next section.

Topic Sentence about Music

Topic sentences can be used as a roadmap to writing your essay. Each body paragraph begins with a topic sentence that defines what the paragraph is about. It introduces the argument or main thought that will be explained. It’s also connected with the thesis statement.

It’s essential to make your thesis easy to understand, so it’s better not to overcomplicate it. For example, here’s an unsuccessful topic sentence with unnecessary words:

As stated above, the guitar is an essential musical instrument in rock music that defines how it sounds.

Instead, you can formulate it like this:

The guitar is the most iconic musical instrument in rock music that defines how it sounds.

Music Essay Conclusion

When writing a conclusion for your essay on music, you can use the following structure:

• Summarize the text in a few sentences.
• Review the key points of your paper.
• Paraphrase the thesis.

To make your essay conclusion more effective, avoid the following:

📑 What Music Means to Me: Essay Example

Now you know all about writing an essay on music! To make it even easier for you, we’ve prepared an essay sample that you can use for inspiration. Check it out:

Now all you need is to turn the music on and get down to writing! We hope you liked this guide. If you did, don’t hesitate to share it with your friends.

Further reading:

• How to Write a Good Critique Paper: Killer Tips + Examples
• How to Write an Art Critique Essay: Guidelines and Examples
• How to Write a Movie Critique Paper: Top Tips + Example
• Modern Fairy Tale Essay: How to Write, Topics and Ideas
• 200 Creative Topics for Opinion Essays
• 182 Free Ideas for Argumentative or Persuasive Essay Topics
• 180 Excellent Evaluation Essay Topics

✏️ Music Essay FAQ

Music is a vast topic. An essay might deal with anything ranging from trends in the 1950s to the best guitarists of all time. Writing an introduction to certain music styles or bands is also possible. In any case, the paper should be well-structured, logical, and cohesive.

Writing about music doesn’t necessarily require any specific skills. If you’re not familiar with the theory of music and can’t play musical instruments, you can just write about the music you like. Here are some topic ideas: favorite music band, style, or how you perceive music.

You can interpret music as a topic in various ways. If you are getting a degree in this field, you might want to write something more specific and technical. If your essay aims to merely inform and entertain, write about your favorite music style or band.

If you are writing an essay for school, a good choice would be an expository essay. It doesn’t require any specific knowledge of the music industry. Title suggestions might be: “My perception of music,” “My favorite band,” “How music can change the world.”

• What is the Music Industry? Definition and Facts: Study.com
• What Music Do You Write To?: Writers & Artists
• A Music Review: British Council
• Music: UNC Writing Center: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Sound and Sense: Writing about Music: Colorado State University
• Music analysis Research Papers: Academia.edu
• The Power of Music Therapy: Belmont University
• Musicology: Northwestern Bienen School of Music
• Musicology: Areas of Study: Indiana State University
• Music Facts: Facts.net
• Music History from Primary Sources: Library of Congress
• Music: Encyclopedia Britannica
• A History of Classical Music: Part 1: The List
• What Is Jazz: Smithsonian Institution
• The 50 Greatest Composers of All Time: Classical Music
• Musical Terms and Concepts: SUNY Potsdam
• Ethnomusicology: University of Oxford
• Music Research Process: Syracuse University
• Journal of Popular Music Studies: University of California Press
• The History of Pop Music in 5 Defining Decades: The Culture Trip
• Music of the 20 th Century: Lumen Learning
• Explainer: Indie Music: The Conversation
• Your Brain on Music: University of Central Florida
• Music and Health: Harvard University
• The Psychological Function of Music Listening: NIH
• Essays that Worked: Hamilton
• Writing in Music: Writing Thesis Statements: The City University of New York
• Academic Writing about Music: University of Denver
• How to Write Song Lyrics: Berklee
• Essay Introduction: University of Maryland
• Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements: Purdue University
• Writing Body Paragraphs: Monash University
• Some Tips for Writing Efficient, Effective Body Paragraphs: University of California, Berkeley
• Writing a Paper: Conclusions: Walden University
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Thank you very much for this post on music essay writing! You don’t know how long I looked for the helpful information on writing music essays!

Music takes an important part in my life. I wake up and go to bed listening to music. And now when I’m writing my music essay, I also listen to music. And it’s also a pleasure to read an article on how to write an essay on music!

Music essay

How to write an essay about music: useful tips from a professional composer.

Writing an essay about music can be a real challenge for many students. Some struggle with technical terms, such as tempo, rhythm, time or key signatures, clefs and ties between notes. Others just need to describe how the music sounds but it also proves harder than they might initially think. 

This article by Greg Wells is for all the learners who don’t know what to write in their papers about music of any genre or era. Read on to find out how to describe the melodies you hear and analyze them in a meaningful way.

How to describe instrumental music

Each music essay starts with you listening to the piece and analyzing the way it sounds without any terminology. So, how to make the most of this stage? For starters, you need to jot down the adjectives that come to your mind. Is the piece melodic or dissonant, does it go from fast to slow or vice versa, or, perhaps, the tempo stays the same throughout it? Once you’ve figured out these basics, you’ll need to listen to the piece you’re analyzing the second time and pick up more details. 

Specifically, analyze how instruments and vocals (if there are any) work together to create harmony. To do this, you’ll need to single out the most catchy and prominent riffs and describe them. For example, the singer’s soft voice might contrast with sharp and intense electric guitar sounds, ending up as an unforgettable mix. In short, keep your ear out for something that’s memorable and remarkable about the song you’re analyzing.

Of course, all the steps mentioned above work better if you keep track of “technical” aspects. Try finding the score for the music you’re writing about and pay attention to the time signature and tempo. Think about the genre of your piece and ask yourself why the composer chose those parameters. For example, marches usually have a 4/4 time signature while waltzes go with 3/4, but it’s not uncommon to write lullabies in that signature as well. Think about what would change if you hummed this song faster or slower, try it out if you have a chance. That way, you’ll be able to understand and describe it far better.

How to describe vocals

Not every essay on music obligates students to describe singing, but it’s an important part of many musical pieces. Here’s some advice on how to understand what to write about.

• Start by describing what you hear. You should determine if the vocals are high-pitched or low and how many singers there are? Is this a solo, a duet, or a choir? If it’s a modern song, are there any backing singers? Do the voices sound harmonious or dissonant? What vocal ranges do they have? Answering these questions is a great start.
• Continue by analyzing the intonation of singers . Essentially, musical intonation is about pitch accuracy and, in some cases, the way in which musicians choose to interpret the piece. Do all notes sound in tune with the backing track or accompaniment? If it’s a cover of a popular song, which parts are different from the original in terms of pitch? Is it higher or lower? Ask such questions to get materials for your future essay.
• End with a brief description of the melody and how it’s written . At the end of your description, you can mention that the specific parts of the song could be difficult for the singer because of their range or the way this melody is designed. Look for information from musical critics to determine which parts are the trickiest and analyze the way they’re performed.

Analyzing musicality: The basic things you might’ve missed

It’s clear why people ask, “What is music essay anyway?” We don’t usually think about songs as something we can analyze and discuss the way we discuss books and movies. However, music conjures images and tells stories in a similar way to other media, so here are some questions you can ask to get more insights.

What is the main emotion of the musical piece? Normally, loud bases make songs heavier on our ears while gentle, higher notes give them soothing qualities. However, that doesn’t necessarily determine the emotions you’ll feel when listening to them.. Remember the eerie melodies of ancient music boxes from horror films. Although they’re high-pitched and theoretically pleasant, they give most people shivers. On the other hand, a rock melody can sound happy and not aggressive at all, despite big basses. 

In which life situation would you listen to this song? Some musical pieces are tied to specific occasions, like wedding marches. However, most songs are just out there, for you to listen whenever you please. If you analyze when would be the best time to turn on the specific piece, it might give you a better feel for it. That way, you’ll know how to approach it in your essay.

Do you think this piece is hard to play? If so, why? Difficult songs are always more impressive, but challenging pieces aren’t always fast and they don’t necessarily have high-pitched vocals. The biggest hurdles are often the complex rhythm, changing intonations, and the bits where the musician is allowed to improvise.

Reading into music: Historical context

Whether you’re writing an essay about songs of modernity or about Bach, who basically founded music as we know it, you need context. 

• Who is the original author of this song and why did they write it? This might seem obvious, but that’s not always the case. For example, what we all know as “The Circus Song” is in fact called “Entry of the Gladiators, Op. 68.” Julius Fučík wrote that march in 19th century Austria to showcase the might of the army. As you can see, the meaning of some music can really change over time.
• What was going on in the world when this musical piece appeared? It’s important to understand the agenda and the messages that the composer could include into their music. For example, Richard Wagner was antisemitic, which has made his music what many people call the German Nazi soundtrack. Such details are also essential for a good music essay.
• Why do people like this music? You can start answering this question by looking at the fan base if you’re writing about a modern song or googling the opinions of critics if your essay is about a classical piece. It can be refreshing and enlightening to compare others’ opinions and impressions to yours.

You might find some of the tips above less useful than the other ones, but you’re sure to write a good music essay if you follow the ones that suit you. Good luck on your journey! I hope that this article has made you one step closer to discovering the true beauty and complexity of music.

• T.H.E – Podcasts

Writing An Essay On Music Thematic: 5 Key Elements

Essays about music can be rather hard if you’d rather play music and express your emotions through it rather than share them and your opinions in written form. Those who struggle with such tasks usually address EssayWritingService.com to work on engaging projects and practice. But what if you have to write it by yourself?

Music is a massive subject, with myriad genres, instruments, theoretical, and cultural facets to examine in an essay. The complexity of the subject is intimidating to the uninitiated.

That’s why some writers crafting content on music may find a college essay writing service to be of use at some point in their writing process.

In this article, we’ll assess several key elements of an essay on a musical theme. The processes we’ll cover include analysis, technical work, comparative studies, and more.

We’ll also discuss some great music essay topics if you’re stuck for ideas; remember that a hypothesis is the most crucial element of any essay. Hopefully, the elements here will find a happy home in your music essay and help you get a top mark.

1) Writing about music that you love:

Whether it’s disco or desert-rock, EDM or classical, if you choose a genre or subject you love, the process of writing becomes much easier. All those internal references and resonances can come out in an essay and help demonstrate how much of an expert you are on your theme of choice.

2) Writing technically and analytically:

Essays cannot simply describe a song or a piece of music. While the phenomenological approach can be useful in certain essays, it shouldn’t make up the bulk of your essay. Writing analytically about music also does not have to mean talking chords, scales, and tunings. Analysis can be related to a corollary, like the means of publishing, the types of audience, the social scenes involved, and the impact on culture or music theory.

Music analysis is a much more technical skill. Remember that when you’re writing an essay, you only really need to fulfil the criteria set out in the mark scheme. For a music essay, this mark scheme will likely sound like this “[the student] evaluates music by systemically deconstructing the score, determining any manipulations, relationships, elements, and compositional devices being used, and communicating judgements on these in a detailed and substantiated manner”.

That’s not likely a verbatim extract from your personal mark scheme, but it is a close approximation of those for song analysis essays. Be sure to double-check and work from your own mark scheme.

The general gist however is clear: use your music knowledge, evaluate what you hear and present it in a way that is both detailed and backed up by sources and citations – remember to cite the piece itself, either by the bar or the time in the song.

3) Making comparisons:

In the previous section, we talked about the use of musical knowledge and how judgements must be made in a detailed way. One method of judgement is the comparison; you can take time in your essay writing process to determine whether an element of the composition is related in some way to an element in another piece. What interesting lines of flight can you draw?

4) Choosing a good topic:

Should you be writing a dissertation, you will have to choose your own subject and delineate it in a way that shows you have found some novelty in the field. If you are looking for examples of topics, you can always dive through Wikipedia, it’s a great place to find connections between subjects and ideas.

Another way of coming up with a thesis and topics is to study your music collection. Go with something that interests you, or go with something you dislike and try to explain why you think it is such a poor showing. When doing the latter, remember that critique itself is an art form that shouldn’t be watered down into blunt punches and crass language.

5) Be an active participant:

When we usually listen to music, we’re doing so in a passive sense. Our ears are open for the melodies and harmonies to fall into, but are we actually listening? We may very well be enjoying the music, but unfortunately, enjoyment won’t get top marks. In order to write an essay about music we need to deconstruct it, and in order to do that we must listen very actively and attentively.

A tried and tested method for doing this is to select one musical element, for example, pitch or timbre, and listen to the entire song focusing solely on that aspect. Then, as you can surely guess, do the same with other aspects. Write down notes on everything that you notice. Once you’ve noted through all the relevant elements , you’ll have a lot of notes to work with and a great familiarity with the piece.

In summary, writing a solid essay on music requires attentive listening, knowledge of musical elements, and the ability to put into words the sensations and feelings evoked when listening to the piece. These skills can only be cultivated through practice and patience – it takes a certain amount of time to listen to each piece of music. So, start early and listen well.

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Musical Understandings: and Other Essays on the Philosophy of Music

Stephen Davies,  Musical Understandings: and Other Essays on the Philosophy of Music , Oxford University Press, 2011, 221pp., $75.00 (hbk), ISBN 9780199608775.

Reviewed by Paul Thom, The University of Sydney

This collection of reprinted and reworked essays is loosely organised around the concept of musical understanding. The first four chapters focus on musical expression, the next six on various things that can be meant by speaking of understanding music, then there are two chapters on ontological questions, and a final chapter on musical profundity. This is a fairly wide spread of topics, and the level of organisation falls short of what would be needed in a book designed to be read from beginning to end. At the same time, anyone who reads it from beginning to end will find a lot of very good up-to-date philosophy of music, which also includes a certain amount of undesirable repetition, especially in the opening chapters.

The opening chapters ('Artistic expression and the hard case of pure music', 'Music and metaphor', 'Cross-cultural musical expressiveness: theory and the empirical program', and 'Emotional contagion from music to listener') are devoted to a defence of the theory that music's expressiveness is due to its power to give rise to responses based on similarities between the music's expressive properties and certain naturally expressive human behaviour. As the author says, 'The concept of musical sadness, for instance, is the concept of the music's disposition to produce the listener's recognition of sadness under appropriate conditions of listening' (32).

Some readers might take this talk of the listener's recognition of sadness to refer to an emotional response in the listener that mirrors the quality of sadness expressed by the music. However, that is not what Davies means. He allows that there are mirroring experiences and he does not think these are necessarily pathological, but he doesn't think they are necessary for the occurrence of the required recognition. All that is required is that the listener experience the resemblance that the music bears to certain expressions of sadness: 'So much for the dependence, what of the response? What form does it take when what is experienced is music's expressiveness? I believe it is an experience of resemblance between music and the realm of human emotion' (9). And the resembled items in the realm of human emotion are not inner feelings but external behaviours: 'music is expressive in recalling the gait, attitude, air, carriage, posture, and comportment of the human body' (10).

This suggests that the listener's response to expressive music (leaving aside the case where the listener feels a mirroring emotion) is simply a matter of perception, as in other cases of response-dependence. Yet this consequence would place the listener's response to music's expressiveness in a different category from the listener's response to musical form, which according to Davies is an experiential one in a sense of experience that is contrasted with mere perception: 'Music appears to have an experiential rather than a discursive logic. We do not merely perceive a succession of patterns in music. Instead, we experience the musical parts as connected into a dynamic whole' (75). But why should it be that the listener's experience of musical expressiveness can be merely a perceptual matter, while the listener's experience of musical form cannot?

Davies distinguishes listening from mere hearing on the ground that the former unlike the latter is 'attentional' -- this being the important case for the philosophy of music. But one might wonder whether it is also important to draw distinctions within the attentive listening to music. One may attend to specific sorts of things in the music because one is listening for things of that sort -- the music's formal features, or the ways in which it is like the expression of human feelings. And one may attend in different ways -- in a closely analytical way, or with a kind of absorption that leaves no room for analysis.

These opening chapters focus on factual questions about whether a given musical passage expresses a given state or feeling, not on evaluative questions about how well it does so. Yet music-lovers do raise such evaluative questions, and sometimes, at least, they accord higher esteem to a passage because it communicates how something feels, rather than simply conveying what it resembles.

In the chapter 'Musical meaning in a broader perspective' (co-authored with Constantijn Koopman), the authors introduce a notion of experiential formal meaning and contrast understanding in response to music with understanding through analysis. This chapter makes a useful distinction between relations of implication and relations of reference within a piece of music.

The essay from which the collection takes its title ('Musical understandings') is an extended piece, exploring different ways in which listeners, performers, music analysts and composers are said to have an understanding of music. Included among these ways of understanding are: recognising the music's boundaries, its determinative instructions for performance, its genre and history, and distinguishing the music from its performance. The chapter gives critical consideration to Levinson on listening in the moment, Raffman on ineffability, DeBellis on expert and inexpert listening, and various other philosophers of music.

In the chapter titled 'The experience of music' Davies opposes the suggestion that music can convey ineffable truths, while allowing that the experience is indescribably rich in its specificity. He considers different genres of listening (listening to the music of the past, to live or recorded music).

There is a fine chapter (' Così 's canon quartet') on the vocal quartet in Mozart's Così fan tutte , and certain other moments in the Mozart/Da Ponte operas where time seems to stand still and the characters for a moment stand back from the action. Adopting the approach of a musico-dramatic critic rather than that of an analytic philosopher, Davies argues that at these moments Mozart is pointing to the dramatic significance of the work's underlying musical structures. The approach in most of the book is that of analytic philosophy, and accordingly Davies mostly concentrates on 'pure' music, i.e., excluding vocal music. The exclusion of vocal music from most of this collection stands in sharp relief against its sensitive and original treatment in this chapter. We may hope that one day Davies will write at length about the under-discussed topics of opera and voice.

The chapter 'Perceiving melodies' is a psychological study comparing the perception of melodies with the visual recognition of objects. Davies argues that, just as we can identify the same object presented in different visual circumstances, so we can identify the same musical material when it is presented backwards or upside-down -- noting, however, that such judgments of melodic identity are tolerant to variations in intervallic sequence, and that this tolerance plays an essential role in much musical composition.

In 'Musical colors and timbral sonicism' Davies delivers a thorough-going critique of Julian Dodd's timbral sonicism -- a view according to which the ontology of musical works is to be judged solely on the basis of what their performance would sound like. Davies rejects this as a general theory (here he does not restrict consideration to non-vocal music). Drawing on research in the psychology of perception, he argues that it is not just the quality of the sounds, but also their source, that is constitutive for many musical works. Importantly, he also avails himself here of his own account of musical works, which allows that some musical works are comparatively 'thin' -- noting that such 'thinness' may take the form of not specifying which instruments are to be used in performing the work.

Another chapter ('Versions of musical works and literary translations') elucidates the concept of a version of a musical work, distinguishing versions from drafts, from novel works, from performance interpretations, and from transcriptions. Davies also distinguishes versions of a completed work from versions that complete an otherwise uncompleted work.

The closing essay ('Profundity in instrumental music') combines the author's skills in philosophical and musical analysis to argue for the thesis that some music is profound by reason of the human qualities of insight, vitality, complexity, creativity, flexibility and analytical far-reachingness which it exemplifies. He illustrates the thesis by a musical analysis of the coda of the first movement of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony -- an analysis that convincingly explains why the coda is of such extraordinary length and why the harmonic uniformity of its last 64 measures conveys a sense of apotheosis and triumph rather than one of banality.

The virtues for which Stephen Davies' writings on the philosophy of music are well-known -- his clarity of thought and comprehensiveness of scholarship, his engagement with the psychological as well as the philosophical literature, his grasp of musicological scholarship, and his familiarity with some forms of non-Western music -- are all evident in this volume. Together, they make this volume a very desirable one for senior undergraduate or graduate students who want to know the current state of philosophical debate on the issues covered.

A music review

Learn how to write an album review.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and tips and do the exercises.

Preparation

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Want a job as a music journalist? Here's your chance. We're looking for a new lead reviewer for Hot! Magazine but we're not interviewing for the job. Instead, write a review of your favourite album ever. We want to know why you love it and why you think everyone should listen to it. Convince us and you've got the job!

I'm certainly not alone with my choice of favourite album. In fact, Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA has sold 30 million copies worldwide since its release in 1984. Nearly 30 years later, in 2013, Springsteen performed the complete album in concert to the delight of some of his many die-hard fans.

A fast-paced, foot-tapping rock album, Born in the USA 's lyrics nevertheless carry emotional weight. Behind the catchy rock melodies that drive these powerhouse classics are stories of the dark side of the American dream. Many tracks deal with the struggles of hard-working ordinary people and the bitterness and anger they feel as life doesn't bring them riches or glory. The song Glory Days , for example, is about people in a small town looking back at when they were young and had the world at their feet while Downbound Train  tells the story of a young man whose life is ruined when he loses his job. It's not hard to imagine that the artist is channelling real people he knew and the life he might have had if he hadn't become a star. The album will leave you in no doubt of the unique and extraordinary talent of the Boss.

Unlike many other best-selling album artists, Springsteen is still releasing chart-topping, stadium-filling new music and remains at the top of his game in his late 60s. It doesn't surprise me at all. This is a man who tells us our most fundamental stories about ourselves and, when you listen to Born in the USA , those stories are as relevant today as they ever were.

• The first paragraph should be a general introduction to what you're reviewing. Include the title, artist, and an interesting fact about its success or how it was made.
• The main body of the review needs detailed observations. Use specific vocabulary (e.g.  lyrics , fast-paced , catchy melodies ) to comment on particular songs and parts of the music.
• It is also important to give context. Link the music to the artist's life, or what inspired them, and the political or social context of the album.
• Try to make the review interesting and relevant to the reader. You can relate the artist's work to real-life experience (yours or that of people in general).
• Use compound adjectives (e.g. fast-paced , foot-tapping , best-selling ) to make your writing highly descriptive.
• Finish off with a summary of why this album/concert, etc. is important.

What's your favourite album of all time?

Language level

The person I look up to is Jennifer Lopez who wrote many albums, yet on the SuperBowl in Miami presented her song called 'Born in the USA' which is one of my favourite.

That music event was beyond words. There were vivid melodies and lyrics which I knew by heart which made this experience much more enjoyable. She also wrote the song called 'Let's get loud' to increase woman's power. It relates to a singer and Latinas, and inspired her to make her voice heard about their situation. 

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As a hardcore K-pop fan, my ultimate favorite album is the last Big Bang's work as a full group called M.A.D.E. It was published in 2016 and has sold more than 3 million copies since then. The piece served as a goodbye to fans before the scandal ruined it all.

Combining a diverse range of music types, from EDM, and hip hop to ballads, and R&B, Big Bang never failed to deliver top-notch music to their fan. The most well-known hit of this album, Bang Bang Bang, with a fast-paced and rocky melody, can mistakes to others about the meaningful message the album conveys. Generally, they tell stories of young people's love, and their struggle with it, along with the existential crisis. The slow ballad and R&B of Loser, Last Dance, If You, and Let Not Fall In Love get us through the lenses of the demise of relationships, which leads to self-doubt and sorrow. Then they brought us back to life with Fxxk It, mid-tempo melodic resonated with playful tones that set us with the spirit of 'don't hesitate and just go for it'. Lastly, We Like 2 Party, with a joyful melody sets a tone to celebrate the hyper part of youth. When I first heard those songs, I couldn't relate much, as life was still easy for me at that time, now they are my comfort space to go back and get consoled through the hardship of my 20s.

Even though one member had to leave the group and they no longer make music together, Big Bang songs in general, particularly this album, still hold a special place in my heart. And fans hope one day we can meet again at their concert.

Though this album comes out of controversies in the artist's life, it does not back off from showing her talent and knowledge of the music industry. The album I am referring to is ‘Eternal Sunshine,’ and the artist is the famous Ariana Grande. Soon after her divorce, the album was released, and doubtless the contents of the marriage were not spared. Her most famous song of the album is ‘Yes, and?’ addressing the rumors and gossip about her and unapologetically saying yes, and? to them all. The song came out with a new look of the artist and also a slight departure from her popular voice, but not the style. If not easily by the voice, then by the lyrics, you can guess the artist. All of the songs on the album are catchy and stay in your head for a long time, including ‘The Boy Is Mine’ and ‘Boy Bye.’ Despite it being my favorite album, there is space for criticism as well. There are not many deep lyrics in the songs, rather a collection of rhyming short repetitive lines, but the melody and the artist's voice make them catchy to listen to. These songs are more of dancing and rising songs, songs you listen to make yourself feel better, but after a while, they get irritating for their lack of meaningfulness and diversity. The subject in all the songs is highly related to the artist's life and past or current events and her feelings towards them. Most of the song themes are already covered by the artist in past albums. Having said that, the talent and creativity are nonetheless not in doubt. The songs are a great hit in the pop music genre, just what is intended.

P.S. Feel free to post comments.

I’m certainly not the only one with my choice of best album. In fact, “NEW JEANS” album which debut album of k-pop girl group, NewJeans received great attention as soon as it came out.

At first ,   NewJeans is interesting because of being the junior girl group of BTS who is the most popular k pop group all over the world. After I listened to the debut album, i felt like this is the music what K-pop is really needed nowadays. There are four songs in the album. Each song have chill melodies which is really different main current of K-pop market. This kind of music attracts a lot of fans and the debut album helps NewJeans to become one of most popular K-pop girl group. I really like the song”Hype Boy”. The name and lyrics make the audience to think the high school life and the melody is so chill and relax. The whole album maintain the same style. Because of this album, NewJeans got a lot of scores and awards.

Junior H has a total of 8 albums, and I couldn't choose just one as my favorite. I've been listening to him since the beginning of his career in 2019. The start of his singing career wasn't easy; he faced many failures with his compositions to the point of contemplating retirement. However, one day, in his last attempt, he composed "No he cambiado," a song he sent to a promoter named "Mexicano music," who uploaded it to YouTube. Junior H thought about asking him to delete it because he felt sad about his previous failures, but he decided to give it a chance. After 2 weeks, the song had 2 million views, which motivated him to release more music. One of his most listened-to albums, "Mi vida en un cigarro," features melodies with deep lyrics, such as the song "Extssy Model," which talks about the reunion with a past love, causing him great pain because he still feels immense nostalgia for that relationship. In conclusion, Junior H's albums have very good songs, mostly addressing heartbreaks, and they explain the consequences of the suffering caused by these experiences.

I think my favorite album of all time is Punto y Aparte from Panter Belico is about corridos and romantic music in banda.

In 2024 where in Mexico you listen to a lot of corrido, raps and "rock", there is a singer that I really like more than the others and I could call him my favorite, he is known as junior h and he recently gained power in the music scene, the album that I could say is my favorite is called "atrapado en un sueño" which had an average of 87 million listens, his most listened song is "el hijo mayor" with 245 million listens.

One of my favourite boybands ever is Backstreet Boys. It is an American pop group that ran popular in the midst of 90s and 2000s. I’ve made a research to learn about their background, so originally they come from Orlando, Florida and their band was created in 1993 with a help of a producer Lil’ Shy. I know names of all members of this band: AJ, Howie, Kevin, Nick and Brian. They were incredibly famous at that time and were exploding all the charts with their foot-tapping songs. The song “I Want It That Way ” was always a chart-topping single all over the world and was considered as their calling card that was recognized everywhere they went. It goes without saying, their album “Millenium” became the best-selling album of 1999 in the U.S. And surely, I was also in the line of those die-hard crazy fans who knew most of their songs by heart and were singing along. Every time when I listen to their songs it channels memories of my youth. The Backstreet Boys are still serving the world’s boyband fans today. Recently BSB have performed in Dubai and they still fill stadiums. I wish I were there too.

In times where lyrics seem to not have relevance with people’s deepest values or experiences, Spanish catholic music group Hakuna sets itself apart as a genre-defying music group thanks to its heartfelt lyricism, soul-stirring melodies, and liturgical-profound messaging. Of all their albums, the third one “Sencillamente” really accounts for the popularity this group has had in the past 5 years, bringing about 230k monthly listeners worldwide. Hakuna shapes up together and blends melodic rhythms with captivating religious messages. All of the group’s songs have come from the members’ prayers, hence the profound and deeply meaningful lyrics that each of the songs brings up. As an example, one of the most enchanting and emotional songs from the “Sencillamente” album, is the one called “Colombia”. This song was released in 2019 and talks about how even though many times we may not feel God’s presence in our lives, following and trusting him represents the purest love act we can give to him, as the thought-provoking phrase that says: “Loving without feeling; now that is true love” demonstrates. Likewise, the “Sencillamente” song digs into the beauty of adhering to God's promise despite passing through moments of despair, sadness, and fear. Furthermore, the song blends in the splendid lyrics with a high-energy, deep-feeling rhythm which makes you live what the author is singing, causing you to identify in a personal manner with the song. So, where did this group come from and how were they able to come up with such a unique and unmatched music style? Well, Hakuna was born back in the days of 2013, after World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro. Afterward, the group established itself in Spain, and since then, it has produced 5 different albums, all of them sharing exceptional liturgical ballads and eucharistic harmonies. One of the most remarkable attributes of the group is that while most of their success comes from the music group songs, Hakuna represents something bigger than just a catholic band, it represents a lifestyle-following truth as the result of being loved by God. In conclusion, Hakuna’s album “Sencillamente” is a game changer because it breaks through the long-established conventional boundaries of what is considered a religious-themed song. Also, it sets itself apart since it brings together enchanting melodies, devotional lyrics, and a mystical atmosphere all together, thereby playing out life-inspiring songs that certainly will touch the deepest of your soul and heart.

With different music exponents 2022 was marked by the pop music industry, nevertheless there was a new artist incorporated to the big leagues of the music and her name is Rosalía. The self-denominated “Motomami” is a Spanish singer and composer of 31 years old. She came to change the music paradigms by including melodies as “flamenco” to the pop music style, being awarded by Billboard with the Rising Star prize. In 2019, we came listening a catchy soundtrack called “Con Altura” where She got a Latin Grammy Prize in collaboration with the urban artist J. Balvin. But it was not until 2022 where she becomes internationally renowned and will lead the chart-topping in all over the world with her album “MOTOMAMI”. It’s essences an incredible and curious mix of different melodies which including flamenco, jazz, reggaeton, bachata, among others. This is an innovative and gripping album oval by both the criticism and the die-hard fans, where the imagination flew to make some fast-paced soundtracks like DESPECHÁ, SAOKO and, CHICKEN TERIYAKI. With her unmistakable voice, she has delighted several packed-halls on “MOMOMAMI WORLD TOUR (MWT)”, where the atmosphere has been electric and thrilling. While some of her songs have these characteristics, others have moving and touching rhythms, such as HENTAI and SAKURA.

Many theatregoers to MWT said that she was lived up to expectations, and it was a treat to watch. At the end of each concert, deafening applauses were heard in the halls. This year, Rosalía has known how to exploit his musical career with MOTOMAMI album and MWT. Giving these results, we expect the next year She obtains new music and greater success in the music industry.

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Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — Music — Song Analysis

Essays on Song Analysis

Song analysis essay topics and outline examples, essay title 1: analyzing the lyrical and musical elements of a song.

Thesis Statement: Through a comprehensive analysis of the lyrical content, musical composition, and cultural context of a song, we can uncover deeper layers of meaning and appreciate the artistry behind the music.

• Introduction
• Lyrical Analysis: Themes, Metaphors, and Symbolism
• Musical Composition: Melody, Rhythm, and Instrumentation
• Cultural and Historical Context
• Interpreting the Song's Message and Impact

Essay Title 2: The Sociopolitical Commentary in Protest Songs

Thesis Statement: Protest songs have historically served as a powerful medium for expressing social and political commentary, and by examining their lyrics and historical context, we gain insight into important societal issues.

• Defining Protest Songs and Their Significance
• Analysis of Key Protest Song Lyrics
• Historical Events and Social Movements
• Impact and Legacy of Protest Music

Essay Title 3: The Evolution of Songwriting in Popular Music

Thesis Statement: By tracing the evolution of songwriting techniques and themes in popular music genres over time, we can gain a deeper understanding of the cultural shifts and artistic innovations in music history.

• Songwriting Styles and Themes in Different Decades
• Impact of Technological Advancements on Songwriting
• Artistic Movements and Influential Songwriters
• Reflection of Societal Changes in Song Lyrics

Happy by Pharrell Williams: Figurative Language

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Song Critique: "Man in The Mirror" by Michael Jackson

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Chapter 3: Literacies across the disciplines

3.6.4 The language of music (research essay)

Alana Thigpen

English 102, November 2020

If asked to name a language, what would be your first answer? If you are reading this in English, that would likely be the first one you would list, followed by French, Spanish, and Mandarin, all considered some of the most common languages in the world. But what if I told you there was an even more universal language, that everyone in the world can understand? That language is that of music. We can all be connected by music in the world, but to do that it has to be seen by the general public first as a language, and then we must all learn how to effectively communicate with it. This paper will highlight music as a language for all, and discuss the flaws in today’s musical teachings, and what can be done to fix this.

Introduction

When we communicate, we do not often think “what is a language and how does it work?” because it is in our nature to make then noises that pass as words. But what happens when you do analyze what is considered a language and what is not? Do we find that more things pass under the definition than we previously expected, or is it proven that some of the words we even use today are not considered part of our native language? In this essay, I will focus on what a language is considered to be and show you there is more to language than just words on a paper.

As defined by the Oxford Dictionary, language is a means of communication that consists of words, sounds, or gestures between people that are often structured easy to comprehend format that is shared within a community (Oxford Dictionary, n.d.). But why is it that language is limited to what is writing in the pages or spoken word between people? I believe that while there are many languages in the world, one that is universal to all humans, and even some other species, is music. Music can be categorized under limitless genres; based on sound, style, audience perception, or place of origin, but one thing that will never change is its outreach to people. Some may say that music is not a viable language simply because it does not always contain words or an active conversation. But to those people, I would like to make the claim that music is a means of communication between groups of people, varying in many genres, and there is a little something for everyone. I do not think it is humanly possible to dislike all forms of music, because music conveys emotion, something we can all understand thoroughly.

When an artist or arranger wants to release a particular set of feelings, they can easily display their intentions through instrument composition. This is a methodical process to give the song a certain sound, which can either hold meaning on its own or can be accompanied by vocals to further boost the message. Either way, when you hear a song, you can often easily decipher the mood associated with it because of this instrumentation. While I am no arranger myself, I know that this quickly recognized tone is not a simple task to create. With some research from an online source called Music Theory, the structure of timbre, also known as sound quality or sound color (Music Theory, 2015) can be easily explained to anyone, regardless of musical experience. Sound color is an important aspect of music as a whole. When you consider the color, you often first have to focus on the instrumentation of the piece, what instruments were chosen, and more importantly, how does it contribute to the piece as a whole? The variation of instruments then adds dimension to the music, which will help the listener understand, even if they never notice the variety within the composition.

For example, think of the tone of a sad song. Then, try to associate a color group with the tone; most likely, you thought of a group of purples or blues, right? This is no mere coincidence; from the time we were children, this color group has almost always been associated with somber emotions, and the instrumentation of the song can therefore create this color palette. The song I thought of in this example was “Say Something” by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera. This well-known song features a dramatic piano intro, joined by the solemn tones of the singers and the flowing of the orchestra. This combination will easily convey the tone of the music, giving every component a different intensity, or in this instance, color.

How music is taught

With this in mind, it is easy to see how structured classrooms are not useful for learning the creation of music. If music is actively used to convey emotion what would be the point in replicating someone else’s pieces all day? The piece “Informal Music Learning, Improvisation and Teacher Education” by Wright and Kennellepoulos highlights the extreme creativity of young children in artistic settings (Wright and Kennellepoulos, 71). But while this is true, as students enter primary school, they are often found assimilating to the likes of the teacher’s standards as well as to fit in with their peers. This will lead to a disconnect between the student and teacher, where the teacher assigns, and the student completes without independent thought. In a musical setting, this will lead to a sense of tediousness when it comes to an assigned piece of music. In a basic music class, the student would file in, grab their instruments, and wait for the instructor to tell them the lesson plan. Oftentimes this is as simple as pulling out their most recent piece of sheet music to play all together from start to finish or focusing on a certain section for the entirety of the class. This droning of the music will oftentimes become dull after the first or second class. There would be even less excitement to attend the class if the tone of the music were not appealing to the crowd of students.

For example, if the director of a seventh-grade chamber orchestra were to assign a new piece that was somber in tone and had a slow tempo, the energetic students would not be excited to constantly repeat the sad song during class and would be less engaged overall. But if they attended the class, expecting that somber song, and were surprised with a new, upbeat piece that they had heard on the radio before, they would be more likely to participate and enjoy the day’s lesson. I believe it is common knowledge that allowing a person to pick what they want to do will overall increase their participation in the task. That can then be applied to the music classroom as well. Allowing a student to choose the song they want to practice or perform with foster an informal learning environment, increasing not only participation but also conformability. In my high school orchestra class, my teacher would often allow the class to vote on the piece they wanted to practice for the day. While this did not always please everyone, the class saw fairness in this approach and were generally more comfortable playing aloud than if they were forced to play a piece they had no fondness for.

A big question to be tackled is what is music literacy? Obviously, literacy has something to do with language, but that is not specific enough in this case. In James Gee’s “What is Literacy?,” he explained to his readers that literacy is the control of language, whether it be your primary or secondary discourse (Gee, 23). While he goes into depth about the difference between primary and secondary discourse, he says something that makes my case particularly strong. “For most of us, playing a musical instrument, or dancing or using a second language are skills we attained by some mixture of acquisition and learning” (21). The context around this quote is his discussion of acquisition version learned forms of literacy, such as learning English from home versus learning it in school. But when applied to music it is clear that these guidelines are not as strict, for music cannot be dictated the way the rules of Standard Written English (SWE) are. Music is a secondary discourse according to Gee, whereas a primary discourse would be your native language. He is correct in the claim that music is a mixture of learning and acquisition, but is that always the way that music students come about their musical careers? In the classroom, it is more often a game of call and response than it is the acquisition of new notes and techniques. Teachers have gone to school for years, hopeful to master the art of music, and in the classroom, their dominance is present because of their feeling of superiority from this time in school. Through this dominance, they are oftentimes blocking the creativity of students from the first day in class.

In Sheri Jaffurs’s “The impact of informal music learning practices in the classroom, or how I learned how to teach from a garage band” she discussed the traditional ways of teaching music versus her observations of her past students in a secluded setting for a group rehearsal of their garage band. Jaffurs made a point that society says musical education in two separate categories: the formal and the informal. In the formal, you would find the school educated learning path, while in informal musical development, you find your own time, wherever you desire, and take a lot of time to improvise and discover the instrument yourself (Jaffurs, 190). This conversation is just a translation of Gee’s conversation of literacy via discourse but applied to the musical world. Here, formal music is considered the right way to learn, and the informal suggestions are often overlooked or discredited. This article then focuses on what she calls “versus theory” (190), where she compares informal and formal approaches. The traditional approach to formal music has always included classical music with western styles even if she personally tried to integrate more common and popular pieces into her lesson plans (190-191). After recognizing that musicality and individuality were not encouraged with goals being set and lesson plans being introduced (191). Basically, the teacher taking charge of the class was allowing the students to sit back and go with the flow rather than coming up with unique ideas and bringing some variety to the lessons. Upon her observation of her students’ garage band, she could not help but notice the lack of planning amongst other things. This seemed to really take her by surprise because their seeming spontaneous meetings were followed by a dysfunctional decision on what to practice and what time to call it quits. Although things were not organized up to the teacher’s standards necessarily, she concluded that informal music will always be present in a musical setting (192). Essentially, even in a classroom, when the teacher turns her attention away from a section, the students are bound to fiddle in some way from boredom. Even in a classroom, when the teacher turns her attention away from a section, the students are bound to fiddle in some way from boredom.

How to fix a broken system

In my high school marching and concert band class, this boredom-induced fiddling was exactly the case. Our director would have us form a semi-circle in the band room to rehearse our music together, but if a section had trouble with a particular section of the music, her focus would shift in order to assist them, and we would find ourselves so impatient that we would play our instruments as quietly as possible, going over our personal favorite parts. While this was a helpful practice for the students to stay sharp and somewhat on task, the director heavily discouraged it. In Rontrell Callahan’s “An examination of high school directors’ use of cooperative approaches in a marching band setting” he heavily discusses the role he thinks a marching band director should play in the eyes of the student. First and foremost, the band director should clearly be capable of controlling the students in whatever way is most effective (Callahan, 3). But with this in mind, the question of what is considered too much control comes into play. In my case, my director did not want anything to distract the struggling section from succeeding in their task. But by doing this I believe that she was limiting the musical expression of the other students, while also isolating the struggling section which can consequently further worsen their performance. So, although Callahan’s article justified behaviors exhibited by my teacher such as patience, understanding of different instrument groups and music theory, and putting being a teacher first (3-4), they failed to realize how a modern student can tend to feel isolated and stunted under these conditions. In Rontrell Callahan’s “An examination of high school directors’ use of cooperative approaches in a marching band setting” he heavily discusses the role he thinks a marching band director should play in the eyes of the student. First and foremost, the band director should clearly be capable of controlling the students in whatever way is most effective (Callahan, 3). But with this in mind, the question of what is considered too much control comes into play. In my case, my director did not want anything to distract the struggling section from succeeding in their task. But by doing this I believe that she was limiting the musical expression of the other students, while also isolating the struggling section which can consequently further worsen their performance. So, although Callahan’s article justified behaviors exhibited by my teacher such as patience, understanding of different instrument groups and music theory, and putting being a teacher first (3-4), they failed to realize how a modern student can tend to feel isolated and stunted under these conditions.

In an art class for example, if you were told to paint whatever you desired, and after you were done your art was compared to the teacher’s example for a grade, obviously you would feel as though the teacher deceived you and you were being limited artistically. This is similar in a musical setting as well. I interpret music based on tone, tempo, and how it makes me feel, so to be told my interpretation is wrong because the teacher wants it a specific way is disheartening as a creative musician. Another author, Jennifer Amox, had a similar opinion to mine. She is a middle school band teacher, who specializes in flute and would later become the author of “Polished Gems: A Supplemental Curriculum for Developing the Musical Literacy and Musical Expression Skills of Junior High Flute Students.” Even based on the title you can tell how this was an enticing piece to me. Her first suggestion for improving the learning and expression of musical students was the familiarity of the instrument itself (Amox, 1-2). This fundamental is crucial to achieving musical literacy and can be done in both formal and informal settings. This familiarity with the instrument is essentially making the instrument an extension of your body, where it would be of similar importance to communication as the mouth is to us as humans.

Once the fundamentals of an instrument are fully understood, musical development can take place anywhere. The practice is a crucial part of becoming a musician, but it does not always have to occur in the classroom to be considered quality study time. In a study by Amox’s colleague Welker, it was shown that the students with high-chair placements in the Arkansas band they taught would spend at least three hours a week practicing their instruments (11). Furthermore, the fact that every middle school band student has to audition for a spot in the band will increase competition as well as practice, encouraging the students to only join if they are truly passionate about music. You can only speak music if you are dedicated to learning it, the same as any other language. Amox’s “performance plan” was that guide to becoming fluent in the language of music (12). She believed that a mental picture of your final performance and the glory of it all will help students make steps towards achieving the success they crave (12). This is similar to learning any other language as well, where you start because you want to be able to visit a specific place and fluently speak their language; it gives you a sense of belonging and accomplishment that can rarely be found anywhere else.

One of the most insightful musical experiences I have ever been a part of was my time as a saxophone intern at “Amistad Caribbean Arts Camp” in the summer of 2020. Here I was introduced to a low stress (virtual) environment, with students of all ages and musical expertise. While I was initially an intern, I almost always found myself learning something new alongside the students. In this particular exchange, the music really did speak for itself. Additionally, the teachers were professional musicians who volunteered their time and knowledge to introduce many to a new culture or discourse of music. Circling back to Gee, music has all sorts of discourse based on origin, instruments, and rhythm amongst other factors. Going from school taught saxophone to Caribbean style playing was something I feel as though many formally taught musicians do not get to experience first-hand. I now know how to communicate in another discourse of music, versus just what I was taught inside of a formal classroom setting. Over zoom, I participated in drum circles, engaging lessons on culture and games just for fun. The informal setting allowed for a more personal connection with my instructs as well as the music itself.

One incredibly unique thing about this experience was the approach of the instructors. In a journal done by Lucy Green, called “The Informal Learning Approach” she discusses the steps that a teacher or instructor should take in order to best fit the needs of the students. One principal factor on this list is considering the student’s perspective (Green, 2008). By this, it is meant that the instructor takes a step back from their previously conceived headspace and consider what the students want to do as well. At my band camp, this was a common theme. During the three weeks we met Monday through Friday, there would be consistent feedback from me and my fellow interns, as well as some of the students ranging from four to about seventeen. Richard Goodstein’s “An Investigation into Leadership Behaviors and Descriptive Characteristics of High School Band Directors in the United States” a listing of desirable traits for effective learning in bands. In his research, it was found that factors such as band size, number of assistants, budgeting, and director age all directly correlated with the success of the group (Goodstein, 15-16). These attributes were prevalent in my internship group as well. The entire group was comprised of 30 people, including the staff. Goodstein said that the lesser the numbers, the more one on one interactions can take place, making it a more personal learning experience (15). We know this is true because of college student to teacher ratios. Oftentimes, a student will prioritize a school in order to get this more personal relationship with their instructor, allowing for better feedback and more realistic class sizes where everyone can get the attention they need. As far as the number of assistants goes, there were a total of ten interns scattered across the various instrument sections, allowing the younger children to have multiple outlets for questions and interaction. Our camp was funded through the Boys and Girls Club, as well as private donators, and the virtual aspect of it allowed money to be saved, which could then be redistributed to the students in other ways. And finally, the director’s age, which varied amongst the musical instructors. But this variety of ages, races, and experiences allowed for wisdom and energy to be simultaneously conveyed to the group, making every day more of an adventure.

The real takeaway from this is that music should be a victim of school standardization, for it needs to be able to flow through the creative minds of all people throughout the world. We all come from diverse backgrounds, schooling systems, and all have unique origin stories, but music can help us show all of that and more. Instrumentation, sound color, and lyrics can all be the gateway from one cultural experience to another with open learning styles and informal settings that allow all parties to be comfortable and welcome the presence of innovative ideas. Throughout all of my musical career, I can say I have learned an abundance of techniques, styles, and histories of music. But in the years that I spent in a school setting, I have never felt as comfortable being me and expressing myself through music as I did in those three short weeks at Amistad Caribbean Arts Camp. I believe all musical programs should foster this flexibility in the music as well as in the mindset they maintained.

Amox, J. (2018). Chapters 1 and 2. In 971570742 754142304 P. Quest (Ed.), Polished Gems: A Supplemental Curriculum for Developing the Musical Literacy and Musical Expression Skills of Junior High Flute Students (pp. 1-12). Ann Arbor, Michigan: ProQuest.

Callahan, R. (2013). An Examination of High School Directors’ Use of Cooperative Learning Approaches in a Marching Band Setting (Master’s thesis, Tennessee State University, 2013) (pp. 1-4). Ann Arbor: ProQuest.

Gee, J. (1989). What Is Literacy? Journal of Education, 171 (1), 18-25.

Green, L. (2008). Informal Learning. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from http://www.musicalfuturesinternational.org/informal-learning.html

Goodstein, R. E. (1987). An Investigation into Leadership Behaviors and Descriptive Characteristics of High School Band Directors in the United States. Journal of Research in Music Education, 35 (1), 13-25. doi:10.2307/3345165

Jaffurs, S. E. (2004). The impact of informal music learning practices in the classroom, or how I learned how to teach from a garage band. International Journal of Music Education, 22 (3), 189-200. doi:10.1177/0255761404047401

Music Theory. (2015, September 23). Musical colors and timbre. Retrieved November 08, 2020, from https://www.aboutmusictheory.com/musical-colors.html

Understanding Literacy in Our Lives by Alana Thigpen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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The Interpretation of Music: Philosophical Essays

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This volume is concerned with the philosophical presuppositions of musical interpretation. The nineteen previously unpublished essays address such interrelated questions as the nature of musical interpretation in relation to works or music, whether works of music are fully embodied in scores, how strictly all markings of a score should be respected, what pertinence historical research has for musical interpretation, and how decisive the known or reconstructed intentions of a composer should be. The contributors investigate the aesthetic, cultural, and historical aspects of musical interpretation, and their relation to interpretation in other human practices. In addition, they investigate such fundamental distinctions as those between musical and non-musical phenomena, and between musical and linguistic meaning.

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Last year, a jury considered whether Ed Sheeran had copied Marvin Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get It On.”

But the courtroom didn’t hear Gaye’s sensuously sung original recording:

Instead, the jury was played a bare, electronically recreated track with a robotic voice:

It brought up a curious question …

Supported by

What Is a Song?

Is it simply the music flowing out of your earphones? According to the law, the answer is a bit more complicated.

By Ben Sisario

Ben Sisario has been covering music and copyright for more than a decade, including trials involving Ed Sheeran, Led Zeppelin and the song “Blurred Lines.”

For most music fans, a song is a simple thing to define: It’s the melodies, the lyrics, the grooves that come out of your speakers.

It’s a much thornier question when it comes to copyright law, one that has been tested in a series of high-profile lawsuits over the last decade, involving stars like Ed Sheeran, Led Zeppelin, Pharrell and Robin Thicke. Is songwriting defined by what you hear on a recording, or the notes inked long ago on a piece of sheet music? Where does a composer’s work end, and a performing artist’s begin?

In other words, what, exactly, is a song, in the eyes of the law?

In many music copyright disputes, one of the main issues is originality, or how the law sets a boundary between creative expression that is the property of a single artist versus material in the public domain. Last year, a federal jury in New York heard hours of expert testimony about whether a syncopated four-chord sequence in Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” was distinctive enough that Sheeran’s song “Thinking Out Loud” infringed on it — or whether, as Sheeran’s lawyers contended, those parts are generic “building blocks” that no musician can own. The jury ruled in Sheeran’s favor , finding that he and a co-writer had created their song independently and not copied from Gaye’s 1973 classic.

But a key question running through that trial was about something even more fundamental: whether the core of “Let’s Get It On” — and what is protected by its copyright — is determined by the sounds we hear on its original recording, or the notes written on yellowing sheet music stored at the Library of Congress.

That issue was at the center of an appeals court’s decision four years ago regarding Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” and it is being considered in another appeal related to Sheeran and “Let’s Get It On.” Many experts believe it’s an underexplored question that gets to the heart of how copyright law intersects with music.

“This is the deep, existential, metaphysical question at the center of music copyright: We don’t even know what it is,” said Jennifer Jenkins, a law professor at Duke.

It is also an important question for an industry that in recent years has poured billions of dollars into deals for song catalogs, partly on the faith that their underlying copyrights offer robust protection against infringement. That may be challenging for older songs, because of a quirk in the law that can restrict how a song is defined and, therefore, just what its author owns.

How does a song get copyright protection?

There is a key date related to this issue: Jan. 1, 1978, when the last major revision of United States copyright law took effect.

Since then, songwriters have been able to register a composition with the Copyright Office by submitting a recording; all the melodies, chords and lyrics on it are considered evidence of their work. But earlier songs were subject to the Copyright Act of 1909, which required that songwriters submit transcribed sheet music, known as deposit copies.

For a century, these deposit copies were little more than receipts in a copyright paper trail. But since the “Blurred Lines” case a decade ago, when Pharrell and Thicke were found to have copied Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up” and ordered to pay more than $5 million in damages, these once-obscure documents have taken on a greater significance.

The judge in that case ruled that, under the 1909 law, the deposit copy for “Got to Give It Up” (1977) determined the “scope” of that song’s copyright. In other words, only the notes on its paper submission counted as representing Gaye’s songwriting creation, and any other elements that were on the song’s recording but not the deposit copy — like percussion and studio atmospherics — were not part of the underlying composition. (A separate copyright applies to the recording.) The jury, instructed to consider only what was on Gaye’s deposit copy, found that “Blurred Lines” had copied from it.

These deposit copies can be minimal, sometimes featuring just a vocal melody and indications of chords. The one for “Taurus,” a 1967 piece by the psychedelic rock band Spirit, which Led Zeppelin was accused of copying on “Stairway to Heaven,” is a single-page sketch of barely 100 notes, and a lawyer representing Michael Skidmore, a trustee of the trust that owns rights to “Taurus,” argued that it was not even an accurate transcription.

The deposit copy for “Let’s Get It On” is five pages but omits elements like piano, drums and guitar — including the wah-wah opening guitar lick that has been a Pavlovian call to the dance floor at many a wedding — that are part of the signature sound of Gaye’s original track.

The judge overseeing Sheeran’s trial, citing an appeals court’s detailed decision in the Led Zeppelin case, ruled that the absence of those elements from the “Let’s Get It On” deposit copy meant that lawyers for the plaintiffs — family members of Ed Townsend, Gaye’s co-writer and producer — had to restrict their arguments to the vocal melody and the chord pattern. That restriction likewise applied to Alexander Stewart, a music professor at the University of Vermont, who testified as an expert witness for the plaintiffs.

“Every time I opened my mouth and said the word ‘bass line,’ I was cut off,” Stewart said in an interview. “It was hard to make any cogent argument.”

Following a ruling by the judge, Gaye’s recording was never played for jurors. Instead, they heard an electronic realization of the deposit copy, submitted by the defense. It included bare piano chords and a robotic-sounding vocal — an oddly cold interpretation of one of pop music’s supreme erotic anthems. As the track played, quizzical expressions came over a few jurors’ faces.

Some scholars say the legal distinction between a composition in a deposit copy and what appears in a finished recording is a sign that the law has not kept up with how pop music has been made for decades. Very often, songs are created in the recording studio, and the line between composing, producing and performing can be fuzzy.

“It is completely divorced from actual music-making practice,” said Joseph P. Fishman, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School.

Jenkins, of Duke, said these cases point to one of the basic complexities of applying copyright — a concept originally made for books and other written material — to music.

“Music is first and foremost an auditory art form, but for most of copyright’s history it’s been defined as something you see,” Jenkins said. “There’s this disconnect, where the signifier — that written thing — is what a composer owns, but the signified is what the song actually is. It’s what we’re listening to.”

Is a whole song on the sheet music?

Exactly why deposit copies have gone from obscure legal formalities to hot topics in some of the biggest music lawsuits of the last decade is unclear. One theory is that historically, most accusations of infringement have involved the most prominent elements of a song, like the hook, vocal melody or lyrics — things that even the plainest sheet music would highlight.

But as pop music has evolved, and techniques like sampling have become standard, it has also become more common for background elements and secondary parts to be in dispute. Many recent cases, like those over “Blurred Lines” and Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse,” have focused on these aspects. (To some observers, the “Blurred Lines” verdict seemed to give the Gaye estate control over a loose rhythmic groove , though lawyers argued that it involved specific notes on a deposit copy.)

David Pullman, an investor whose company Structured Asset Sales is bringing the Sheeran appeal — he is best known for creating “Bowie bonds,” backed by David Bowie’s music royalties, in the 1990s — said he believes that many current artists borrow too much from popular old songs. “It’s easier to take a shortcut and infringe,” Pullman said in an interview, “than write a song that’s original.”

The history of the Sheeran case, now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, is complex. Structured Asset Sales, which owns an 11.11 percent interest in “Let’s Get It On,” filed its own suit over “Thinking Out Loud” after a judge blocked the company from joining the Townsend family’s original action.

Structured Asset Sales’ suit was dismissed by a district court judge shortly after Sheeran won at trial last year. In its appeal, the company argues that a deposit copy does not necessarily define the scope of a song’s copyright under the 1909 law, and that the material on the sheet music only needs to be sufficient to identify it, despite the law’s reference to a “complete” copy. In court papers, Hillel I. Parness, a lawyer for the company, argued that expert witnesses should be able to interpret deposit copies for the jury, as happened at a trial involving the singer Michael Bolton in 1994.

Sheeran’s lawyers argue that the deposit copy rule is clear from the law, and is supported by longstanding guidance from the Copyright Office. At oral arguments last month, Donald S. Zakarin, a lawyer for Sheeran, also warned that straying from a deposit copy’s notation could lead to problems of “subjectivity” when defining a musical work that is in dispute.

“Future authors,” Zakarin said, “are going to be subjected to, ‘No, no, no, I intended to have that bass line. I know it’s not there, but I intended it.’”

In an informal survey of about a dozen intellectual-property experts, most said Sheeran’s side had the stronger argument about deposit copies under the 1909 law. “It’s a lousy rule,” said Fishman. “But that does seem to have been the rule at the time.”

But this rule, as set down in the Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin appeal, has at least one prominent skeptic in Paul Goldstein, a professor at Stanford Law School who is the author of a widely cited copyright treatise.

“Where I disagree with Skidmore,” Goldstein wrote in an email, “is in its assertion that the fact the copyright was secured by deposit of a copy of the musical work implies that the deposit copy defines the scope of copyright in the work to the exclusion of any other relevant evidence.” That evidence, he said, could include things like drafts and correspondence around a song’s creation.

Goldstein pointed to another possible source of evidence: sound recordings submitted to the Copyright Office as a supplemental registration. Under that theory, a songwriter with a deficient deposit copy of an old song could, since 1978, submit a recording of it to cover any additional elements — bass lines or guitar solos, for example — absent from the original registration.

This workaround was suggested by the Copyright Office and the Justice Department in an amicus brief filed in the Led Zeppelin appeal. It was apparently little known at the time, though Structured Asset Sales’ court papers note that in 1988, the music publisher for the Rolling Stones’ song “Sympathy for the Devil” submitted that track’s 1968 studio recording to cover a new “arrangement.”

Pullman, of Structured Asset Sales, said that discussion of this workaround during the Led Zeppelin appeal led him to submit the recording of “Let’s Get It On” as a new registration in 2020, to cover any compositional elements not on the deposit copy — which could be more ammunition in a dispute against Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud.”

Could it work? So far that issue has not been tested by the courts.

Credits: Rob Verhorst/Redferns, via Getty Images (Marvin Gaye photograph); Let’s Get It On: written by Marvin Gaye and Ed Townsend; Taurus: written by Randy Wolfe, a.k.a. Randy California (music sheets)

Produced by Alicia DeSantis , Sean Catangui , Jolie Ruben , Josephine Sedgwick and Tala Safie .

Ben Sisario covers the music industry. He has been writing for The Times since 1998. More about Ben Sisario

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