Running A-MOOC: Music School at Home
For years I threatened to enroll in music school upon “retiring”. Not wishing to invest thousands of dollars in tuition costs and relocating to a major urban area, I was thrilled to learn of MOOCs while scanning alumni fund raising propaganda. MOOC is an acronym for: massive open online course.
In minutes I was able to enroll (create a Coursera account) and sign up for any of a huge palette of university course offerings online. For starters, I selected “History of Rock” taught by musician/musicologist Professor John Covach of University of Rochester. The subject was handled with full academic trappings: video lectures, discussion groups, listening assignments and quizzes. The schedule served to keep dawdlers like myself on task. All in all, an enriching and informative ten weeks. No small classrooms here; I took the course with 60,000 other pupils!
Now, several years later, I’ve completed ten such courses on musical subjects as diverse as classical music composition and using digital music software. Several courses have required multiple attempts to complete successfully. Others, were simply too much to deal with at the time. No ugly report cards or “withdraw without penalty” dates to suffer though.
Without much expense beyond a decent internet connection, I’m closing in on that (unofficial, but really who cares…) M.F.A. I recommend giving online learning a try!
27June2015
Completed Courses
University of Rochester
Grade Achieved: 94.2% with Distinction
University of Rochester
Grade Achieved: 98.0% with Distinction
University of Rochester
Grade Achieved: 70.6%
The University of Edinburgh
Grade Achieved: 99.2%
Music’s Big Bang: The Genesis of Rock ‘n’ Roll
University of Florida
Grade Achieved: 86.7%
Introduction to Music Production
Berklee College of Music
Grade Achieved: 69.5%
Berklee College of Music
Grade Achieved: 99.4%
Introduction to Digital Sound Design
Emory University
Grade Achieved: 94.5% with Distinction
From the Repertoire: Western Music History through Performance
Curtis Institute of Music
Grade Achieved: 77.3%
The Music of the Rolling Stones, 1962-1974
University of Rochester
Grade Achieved: 97.5% with Distinction
Berklee College of Music
Grade Achieved: 33.1%
Global Health: An Interdisciplinary Overview
University of Geneva
Grade Achieved: 0.0%
Write Like Mozart: An Introduction to Classical Music Composition
National University of Singapore
Grade Achieved: 0.0%
Berklee College of Music
Grade Achieved: 0.0%
Georgia Institute of Technology
Grade Achieved: 0.0%
Write Like Mozart: An Introduction to Classical Music Composition
National University of Singapore
Grade Achieved: 12.5%
Introduction to Classical Music
Yale University
Grade Achieved: 4.2%
Berklee College of Music
Grade Achieved: 33.1%
