Music Courses and Certifications

How to Write Your First Song

166 reviews

Get a practical introduction to the mechanics of songwriting and meet established songwriters with this free online course

• FutureLearn
• 6 weeks, 3 hours a week
• On-Demand
• Free Online Course (Audit)

• Best of All Time

Ableton Live Course: Sound Production for Musicians and Artists

47 reviews

This course provides hands-on experience in producing, mixing, and sound design with a digital audio workstation. Students will learn the fundamentals (physics) of sound and digital audio, proper gain staging, where and how distortion enters recordings a…

• Kadenze
• 9 weeks
• On-Demand
• Free Online Course

• Best of All Time

Introduction to Classical Music

25 reviews

Using a simple and enjoyable teaching style, this course introduces the novice listener to the wonders of classical music, from Bach fugues to Mozart symphonies to Puccini operas.

• Coursera
• 66 hours
• On-Demand
• Free Online Course (Audit)

• Best of All Time

Fundamentals of Music Theory

26 reviews

Learn the fundamentals of music theory from the University of Edinburgh. Develop skills in reading and writing music notation, understanding and analyzing music, and more. Suitable for beginners and experienced musicians. 6 weeks long.

• Coursera
• 12 hours
• On-Demand
• Free Online Course (Audit)

First Nights - Beethoven's 9th Symphony and the 19th Century Orchestra

4 reviews

Explore Beethoven's 9th Symphony with Harvard University's 3-week course. Learn musical form, analysis, and the symphony's historical context. No prior musical experience needed.

• edX
• 3 weeks, 3-5 hours a week
• On-Demand
• Free Online Course (Audit)

First Nights - Handel's Messiah and Baroque Oratorio

7 ratings at edX

Discover Handel's Messiah in this installment of First Nights, which will explore five masterpieces of western music.

• edX
• 2 weeks, 3-5 hours a week
• On-Demand
• Free Online Course (Audit)

18th-Century Opera: Handel & Mozart

5 ratings at edX

Study Baroque and Classical opera through Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Mozart’s Don Giovanni

• edX
• 5 weeks, 3-4 hours a week
• On-Demand
• Free Online Course (Audit)

Songwriting: Writing the Lyrics

24 reviews

Unlock your inner songwriter with Berklee College of Music. Learn an efficient process for tailoring songs to express your ideas and emotions. No musical experience required. Have fun while you learn!

• Coursera
• 16 hours
• On-Demand
• Free Online Course (Audit)

• Best of All Time

First Nights - Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo and the Birth of Opera

6 ratings at edX

Explore the birth of opera with Monteverdi's L'Orfeo in this 3-week course by Harvard University. Learn operatic form, analysis, and history with no prior musical experience required.

• edX
• 3 weeks, 3-5 hours a week
• On-Demand
• Free Online Course (Audit)

First Nights - Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique and Program Music in the 19th Century

2 reviews

Learn about Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique , an iconic Romantic symphony that ushered in an era of narrative "program music."

• edX
• 3 weeks, 3-5 hours a week
• On-Demand
• Free Online Course (Audit)

Guitar for Beginners

22 reviews

Learn to play acoustic or electric guitar with Berklee College of Music. Explore the instrument, technique, and music theory in an enjoyable way. Gain a solid foundation to pursue intermediate courses.

• Coursera
• 22 hours
• On-Demand
• Free Online Course (Audit)

First Nights - Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring: Modernism, Ballet, and Riots

5 ratings at edX

Learn the fascinating history of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring , one of the most challenging and rewarding ballets ever written.

• edX
• 3 weeks, 3-5 hours a week
• On-Demand
• Free Online Course (Audit)

19th-Century Opera: Meyerbeer, Wagner, & Verdi

1 review

Learn the music and cultural impact of three canonical operas from the 1800s: Les Huguenots , Das Rheingold , and Otello.

• edX
• 6 weeks, 3-5 hours a week
• On-Demand
• Free Online Course (Audit)

Online Jamming and Concert Technology

3 reviews

Today's vast amount of streaming and video conferencing on the Internet lacks one aspect of musical fun and that's what this course is about: high-quality, near-synchronous musical collaboration. Under the right conditions, the Internet can be used for u…

• Kadenze
• 5 weeks
• On-Demand
• Free Online Course

MIT 21M.380 Music and Technology, Fall 2009

1 review

This course is an investigation into the history and aesthetics of music and technology as deployed in experimental and popular musics from the 19th century to the present.

• YouTube
• 3 hours 30 minutes
• On-Demand
• Free Online Course