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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Fundamentals of Music Theory by The University of Edinburgh

4.5
stars
1,715 ratings

About the Course

This course, revised in 2022, will introduce you to the theory of music, providing you with the skills needed to read and write Western music notation, as well as to understand, analyse, and listen informedly. It will cover material such as pitches and scales, intervals, clefs, rhythm, form, metre and time signatures, phrases and cadences, and basic harmony. This course covers the fundamentals of Western music theory, from the absolute basics to some more advanced concepts. As such, it delivers material for beginners and offers much to experienced musicians alike....

Top reviews

GE

Apr 1, 2021

Very good course which hammers home the essentials.

Good enthusiastic lecturing and importantly on completion progressed onto Coursera Musicianship Specialisation which I have now almost completed

SS

Aug 22, 2017

It was a very nice course. We were able to understand the basics of music theory and how the notations and chords work. Thank you so much to the entire staff of Edinburgh University and Coursera..:-)

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76 - 100 of 549 Reviews for Fundamentals of Music Theory

By Alexis G

Sep 2, 2020

This was a great course. The content was very challenging for a fundamentals course, but exactly what I was looking for. I really learned a lot, surprisingly (or maybe not) especially from the quizzes and final assessment. The instructors were great, and shout out, with much gratitude, to Zach for his extra tutorial on chord progressions and modulations at the end of the course.

By Sina A ( S

Oct 2, 2022

Thank you for giving me this option to learn music theory more dipper and get to know a little more how chords made Cadens and how cadens are diffrent and give a diffrent mood in music, iy is a challenging course and sometimes really hard in more advanced part like madulation and inversions but it really gives me to dive in theory and get the corage to learnd them deeper.

By Siddharth K

Jun 1, 2020

For a guitarist who has been playing things without having any theory background, this has been a very enriching course. Apart from week 3, the course was very well explained and the quizzes reinforced everything I had learned. I think this format of videos with two people having a conversation is very effective. I loved the videos by Dr. Zack Moir and Dr. Nikki Moran!

By Daniel R

Jun 7, 2021

Course was Very challenging for myself with no music theory background! I have been a Musician for 40 years playing electric Chicago blues & Rock music. My advice is to take good notes, re-watch the lectures and use outside sources such as Google & Wikipedia and print out scales,blank sheet music and study. Very much Enjoyed all the new Music Theory I have learned!!

By Laurel L

Mar 1, 2021

My brother far away has been struggling with lockdown from Covid. Me too. I invited him to join me in taking this class. What an influence this class has had on both of us! Our conversations have been focused on something other than worries of the day. Don't wait to feel better to do something. Do something to feel better. Thank you from across the pond!

By Kelly S

Feb 15, 2021

Thanks for joy during covid. I anticipated that I would spend a lot of time alone during the pandemic. I bought myself a keyboard and some piano instruction books to start a new hobby. At the same time, I signed up for this class. The class really enhanced the whole process. The class increased my motivation to keep practicing the keyboard. Thank you.

By Kirkley S

Jul 31, 2020

This class was fantastic, but as someone with a strong background in music from a young age, it was a challenge even for me! I don't believe this is a 'beginner-level' course, but it is an intensive and comprehensive overview and provides a very strong foundation in music theory. I loved it, and learned SO much! Thank you University of Edinburgh!

By Marco

Oct 22, 2017

This one of the best course that i've found on the web. Although I have some previous trainning, this course aloud me to recap go further. Irecommend it to any one who is interested to put all the things already known, and to those who are interested in aquiring some music theory foundations. I recommend to watch the difficult parts, several times.

By Jay F

Jun 12, 2022

I enrolled in order to better understand chords and got a lot more than that. The course has helped me understand what I am playing and why. It was very difficult but the extra work it took to passs was worth the effort. I can now blend in chords without trying to read the left hand. Thanks. The professors were very knowledge and helpful.

By Uday

Aug 1, 2020

Had a blast, its a really amazing course with really good assignments.

I am a bit sad now that the course has completed. It was really fun watching and learning from all the lecturers( especially from Dr Zack and Dr Nikki) teach with such enthusiasm and interest.

Really recommend taking this course if you are new to music theory.

By Tom P

May 10, 2017

The course is great. it's fun, interesting, engaging and all.

I think that what I would add is some more links to pieces of music, or videos of the mentors talking about and performing musical pieces, like in the one when John played Bach's prelude in C, and the analysis afterwards - This was really interesting and inspiring!

By Eugene B

May 31, 2020

It's a course on music THEORY and in my opinion it does a great job at introducing you to the fundamentals of it. It's not exhaustive, in that you have to read around from other sources in order to fully understand certain concepts; the quizes and final exam reflect this. Overall, it's challenging, educative and rewarding!

By Alex R

May 4, 2017

It is a very interestring course. It provides one with basic information about musical theory. I liked particularly the part about chords and their connections. I would like to see given a longer course dedicated to this part (Harmony). I would like to thank all the lecturers for a very enjoyable and informative course.

By Kemmy L

Jul 2, 2021

Thank you for the comprehensive and easy-to-understand course. I learnt a lot and have actually used inversions in my practice and it sounds different but nice. I endeavour to continue learning more as I find that it has improved my overall understanding of music as I often just play by ear. Thank you once again.

By Angélica R R R

Feb 24, 2018

I like this course. I suppose some questions in the quiz are obviously but in general, finally I understood basic fundamentals of the music theory, because I did not before. Thank you so much to the Edinburg university. It's sad I don't have money to be certified, but I love this course. :D Thanks!

By Ekaterina A

Jan 11, 2021

The course gets more and more difficult as you go, and its important to really understand and practice the concepts (and research them further sometimes) before moving on. I liked the structure and the instructors a lot, and learned a lot not just with videos but mainly with questions and quizzes.

By Povoroznyuk Y I / П Я И

Apr 11, 2018

A big THANK YOU to everebody who created this course! Now I have a good knowledge of fundamental music theory and can learn more about harmony. It was a little bit hard to understand all information from 5th week, but recommended sources from this course helped me. Thanks a lot!

Best regards,

Yana.

By Michael W

Feb 3, 2023

Very good Course. Your gonna learn allot about music theory. It is quite hard though and is gonna require some time and effort to finish. The last weeks get complicated and the final exam is also challenging. but all in all if you push through your walk away with allot learned. would recommend!

By Kermit B B

May 14, 2017

Loved it. This was the first course i felt was extremely challenging, informative, and inspirational. I grew up playing the alto sax, but the theory was awesome.

It also felt like a College level course. Leaving the learner to expand and expound upon the material presented.

Thank YOU

Kermit

By Roman S

Mar 27, 2017

I've learn a lot here from absolutely zero. Before taking the course I couldn't even imagine that it is possible for me to learn anything about music and to be able to understand notes notation. Definitely recommend. But keep in mind that it requires you to work overtime and practice it.

By JD D

Jan 15, 2017

Un curso muy bien resumido pero completo que asegura una exigencia competente en sus evaluaciones, lo recomiendo totalmente para aquel que quiera ejercitar su dominio de la armonía y a otros hispanohablantes (como yo) que busquen conocer más acerca del inglés técnico dentro de la música.

By Larry G

Aug 19, 2022

As a former trumpet player in high school and a guitar player in my current band, I was familiar with some of this material. Weeks 1-3 were pretty easy. However, things started getting harder around week 4 and I found the final exam in week 6 fairly challenging. Definitely recommend!

By Alfonso H G

Mar 15, 2022

This is a great course on the fundamentals of music although I consider that we need more exercises to practice and do well in the exams which are not easy, especially the final exam (second part).

Thanks Coursera for giving me the chance to take this course for free.

Best Regards

By Farhan S

Jul 6, 2017

It was a wonderful course and a great beginning to my musical journey. The fundamentals were covered efficiently and made it possible to learn the deep nuances of harmony and musical progression. I would truly recommend it to all those interested in learning what creates music.

By Daniel N A

Apr 17, 2017

An amazing course on the Fundamentals of Music Theory! I am beginning my musical education with this program and getting ready to start community college in the fall, so this is definitely getting me ready. Perhaps, one day I plan to study music at this university in Scotland.