Course description
This free online music course will first show you how to identify different chords in a melody and distinguish between major and minor scales by using your listening skills. You will also learn how cadences and sequences are used in musical excerpts. The course will also cover the development of notes and musical scales, harmony and bass patterns, and chord progressions. You will look at how to build chords in a melody and learn how chord progressions are used by listening to some blues and rock.
Next, you will learn about the six models in classical music, from sonata-allegro to rondo form. You will study the features of verse and chorus and how the same material can return at certain points in a musical piece. The course also covers the four types of music found within a sonata namely thematic, cadential, developmental, and transitional. You will also learn how to identify rhythm in different genres of music such as jazz, pop, and classical music.
A good musician knows how to make beautiful music as well as have a good listening ear. This can be achieved with proper training and practice. This course will be of great interest to musicians who want to strengthen their knowledge of musical theory, and to students who would like to learn more about music theory and improve their aural skills. Check out the course and improve your musical abilities, today.
Upcoming start dates
Training content
Module 1: Introduction to Music Theory
Description: In this module, you will be introduced to music theory and what will be covered in the remainder of this course. You will learn about different instruments and musical techniques.
- Learning Outcomes
- Introduction to Music Theory
- Diagnostic Quiz
- Introduction to Instruments and Musical Genres
- Instruments and Acoustics
- Lesson Summary
Module 2: Rhythm
Description: In this module, learn about the fundamentals of rhythm by listening to musical excerpts and identifying different meters, counting different measures, and musical textures.
- Learning Outcomes
- Musical Notation
- Identifying Meters in Musical Excerpts
- Features of Rhythm
- Counting Measures and Musical Dictation
- Lesson Summary
Module 3: Diploma in Music Theory - First Assessment
Description: You must score 80% or more to pass this assessment.
- Assessment: Diploma in Music Theory: First Assessment
Module 4: Melody
Description: In this module, learn all about melody including notes, scales, nuts and bolts, and how they are used in musical composers such as Mozart and Wagner.
- Learning Outcomes
- The Development of Notes and the Scale
- Major, Minor, and Chromatic Scales
- Cadences and Sequences
- Exploring Wagner's and Mozart's Melodies
- Lesson Summary
Module 5: Harmony and Bass Patterns
Description: In this module, learn about how to build chords to create a harmony and bass patterns that occur in blues and rock musical pieces.
- Learning Outcomes
- Introduction to Harmony
- Harmonic Progressions
- Chord Progressions
- Three and Four Chord Progressions
- Lesson Summary
Module 6: Diploma in Music Theory - Second Assessment
Description: You must score 80% or more to pass this assessment.
- Assessment: Diploma in Music Theory: Second Assessment
Module 7: Musical Form
Description: In this module, you will gain an in-depth analysis of musical forms including sonata-allegro form and theme and variation.
- Learning Outcomes
- Introduction to Form in Music
- Sonata-Allegro Form in Mozart and Beethoven
- Sonata-Allegro Form
- Lesson Summary
Module 8: Theme and Variation
Description: In this module, learn about the following musical forms: theme and variation, and rondo form.
- Learning Outcomes
- Theme and Variations
- Theme and Variations in Brahms's Composition
- Rondo Form
- Lesson Summary
Module 9: Attending Concerts and Fugue
Description: In this module, learn how to analyse a concert you are attending. This module will also teach you about fugue and how it is used in different musical pieces by Bach, Bizet, and Bernstein.
- Learning Outcomes
- Attending Concerts
- Guest Conductor
- Introduction to Fugues
- Fugue Structures in Musical Excerpts
- Lesson Summary
Module 10: Diploma in Music Theory - Third Assessment
- Assessment: Diploma in Music Theory: Third Assessment
Course assessment
- Assessment: Diploma in Music Theory: Final Assessment
Certification / Credits
After completing this music theory course, you will:
- Explain how to listen to music properly
- Differentiate between rhythm and melody
- Discuss the differences between verse and chorus
- Explain the general format of symphonies
- Distinguish between duple and triple meters
- Discuss the use of chromaticism
- Explain what a harmony is
- Define what a coda is
- Explain what a harmony is
- Explain what a chord progression is
- Distinguish between major and minor chords
- Distinguish between conjunct or disjunct melodies
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Alison is the world’s largest free online empowerment platform for education and skills training, offering thousands of CPD-accredited courses and a range of impactful career development tools. It is a for-profit social enterprise dedicated to making it possible for anyone,...