Journal profile · MUSIC
Journal of Music Theory
ISSN 0022-2909 · eISSN 1941-7497 · Duke University Press
Journal of Music Theory: CAS Zone 1 · Arts (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); subscription journal; 20 articles in 2025; indexed in AHCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Music Theory is published by Duke University Press and is in Zone 1 of Arts in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Musicology and Musical Analysis, Music Technology and Sound Studies and Neuroscience and Music Perception, together about 62% of its articles. Its main subfields are Music. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Founded by David Kraehenbuehl at Yale University in 1957, the Journal of Music Theory is the oldest music-theory journal published in the United States and has been a cornerstone in music theory’s emergence as a research field in North America since the 1960s. The journal is edited by a consortium of music-theory faculty at Yale, where it is housed in the Department of Music. Read more...
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): MUSIC
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Musicology and Musical AnalysisArts and Humanities31.6%
- Music Technology and Sound StudiesComputer Science19.6%
- Neuroscience and Music PerceptionNeuroscience10.9%
- Diverse Musicological StudiesArts and Humanities10.3%
- Music and Audio ProcessingComputer Science5.1%
- Diverse Music Education InsightsArts and Humanities3.9%
- Music History and CultureArts and Humanities3.5%
- Historical Influence and DiplomacySocial Sciences1.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Arts Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Arts | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Music | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Arts Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Arts | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Music | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Arts Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Arts | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Music | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
AHCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 0.7LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.24LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.63LetPub ·
- h-index
- 74OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 468OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.96OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 16.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 4LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,285 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 20 | 1 | 6 |
| 2024 | 22 | 0 | 40 |
| 2023 | 16 | 2 | 49 |
| 2022 | 15 | 0 | 116 |
| 2021 | 15 | 2 | 58 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship
- Authorship
Submission guidelines available for authors. Model summary
For information on how to submit an article, visit our submission guidelines.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Duke University Press
- ISSN
- 0022-2909
- Electronic ISSN
- 1941-7497
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 70, Issue 1 (April 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Music Theory
What CAS zone is Journal of Music Theory in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Music Theory is in Zone 1 of Arts, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Music; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Arts. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
Which databases index Journal of Music Theory?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Music Theory is indexed in AHCI and Scopus.
Is Journal of Music Theory open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Music Theory is a subscription journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .