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The Great Courses Plus

Music Theory: The Foundation of Great Music

via The Great Courses Plus

Overview

In <b>Music Theory: The Foundation of Great Music</b>, you’ll delve into the inner workings of Western tonal music through 18 enjoyable and revealing lessons taught by Professor Sean Atkinson of Texas Christian University. Professor Atkinson, an eminent music theorist and teacher, makes music theory refreshingly clear and accessible, demystifying the skill of reading music as well as the principles of musical analysis. Using a highly interactive approach, he orients the lessons to an understanding of how music creates its remarkable effects, both formally and expressively, and how this understanding benefits us as listeners and instrumentalists.

Syllabus

  • By This Professor
  • 01: Learning the Language of Music
  • 02: Staff, Clefs, and Notes
  • 03: Major Scales: Notes in Context
  • 04: Intervals: Distance between Notes
  • 05: The Circle of Fifths
  • 06: Meter: How Music Moves
  • 07: Simple and Compound Meters
  • 08: Downbeats and Upbeats: Performing Rhythm
  • 09: Minor Keys
  • 10: Dynamics, Articulation, and Tempo
  • 11: Counterpoint: Composing with Two Voices
  • 12: Musical Harmony: Triads
  • 13: Musical Harmony: Seventh Chords
  • 14: Musical Harmony in Context: Progressions
  • 15: Musical Phrases and Cadences
  • 16: Hypermeter and Larger Musical Structures
  • 17: Understanding Music Lead Sheets
  • 18: Applying Music Theory to Great Music

Taught by

Sean Atkinson, PhD

Reviews

3.7 rating at The Great Courses Plus based on 65 ratings

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