Professor Allan Moore's work has developed theories in a number of discreet domains. For instance, in the field of harmony and form, he has developed a modal harmonic taxonomy which enables sequences to be discussed and compared with only limited reference to the major/minor system of classical tonality. In the field of reception, he has developed a theory of rock authenticity which switches the focus from whether a particular music is conceived authentically, towards asking who it authenticates, and on what grounds. In the same field, he has made contributions to an understanding of how style operates as a conceptual tool, particularly but not exclusively within popular music. In the field of production and texture, he has developed models of textual stratification, sonic location within the stereo field (called the 'sound-box') and the use of the voice. All these enable analysis not only to ask what the music consists of, but also to take into account how the music actually sounds. The majority of his subsequent work uses these methods in order to address how specific examples of popular music signify. This is demonstrated in a range of books addressing songs in detail (the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper, Jethro Tull's Aqualung) and in general (Rock: The Primary Text), articles, book chapters, and radio appearances. He is currently working on the identity of 'Celtic' music, on the function of accompaniments, and on a history of popular music style.

Dr Jeremy Barham is working particularly in film music, on a range of issues including narrative and temporality (the relationship between film structure and music structure); theories of intertextuality and interpretation; genre-specific work on sci-fi and horror films; and archival work in early sound film.

Dr Tim Hughes's research in popular music is broad ranging. It includes live musical performance; analysis of repetition, timbre, form, and other important but under-explored elements of music; transcription; the use of the studio as a compositional tool; the music of his home region, South Texas; and the history of recorded sound and its effect on our musical traditions. As a multimedia editor for Experience Music Project, he developed numerous audio, multimedia, and internet exhibits and films on the music of Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Janis Joplin, and the history of recorded sound. In his Ph.D. dissertation, Groove and Flow: Six Analytical Essays on the Music of Stevie Wonder, he developed a new methodology for analyzing repetition and grooves in popular music. His most recent publications are a chapter on a live performance by Nirvana for Performance And Popular Music: History, Place And Time, edited by Ian Ingliss (Ashgate 2006) and a series of feature boxes for John Covach’s textbook What's That Sound? An Introduction to Rock and Its History (Norton, 2006).

Among current topics being researched by PhD students in the area are issues of performance gesture in relation to Tori Amos and P.J.Harvey, issues in the aesthetics of contemporary producers who avoid using contemporary technology, and an analysis of collaborative commercial songwriting practices.