Music Courses

How to Write Your First Song

162 reviews

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

• FutureLearn
• 3 hours a week, 6 weeks long
• Self paced
• Free Online Course (Audit)

• Best of All Time

Introduction to Classical Music

26 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 worth of material, 9 weeks long
• 1 week from now (18th Apr)
• Free Online Course (Audit)

• Best of All Time

Fundamentals of Music Theory

23 reviews

This course will introduce students to the theory of music, providing them with the skills needed to read and write Western music notation, as well as to understand, analyse, and listen informedly. It will cover material such as pitches and scales, inter…

• Coursera
• 12 hours worth of material, 6 weeks long
• 1 week from now (18th Apr)
• Free Online Course (Audit)

Guitar for Beginners

21 reviews

Grasp the essentials needed to begin playing acoustic or electric guitar. You'll learn an easy approach to get you playing quickly, through a combination of exploring the instrument, performance technique, and basic music theory. For students who have l…

• Coursera
• 24 hours worth of material, 6 weeks long
• 1 week from now (18th Apr)
• Free Online Course (Audit)

Ableton Live Course: Sound Production for Musicians and Artists

32 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 long
• Self paced
• Free Online Course

• Best of All Time

U of Rochester

History of Rock, Part One

18 reviews

This course covers the music of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Phil Spector, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and many more artists, with an emphasis both on cultural context and on the music itself. We will also explore how…

• Coursera
• 13 hours worth of material, 8 weeks long
• 1 week from now (18th Apr)
• Free Online Course (Audit)

• Best of All Time

U of Rochester

The Music of the Beatles

18 reviews

The Music of the Beatles will track the musical development of the band, starting from the earliest days in Liverpool and Hamburg, moving through the excitement of Beatlemania, the rush of psychedelia, and the maturity of Abbey Road. While the focus will…

• Coursera
• 7 weeks long
• 1 week from now (18th Apr)
• Free Online Course (Audit)

Curtis

Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas

15 reviews

Our relationship to Beethoven is a deep and paradoxical one. For many musicians, he represents a kind of holy grail: His music has an intensity, rigor, and profundity which keep us in its thrall, and it is perhaps unequalled in the interpretive, technica…

• Coursera
• 18 hours worth of material, 12 weeks long
• 1 week from now (18th Apr)
• Free Online Course (Audit)

18th-Century Opera: Handel & Mozart

5 reviews

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

• edX
• 3-4 hours a week, 5 weeks long
• Self paced
• Free Online Course (Audit)

Songwriting: Writing the Lyrics

25 reviews

There’s a songwriter lurking somewhere inside you, peeking around corners, wondering if it’s safe to come out. Now it is. This course is an invitation to let your inner songwriter step into the sunlight. All it takes is a simple “yes” and you’ll be climb…

• Coursera
• 17 hours worth of material, 5 weeks long
• 2 weeks from now (25th Apr)
• Free Online Course (Audit)

• Best of All Time

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

4 reviews

Learn about Beethoven’s monumental 9th Symphony and forms of orchestral music.

• edX
• 3-5 hours a week, 3 weeks long
• Self paced
• Free Online Course (Audit)

First Nights - Handel's Messiah and Baroque Oratorio

4 reviews

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

• edX
• 3-5 hours a week, 3 weeks long
• Self paced
• Free Online Course (Audit)

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

3 reviews

Learn about Claudio Monteverdi's L'Orfeo , one of the first operas ever written.

• edX
• 3-5 hours a week, 3 weeks long
• Self paced
• 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
• 3-5 hours a week, 3 weeks long
• Self paced
• Free Online Course (Audit)

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

2 reviews

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

• edX
• 3-5 hours a week, 3 weeks long
• Self paced
• Free Online Course (Audit)