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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Introduction to Classical Music by Yale University

4.9
stars
3,854 ratings

About the Course

Using a simple and enjoyable teaching style, this course introduces the novice listener to the wonders of classical music, from Bach fugues to Mozart symphonies to Puccini operas....

Top reviews

VF

Mar 6, 2019

Really appreciate Prof. Wright give us such rich content and sophisticated course. I really enjoy and love it. I am looking forward to seeing more high-level courses from Prof. Wright if there is any.

RR

Mar 23, 2021

A truly wonderful introduction to Classical music. Great course content but perhaps most importantly, Professor Wright is perhaps one of the best teachers I've ever had the pleasure of learning from.

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76 - 100 of 1,172 Reviews for Introduction to Classical Music

By Stefania D

Apr 19, 2020

I am enthusiastic about this course! It is clear but rigorous and so engaging.

Prof Craig is a perfect teacher, friendly but inspiring! Every student can see immediately how much he loves his matter and loves teaching. The mix of talks, examples at the synthesizer, paintings or pictures and drawings, original performances and talks with experts is so lively and stimulating. I was really sad when I finished, I would have wanted to go ahead for ever.

I hope that Prof. Craig will teach other courses on music; I will register for sure to any proposal from him in the future.

Thanks so much for this experience and best wishes to Prof Craig and his team!

By Stéphanie L

Jan 16, 2017

Professor Craig Wright is a passionate teacher and music lover who makes information easily accessible to anyone regardless of previous musical knowledge. I can better appreciate music since I've taken this course, simply because I can understand it better. I can identify musical styles, periods, and even composers. Pr. Wright shares anecdotes on composers and events that make the history and theory easier to remember. I have to admit that I wasn't sure if I'd like his teaching style when I watched the first few videos, but I was quickly converted. Professor Wright is so endearing and funny! An expert, really. I absolutely loved this course.

By Loïc T

Feb 13, 2023

I just finished this Introduction to Classical Music Mooc offered by Professor Craig Wright from Yale University!

An exciting journey through nearly a thousand years of music history.

It's a bit long (about 25 hours) but absolutely brilliant!

An adventure that I highly recommend to those who want to discover the history of music.

The pedagogical approach mixes videos, quizzes, YouTube playlists, expert testimonies.

The pedagogical animation is particularly well done and original with :

- listening to musical extracts,

- deciphering scores with music in the background,

- quiz in text and audio format based on listening to musical excerpts.

By ANASTASIA C

Feb 1, 2021

Taking this course was one of the best things I've done in my life. I took this course during the COVID -19 lockdown and couldn't get enough of all the fascinating things I was learning and I thoroughly enjoyed the fantastic journey I took in the history of classical music and art. Being a pianist myself, I found the material in the course so rich and interesting, it gave me even great motivation to study, practice and listen to music. Professor Wright was incredible, his way of teaching and delivering was impeccable. I will always be grateful for what this course has offered me, I wish I could start all over again! Thank you!!!

By Ilze B

Oct 18, 2016

Absolutely lovely, wonderful and incredibly engaging course. I developed a habit to watch the lecture on my way to and from work and couple of times almost missed my stop to get out. :)

I used to listen to classical music before taking the course, because I simply liked the feel it created. This course has allowed me to listen to it more intelligently, to know and recognize more of what I actually hear, and in case of postmodern music, explained nicely what are the elements that over time have become reasons for me not really liking it.

Long story short, I use this course as an example to tell friends how amazing Coursera is.

By Miren J

Jun 21, 2020

This is an excellent course! I completed it during the "lockdown" due to the Corvid19 as I have had a lot more time on my hands, and it has been a wonderful experience. Craig Wright is a fantastic teacher and the course is extremely well put together with a really good combination of music, music theory, biographical information about the composers profiled and general art history too. I used to play the flute, and the course has inspired me to pick up my flute (for the first time in over ten years) which has also been a lot of fun. If you have any interest in classical music, I wholeheartedly recommend this course.

By Fadwa B

Oct 16, 2022

What a breath of fresh air! I feel so grateful to be living in this day and age when a course like this is easily accessible and free for public consumption. I have always had an affinity for listening to classical music for as long as I can remember, so finding this gem of a course was extremely rewarding. Not only was Professor Wright's approach engaging but content was clearly so beautifully hand-picked and worked on to fit the medium of an online course. Thank you Yale Coursera team and the Professor for increasing my appreciation of western classical music in particular and enriching my cultural knowledge of it.

By Roger G

Aug 7, 2020

Great course! I have sang in our church choir and our community symphony choir for many years but I learned music terms which aids in my music comprehension. The quizzes were challenging and required some outside resources (especially identifying the different triads). I have taken a music appreciation course at my local college but this course went into greater depth in music theory and history. I have taken 7 online courses from various universities but this is the finest course I have taken. Kudos to Professor Wright and his staff for constructing an outstanding course. Submitted by Roger Gray, Canton, Ohio , USA

By Dominic P

Jul 7, 2021

Well worth your time learning about the Western music from Renaissance to current times. After 20 years of teaching, I chose to work on this as a refresher course for my knowledge as a music educator. It was very well coordinated with video, listening selections, and guidance from the team at Yale. The last time I took a course like this was in person, but personally I enjoyed the online version better here with Prof. Wright! There are short quizzes throughout the curriculum instead of a large final exam at the end, which makes studying more managable for those who don't have a ton of time to study.

By Rakesh K

May 2, 2023

Perfect course for those who don't know much about Classical Music but still enjoy listening to it. Well selected course material to cover the breadth and depth of the subject. Very instructive quizzes. Optimally paced course. Prof. Wright is very knowledgeable about not only Music, but also about the Times and the Societies in which it was composed and played. Finally, I must mention how enjoyable and informative Prof Wright's book 'The Hidden Habits of Genius' is. The narrative flows like a Fairy Tale. I wish and hope that Prof Wright will create a follow up course of a level higher than this.

By Jagannath S

Apr 3, 2018

Excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed the course. My sincere thanks to Prof Craig White and his colleagues. Apart from his knowledge and skill, I am deeply impressed (and positively influenced) by Prof White's enthusiasm to teach the program and make it interesting to learners. I had zero exposure to any type of classical music before - but now i have developed a sincere appreciation of western classical music. I still struggle with identifying the scales and notes :( but that means i need to listen more. Overall, i loved the program. Thanks to Yale University for creating this.

By Dawn S

Jul 14, 2020

Fantastic course! I can't say enough about it! I enjoyed it from beginning to end! Great professor, great videos, great format, tying in art to music to the great human experience! This class has it all drama and passion from these past great composers and artist, I can say learning about the human side of these artist helped me to appreciate one universal truth about creative people they are innovators, often misunderstood and usually have to leave this plan of existence to be really seen and appreciated. Thank you so much for this course it was utterly fantastic

By Dr. W D

Dec 28, 2020

A great course. Full of interesting information about classical music putting it in a historical context, linking it to developments in other arts, other kinds of music in the Western World and in other world regions. Also presenting music in new multimedia presentations. Not forgetting the technological aspects of producing music. But above all, it is the spirit, the profound knowledge of the professor, his humor, his humanity that makes this course an extraordinary learning experience. To be recommended to all - even only slightly interested in classical music!

By ADITYA J

Feb 25, 2020

Excellent course which I enjoyed through out its duration. The rare insights into the evolution of western classical music along with biographical details of the major exponents was really helpful. As a layman without much knowledge of classical music, I can now appreciate at least some of the technical details of the melody and harmony. The course has helped me immensely and my love for western classical music has grown stronger. Thank you Coursera for offering this course and thanks to Professor Wright and Yale University for putting it all together.

By Sanae D

Jan 9, 2019

Bonjour, j'ai beaucoup appris à travers ce cours. En plus des objectifs cités dans la présentation, j'ai découvert les points marquants de chaque période de la musique classique, l'architecture qui va avec, l'interaction des musiciens avec les autres artistes et leur recherche ardue du savoir là où il est pour la plupart d'entre eux.

Je vous remercie vivement et je vous félicite professeur Wright pour le grand effort pédagogique que vous avez déployé. Je remercie aussi l'université Yale qui a mis à notre disposition ce magnifique cours.

Salutations

By Rachel W

Oct 15, 2020

Thank you for this fabulous course which I have just completed. It was extremely well laid and out and interesting and I learnt a lot. I highly recommend this for anyone who has any interest in music. I am a busy person but this was perfect, with videos that weren't too long in length which were very engaging, so was easy to stop and start to fit in with my lifestyle. I very much enjoyed this and am very appreciative of this being available to complete, especially at a time when we're all looking for things to do at home. Thank you very much.

By Michael V

Nov 20, 2020

Although being an enthusiastic listener of Classical music since my early years, this course has assisted me to clear uncertainties as to the periods of music while it has shed light in to the historical frame of every period and it's composers . A simple terminology has also revealed interesting aspects of the score writing techniques , making so listening much more enjoyable and deeper understood. Many thanks to Mr Wright and the whole work team at Yale and hope that a second advanced course will follow soon. Very Best Regards / Michael Vaianos

By Emma G

May 29, 2020

I'm not college age yet and am still in high school, but I felt that this was a very informational course that will help me to be prepared to enter the world of becoming a music educator in college. It was a sort of introduction to me of what college-level music classes might look like, and I just overall enjoyed the course. The instructor was great - very experienced, knowledgeable, and funny. I really enjoyed learning about the different styles, terminology, composers, and eras of classical music. Overall a wonderful course and would recommend!

By Anne Y E

Nov 19, 2020

Professor Wright is an excellent teacher, who adapted to the technology of online learning. I am so thankful for the opportunity to study at Yale University. I really got a review and overview of the History of music, all the basic components of composition, scales, harmony, chords, instruments, voices, and cultures, which pulled together everything I’ve learned from piano lessons to choral singing. This framework of knowledge provides a foundation upon which I can add future skills and information acquisition. Thank you, Professor Wright!

By Barbara K

Apr 27, 2020

A wonderful course, constructed very well to teach and reinforce ideas, concepts and knowledge of music which prompts one to look further, read and listen more. Ties in with art, architecture, history, literature, dance, theatre, artisans, science, the human struggle, the world and the universe. The depth of knowledge that Professor Wright has on a lot of subjects, his sense of humour and gift of bringing the subject to life in an interesting way, has made this a most enjoyable course and way to spend some of my time in retirement. Thank You

By Skr C

Oct 28, 2020

This is an amazing course, a little challenging when talking about the music theory, but the teacher make it simple, and more often focusing on the impact and beauty of music. At the beginning I thought the course was too long (9 weeks) but around the 5th week I found myself wishing the course could last another 10 weeks. After this course, I found myself listening to the complete symphonies and operas mentioned and recommended by the teacher. Thank you so much for this marvelous material, I will waiting for more of your excellent work.

By Pavel T

Dec 10, 2017

The one of the best courses I've ever had. I realized that before this course I knew about the classical music almost nothing although I was confident in the opposite. Craig is a great teacher and he showed me the classical music from a totally different angle. I discovered a lot of new names, especially Hildegard von Bingen - an absolute hit! Before starting this course I was afraid it would be boring and too "classic" but luckily I was a million percents wrong! Thanks for this wonderful journey through the classical music world!

By Christina

Jul 31, 2017

This is a terrific in-depth course introducing the history of classical music. I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in music. It will provide a sound foundation from medieval through modern music periods. This multimedia course is based on the instructor's excellent textbook (which is helpful but not necessary if you audit the course) plus many years of tecahing undergraduates at Yale. The Office Hours portion of the course, which is optional, was terrific, too. I give course and instructor an A!

By Wayne O

Nov 2, 2020

I thoroughly enjoyed this course, and learned a lot more than I expected to. Before taking the course I never suspected how music was influenced by, and to some extent influenced architecture, the arts, and historical events. And at the end of the course I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could recognize what era the music was from when listening to short audio clips. Craig Wright's conversational style and subtle sense of humor made me feel like he was speaking directly to me in the class sessions.