Your instructor
Jamie Henke, Faculty Associate in Music at UW-Madison, teaches
music theory for non-music majors in the School of Music, and distance
education courses on related topics. A pianist and vocalist, she holds
a Ph.D. in music theory.
Who this course is for
- Anyone interested in writing their own music.
- Those who are composing and are looking for some feedback and guidance for their work.
- Choir directors, church musicians, band leaders and others interested in learning arranging techniques.
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This is a noncredit, online music class through UW-Madison Continuing Studies.
Create your own music
Write your own music!If you have ever had the desire to write your own music, this noncredit web-based course is for you!
The first half of the course features six composition activities, modeled after the same types of composition exercises assigned to the masters. The second half of the course involves writing your own music.
This music composition course includes two tracks, one for the beginner, and another for the more experienced composer. Beginners will walk through a step-by-step process for creating their first musical composition. For the more experienced composer, this is your chance to polish your musical composition skills, stretch your own compositional ideas, and maybe master a new technique or two, either on works you have already completed, or on a new masterpiece.
Requirements: Basic notation skills required. Some more theory knowledge recommended.
Regarding credits: Create Your Own Music is a self-paced music course for personal enrichment only. If you are looking for a distance education music course available for university, check out our Independent Learning music program.
How it works
You can start our workshops anytime, and there are no required hours to log on. It's all done with one-on-one correspondence with the instructor using email. You can read and print course materials in the course Web site, which you can access at your leisure with a password that we will give you. We have writers from around the world participating in our workshops, and we have success stories. A lot of great writing gets accomplished via email. Because of the one-on-one nature of our workshops, you'll find them an excellent "coaching" or mentoring situation that will keep you going. And if you want to just work on your own-hey, that's fine too. Of course you can do the suggested exercises on your own without the feedback if you'd rather do that. We're also here throughout the year if you have questions.
Review the current technical requirements for students in Learn@UW online courses.
Costs
Registration is $215. Work at your own pace and take up to a year to finish. You will earn 3.0 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) when you complete the course.
Please contact Dr. Jamie Henke: jhenke@dcs.wisc.edu before you register to discuss content for your individually designed course. It is helpful to have a written record of your planned course content. Email is the best way to accomplish this. You may register at any time.
Contact
Your contact for Create Your Own Music is Dr. Jamie Henke jhenke@dcs.wisc.edu.
For more information about online learning contact Lori O'Neill at 608-263-6322 or toll-free 877-336-7836 or email LSAonline@dcs.wisc.edu.
How to register
Online: Register now online with our secure server.
Mail: Print and mail our registration form.
Telephone: Call 608-262-2451 or toll-free 800-725-9692 to register. Our phone is answered M-F, 7:00 am-4:30 pm Central Time. At other times please leave a message, and we will return your call.
Also of interest
Explore more online music courses from UW–Madison Continuing Studies.
Independent Learning music courses are distance education options available for university credit.