MH311 - Survey of Commercial Music: Primary/Secondary Sources

For historical sources, primary sources are those created at the time of an event, by those who participated in or witnessed the event. They are the original documents of history.

Examples can include:

• Diaries
• Letters
• Speeches
• Recordings (Audio or Video)
• Notebooks/Manuscripts
• Scores
• Images
• Interviews
• Published accounts from the time of an event
• Artifacts

Secondary sources are created after primary sources, and interpret, comment on, analyze, discuss, etc. primary sources.

Examples include:

• Reference Sources (Encyclopedias/Dictionaries...)
• Textbooks
• Scholarly/Academic Articles
• Magazine/Newspaper Articles
• Books (Biographies, Music History Books, etc.)

Check out some short videos discussing the difference between primary and secondary sources.

Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources from Beam Library (1m14s)

Primary and Secondary Sources from JSTOR (4m22s)

If you've chosen the assignment that analyzes a bestselling album, here are some examples of the primary sources you might be using:

• Recordings (the album you've chosen)
• Liner Notes
• Interviews with the artist
• Artist blogs that talk about their influences and inspirations