Library: MUS 112: African-American Traditions in American Music: Find Articles

Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources

What the difference between a primary, secondary, and tertiary source?

Primary sources are created as close to the original event or phenomenon as it is possible to be. For example, a photograph or video of an event is a primary source. Data from an experiment is a primary source.
Secondary sources are one step removed from that. Secondary sources are based on or about the primary sources. For example, articles and books in which authors interpret data from another research team's experiment or archival footage of an event are usually considered secondary sources.
Tertiary sources are one further step removed from that. Tertiary sources summarize or synthesize the research in secondary sources. For example, textbooks and reference books are tertiary sources (Text in this section is from Suny Empire College's guide: Research Skills Tutorial).

Why is this important?

For your research assignments, you are asked to find primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. You'll need to be able to recognize the difference between all three. Remember primary sources are about the event. Secondary sources analyze the event and interpret another author's work. Tertiary sources summarize events from other authors after the event has occurred.

Journals & Magazines

Billboard
The international newsweekly of music, video and home entertainment; profiles, commentary, album ratings, feature articles, marketing and reviews.
Black Music Research Journal
Black Music Research Journal includes articles about the philosophy, aesthetics, history, and criticism of black music. BMRJ is an official journal of the Center for Black Music Research.
Global Rhythm
A World Music, Culture & Lifestyle magazine.
Journal of the American Musicological Society
Founded in 1948, the Journal of the American Musicological Society welcomes topics from all fields of musical inquiry, including historical musicology, critical theory, music analysis, iconography and organology, performance practice, aesthetics and hermeneutics, ethnomusicology, gender and sexuality, popular music and cultural studies. The journal's breadth of musical intellectual scope, its rigorous referee process, and its diffusion to more than 5,000 subscribers worldwide have helped make it the premier journal in the field. Each issue includes articles, book reviews, and communications.
Musical Quarterly
Articles on a wide range of contemporary subjects including world music, jazz, popular music, commercial music, music in society, musical aesthetics, music and the other arts, American music past and present, local reports and book reviews.
Muziki: Journal of Music Research in Africa
Acts as a a unified African voice for African music research.
Offbeat
Focuses on American roots music indigenous to New Orleans and Louisiana; features interviews, reviews, club listings, festival information, and schedules.
Popular Music and Society
Founded in 1971, publishes articles, book reviews, and audio reviews on popular music of any genre, time period, or geographic location. Popular Music and Society is open to all scholarly orientations toward popular music, including (but not limited to) historical, theoretical, critical, sociological, and cultural approaches. The terms "popular" and "society" are broadly defined to accommodate a wide range of articles on the subject. The journal focuses especially on music as a manifestation of popular culture.

Library Databases

Biography Reference Center This link opens in a new window
What's included: Offers a comprehensive collection of more than 450,000 full text biographies. Uses included: Searching the full text run of Biography Today and Biography Magazine, as well as thousands of narrative biographies.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
What's included: Our largest online reference collection. Uses include: Resources for study such as atlases, biographies, dictionaries, and encyclopedias.
HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new window
What's included: Digitized primary source material from research libraries. Uses include: Full-text literature, cookbooks, history, and art history resources.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
What's included: Journal articles stretching back more than 75 years in humanities, history, culture and the sciences. Uses include: Full-text books, scholarly articles, and conference proceedings focused on art-related topics.
Newspaper Source This link opens in a new window
What's included: Articles from more than 160 American and international regional newspapers. Uses include: Review updated TV and radio news transcripts and syndicated content.
Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window
What's included: Encyclopedia entries on everything music including genres, concepts, and composers. Uses include: Search the Grove Music Online, The Oxford Companion to Music, and The Oxford Dictionary of Music for musical history.
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Keywords & Themes

Here's some keywords to use in your searches. Remember to use terms that will narrow your search!

Aaliyah
Aaron Neville
Afrobeat
Anita Baker
Anthony "L.A." Reid
Apollo Theater or The Apollo
Aretha Franklin
Arista Records
Arnold Shaw
Ballads
B.B King
Ben E. King
Betty Davis
Betty Wright
Beyonce
Billie Holiday
Billy Preston
Biggie Smalls
Blues
Bob Marley
Boogie-Woogie
Bo Diddley
Boyz II Men
Cab Calloway
Cecil Taylor
The Clark Sisters
Christian R&B
Chuck Berry
Civil and political rights songs
Clarence Clemons
Clarence Reid
Clark Terry
Count Basie
Curtis Mayfield
Daryl Simmons
Destiny's Child
Diahann Carroll
Diana Ross
Dionne Warwick
Disco
The Dixie Cups
Donna Summer
Donnie McClurkin
Doo-Wop
Dorothy Jean Dandridge
Duke Ellington
Earth Wind and Fire
Eartha Kit
Electric blues
Fannie Lou Hamer
Fats Domino
Five Blind Boys of Mississippi
Frankie Lymon
Fred Hammond
The Freedom Singers
Funk
Gangsta rap
The Gap Band
Gil Scott-Heron
Gladys Knight
Gladys Knight and The Pips
Gospel
Harlem Hamfats
Harry Belafonte
House Music
Hip Hop
The Impressions
The Isley Brothers
The Jacksons
James Brown
James Cleveland
Janet Jackson
Jay Hawkins
Jay-Z
Jazz
Jessye Norman
Johnny Mathis
Jump blues
Kendrick Lamar
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds
Kenny Gamble
Kim Weston
Kirk Franklin
LaFace Records
Lauryn Hill
Lena Horne
Leon Huff
Leontyne Price
Lift Every Voice and Sing
Little Richard
Lonnie Johnson
Mahalia Jackson
Marian Anderson
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Sapp
Mary Mary
Mary J. Blige
Mavis Staples
Missy Elliott
Motown
Nat King Cole
Nas
NeoSoul
New Edition
New Jack Swing
New Orleans blues
Nina Simone
NWA
The O'Jays
Odetta
Opera
Outkast
Otis Redding
Patti Labelle
Paul Robeson
Pearl Bailey
Pete Seeger
Prince
Public Enemy
Philadelphia International Records (PIR)
Philly Soul
Quiet storm
Queen Latifah
Quincy Jones
Rap
Ray Charles
Reggae
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B
Rock and Roll
The Roots
RUN-DMC
Sam Cooke
Sammie Davis Jr.
Shirley Caesar
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Smooth Jazz
Solomon Burke
Soul
Soul II Soul
Soundtracks
The Staple Singers
Spirituals
Stax Records
Stevie Wonder
Sylvester
Teddy Pendergrass
The Temptations
Tevin Campbell
Thomas A. Dorsey
Tina Turner
TLC
Toni Braxton
Trap music
Tupac Shakur
Tye Tribbett
Usher
Whitney Houston
Willie Mae Thornton
The Winans
Yolanda Adams

MUS 112: African-American Traditions in American Music

Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources

Journals & Magazines

Library Databases

Keywords & Themes

Discovery Video