Friday, January 16, 2015

Please join me in taking UTx Jazz Appreciation!

I'll be taking the UTx Jazz Appreciation online course for free via edX and The University of Texas at Austin. It starts January 20th and lasts for ten weeks. No prior musical experience is required.

I became interested in jazz after watching Ken Burns' Jazz series on PBS. So I was really excited to hear about this course. How often can you get free instruction from an expert?

I'll be discussing some jazz-related movies and books on the blog during this course. Do you have any favorites? Recommendations are welcome!





From the edX website: Jazz Appreciation


Listen and learn about the artists, eras, and musical methods that make jazz a great original art form.

About this Course


Louis Armstrong. Charlie Parker. John Coltrane. You’ve heard their names, but do you know what makes them great? In Jazz Appreciation, you will learn what these artists and many others contributed to America’s great original art form, revered the world over for its innovation and creativity. Jazz emerged during a time of tremendous change and upheaval in American society; this course will also discuss how its evolution both reflected and contributed to those changes.

Much more than a lecture series, Jazz Appreciation weaves in musical performances and examples that will deepen your understanding of the musical process and develop your ability to identify and analyze different jazz eras and great jazz soloists. It also incorporates cutting-edge adaptive learning technology that will allow you to practice your new knowledge and skills, at your own pace, until you reach mastery.

Join this course to enhance your enjoyment of jazz by developing an informed understanding and deep appreciation of the art.

Before, during, and after the course, check out the official Facebook page for announcements and discussions, at http://facebook.com/jazzappreciation

1 comment:

  1. Prof. Hellmer's first "jazz office hour" will be on Sunday, January 25 at 19:00 GMT. He will be available to answer questions and comments on Twitter. Search Twitter for #jazzofficehour. Hope you can make it!

    ReplyDelete