How to Notate a Song & Album in an Essay

A song can provide substantial support for your argument.

Enhance your research paper by referencing a musical album or song, but remember to attribute the artist as you would any other source you use to enhance your own project. Cite other people’s work in text when you reference them directly and at the back of your paper in your alphabetized bibliography. Check with your publisher, editor or instructor to learn whether you should adhere to APA or MLA citation guidelines for your particular project.

Instructions

MLA

1. Gather information and details about the song or album. For example, learn the year the music was released, the names of all artists or composers involved, the title of the piece or score, the place of publication, the publisher, the medium and the name of the series if the album or song you are referencing is part of a larger collection.

2. Cite the song name, in parenthesis and quotes, at the end of the sentence or paragraph that references the song. For example: The band Crass details the suffering of the abused worker (“Dry Weather”).

3. Mention the title of an album in parenthesis at the end of the sentence or paragraph that references it. Place the album title in italics. For example: Crass illustrates pain and loss as a result of war (The Feeding of the 5,000).

4. Arrange the details you gathered in the following order in your bibliography. Pay attention to punctuation and mirror these guidelines: Composer Last name, First name. Title of Score. Year of Composition. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium. Name of Series (if applicable).

APA

1. Gather information and details about the song or album. For example, learn the year the music was released, the names of all artists or composers involved, the title of the piece or score, the place of publication, the publisher, the medium and the name of the series if the album or song you are referencing is part of a larger collection.

2. Cite a song and album in-text by providing the artist’s last name followed by a comma and the release date of the recording. Add this information at the end of a sentence or paragraph that references the work. For example: Joanna Newsom’s album "Have One on Me" deals with human relationship issues using a host of animal characters (Newsom, 2010).

3. Arrange the details you gathered in the following order in your bibliography. Pay attention to punctuation and mirror these guidelines: Composer. (Year of Publication). Title of song. On Title of album [Medium.]. Place of Publication: Publisher.

Tips & Warnings

• For most albums, the publisher is the record label that released the music and the place of publication is the location of the record label. The medium indicates how you accessed the audio recoding. For example you may have used a vinyl record, a CD, a tape or an online recording. Using a band’s name is appropriate when asked for the artists’ first or last name in either MLA or APA style.

References

• University of Richmond Writing Center: MLA Documentation – Printed and Other Sources
• Memorial University Libraries: How to Write Music Citations and Bibliographies in MLA & APA Styles
• Western Libraries: Citing Music Sources in Your Essay and Bibliography – 2007 Version
• Purdue Online Writing Lab: MLA Formatting and Style Guide

Resources

• "EasyWriter Fourth Edition, with 2009 MLA and APA Update: A Pocket Reference (Spiral-Bound) (EasyWriter, Fourth Edition)"; Andrea A. Lunsford; 2009