Enroll Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/musicianship-harmony
Are you looking to deepen your understanding of music theory and elevate your contemporary music creation and performance skills? Berklee Online’s “Musicianship: Tensions, Harmonic Function, and Modal Interchange” course, taught by the esteemed Professor George W. Russell, Jr., is an exceptional next step for anyone with a foundational grasp of music theory or who has completed the previous two courses in the “Developing Your Musicianship” specialization.
This course dives deep into the crucial elements that add color and sophistication to modern music. In Lesson 1, you’ll explore the keys of Eb Major and B minor, getting hands-on with chord tensions and understanding harmonic function – essentially, how chords relate to and move within a tonal center. Crucially, the course emphasizes ear training, helping you aurally identify chord progressions and qualities, a skill vital for any musician.
Lesson 2 introduces the common I-II-V-I progression and delves into diminished chords, building upon concepts like the VII-7b5 you might recall from earlier courses. The focus remains on developing your aural skills, reinforcing your ability to recognize these harmonic building blocks by ear.
Modal interchange, the fascinating concept of borrowing chords from parallel tonalities, takes center stage in Lesson 3. You’ll learn about the powerful bVI-bVII-I progression, a prime example of modal interchange in action, and continue to hone your ear training abilities.
Finally, Lesson 4 prepares you for the capstone project: composing and performing a 16-bar song. This lesson acts as a comprehensive review of the course’s key concepts, including an introduction to suspended chords, empowering you to confidently apply what you’ve learned. The continuous emphasis on ear training throughout the course ensures that you’re not just learning theory, but truly internalizing it.
Overall, “Musicianship: Tensions, Harmonic Function, and Modal Interchange” is a highly recommended course for aspiring musicians. It provides a structured, practical, and engaging way to master advanced harmonic concepts and significantly enhance your musical intuition and creative output. If you’re serious about elevating your musicianship, this course is an invaluable investment.
Enroll Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/musicianship-harmony