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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Fundamentals of Music Theory by The University of Edinburgh

4.5
stars
1,771 ratings

About the Course

This course, revised in 2022, will introduce you to the theory of music, providing you with the skills needed to read and write Western music notation, as well as to understand, analyse, and listen informedly. It will cover material such as pitches and scales, intervals, clefs, rhythm, form, metre and time signatures, phrases and cadences, and basic harmony. This course covers the fundamentals of Western music theory, from the absolute basics to some more advanced concepts. As such, it delivers material for beginners and offers much to experienced musicians alike....

Top reviews

SS

Aug 22, 2017

It was a very nice course. We were able to understand the basics of music theory and how the notations and chords work. Thank you so much to the entire staff of Edinburgh University and Coursera..:-)

GE

Apr 1, 2021

Very good course which hammers home the essentials.

Good enthusiastic lecturing and importantly on completion progressed onto Coursera Musicianship Specialisation which I have now almost completed

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551 - 570 of 570 Reviews for Fundamentals of Music Theory

By Linda R

Jun 15, 2020

Huge disparity between the information provided in the lectures and the difficulty of the quiz at the end of each module. I found the presentation of the lectures good and while they covered the fundamentals they often mentioned! more difficult aspects. However the quiz content seemed to feature more of the difficult aspects than was covered comprehensively in the lectures. I had to avail of the guidance of other music educators on youtube to explain some of the questions on the quiz as when I reviewed the course videos and material I didn't find the answers to my questions. The course videos and material are beginner and the course quiz material is at least intermediate if not advanced.

By Deleted A

Nov 8, 2020

This course was the must confusing thus far on Coursera. Not because the subject matter is complex because it is. But because the lectures are simple, the reading is literally non-existent and the quizzes, well they are just impossible. This was suppose to be a beginning course but it is far more advanced. I truly was looking forward to an basic understanding of music theory, though I am not a musician or a composer and don't wish to become one! I wanted to learn the fundamentals. Very disappointed and very frustrated. I will not attempt to finish a class where success depends on quizzes that the student cannot complete.

By karthik

Jul 15, 2020

Not beginner friendly at all. They should not have advertised it as such if it isn' t. I feel bad for people who actually bought the course thinking they can learn something new. Course start out as easy and it's a trap, believe me. first few quizzes are fine but then shit gets crazy.

The entire course was boring but i thought i could survive the boredom for the sake of learning something new. but oh boy i was wrong. this is the only course in Coursera I had to stop halfway through. Youtube has even better content.

By Life's P

Jun 8, 2023

I think this course is a poorly taught FUNDAMENTALS class. They speak from the vantage point of superior knowledge and do a very poor job of putting this information into a proper context so that someone new to music theory can grasp the course material. Then, they impose these overly complicated testing modules which I found to be too much too soon - asking me to grasp the deeper level of music theory before I've even grasped the fundamentals. This course is lopsided from my point of view and I'm unenrolling.

By Stephen S

May 12, 2024

This course is missing important materials that are mentioned by the videos. There isn't enough information here to complete the course without going to external sources. I do not know how to construct a chord after watching the first chord video, and cannot answer the questions it's asking me--which means I can't progress any further without looking things up on my own... which kind of defeats the purpose of Coursera. Unfortunately, this course ended up being a complete waste of my time.

By Dwayne H

Mar 21, 2022

Way too many technical issues with the course! Was really enjoying it but after writing quiz it would not stay populated and would be gone when I left and returned to the sight. This happened on multiple occasions. attempted multiple times to report issue with no response. I got to week three and then gave up.

Extreme disappointed!

By Dr. K N S

Jun 27, 2020

The course is good but the way of teaching and lectures are not delivered in perfect way. Way of teaching makes me blur and it is not a course for the beginners that i could learn the theory of music. The notes what provided are very difficult to understand.

By Paula L N H

Apr 25, 2022

This is the worse course I've ever taken in my life. It is not a beginner level whatsoever. If you've never learned music before and hope to gain something from this course, you won't. The first unit was OK but it was all downhill after that.

By Joe G

Dec 6, 2020

ui is awkward. answers to quizzes during lectures are not always correct. can't see answers to quizzes at the end of section to see why answers were correct or wrong. the videos are difficult to see hand positions when playing piano.

By andrea b

May 22, 2024

apart from the first week, which was quite useful, the remaining material is not explained clearly, even some definitions are not introduced. considering we are in the 2020s, this course seems to belong to the 70s

By Oliver D

Apr 6, 2021

Dr Michael Edwards is extremely confusing, making the lecture hard to follow, test don't cover by lecture

By Mark R

Oct 23, 2020

Terrible course. Poorly taught and zero resources really. very disappointing.

By Steve C

Jul 1, 2023

Final exam beyond my capabilities. Comments are of no help whatsoever

By Chris D

Jan 31, 2022

This was a really poorly explained section of this course.

By Deleted A

Apr 9, 2021

Не могу выйти из курса, меня это очень раздражает.

By ꕮ ࣪

Mar 23, 2024

pembelajaran sangat susah, saya tidak sanggup

By Rishabh J

Mar 28, 2021

It is very hard to understand

By YaQiong W

Nov 8, 2024

korny