Free Music History and Appreciation Courses
Here are 19 online music history and appreciation courses offered free by two top universities: the Open University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
MIT's Opencourseware contains numerous music courses. Many courses focus either on specific composers or time periods. For example, Early Music explores the 2,000 years of documented music-making before 1680, while Modern Music explores Western concert music for the first 60 years of the 20th century.
- Early Music
- Modern Music: 1900-1960
- Introduction to Western Music
- Schubert to Debussy
- Music Since 1960
- Popular Musics of the World
- Introduction to World Music
- Symphony and Concerto
- Music of India
- Music of Africa
- Gödel, Escher, Bach: A Mental Space Odyssey
- Issues of Representation: Women, Representation, and Music in Selected Folk Traditions of the British Isles & North America
- History of Media and Technology: Sound, the Minority Report--Radical Music of the Past 100 Years
- Introduction to Anglo-American Folk Music
The Open University
The Open University offers three courses for music lovers. Schubert's Lieder: Settings of Goethe's Poems teaches students about the Lieder genre of music through German poems set to music by the composer, Schubert. Introduction to Western Music covers modernist, romantic, classical and baroque styles for less familiar students.
- Schubert's Lieder: Settings of Goethe's Poems
- Reception of Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective
- Revolutions in Sound Recording
Free Online Music History and Appreciation Courses at a Glance
| Course & School | Program Level | Format | Assignments | Quizzes & Exams | Downloadable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early Music course from MIT | Undergraduate | Lecture Notes/Video Lectures | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Modern Music: 1900-1960 course from MIT | Undergraduate | Text Lessons | Yes | No | Yes |
| Introduction to Western Music course from MIT | Undergraduate | Text Lessons | Yes | No | Yes |
| Schubert to Debussy course from MIT | Undergraduate | External Reading/Listening Resources | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Music Since 1960 course from MIT | Undergraduate | External Reading/Listening Resources | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Popular Musics of the World course from MIT | Undergraduate | External Reading/Listening Resources | Yes | No | Yes |
| Introduction to World Music course from MIT | Undergraduate | External Reading/Listening Resources | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Symphony and Concerto course from MIT | Undergraduate | External Reading/Listening Resources | No | Yes | Yes |
| Music of India course from MIT | Undergraduate | Textbook | Yes | No | Yes |
| Music of Africa course from MIT | Undergraduate | External Reading Resources | Yes | No | Yes |
| Gödel, Escher, Bach: A Mental Space Odyssey course from MIT | High School level | Videos/Lecture Notes | No | No | No |
| Issues of Representation: Women, Representation, and Music in Selected Folk Traditions of the British Isles and North America course from MIT | Graduate | External Reading Resources | Yes | No | Yes |
| History of Media and Technology: Sound, the Minority Report -- Radical Music of the Past 100 Years course from MIT | Graduate | External Reading Resources | Yes | No | Yes |
| Introduction to Anglo-American Folk Music course from MIT | Undergraduate | External Reading Resources | Yes | No | Yes |
| Schubert's Lieder: Settings of Goethe's Poems course from Open University | Intermediate | Text Lessons | Yes | No | Yes |
| Reception of Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective course from Open University | Advanced | Text Lessons | Yes | No | Yes |
| Revolutions in Sound Recording course from Open University | Beginner | Text Lessons | Yes | No | Yes |
