I’m an online course junkie, and I have used several of the resources listed below. Where relevant, I’ve given my personal experience with them.
So here they are – the best online music production courses, classes, and tutorials in 2021.
MasterClass
MasterClass offers 100+ online classes taught by people who are the best in their craft – people the likes of Martin Scorsese, Margaret Atwood, and Chris Hadfield. You can learn about photography, acting, filmmaking, writing, cooking, business and leadership, sports, music, and more.
A yearly membership to MasterClass costs $180. With your membership, you get access to the entire catalog of 100+ classes, as well as any new classes that launch during your subscription.
Each masterclass has an average of 20 video lessons, with an average of 10 minutes per lesson. There’s a downloadable workbook included with each class. You also get access to the community of other MasterClass members.
Here are some music production classes you can take on MasterClass:
- deadmau5 Teaches Electronic Music Production
- Timbaland Teaches Producing and Beatmaking
- Armin van Buuren Teaches Dance Music
- Hans Zimmer Teaches Film Scoring
- Danny Elfman Teaches Music for Film
A nice thing about MasterClass is that if you decide it isn’t for you, you can get a refund within 30 days of your purchase.
Udemy
Udemy is an online course marketplace that has over 130,000 video-based courses, both free and premium (paid courses range from $20-$200), on every subject imaginable. (You can filter for free courses by typing into the search bar and then setting the “Price” filter to “Free.”) For example, you can learn photography, game design, guitar, personal development, fitness, and much more. At the time of this writing, they have nearly 5,000 music-related courses, and they just keep adding!
The way the Udemy platform works is that anyone can teach a course, and students are encouraged to leave a review. This makes it easy to find the highest quality courses. Each course includes a Q&A forum where you can ask your instructor and classmates questions about the course material. You can also contact your instructor directly. In my experience, many instructors are very good about answering questions promptly.
You can download a certificate of completion for your completed courses; however, Udemy is not an accredited institution, so most of the value you get from Udemy is in the actual learning itself.
Here’s a small sample of the many music production courses you can purchase on Udemy:
- The Complete EDM Production Course – Produce, Mix & Master
- Music Production in Logic Pro X – The Complete Course
- Game Music Composition: Make Music For Games From Scratch
- Music Theory for Electronic Music COMPLETE: Parts 1, 2, & 3
- FL Studio 20 – Music Production In FL Studio for Mac & PC
- Songwriting & Music Production In GarageBand- A Total Guide
- The Complete Mixing Masterclass
I’m a long-time fan of Udemy and have clocked many hours of study on their online learning platform: To date, I’ve enrolled in 121 classes! The diversity and quality of the courses are very good, and learning music production on Udemy is dirt cheap compared to paying school tuition. Some of the courses are many hours long, and many come packaged with discounts on products that are mentioned in the course, so you get a lot of bang for your buck.
LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com)
LinkedIn Learning is focused on professional development training and offers over 16,000 expert-led online courses in business, creative, and technology skills. They have beginner, intermediate, and advanced-level courses.
In addition to courses on music production in general, LinkedIn Learning has lots of courses based on specific audio tools, such as Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Ableton Live, REAPER, and Audacity.
I have taken many courses on here back when it was Lynda.com. I found the layout of the courses to be more “textbook” style than, say, a Udemy course. (This can be a good or a bad thing, depending on your style of learning.) The music production and mixing courses were all comprehensive and professionally produced.
Because LinkedIn Learning is integrated with LinkedIn, you can choose to showcase your completed courses on your LinkedIn profile if you have one.
You can subscribe to LinkedIn Learning for $29.99 per month or $299.88 per year (a savings of 33 percent). If you’re interested in trying out LinkedIn Learning, you can sign up for a one-month free trial.
Some music production courses on LinkedIn Learning include:
- Music Production Secrets: Larry Crane on Mixing
- Advanced EDM Mixing
- Creating with Ableton Live Plugins and Instruments
- EDM Production Techniques: Drums
- Tips and Tricks for Modern Producers
- Mixing and Mastering with Pro Tools
LinkedIn Learning also has “learning paths” made up of a bundle of related courses. Currently, the available music production learning paths include:
- Become an EDM Producer
- Become a Recording Engineer
Skillshare
Skillshare is another popular online learning marketplace similar to Udemy in its delivery of courses; however, they offer membership-based pricing instead of one-off purchases. Their free and premium video courses cover subjects like animation, graphic design, photography, entrepreneurship, web development, and more. They have beginner, intermediate, and advanced-level courses.
Like with Udemy, students on Skillshare can leave reviews on courses and participate in discussion forums. You can stream the courses or watch them offline.
Here are just a few of the many music production classes on Skillshare:
- Trap Music Production: Drums, Baselines, and Melodies
- Learn Sidechain Compression for Music Production
- Blueprint to Beatmaking: A Step-By-Step System to Hip Hop Music Production
- Advanced Music Production Secrets [FL Studio]
- Piano Lessons for Beatmakers and Music Producers
A monthly subscription to Skillshare costs $19 per month. Or, if you purchase an annual description at $99 per year, it works out to just $8.25 per month.
Evenant
If you’ve ever wondered how to get that epic, modern, cinematic, Hans Zimmer-esque “trailer” sound, this is it. Founded by Scandinavian duo Arn Andersson and Walid Feghali, Evenant offers a catalog of courses in cinematic music production and digital artwork. The company has received largely positive reviews on the VI-CONTROL forum.
Some courses on Evenant include:
- Cinematic Music: The Essentials
- Trailer Sound Design: From Source to Cinema
- Cinematic Synthesis: Digital Sound Creation
- Orchestration Reloaded: String Arranging
- The Business of Music Licensing
You can purchase the courses one-off, but it’s way cheaper to get an annual pass for $499. Membership includes access to the full course catalog, live webinars and Q&As, gig opportunities (a job board), and the Evenant Community, where you can ask questions about the course content, share your work, and collaborate with others.
You can also pay for your annual pass in $49-per-month installments; however, note that you are still committing to a 12-month period. They have a 21-day refund policy.
CreativeLive
CreativeLive is an online education platform that offers a catalog of 1,500+ classes in photography, art, design, marketing, business, and more. They also regularly broadcast live classes, which are free. Classes on CreativeLive are taught by over 650 world-class instructors.
Some of the music production courses available on CreativeLive are:
- Mixing Master Class
- Modern Film Composing
- Fast Songwriting in Ableton Live
- Drum Sample Editing and Programming for Electronic Music
- Intro to Home Recording
- Making Money with Music
You can either buy classes one-off, or purchase a subscription, called the Creator Pass. (“Classes,” as CreativeLive likes to call them, is kind of a misnomer – they’re actually complete courses, often with many hours of content.)
The Creator Pass costs $39 per month and gives you access to their library of 1,500+ classes. You can also download any class materials, as well as lessons for offline viewing. New classes are published every month.
Note: You can purchase an annual Creator Pass for $129 ($10.75 per month).
CreativeLive has a seven-day refund policy.
Wyzant
Most of the music production schools and courses I’ve covered in this post lean heavily towards self-paced video- or text-based instruction, which, while flexible, has its drawbacks. To have a real instructor show you where you’re going wrong can be invaluable. This is where Wyzant comes in.
On Wyzant, you can connect with tutors on a vast array of subjects, both online and in person. For example, you could have an experienced producer go over your mixes with you once or twice, or schedule regular lessons to learn composition techniques from a top music school grad.
There are currently 151 music production tutors on Wyzant, and 1,789 tutors for general music subjects. And these are just the online tutors – you can also find and meet up with tutors in your area using the Wyzant platform.
Instructors set their own prices, with most charging $30-$50 an hour for lessons. Students are able to leave a review about their experience with a tutor, so it’s easy to filter for the most qualified instructors.
Do you have an online music production course to recommend?
If you know of any great online music production courses, classes, or tutorials, share the wealth – leave your amazing tip in the comments!
And if you, like me, can’t get enough of online learning resources, you might also enjoy my recent post about online piano lessons.
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