Tag Archives: Coursera Reviews

Review: Coursera Introduction to Improvisation – Final Thoughts

Having completed the 5-week Introduction to Improvisation course on Coursera, I do have a few thoughts to share for those considering trying the same course. First, though it is marketed as an introductory course, it does assume facility with one’s … Continue reading

Posted in Jazz, Pedagogy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Review: Coursera Introduction to Improvisation

The concluding week of Gary Burton’s Introduction to Improvisation course dealt primarily with thematic development. Throughout the course, Burton emphasized the role of the improviser as a storyteller, considering the solo as a logical narrative. To assist in realizing this … Continue reading

Posted in Jazz, Pedagogy, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Review: Coursera Introduction to Improvisation

Week 4 of Gary Burton’s Introduction to Improvisation course introduced three new topics for improvisers. The first is the concept of guide tones. Guide tones are chord tones that are a step or half-step from a chord tone of subsequent … Continue reading

Posted in Jazz, Pedagogy, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Review: Coursera Introduction to Improvisation

Sorry for the delay on these reviews, I’ll be posting about Weeks 3, 4, and 5 of Gary Burton’s Introduction to Improvisation class this week. Week 3 deals with the application of scales to harmonies in a vertical manner, i.e., … Continue reading

Posted in Jazz, Music Lessons, Pedagogy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Review: Coursera Introduction to Improvisation

I’ve completed the second week of Gary Burton’s Intro to Improvisation online course through Coursera. The lessons progressed from the first week’s discussion of parallels between language and music to a more theoretical description of ten of the commonly used … Continue reading

Posted in Jazz, Pedagogy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Review: Coursera Introduction to Improvisation

I’ve just completed the assignments for Week 1 of Gary Burton’s introductory improvisation class. I think it’s off to a good start, and he really throws you right into the thick of things. The first lectures address music as a … Continue reading

Posted in Jazz, Music Lessons, Pedagogy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Review: Coursera Introduction to Improvisation

Today I had my first glimpse of the online Introduction to Improvisation course offered by Berklee College of Music. It is a five-week class presenting some of the fundamentals of jazz improvisation. I’ll be giving a week-by-week review as a … Continue reading

Posted in Jazz, Music Lessons, Pedagogy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment