Course Orbit
What instructors receive
- Temporary, full-course review access at no cost or obligation
- Complete lessons, media, activities, and assessment components
- Flexible adoption options with implementation assistance
- Setup and implementation support
5th edition · Lower-division undergraduate; no prior musical training required
History of Jazz
Fifteen lessons trace jazz from its roots to the present through the artists, recordings, and cultural forces that shaped it.
Course at a glance
- Intended use
- General-education jazz history and music appreciation courses
- Student level
- Lower-division undergraduate; no prior musical training required
- Edition
- 5th edition
- Authors
- Donald D. Megill, David W. Megill
- Structure
- 15 lessons
- Format
- Digital access code; complete online course with no separate physical textbook
- Student price
- $79.97 USD
- ISBN
- 978-1-7350385-2-0
History of Jazz surveys the periods of jazz and their place in the American landscape. Reading, listening, writing, concert attendance, and research are integrated with interactive timed listening notes that highlight musical themes as they occur.
Learning outcomes
- Describe major periods, styles, musicians, and cultural contexts in jazz history.
- Distinguish selected jazz styles and performances through guided listening.
- Explain relationships among oral traditions, literate traditions, improvisation, and ensemble practice.
- Support historical and listening observations in concert reports and written work.
Course design
Complete online lessons combine readings, multimedia, activities, and assessments in a sequenced course foundation.
- Interactive timed listening notes tied to course recordings
- Three concert-report assignments integrated into the sequence
- Review lessons connect listening practice with historical study
Table of contents
- Jazz to You: Warming Up
- Jazz Issues: Definitions & the Big Picture
- Roots of Jazz: Pre-Jazz, Work Songs & the Blues
- Keys to the Piano: Early Styles & Innovators
- Dixieland North & South: The Ensemble & Collective Improvisation
- Review 1: Pre-Jazz, Piano & Dixieland
- Swing & the Big Band: Jazz Hits Number One
- Bebop, Cool & Other Streams: End of War & the Headwaters of Mainstream
- Review 2: Swing & Bebop
- Avant-Garde & Free Jazz
- Modal Jazz & Fusion: Digging Deeper & Handling New Influences
- Review 3: Free Jazz, Modal & Fusion
- Jazz Legacies: Expressions of Jazz’s Mainstream
- Oral & Literate Traditions
- Jazz as an Art Form: Past, Present & Future
What students receive
- Access to all assigned course readings, media, activities, and assessments
- One digital access product; no separate physical textbook
- Technical and accessibility support for Course Orbit materials
Assessments and instructor control
Listening exercises, quizzes, writing and research assignments, three concert reports, and review activities; instructors retain grading authority.
Instructors may adjust pacing, due dates, grading, policies, supplementary materials, and permitted LMS settings while preserving licensed course content.
Delivery, accessibility, and requirements
Delivery choices
- Import into an institution's supported LMS using a standard course cartridge
- Choose a supported adoption path when institutional LMS delivery is not preferred
Course cartridges are intended for cartridge-compatible LMS environments. Course Orbit confirms the institution's version and setup during implementation rather than guaranteeing every configuration.
Accessibility
Course content is developed toward WCAG 2.1 AA. Accommodation questions and issue reports are routed to [email protected]. Read the accessibility statement.
Technical requirements
- A current browser with JavaScript, cookies, audio, and video enabled as required by course media
- Reliable internet access and institution-supported LMS credentials when delivered through an institutional LMS
- Speakers or headphones for listening-based activities
Support
Instructors receive implementation support; students receive Course Orbit material and access support. Institutions remain responsible for institutional credentials, rosters, policies, and LMS administration. View instructor resources.
Authors
Donald D. Megill
Donald D. Megill develops music-history and appreciation course materials that have been refined across multiple published editions.
Additional academic credentials and current affiliations are pending publisher verification and are not presented as endorsements.
David W. Megill
David W. Megill develops music-history and appreciation course materials that have been refined across multiple published editions.
Additional academic credentials and current affiliations are pending publisher verification and are not presented as endorsements.
Related evaluation resources
- Digital Textbook Versus Complete Digital Course — Understand the practical differences among eBooks, homework platforms, complete digital courses, and flexible course adoption.
- How to Evaluate a Complete Digital Course — A practical checklist for reviewing content, assessments, accessibility, delivery, instructor control, student cost, and support before adoption.
- What to Ask About LMS Integration — Questions for evaluating course import, grades, student access, support responsibilities, accessibility, and adoption options.
Review History of Jazz before you decide.
Instructor review access is free and temporary during evaluation. The adoptions team follows up within one business day with access and implementation details.