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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Approaching Music Theory: Melodic Forms and Simple Harmony by California Institute of the Arts

4.7
stars
153 ratings

About the Course

This course is about how music works. It is about the relationship between the technical and aesthetic details of music. It is also about how developing a meaningful theoretical vocabulary can help you think and talk about musical style, and how learning that vocabulary can expand your appreciation for music. In this course you will learn music theory not by looking at theory itself, but by listening to, looking at, and—yes!—writing your own musical examples. By hearing, seeing, and writing yourself, you will learn about classical, modern, ancient, pop, jazz, and folk styles. Through lectures, relevant examples, and numerous practice assignments, we will examine fundamental aspects of melody. We will move into working with two voices and counterpoint, and finally to three voices and the beginnings of harmonic function. This is an intermediate-level course for musicians and composers who already have some understanding of music theory through previous study. If you are a musician or composer looking to build a deeper understanding of music theory for composing, performing, or improvisation, you have come to the right place. If you are an amateur lover of music or, perhaps, play a musical instrument and want to develop a deeper sense of appreciation for music theory, aesthetics, and history, you are also in the right place!...

Top reviews

AW

Jul 4, 2020

Great survey of Western music. I found it more of an appreciation of listening to music rather than a formal music theory course. There's lots of opportunity to learn different styles of composition.

FM

Oct 14, 2023

I gained a lot of knowledge on musical terms in the course. However, it was challenging yet rewarding. Suitable for those with little experience and maybe basic music theory knowledge.

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76 - 90 of 90 Reviews for Approaching Music Theory: Melodic Forms and Simple Harmony

By Héctor H T F

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Sep 20, 2020

You are going to love this one.

By Paula C A A

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Mar 26, 2022

great, i enjoyed too much

By wadjao b

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Mar 28, 2022

very very good

By Jose S V

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Jun 30, 2021

recomendado

By JAVIER R A

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Jul 22, 2023

Very Good

By Franco C R

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Jun 1, 2022

mAGNIFICO

By henry j c g

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Feb 2, 2022

is great

By andres b

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Dec 21, 2019

gracias

By Robert B

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Nov 18, 2023

It was a challenging and knowledge-packed course that significantly improved my music appreciation. I learned so much about intervals, tonal and harmonic functions, the different forms of cadences, and the intricate rules of writing multi-part melodies. I now have a keen sense of the relationship between horizontal and vertical melodies and appreciate every leap I hear in songs on the radio and elsewhere. I would have loved for the course's final week to be extended and the lecture slowed down a bit because it contained critical information that those of us without prior music theory background could not keep up with. Yet since I consider the information valuable, I would have made the time to gain a good understanding of it. I appreciate the discussions of various types of cadences and consider that part very important, but it seemed rushed.

By Armando M

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Jul 13, 2020

Este curso hace un buen trabajo explicando las características principales de la música de distintas épocas, desde los cantos medievales hasta el Siglo XXI. El profesor trata de hacerlo muy ameno y con el mínimo de teoría posible. Sin embargo, para aprovechar el curso es necesario saber un poco de teoría musical. Por lo menos saber escribir y leer música y poder tocar algún instrumento y/o cantar una partitura. Esto es por los trabajos a realizar (en caso uno quiera el certificado). Igual si no piensas hacer los trabajos, el curso no vale tanto la pena. Vas a componer música, escribir en distintos estilos y evaluar las composiciones de otros compañeros del curso.

By kk K

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May 28, 2022

This course enchance my knowledge of music harmony which surely help me in my future career as a piano teacher.

By Jia-ying K L

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Jan 25, 2021

Very engaging lessons and exercises! However, waiting on peer feedback may take some time.

By Kartik N

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Jan 11, 2022

I think the content is good, at least initially. I love the fact that the instructor makes us compose music. But the two biggest failings are that there doesnt seem to be an end goal to this course and that finding peers who are capable of giving proper feedback is difficult.

By Pedro L A D

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Jun 27, 2020

Very difficult, explanation are not clear, much talk and many slang language...

By Volkan A

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Apr 12, 2021

I cannot unenroll. I have mistakenly enrolled. Please help.