Catalog Search Results
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Take a look at the far-reaching influence of acoustic guitarist Michael Hedges, and his ingenious use of alternate tunings of the instrument. Continue with a two-part cross-picking exercise, for hand dexterity. Practice the Lydian modal scale. Then explore alternate tunings, focusing on Michael Hedges' "D-A-D-G-A-D" tuning, and use it in the song "Alpine Sunrise".
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
In approaching minimalism, trace the development of rock 'n' roll, and its integral impact on both American musical culture and 20th-century concert music. Grasp the musical ethos of minimalism - its rhythmic pulse, cyclical patterning and melodies, and hypnotic drive - through the groundbreaking works of the "triumvirate" of the style: Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Take an overview of the anatomy and structure of the larynx: the cartilage, ligaments, and muscles that house and support the vocal cords. Then look at how phonation or sound production works, and how pitch is made. Explore phonation through a series of exercises, working to create a healthy vocal tone and a balanced, free laryngeal position, without extraneous tensions.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Examine the role of the soft palate in singing. Locate the position of the palate and learn about its physiological functions. Work with mental imagery that will naturally activate and lift the soft palate, and discover how the soft palate affects vocal sound. Using helpful materials and props, work to engage with a more flexible, agile palate, which will respond naturally when you sing.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
Now that you are growing comfortable with the major key signatures, shift your attention to the minor finger patterns and chords. You'll learn several new pieces ("Skip to My Lou" and a minor étude), and you'll continue practicing your efforts at sight-reading. You will also discover an important new skill: how to harmonize a lead line.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Look deeper into how to practice and master each element in the learning process. Explore "shifting" - moving the left hand position in guitar playing. Then grasp how the lower three strings are notated, and practice moving between chords on the instrument. Play a major scale, and use it in the song "Shifting Sands".
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
After reviewing your sight-reading skills to date, going over the Beethoven Minuet again, and revisiting the secondary chord progressions, Professor Pike shows you two new time signatures: 2/4 time and 3/8 time. She also shows you some new music: the peppy "Cheerful Tune" and the "Rocking Étude" to bring compound meter to life.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
Let's start by playing some music! From minute one of this course, you will be at the piano, fingering keys and playing tunes. In this opening lesson, you'll familiarize yourself with the piano, perform a few basic exercises to warm up, and explore some introductory rhythm patterns. By the end of the lesson, you'll know how to play the theme from Beethoven's Ode to Joy.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Learn to play the beautiful, chiming guitar tones called harmonics. First, explore the lives of some great players who featured them. Then play harmonics on all six strings, and see how they're notated. Practice four-note diatonic seventh chords, and investigate modes, permutations of the major scale. Use your new chords and harmonics in the tune "Harmonic Landscapes".
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Bring your vocal skills to the areas of expression and performance. Grasp the importance of aligning your intention with the message your listeners are receiving. Explore how factors such as posture, facial expressions, physical gestures, vocal resonance, and articulation all communicate. Sing "Auld Lang Syne," and practice communicating different attitudes and expressive intentions.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Explore the work of composer John Cage, as it points to the value of musical "silence" - the space between notes. Then learn to read musical "rests" (silences in the music). Study how to use the capo, a device used to shorten the guitar's string length. Continue your work with "movable" pentatonic and major scales, and revive your "Travis picking" skills for today's tune.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
Find out about a practice technique called "blocking," which will help you recognize chord patterns more easily - a major step toward sight-reading. Practice three types of accompaniment patterns: the broken-chord pattern, the waltz (3/4 time) pattern, and the Alberti bass pattern.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Probe the ongoing research into the effects of musical training on the microstructure of the brain, which points to cognitive benefits in areas such as speech processing. Focus on how learning to play a musical instrument influences language acquisition and reading ability in children..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
What brain processes lead people to hear certain intervals as more consonant and others as more dissonant? Evaluate the major theories, one of which traces the phenomenon to the acoustic quality of the human voice. Then examine the structure of musical scales..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
Playing the piano is as much art as science, so here you will consider several techniques to boost the artistry of your playing. The way you articulate or play notes (also known as staccato and legato) will add personality to your playing. Practice with two new pieces: Gurlitt's At School and Diabelli's Waltz.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
This lesson will enrich your musical life by building the technical foundation upon which piano music is based. Inverted chords (moving the lowest note of a triad up an octave) is a complex musical detail that will open your ears for future lessons. Learn to recognize how inversions look on the staff and the correct fingerings to play them.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Trace the remarkable life of Merle Travis, who pioneered a distinctive and highly influential fingerpicking style. Refine your descending legato technique ("pull-offs"), a great exercise for strength and finger independence. Study the "Travis picking" style, practice some melodic licks using pull-offs, and try Travis picking in the blues tune "Dusty Blue".
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
Delve into the singular aesthetic philosophy behind Stravinsky's neoclassic music, in which he describes his compositional process as purely formal and objective. Learn about Stravinsky's relocation to the United States, and how in his seventies he turned to writing 12-tone music. Grasp how his last major work, Requiem Canticles, functions as a musical retrospective of his career.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
Over the past few lessons, you have moved from very basic off-staff rhythms and pitches to much more complicated rhythmic patterns. Today's lesson takes your knowledge of the minor keys to a whole new level as you examine the natural, harmonic, and melodic forms of the minor scale. Also, witness "syncopation" in action in Swing Low.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
In 1925, Schoenberg developed a compositional system that would dominate Western concert music for 50 years. Study the elements of his "12-Tone Method," based in the use of a "tone row" where all 12 musical pitches are used in a pre-determined sequence. Observe how this system allowed composers to write large-form, non-tonal music. Grasp its enormous influence, and its challenges for listeners.
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