Search -
Understanding The Fundamentals of Music (The Great Courses, Complete 16 CD Audio)
Understanding The Fundamentals of Music - The Great Courses, Complete 16 CD Audio Author:Professor Robert Greenberg Learn the Basics of Music Theory without Knowing How to Read Music! — In this course, Professor Greenberg offers a spirited introduction to this magnificent languagenimbly avoiding what for many of us has long been the principal roadblock, the need to read music. — For anyone wanting to master music's language, being able to read musical notation ... more »is a necessity. But this course, as Professor Greenberg notes, is a basic course, designed to introduce you to music's language in a way that is similar to the way you learned your own native language, by "discovering and exploring musical syntax through our earsby learning what the parts of musical speech sound likerather than what they look like on paper."
By sidestepping the necessity to read music, these lectures represent an extremely rare opportunity in musical educationan opportunity to experience a solid introduction to music theory's basics in a way that is not technically intimidating, yet provides a substantial grounding in the fundamentals. As such, Professor Greenberg has devised a highly individualized approach to music theory. There is simply little or no literature in this field that can teach as much without recourse to music notation. Thus, it can appeal to those who are not learning, or even planning to learn, to play a musical instrument or to compose.
Professor Greenberg has made use of a variety of tools, including thoughtfully chosen recorded examples, his own demonstrations at the piano, and helpful diagrams. One of those diagramsa reproduction of a piano keyboard, with its keys identifiedfrees the student from needing access to a piano or any other keyboard instrument, a traditional demand of most music theory courses. It's of tremendous help in visualizing many of the course's most important concepts, such as how "pitch collections" are built, and it opens up the benefits of this course to anyone without access to a piano or keyboard instrument.« less