Skip to Main Content

Music Subject Guide — Finding A Topic

Choosing a Topic

Choosing a topic for a music assignment or repertoire for a performance can be tricky but these tips might help:

  • Choose topics and repertoires that you are interested in. It will be much easier and much more fun for you.
  • Avoid broad topics (e.g. Opera and femininity), or narrow ones (e.g. Femininity in Italian operas performed in Rome, 1690-91). A better topic might be: Femininity in 3 selected Italian operas of the late baroque period.

For additional information on choosing a topic, visit the UConn Library's Research Quick Start tool.

Identify Search Terms

Make a list of search terms relevant to your topic. This will help you conduct your research.

Search Term Examples
Performers, Composers, Contributors Lorde, Shastakovich, Arturo Toscanini

Musical Styles, Genres, Forms,

Traditions, Works

Renaissance motets, rockabilly, sonata-allegro form,

Japanese gagaku, Porgy & Bess
Geographical Locations

Papua New Guinae, Louisiana, 8th arrondissement of Paris, Florence, Boyle Street
Time Periods Classical, 19th Century, 1939-45
Approaches Gender Studies, anthropological, cognitive, Schenkerian

 

Subjects: Music

Creative Commons  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License. | Details and Exceptions