A new section of each course starts monthly. 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.
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 lessons are released. You will have access to all lessons until
the course ends. However, the interactive discussion area that accompanies each
lesson will automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such,
we strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.
The final exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the final
exam has been released, you will have two weeks to complete all of your course work,
including the final exam.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.