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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Developing Your Musicianship by Berklee

4.8
stars
1,280 ratings

About the Course

Learn the basic concepts and approaches needed to understand, create, and perform contemporary music. If you have a passion for music and are curious about how it works, or if you are a musician who learned to play by ear without formal study, this course will provide you with an engaging introduction to key concepts and approaches needed to understand, create, and perform contemporary music. Taught by Berklee College of Music professor George W. Russell, Jr., the course includes six lessons that delve into harmony and ear training—two areas of intensive focus for every entering Berklee student. The course will teach you the major scale and minor pentatonic scale, and how they are constructed. You will learn what intervals are, how to sing them, and how to find them in music. The course explores tonal centers and how to find the key a song is in, in addition to common time signatures such as 4/4 and 3/4. You will learn how to build chords—major and minor triads, and major and dominant seventh chords—and how to build a common chord progression—the I IV V. You will also learn how to recognize the blues and AABA song forms, and write a basic chord sheet to express your song ideas. In addition to the video lectures, each lesson features Berklee student performances and interviews. The students share their musical journey and offer advice for those wanting to study music. The course culminates with an assignment that asks you to compose and perform a riff blues tune using the minor pentatonic scale. Above all, the course is designed to share the joy of creating music and sharing it with others....

Top reviews

AG

May 20, 2021

This course is a incredible one to kick start as a musician , it allows one to grow and learn basic musical chords and notes, it gave me deep knowledge about the harmony, ear training and song form.

KH

May 30, 2021

Wonderful course! The instructor is great and the lessons are very well planned and with attainable learning goals. So much fun! I loved it so much I enrolled in the 4-course Specialization.

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401 - 414 of 414 Reviews for Developing Your Musicianship

By Kian H Y

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Nov 6, 2023

More approach in modern music than classical.

By Stepan S

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Oct 9, 2017

Homework and quizzes are too easy.

By Zeji L

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Nov 9, 2016

Cannot do the test without pay...

By Anli K

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Feb 20, 2019

Good beginning, challenging end

By navneet y

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Nov 29, 2017

This course is fun!!

By Wa N

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Aug 31, 2017

Got what i need :D

By Hussain T A

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Feb 19, 2017

Good for beginners

By Abellot a

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Sep 20, 2018

good course

By michael a m

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Oct 1, 2017

I don't understand in the final assignment it says the written part is optional yet you ask us to grade our peers based upon the written part of the assignment. Very unclear. All the Berklee advertisements are heavy handed and annoying making it seem like you're just trying to get more people to spend too much money on a degree. The fundamental instruction is great though and easy to follow along.

By jolygod

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Dec 19, 2016

Great instructor!

The content is basic and with appropriately narrow scope of theory and applications.

By Rachel M

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Jun 25, 2023

Too much blues focus and it's extremely unfortunate that participation is required given there is no control to remove it or hide your name when this is open to everyone around the world. As a CourseraPlus subscriber, I also have to use my real name. Won't be taking any more.

By Lynette

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May 1, 2020

The course materials are well done, but unless you pay for the class, you have difficulties completing material week to week. For example, you can not take any of the multiple choice tests (and unless you pay, of course you can't submit assignments, which is fine). Then, you are said to be overdue or locked out for the next week's classes because you did not complete the assignments. There is a workaround it, which is tedious and time-consuming (you have to redo information from the prior week) and not where I want to spend my time. Other classes allow you to audit the class, even take multiple choice quizzes (which can be machine graded), without being "pushed" to pay for the class.

There were also times it was impossible to log into the class due to a slow system. Then, once logged in, you have to "redo" prior week's stuff to move ahead. Ridiculous.

By William R

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Dec 18, 2020

You cannot progress as you desire. Stupid exercises for advanced users you cannot bypass. Waste of time.

By Prakhar C

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Oct 3, 2019

Despite being a paid course, it doesn't provide any interaction or reviewing from the faculty AT ALL.