10 Interesting Research Paper Topics On Music History


Music history is a wide subject area that gives you plenty of different ideas when it comes to writing your research paper on music. To choose an interesting topic, you should follow the guidelines below or simply pick one of the sample prompts, provided by paper writing services.

How to Select Your Research Paper Topic

  • Choose a research area.
  • You should select something that you care about. It’s a good idea to study the reading list at the end of your textbook to get inspired. You can also decide to investigate the history of your favorite song or a music band.

  • Select a specific topic idea.
  • You need to come up with something specific and limit your topic. A good prompt is usually described in one sentence. If not, you should narrow it down by using one of these methods: a period of time, genre, musical technique, etc.

  • Consider something that you have plenty of material about.
  • If you lack resources, you won’t be able to complete your assignment successfully. So, visit the school library and search online before you commit yourself to a particular subject.

What Great Topic Ideas to Consider for Your Assignment

  1. A history of pop music in England in the 20th century.
  2. Identify the key characteristics of popular music at that time and explain why some English bands were so popular.

  3. The historical performance of music: a case study of works by Mozart.
  4. Discuss various current issues and suggest possible future developments.

  5. Creating hits: 100 years of rapid changes.
  6. Find out how new technologies changed the way music is performed, recorded, and distributed.

  7. Musical style in America in the 21st century.
  8. Describe the music of the Americans, identify the major composers, and determine what influenced their work.

  9. The history of jazz: a popular American music from 1933 to 1945.
  10. Write about the Swing Era and the role of jazz in lives of ordinary people.

  11. Rock and roll as an international language in the middle of the 20th century.
  12. Analyze the causes and effects of the popularity of this style.

  13. Using music for education.
  14. Investigate where and when educators started using music to help students develop new skills and learn the material with ease.

  15. Musicians of the Civil War era.
  16. Study the factors that influenced emerging a culture rich in musical capital, such as growing of middle class and industrialization.

  17. The role of women in music.
  18. Select a popular composer, musician, or patron and write about her input in the music industry.

  19. Music in ancient countries.
  20. Explain how archaeological and written sources help scholars learn about the musical traditions of lost civilizations.