Music is art as well as science. To be able to comprehend it to the fullest we must, therefore, be able to appreciate both its emotional and intellectual content.
The aim of this fully integrated online course, OnMusic Appreciation is very simple: To provide you with the tools for a basic understanding of all different genres of contemporary and classical music. It will not make you a musician or teach you how to write music. It will, however, give you the necessary background to understand what is going on technically when you are listening to music, so that your experience is not limited to a wash of sound that produces a certain feeling.
The course will concentrate on a) The development of an attentive style of listening, b) The introduction and systematic study of the building blocks of music, and c) Enhancing awareness of the main musical styles of selected western and non-western cultures.
Note: In order to receive credit for completion, please click the “Mark Complete” button at the end of each lesson page.
Getting Started
SECTION 1: BASIC MUSICAL CONCEPTS
Unity and Variety
The Performer’s Role
Structure of Music
Can Music Have A Specific Purpose?
Types of Listeners
Folk Music, Art Music, and All That Jazz
SECTION 2: THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF SOUND
Duration and Pitch
Pitch Names
Pitch Notation and Intervals
Volume
Instrumental Timbre
Vocal Timbre
Orchestral Timbre
Strings
Woodwinds
Brass
Percussion
Keyboard Instruments
Organ
Synthesizer
SECTION 3: THE ORGANIZING ELEMENTS OF MUSIC
Rhythm and Tempo
Meter
Melody I
Melody II
Harmony
Texture
Form
SECTION 4: HISTORICAL PERIODS
Medieval Period: Introduction
Medieval Sacred and Secular Music
Renaissance Period: Introduction
Renaissance Sacred and Secular Music
Baroque Period: Introduction
Baroque Period: Introduction to Church Music
Classical Period: Introduction
Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven
Romantic Period: Introduction
Romantic Composers
Contemporary Period: Introduction
Europe, The United States, and Latin America