About this Course

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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!

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Intermediate Level

I recommended you have a basic knowledge of music notation prior to starting this course. Specific details are provided in the first week.

Approx. 22 hours to complete

English

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What you will learn

Analyze the relationship between the technical details and aesthetics of music.
Explore how culture, psychology, physics, formal context, and a sense of play all shape musical language.
Discover ways in which music theory may be relevant to enjoying, communicating a love for, and performing music.
Demonstrate confidence in the kind of musical self-analysis that can help you develop your own musical ideas.

Skills you will gain

Music
Classical Music
Jazz
Music composition
Music theory

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Intermediate Level

I recommended you have a basic knowledge of music notation prior to starting this course. Specific details are provided in the first week.

Approx. 22 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.96/5 (61 Ratings)

Marc Lowenstein
Top Instructor

Roy E. Disney Family Chair in Musical Composition

Musical Arts / Experimental Pop, School of Music

38,082 Learners

1 Course

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating97%(3,715 ratings)

Week

1

Week 1

14 minutes to complete

Course Overview

14 minutes to complete

1 video (Total 1 min), 9 readings

5 hours to complete

Melodic Structures: Lines, Shapes, and Simple Modes

5 hours to complete

16 videos (Total 93 min), 11 readings, 7 quizzes

16 videos

Let's Talk About Music4m

The Richness of Simplicity, part 15m

The Richness of Simplicity, part 25m

Context and Discrete Function4m

Neighbor Notes and Passing Tones4m

Context Gives Notes Function1m

Cadences9m

How to Grade: Write a Gregorian Chant10m

An Utterly Different Aesthetic, part 13m

An Utterly Different Aesthetic, part 23m

Leaps vs. Steps4m

Chromaticism: Outside Notes3m

The Next Chromatic Note1m

Sequence4m

How to Grade: Write a Slow Jazz Song11m

How to Grade: Write a Folk Song13m

11 readings

Week 1 Glossary & Playlist1m

Optional Practice: Medieval Notation3m

Optional Practice: Modern Notation3m

Optional Practice: MIDI Notation3m

Some Lessons Learned2m

Optional Practice: Antiphon10m

Optional Practice: Improvise a Melody10m

Optional Practice: A Little Musical Idea5m

Some More Lessons Learned2m

Talking About Folk Music3m

Examples of Folk Music3m

4 practice exercises

Reinforce Your Knowledge: Remember New Terms5m

See it then Hear it: Over the Rainbow (Required)14m

Hear it then See it: White Christmas (Required)12m

See it then Hear it: The Riddle Song (Required - Honors)14m

Week

2

Week 2

7 hours to complete

Melodic Structures: Simplicity, Repetition, and Change

7 hours to complete

17 videos (Total 140 min), 8 readings, 9 quizzes

17 videos

Complex Simplicity: Repetition and Expectation2m

Repetition8m

How to Grade: Write Like a Classical Composer15m

Less is More: Chopin9m

Less is More: Ives5m

Some Lessons Learned3m

Brahms Rhapsody12m

Schoenberg's Piano Concerto5m

Single Ladies / It's a Small World / Your own personal nightmare earworm2m

Three Expansive Tunes3m

How to Grade: Write Like a Romantic Composer16m

How to Grade: Write like an Early 20th Century Composer13m

How to Grade: Write an Earworm7m

Boulez, Selon Pli7m

John Cage's Atlas Eclipticalis4m

How to Grade: Write Like a Mid- to Late 20th Century Composer17m

How to Grade: Write Like a Wombat2m

8 readings

Week 2 Glossary & Playlist1m

Some Lessons Learned2m

Listen First: Chopin, Withers, Ives6m

Less is More: Withers10m

Optional Practice: I Want You10m

Optional Practice: One Note Samba5m

Optional Practice: Musica Ricerata10m

Listen First: Brahms & Schoenberg12m

3 practice exercises

See it then Hear it: Diaphonic Suite #1 (Required)30m

Hear it then See it: Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix (Required)14m

See it then Hear it: 1- (Required - Honors)12m

Week

3

Week 3

5 hours to complete

Combining Pitches: Consonance and Dissonance

5 hours to complete

17 videos (Total 136 min), 4 readings, 6 quizzes

17 videos

Introduction to Consonance and Dissonance4m

The Physics Of It All6m

The Culture & Context You Swim In10m

The Functional Relationship10m

A Three-Minute History of Medieval Music12m

A bit more about medieval music—and meter2m

Introduction to 'The Rules'8m

A Simple Explanation of Counterpoint, part 18m

A Simple Explanation of Counterpoint, part 26m

Adding Dissonance18m

How to Grade: Counterpoint, Part One: A&B7m

How to Grade: Counterpoint, Part Two: C&D7m

Josquin in two voices, part 15m

Josquin in two voices, part 28m

Creatively Breaking Rules7m

Breaking the Rules In Order To Make New Rules in Order to Figure Out What Rules Are6m

How to Grade: Counterpoint, Part Three: E&F4m

4 readings

Week 3 Glossary & Playlist2m

Optional Practice: Meter5m

Optional Practice: An informal analysis of Josquin10m

Optional Practice: Two Beautiful Pieces15m

3 practice exercises

Physical Consonance (Required)5m

See it then Hear it: Broken Rules (Required)12m

Hear it then See it: Broken Rules (Required)10m

Week

4

Week 4

5 hours to complete

Cadences and Basic Harmonic Function

5 hours to complete

18 videos (Total 108 min), 3 readings, 4 quizzes

18 videos

More Than Two Voices at a Time: The Beginnings of Harmony6m

Demonstration: 3-part voice leading11m

Cadences, part 18m

Cadences, part 23m

Melodic Aspect to Cadences5m

Tonal Function6m

More about the Leading Tone: A diversion into Rock and Country3m

Rock/Pop vs. Country3m

Getting back to Tonal Function: Subdominant5m

Some simple examples10m

Subdominant Feelz6m

Recap of Harmonic Function5m

All Triads in a Key4m

Mozart Piano Concerto, Part 18m

Mozart Piano Concerto, Part 27m

Mozart Piano Concerto, Part 36m

How to Grade: Complete the Cadences (Final Assignment)3m

Conclusion1m

3 readings

Week 4 Glossary & Playlist2m

Listen to Haydn and Pärt15m

Listen First: Stairway to Heaven & Coal Miner's Daughter10m

2 practice exercises

See it Then Hear it: Piano Sonata #1 (Required)18m

Hear it and See it: Dove Sono (Required)15m

Reviews

4.7

79 reviews

5 stars
81.88%
4 stars
12.31%
3 stars
2.89%
2 stars
0.72%
1 star
2.17%

TOP REVIEWS FROM APPROACHING MUSIC THEORY: MELODIC FORMS AND SIMPLE HARMONY

by MAJun 14, 2022

I learned so much in the course. Marc is a fantastic instructor. I never thought I could compose all these different styles of music!

by JSJun 7, 2020

lecturer is very skilled in his lecture delivering. thank you sir for teaching such a nice course

by NPAug 22, 2020

A wonderful course with content that provides knowledge and allows you to experiment and discover.

by PRMar 28, 2020

A very useful and interesting overview to melody and harmony. I loved Marc's sense of humour. It has motivated me to study the subject in more depth.

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
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The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
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Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

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Approaching Music Theory: Melodic Forms and Simple Harmony