Syllabus

This course is designed specifically for those who have always wanted to learn about music, how it came to be, and what it does for our community and our nation. Some classes in this course focus on music’s history and development, while others focus on how music and the arts enrich our lives culturally and economically. And to make sure everyone is ready for when we look at written music, the first class of our session – Music Basics – is a fun introduction to reading and writing music (don’t worry, it’s easier than you think). In the end, we’ll look at how music has helped to shape and has been shaped by human, societal, and technological developments over the past half millennium.

Major Course Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course participants should be able to:

Demonstrate an increased proficiency in music vocabulary
Identify the major periods in music history
Recognize certain genres by listening to musical examples and identifying their origins
Demonstrate an appreciation of various musical styles from the greater Western orchestral catalog.

Prerequisites

NONE! This series is meant to be fun and informative, so absolutely no previous music experience is required.

Live Lectures

All lectures in this course are live. This helps cuts down on costs, allows for participants to have direct interaction with the teacher and classmates, and fosters a more relaxed atmosphere all around.

Registration, Attendance, and Make-ups

Participants can choose their classes with either a pre-programmed “Special Series” or
an a la carte-style “Punch Card”.

Special Series

If you’re new to music and not sure where to start, we suggest you consider one of our Special Series courses. While classes between the courses overlap, the overall structure of each course focuses on a specific aspect of music's past, present, and future. FUTURE GRAD SCHOOL STUDENTS: If you are preparing for grad school entrance/diagnostic exams, the “The Whole of Music History” series has been designed specifically to review topics covered by most music school entrance exams.

Punch Card (a la carte)

If you don’t see a series that covers everything you want to learn, we suggest you consider purchasing a “Punch Card”. This serves as a gift card that allows you to pick only the classes you want to attend without committing to a specific pre-programmed series. Minimum purchase: 3 classes.

Attendance

While there is no limit on participants for our classes, we do require registration so we know who to expect.

Make-ups & Refunds

All make-ups and refunds are handled on a case-by-case basis.

Text & Materials

Purchase of a textbook is NOT required. While this lecture does not have tests or homework, much of the

information can be found in Kerman & Tomlinson’s Listen! Participants who prefer to follow along in the book should click the link below and purchase the 9th edition. Textbook purchase is strongly encouraged for participants preparing for music school entrance exams – you can never have too many music books.

Textbook title: Listen!

Author: Joseph Kerman and Gary Tomlinson

Edition: 9th Publisher: W.W. Norton

ISBN: 978-0-393-69600-4

To Purchase: https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393668117

Class Schedule

All MA+R classes are live, and will begin at 1pm EST (5pm GMT) and 6pm EST (10pm GMT). All participants, regardless of where they are in the world, are welcome to attend whichever session(s) best suits their schedule.

Classes will run approximately 3 hours and utilize Zoom, the online group-meeting app. Participants are not required to have a camera, but it will be helpful as open class discussions are part of the course. Participants may see slight gaps in their individual lecture schedule due to their topics of choice not being chronologically consecutive. Don’t worry, reminders well be sent out to make sure you don’t forget about your next class after a hiatus.

To learn more about the classes that we offer check out the Course Catalog Page.

Click here to view our Special Series Packages.

Ready to get started? Enroll Now!

View Full Syllabus PDF