Read broadly based sources such as encyclopedia articles for topic ideas that catch your interest.  Be sure to make note of important terms and ideas.  These will help you conduct more effective searches of library databases and the web.  Check the bibliography at the end of the article for authors and titles of other relevant sources.

Contains The Grove Music Online, The Oxford Dictionary of Music and The Oxford Companion to Music.

Look for books and articles after you have a preliminary topic from reading encyclopedia articles.   Burman's discovery search service below will retrieve books, articles, and select interrnet resources. Use the numerous options on the side bar limit results by format, source, full text location, provider and more.