If you would like to be able to look at sheet music without feeling intimidated, understand how guitar chords work, learn your choral music more quickly, this course will help you. This course is a detailed primer in music basics. Taught by Bill Neely, who developed the Udemy course, Adventures in Classical Music, a comprehensive history of classical music.
Beginning with a short history of Rock and Roll, this course first identifies the component elements of music—rhythm, melody, harmony, texture, tempo, dynamics, and form. Then, it goes on to show how those elements come together to create music—any music whether a pop song or a classical symphony.
The Elements of Music: Introduction
Learn music basics: Look at sheet music without feeling intimidated, know how to read music, improve your choral comprehension, understand how guitar chords work...
Part 1 of 3: a brief history of Rock and Roll, presented to illustrate how key elements of music contribute to the song's musical language and overall style.
Part 2 of 3: a brief history of Rock and Roll, presented to illustrate how key elements of music contribute to the song's musical language and overall style.
Part 3 of 3: a brief history of Rock and Roll, presented to illustrate how key elements of music contribute to the song's musical language and overall style.
The Elements of Music: Rhythm, Meter and Melody
Part 1 of 2: The first of the musical elements to be discussed is rhythm. What is rhythm?
Part 2 of 2: The first of the musical elements to be discussed is rhythm. What is rhythm?
What is meter and how is it related to rhythm? Simple meter is discussed first.
Continuing our discussion of meter: compound meter
Part 1 of 2: Additive meter and miscellaneous rhythmic devices.
Part 2 of 3: Additive meter and miscellaneous rhythmic devices.
Part 3 of 3: Additive meter and miscellaneous rhythmic devices.
Part 1 of 2: What makes up a melody?
Part 2 of 2: What makes up a melody?
Part 1 of 2: Preliminaries on how music is notated.
Part 2 of 2: Preliminaries on how music is notated.
The Elements of Music: Melodic structure; Harmony and Texture
Part 1 of 2. There is a structure to every melody. Here we look at melodic structure in greater depth.
Part 2 of 2. There is a structure to every melody. Here we look at melodic structure in greater depth.
Part 1 of 2. Here we look at how harmony and melodic phrases work together.
Part 2 of 2. Here we look at how harmony and melodic phrases work together.
Part 1 of 2. What is functional harmony and how does it relate to phrase structure?
Part 2 of 2. What is functional harmony and how does it relate to phrase structure?
What is Texture?
Part 1 of 2. How the idea of “texture” applies to music.
Part 2 of 2. How the idea of “texture” applies to music.
Musical Timbre
in which we explore the colors of the orchestral instruments.
Composer Benjamin Britten wrote a set of orchestral variations on a theme written by Henry Purcell, in which he highlights the instruments of the orchestra.
Part 1 of 2. How music can be structured.
Part 2 of 2. How music can be structured.
Part 1 of 2. Musical devices used in constructing a musical form.
Part 2 of 2. Musical devices used in constructing a musical form.
Reading Music
An in-depth look at how pitch is notated.
Part 1 of 2. accidentals and key signatures made easy
Part 2 of 2. accidentals and key signatures made easy
How the lengths of notes are notated.
Part 1 of 2. Synthesis of the elements to create the music we love.
Part 2 of 2. Synthesis of the elements to create the music we love.
In Conclusion
What have we learned?