Duke University
Music as Biology: What We Like to Hear and Why
Duke University

Music as Biology: What We Like to Hear and Why

Taught in English

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64,518 already enrolled

Course

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals

Dale Purves

Instructor: Dale Purves

4.3

(676 reviews)

Approx. 17 hours to complete
3 weeks at 5 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

Details to know

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Assessments

7 quizzes

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There are 8 modules in this course

Introduction to Music as Biology

What's included

1 video1 reading1 discussion prompt

An overview of the organization of the human auditory system, and how sound signals are transformed into sound stimuli.

What's included

4 videos2 readings1 quiz4 discussion prompts

An introduction to the sound qualities we perceive, and how and why these qualities differ from the information in sound signals.

What's included

5 videos1 reading1 quiz2 discussion prompts

A discussion of the nature of vocal sound signals, their biological importance and their role in understanding music.

What's included

5 videos1 reading1 quiz3 discussion prompts

The tonal phenomena that need to be explained in any theory of music, and different approaches that have been take to provide answers.

What's included

9 videos1 reading1 quiz3 discussion prompts

Why a small number of basic scales are used in music worldwide, and how a biological framework explains this and related puzzles.

What's included

6 videos1 reading1 quiz3 discussion prompts

How emotion is conveyed by vocal similarity in music across cultures, and how the speech of a culture and its music are related. A summing up of the major points in the course follows.

What's included

7 videos3 readings2 quizzes4 discussion prompts

Additional demonstrations and commentaries by Ruby Froom on some of the musical issues considered in the course, as well as a glossary of terms and bibliography for references.

What's included

6 videos16 readings

Instructor

Instructor ratings
4.5 (81 ratings)
Dale Purves
Duke University
2 Courses94,634 learners

Offered by

Duke University

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4.3

676 reviews

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    57.24%

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    24.85%

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    12.27%

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    3.55%

  • 1 star

    2.07%

CA
5

Reviewed on Aug 7, 2021

MM
5

Reviewed on Sep 22, 2016

PJ
5

Reviewed on Nov 22, 2020

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