This free course, Music and its media, examines some of the main ways in which music is transmitted. It considers how the means of communicating a particular piece can change over time; and how the appearance and contents of a source can reflect the circumstances in which it is produced. The course focuses on three examples of musical media that allow us to study music of the past: manuscripts of sixteenth-century Belgium, prints of eighteenth-century London, and recordings of twentieth-century America.

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• demonstrate knowledge of the main ways in which music is transmitted
• understand how the means of communicating a particular piece can change over time
• examine examples of musical media from different historical periods and geographical locations
• show how the appearance and contents of a musical source can reflect its musical and non-musical context, its creator(s) and user(s).