Key papers in Music
Pofolia’s corpus holds 80 papers from the Music subfield (2012–2021). The list below starts with the most cited.
Most cited
Ranked by citation count. Because citations accumulate over time, this list naturally leans towards work published a few years ago; for where the field is now, see “recently added”.
Forms: whole, rhythm, hierarchy, network
Choice Reviews Online · 2015 · 1,206 citations
This book explores the fundamental principles of form across various domains, examining how concepts like wholeness, rhythm, hierarchy, and network structure influence our perception and organization of the world.
Beyond the score: music as performance
Choice Reviews Online · 2014 · 626 citations
This book explores music not just as a written score, but as a dynamic performance, analyzing how sound, context, and the performer's interpretation shape the musical experience.
The American Evasion of Philosophy: A Genealogy of Pragmatism
Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University) · 2012 · FWCI 225.79 · 551 citations
This is a book review of Cornel West's "The American Evasion of Philosophy: A Genealogy of Pragmatism," published in 1989.
Blackpentecostal Breath
Fordham University Press eBooks · 2016 · FWCI 15.31 · 504 citations
This work argues that the aesthetic practices within Blackpentecostalism, such as whooping and speaking in tongues, offer a performative critique of traditional theology and philosophy.
Musical Creativities in Practice
Oxford University Press eBooks · 2012 · FWCI 51.74 · 493 citations
This book expands the concept of musical creativity beyond classical traditions to encompass diverse contemporary practices like electronic music, improvisation, and DJing.
The Oxford Handbook of Topic Theory
Oxford University Press eBooks · 2013 · FWCI 12.10 · 436 citations
This handbook reconstructs the aesthetic underpinnings of 18th-century music, particularly South-German instrumental music and Viennese Classicism, by grounding the concept of 'topics' in historical theory and practice.
Taste Regimes and Market-Mediated Practice
Journal of Consumer Research · 2012 · Q1 · SJR 11.00 · FWCI 174.02 · 399 citations
This paper introduces 'taste regimes' as normative systems that orchestrate daily practices in consumption-oriented cultures, shaping preferences, actions, and meanings associated with objects.
Music: A Very Short Introduction
2021 · FWCI 23.50 · 388 citations
This VSI explores music through its social, cultural, and historical lenses, examining its nature as a performance practice and its role in social and political action.
The Race of Sound: Listening, Timbre, and Vocality in African American Music
2019 · FWCI 63.36 · 388 citations · Open access
This work argues that vocal qualities like timbre, often perceived as natural, are socially constructed and used by listeners to measure race and locate racial identities. It examines how assumptions about voices are linked to racial essentialism and authenticity.
The Sonic Color Line: Race and the Cultural Politics of Listening
2017 · FWCI 265.10 · 369 citations
This work argues that American white supremacy is as dependent on what we hear—voices, musical taste, volume—as on visual cues like skin color, revealing how sound and listening actively produce racial ideologies.
Sensing Sound: Singing and Listening as Vibrational Practice
2015 · FWCI 92.01 · 360 citations
This paper proposes a new framework for understanding music not as abstract sound, but as a physical, vibrational practice involving both the singer and listener. It argues that music's essence lies in these embodied, material interactions.
Listening to War
Oxford University Press eBooks · 2015 · FWCI 27.19 · 358 citations
This book reveals how modern warfare's soundscapes provide crucial information while simultaneously causing physical and psychological harm to soldiers and civilians.
Music and Identity
2017 · FWCI 165.07 · 356 citations
This abstract is a table of contents for a collection of academic papers, not a single research paper with a distinct finding.
Music Theory and the White Racial Frame
Music Theory Online · 2020 · Q1 · FWCI 396.86 · 349 citations · Open access
Music theory has failed to diversify despite two decades of effort, remaining dominated by white practitioners and privileged composers/theorists.
A General History of Music, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Period
2018 · FWCI 261.58 · 332 citations
This work provides a comprehensive historical overview of music, tracing its development from ancient times to the present era.
Philosophy of Music Education
2013 · FWCI 364.16 · 319 citations
This paper proposes a personal philosophy of music education, defining music as key to experiencing and understanding 'feelingful experiences'—the abstract and physical sensations of emotions.
Music and Urban Geography
2012 · FWCI 59.85 · 319 citations
This book theorizes how music reflects and is shaped by significant urban changes in developed cities over recent decades, integrating musicology with urban geography.
Making Music Together: A Study in Social Relationship
2015 · FWCI 179.52 · 313 citations
This abstract uses a philosophical anecdote about a guru and a disciple to illustrate a concept, implying that understanding can be infinitely recursive and complex.
The Auditory Culture Reader
2020 · FWCI 25.79 · 306 citations
This reader redresses the historical overemphasis on visual culture by exploring the profound impact of auditory experiences on everyday life, from village bells to mobile phone noise.
Absolute Music
Oxford University Press eBooks · 2014 · FWCI 12.74 · 283 citations
The concept of 'absolute music,' initially a pejorative term for detached, sterile instrumental music, evolved into a modernist ideal by the early 20th century.
Recently added
Psychology for Musicians : Understanding and Acquiring the Skills
2021 · FWCI 50.52 · 258 citations
This book synthesizes psychological research on skill acquisition, comparing musical abilities like sight-reading and improvisation to non-musical skills.
Music: A Very Short Introduction
2021 · FWCI 23.50 · 388 citations
This VSI explores music through its social, cultural, and historical lenses, examining its nature as a performance practice and its role in social and political action.
Liner Notes for the Revolution: The Intellectual Life of Black Feminist Sound
2021 · FWCI 272.80 · 254 citations
This book reinterprets Black women's music history by highlighting overlooked Black women as radical intellectuals and critics, challenging their marginalization within the culture industry.
Hungry listening: resonant theory for indigenous sound studies
Ethnomusicology Forum · 2020 · Q1 · FWCI 218.73 · 173 citations
This paper introduces 'hungry listening,' a theoretical framework for analyzing Indigenous soundscapes that emphasizes active, engaged, and reciprocal listening practices.
World Music: A Very Short Introduction
2020 · FWCI 17.70 · 194 citations
The concept of 'world music' originated from Enlightenment ideas of 'folk song' and was amplified by recording technology, evolving beyond a mere marketing term to express unity, national pride, and cross-border cultural exchange.
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