If you enjoy music and would like to know more about what makes it work, this is the course for you. You'll gain a complete understanding of rhythm, melody, and harmony, and you'll be able to recognize pitches on the musical staff and on the keyboard.

Each lesson will build on previous lessons, while also introducing new musical concepts. Your course begins with an introduction to rhythm and the various aspects of rhythm; including beat, meter, note, and rest values.

You'll then learn about the role of melody in music, and you'll gain proficiency in identifying pitches by octave, building major scales, and understanding the role of keys in creating melodies.

You'll explore the keyboard in full detail, with an emphasis on the structure of major scale and the signatures of major keys. And you'll understand the many significant contributions early music theorists made to our understanding of music.

You'll also be able to build intervals, major scales, and chords. By the time you complete this comprehensive and full-featured course, you'll be able to read, write, and even play simple musical pieces on a keyboard.

A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when lessons are released. You will have access to all lessons until the course ends. However, the interactive discussion area that accompanies each lesson will automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such, we strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

The final exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the final exam has been released, you will have two weeks to complete all of your course work, including the final exam.

Internet access, e-mail, and the and the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and a computer equipped with speakers or headphones. This course is geared towards those who have no musical background, those who play but do not read music, or anyone who is interested in understanding the fundamentals of music.

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Marianne Murawski.

Marianne Murawski earned her Ph.D. in Music Theory from the University of Maryland, her M.M (master of music) in Music Theory, and her B.A. in Music. Her dissertation, Theory through World Music, focused on developing an introductory music theory course that used world music examples. She has been teaching courses in music fundamentals, music appreciation, history of rock music, and world music at several colleges and universities. She is an active member of the College Music Society, giving presentations at Conferences including an International Conference in Vienna, Austria.

“ Great course. It was very helpful and answered a lot of questions I have had for a while about music. ”

“ I enjoyed the course very much. I'm 48 years old and have recently fulfilled a lifetime desire to learn how to play the guitar. I have very little prior musical education and this course has helped greatly me towards my goal. Thank you. ”

“ I found this a very helpful and useful class. I wish I would have taken it before I started taking piano lessons. Thank you. ”

“ I greatly enjoyed this my first on-line course. It has filled a gap in my knowledge that I have felt a need to fill for over 40 years. ”

“ I learned everything I wanted from this course and more. It filled in all the blanks I was struggling with, as I am the type of person that needs to know the "why" to things, or I cannot learn. I hope you will think about doing an advanced course. ”

“ I learned what I wanted to learn and feel I can use this knowledge in my own teaching of elementary school students. Thank you. ”

“ I'm amazed how much I learned about reading music and music theory in such a short time and with such little effort. The course is well organized and interesting. Thanks ”

“ I must admit that when I first read about this course, I laughed and thought there was no way that in 6 weeks I would be able to read and write music. I will now eat my words. I not only understand what I am doing when it comes to reading and writing music, but I am feeling a lot more confident when I perform. Thank you so much. ”

“ I truly enjoyed this course. Thank you for having this music refresher course at such an affordable price. ”

“ It was nice to see a different perspective to music instruction. The extra lessons were interesting too. It was nice to learn more about the composers and history of music. ”