Keyword Search Ideas
Neuroplasticity, Music, and the Brain: Keyword Guide
This guide helps students explore how music affects the brain and supports learning, emotion, and healing. Use these keyword ideas and search tips in encyclopedias like Gale Virtual Reference Library, and article databases such as MegaSearch.
♦ Main Idea Words (Start Here)
Core search words:
- neuroplasticity
- brain plasticity
- music
- brain
- music learning
- music therapy
- music and memory
- music and emotion
- how much changes the brain
- brain development
♦ Related Brain & Learning Terms
- cognition
- memory
- learning
- attention
- practice
- emotion
- neural connections
- brain growth
Example search: “music AND memory AND neuroplasticity”
♦ Development & Education Angles
- music education
- brain development
- music and learning
- academic performance and music
Example: “music education AND brain development”
♦ Simple Boolean Search Tips
Use AND to combine ideas, OR for similar words, and quotation marks for exact phrases.
Examples:
- neuroplasticity AND music AND practice
- "music therapy" AND brain — Articles about how music therapy affects the brain
- neuroplasticity AND "music learning" — Research on how learning music changes the brain
- "music AND emotion" — How music impacts mood and emotional responses
♦ Optional Add-On Terms (for More Specific Results)
- brain scan
- motor skills
- aging
- elderly
- students
- college students
✅ Quick Starter Search Strings
- music AND brain AND neuroplasticity
- music AND practice AND neuroplasticity
- "music education" AND brain development
- neuroplasticity AND music AND memory
- music AND emotion AND brain
💡 Tip: Try adding filters like 'Full Text,' 'Peer Reviewed,' or a publication date range (e.g., last 10 years) to get the most relevant and readable results.
Why use Reference Resources?
Online Reference Resources
Begin your research by seeking some general background information about your topic using reference resources.
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Encyclopedia Britannica Online This link opens in a new windowA general knowledge English-language encyclopedia.
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Biography Reference Bank This link opens in a new windowBiographies. Current & historical. Worldwide.
Print Reference Books
Below are just a few of the print reference books available at the West Campus library.
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The New Grove Dictionary of American Music
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ISBN: 9780943818368Publication Date: 2002-01-01The New Grove Dictionary of American Music is the most comprehensive and enlightening history of America's musical heritage ever published. American Grove is focused solely on the unique styles and traditions of American music. It covers popular musical forms such as country, rock, pop, soul, folk, blues, jazz, bluegrass, and big band. -
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
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ISBN: 9781561592395Publication Date: 2003-02-11The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. It is one of the largest reference works on western music. -
The Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and Musicians
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ISBN: 0674000846Publication Date: 1999-11-29This compact guide to the history and performance of music is both authoritative and a pleasure to use. With entries drawn and condensed from the widely acclaimed New Harvard Dictionary of Music and its companion The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music, it is a dependable reference for home and classroom and for professional and amateur musicians. -
The Oxford Dictionary of Music
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ISBN: 9780199578108Publication Date: 2012-10-01The Oxford Dictionary of Music offers broad coverage of a wide range of musical categories spanning many eras, including composers, librettists, singers, orchestras, important ballets and operas, and musical instruments and their history.
