Abstract

Research in music education encompasses a wide variety of foci and determining the relevancy and scope of specific topics for periodic examination. Systematic content analysis of representative and well-established publications, it is possible to infer the status and relevancy of research. The purpose of this study was to establish global trends in the study of music through a bibliometric analysis of music research literature during the period from 2010 to 2022. Excluding editorials, paper responses, and book reviews, 13,051 documents were examined. A total of 12740 authors combined contributed 13051 research papers resulting in 49380 citations. The study shows that 396967 references and 19989 author keywords were published in 114 sources. Psychology of Music (JIF=2.67) was the most relevant source with 754 publications and 8535 citations, Hallam S, affiliated with UCL Institute of Education, USA, contributed the highest number of research papers in Music with 29 publications and received 691 citations with an average of citation per publication of 23.83 and an h-index of 13. The USA was the most prolific institution with 153 publications, claiming 715 citations with an average of 4.67. The article entitled "A comparison of the discrete and dimensional models of emotion in music" (2011) by Eerola, T was the most cited research paper. We consider the period of investigation well suited for the study of research trends and related responses in music education and research as well as calls for a broader scope of the topic investigation.