Music Paper

Popular songs today have a long history of musical influences and, in some cases, reactions to previous artists and their work. For this research paper, you will choose a popular song released within the last 10 years and trace 4-5 musical influences of that song and/or the artist. The primary focus of your project should be musical; however, you may also discuss any strong visual influences.

Format:

1. An essay of 3-5 pages, double-spaced, using 12-point font

2. Your paper should include the following components:

a. A title that reflects the topic of your essay. Be creative!

b. An introductory paragraph. The introduction presents the artist/song that you chose and outlines the influences to be detailed in the body of your essay.

c. The body of your essay begins with a more detailed discussion of the song you chose, including form and distinguishing features. In subsequent paragraphs, the influences for this song should be presented in reverse chronological order. Finally, you may include any visual/image influences in your discussion.

d. A summary paragraph concludes your essay with more general statements about the topic (and possibly avenues for further exploration).

e. Please include an appendix of song lyrics for the piece you chose and any others you reference (not counted in the 3-5 pages of the essay).

f. Please be sure to use proper citations, both within the body of your essay and in a bibliography at the end of the paper.