Duke University
Music as Biology: What We Like to Hear and Why
Duke University

Music as Biology: What We Like to Hear and Why

Dale Purves

Instructor: Dale Purves

61,406 already enrolled

Course

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals

4.3

(660 reviews)

17 hours (approximately)
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

Skills you'll gain

  • Category: Biology
  • Category: Music
  • Category: Evolution
  • Category: Neurobiology

Details to know

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Quizzes and assessments

0 quizzes, 7 assessments

English
Subtitles: Arabic, French,

Course

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals

4.3

(660 reviews)

17 hours (approximately)
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

There are 8 modules in this course

Introduction to Music as Biology

What's included

1 video1 reading

An overview of the organization of the human auditory system, and how sound signals are transformed into sound stimuli.

What's included

4 videos2 readings

An introduction to the sound qualities we perceive, and how and why these qualities differ from the information in sound signals.

What's included

5 videos1 reading

A discussion of the nature of vocal sound signals, their biological importance and their role in understanding music.

What's included

5 videos1 reading

The tonal phenomena that need to be explained in any theory of music, and different approaches that have been take to provide answers.

What's included

9 videos1 reading

Why a small number of basic scales are used in music worldwide, and how a biological framework explains this and related puzzles.

What's included

6 videos1 reading

How emotion is conveyed by vocal similarity in music across cultures, and how the speech of a culture and its music are related. A summing up of the major points in the course follows.

What's included

7 videos3 readings

Additional demonstrations and commentaries by Ruby Froom on some of the musical issues considered in the course, as well as a glossary of terms and bibliography for references.

What's included

6 videos16 readings

Instructor

Instructor ratings
4.6 (75 ratings)
Dale Purves
Duke University
2 Courses89,433 learners

Offered by

Duke University
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4.3

660 reviews

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    57.27%

  • 4 stars

    24.84%

  • 3 stars

    12.42%

  • 2 stars

    3.48%

  • 1 star

    1.96%

FV
5

Reviewed on Apr 11, 2018

OJ
5

Reviewed on Sep 21, 2020

CC
4

Reviewed on Jun 4, 2020

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