Courses

How can we better listen to and enjoy classical music? Learning the fundamental elements of music enables us to listen more intelligently, hear the sound more clearly, enrich our experience, and increase our overall enjoyment. Understanding music on intellectual, emotional, and sensuous levels contributes to a fuller experience. In this course, we will learn the basic elements of music, such as melody, harmony, orchestration, rhythm, and texture, in order to gain a more effective set of listening tools and guidelines. We will listen to a large variety of musical examples from the main classical periods (e.g., Baroque, classical, Romantic, and 21st century) and take a closer look at music by such composers as Bach, Haydn, Brahms, Berlioz, Tchaikovsky, and Stravinsky. By the end of the course, students will know how to identify basic musical elements such as melody, tempo, orchestration, and harmony and will have a better understanding of the overall form of a musical piece. They will come away with a more nuanced and complete understanding of classical music.