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Guide to BIPOC musicians and related literature

This guide supports research on the musical traditions and scholarship of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) individuals and groups.

Search Tips

When searching for sources on BIPOC musicians and musical traditions, it may be useful to keep in mind some of the common subject headings used by UTL for different groups and individuals. For example, some common subject headings for Black composers and music are:

  • African American Music
  • African American Musicians
  • African American Composers
  • African Americans
  • Composers, Black
  • Black Canadians

Music research that engages with issues of race and racism are commonly associated with the following subject headings:

  • Music and race
  • Colonialism
  • Race identity
  • Race discrimination
  • History and criticism
  • Musical criticism
  • Social aspects
  • Political aspects

When searching for sources, use key words based on your area of focus. Take advantage of the different search boxes in the Advanced Search menus to maximize your results. 

Examples:

***Note that the "*" in the first search is a wildcard and finds results with "China", "Chinese", "Chinois", etc. The "*" wildcard works in many major databases.