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Courses >
Art, History, Psychology, & Literature > Music Made Easy
 If you enjoy music and would like to know more about what makes it work, this is the course for you. You'll gain a complete understanding of rhythm, melody, and harmony, and you'll be able to recognize pitches on the musical staff and on the keyboard.
Each lesson will build on previous lessons, while also introducing new musical concepts. Your course begins with an introduction to rhythm and the various aspects of rhythm; including beat, meter, note, and rest values.
You'll then learn about the role of melody in music, and you'll gain proficiency in identifying pitches by octave, building major scales, and understanding the role of keys in creating melodies.
You'll explore the keyboard in full detail, with an emphasis on the structure of major scale and the signatures of major keys. And you'll understand the many significant contributions early music theorists made to our understanding of music.
You'll also be able to build intervals, major scales, and chords. By the time you complete this comprehensive and full-featured course, you'll be able to read, write, and even play simple musical pieces on a keyboard.
This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Marianne Murawski.
 Marianne Murawski earned her Ph.D. in Music Theory from the University of Maryland, her M.M (master of music) in Music Theory, and her B.A. in Music. Her dissertation, Theory through World Music, focused on developing an introductory music theory course that used world music examples. She has been teaching courses in music fundamentals, music appreciation, history of rock music, and world music at several colleges and universities. She is an active member of the College Music Society, giving presentations at Conferences including an International Conference in Vienna, Austria.
To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
Requirements:
Internet access, e-mail, and the and the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and a computer equipped with speakers or headphones. This course is geared towards those who have no musical background, those who play but do not read music, or anyone who is interested in understanding the fundamentals of music.
Syllabus:
All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.
A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.
| Week One |
| Wednesday - Lesson 01 |
In this first lesson, we'll go through an overview of the major elements of music—melody, harmony, and rhythm. It's important that you understand these general terms because we'll explore each of them in detail in the coming lessons.
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| Friday - Lesson 02 |
Today is your introduction to the concept of rhythm. We'll explore its various components: beat, meter, and time signatures. You'll also learn how to read and apply time signatures to music.
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| Week Two |
| Wednesday - Lesson 03 |
We'll continue exploring meter in this lesson, and we'll look at aspects of rhythm such as syncopation and tempo. You'll learn how and why syncopation is used.
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| Friday - Lesson 04 |
Today, we'll delve into the musical concept of melody. You'll learn to read the treble and bass clefs. You'll find out how to read notes found in musical compositions and how to notate pitches to create music.
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| Week Three |
| Wednesday - Lesson 05 |
For many compositions, pitches are used that do not fall within the pitch range of the musical staff. With this lesson, you'll discover how to notate these pitches through the use of ledger lines.
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| Friday - Lesson 06 |
If you've wanted to learn how to play piano, you'll love this lesson. The focus is on learning the names of the keys on the keyboard. We'll match the pitches from the staff to the keyboard, so you'll be learning to read and play at the same time. By the end, you'll be able to read and play simple songs.
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| Week Four |
| Wednesday - Lesson 07 |
Today, you'll learn how to build major scales. The scale is the building block for composing a piece of music. You'll find out how to construct a scale on any pitch.
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| Friday - Lesson 08 |
This lesson introduces you to the names of each member of the scale. Knowing these names will enable you to discuss the functions and roles of each pitch in any key. These concepts have roots in ancient Greece, so you'll learn a little about those who have influenced how we create music.
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| Week Five |
| Wednesday - Lesson 09 |
Having covered major scales, today we'll examine the names of the major keys. You'll learn how to recognize the name of a key by the key signature. You'll also find out how to recognize a scale from the name of the key.
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| Friday - Lesson 10 |
In this lesson, we'll discuss the last musical element, harmony. We'll focus on creating more than one pitch at a time—the layering of musical pitches. We'll begin by looking at two simultaneous pitches, known as intervals.
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| Week Six |
| Wednesday - Lesson 11 |
We'll continue to explore intervals today, learning how to invert them, which is helpful when you work with chords. You'll also discover how to build three note chords, which are called triads.
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| Friday - Lesson 12 |
In this final lesson, we'll examine some of the simple relationships between triads. You'll learn how to identify which chord should be used for harmony in simple two chord progressions.
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To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
Student Reviews:
"Great course. It was very helpful and answered a lot of questions I have had for a while about music."
"I enjoyed the course very much. I'm 48 years old and have recently fulfilled a lifetime desire to learn how to play the guitar. I have very little prior musical education and this course has helped greatly me towards my goal. Thank you."
"I found this a very helpful and useful class. I wish I would have taken it before I started taking piano lessons. Thank you."
"I greatly enjoyed this my first on-line course. It has filled a gap in my knowledge that I have felt a need to fill for over 40 years."
"I learned everything I wanted from this course and more. It filled in all the blanks I was struggling with, as I am the type of person that needs to know the "why" to things, or I cannot learn. I hope you will think about doing an advanced course."
"I learned what I wanted to learn and feel I can use this knowledge in my own teaching of elementary school students. Thank you."
"I'm amazed how much I learned about reading music and music theory in such a short time and with such little effort. The course is well organized and interesting. Thanks"
"I must admit that when I first read about this course, I laughed and thought there was no way that in 6 weeks I would be able to read and write music. I will now eat my words. I not only understand what I am doing when it comes to reading and writing music, but I am feeling a lot more confident when I perform. Thank you so much."
"I truly enjoyed this course. Thank you for having this music refresher course at such an affordable price."
"It was nice to see a different perspective to music instruction. The extra lessons were interesting too. It was nice to learn more about the composers and history of music."
To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
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