Online Music Production Courses That Will Boost Your Production Skills
- Tutorials
- Brenton Fisher
- April 21, 2022
In the digital age, it’s becoming easier than ever to get access to high-quality educational content. While it’s certainly possible to make your way as a music producer through self-learning, taking a few crash courses in music production can be the perfect jump start to your musical career.
We know how hard it can be to find good courses on music production, so we decided to put together this handy list of the best online music production courses available in 2024. Whether you’re looking to up your sound design game, brush up on music theory, hone your post-production skills, or just want to know how to learn music production from the greats — there’s certainly something in this list for you.
Music Theory Courses
What Is Music Theory?
Music theory is the study of how music can be composed and constructed through the intentional use of theory. Music theory encapsulates ideas like melody, harmony, and rhythm to create compelling musical ideas.
Why Is It Important?
Composing music without at least a basic understanding of music theory is like travelling without a map. You can get around without it, but you might find it harder to get to where you want to go. Understanding the rules, tricks, and conventions of music theory (and when to break them) will make it much easier to express your ideas. Knowing your music theory also makes it easier to identify what you like about other producers’ music and apply it to your productions.
Production Music Live - Melody Foundations (How to Write Melodies)
Classically-trained musician and producer François Rengère provides an in-depth masterclass into the art of melody in this four-hour video course. Enrollees learn how to use scales and modes as a starting point and build upon them for more advanced melody writing that can be tailored to their own compositions.
| Production Music Live | Melody Foundations (How to Write Melodies) |
|---|---|
| Instructor | François Rengère |
| Price | €47 (approx. $51) |
| Who it’s for | Beginner or advanced electronic music producers who want to learn how to create better, more catchy melodies |
| Contents | ● 4+ hours of online video sessions ● 100+ MIDI files ● 35+ video tutorials |
Production Music Live - Harmony & Chord Progressions
The ideal companion course to the Melody Foundations course mentioned above — Production Music Live’s Harmony & Chord Progressions course is taught by the same instructor but this time giving you an in-depth introduction on harmonic structure and chord progressions. Together, they give you the ultimate starting point for writing compelling compositions right off the bat.
| Production Music Live | Harmony & Chord Progressions |
|---|---|
| Instructor | François Rengère |
| Price | €47 (approx. $51) |
| Who it’s for | Beginner or advanced electronic music producers who want to learn how to write better harmony and more compelling chord progressions |
| Contents | ● 6+ hours of online video sessions ● 50+ video tutorials ● PDF cheat sheet with overviews and explanations |
ADSR Sounds - Piano Lessons For Producers
Piano is arguably the most useful instrument for any producer to learn, as it forms the basis of arrangement in any DAW. In this four-hour course taught by industry giant GratuiTous, you’ll learn everything you need to know about playing the piano from a beatmaker’s perspective and using your newfound skills to build and improvise chord progressions, melodies, and catchy hooks.
| ADSR Sounds | Piano Lessons For Producers |
|---|---|
| Instructor | GratuiTous |
| Price | $17.40 ($14 per month for all ADSR 241 courses) |
| Who it’s for | Producers and beatmakers with little or no piano or keyboard experience |
| Contents | ● 2 hours of video instruction ● 28 tutorials on production techniques and creative tips ● Approximate 4 hour course |
ADSR Sounds - Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers
This course spends less time on practical skills and dives a little deeper into the world of music theory. Taught in part by film composer Norman Henry Mamey, and part by producer Kid Zero — you’ll learn how to build chords, melodies, and song structure; how to expand a four-chord loop into an entire composition; as well as more advanced theory concepts like chord inversions and modality.
| ADSR Sounds | Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers |
|---|---|
| Instructor | Norman Henry Mamey (Part 1), Kid Zero (Part 2) |
| Price | $22.20 ($14 per month for all ADSR 241 courses) |
| Who it’s for | Beginner music producers or anyone who wants to brush up on their music theory skills for music production |
| Contents | ● Approx. 3-hour course ● Custom patches for NI Massive instruments ● Drum and FX samples ● MIDI files ● Ableton Live 9 Session Project file |
Sound Design Courses
What Is Sound Design?
Sound design is the process of creating sounds for use inside your productions. This might be developing a synth patch for your bassline, layering together multiple sounds or samples to create something new, or using signal processing to introduce creative effects.
Why Is It Important?
Having a strong understanding of sound design allows you to deviate from standard presets and create your own unique sounds. You can also learn how different layers and instruments can work together to create a cohesive soundscape.
Cutting Edge Sound Design with Serum by Defazed
Arguably one of the most powerful synth VSTs on the market — in this course, Defazed will introduce you to this versatile wavetable synthesizer and how to use it to create floor-trembling basslines, compelling leads, and ear-tickling sound effects. The course covers everything from the basics of synthesis like oscillators, wavetables, and modulation sources right through to routing matrices, effects, and even how to create your own custom wavetables.
| Producertech | Cutting Edge Sound Design with Serum by Defazed |
|---|---|
| Instructor | Defazed |
| Price | Currently on offer at $19.56 (usually $39.13) |
| Who it’s for | Electronic music producers who want to learn more about Xfer Serum or creating their own synth patches |
| Contents | ● 3.5 hours of tutorials ● Presets ● Live project file |
Production Music Live: u-he Diva + Sound Design
If you’re more of an analog synth lover, you might want to learn how to use u-he Diva to model analog synth patches in this comprehensive sound design course taught by Julian van Straten (a.k.a. Bound To Divide). The course covers basic principles like the interface and signal flow, an introduction to synthesis and concepts like oscillators, modulation, noise generators, and filters — as well as a much more in-depth dive into the capabilities made possible by this powerful synth engine.
| Production Music Live | Course: u-he Diva + Sound Design |
|---|---|
| Instructor | Julian van Straten (Bound To Divide) |
| Price | €37 (approx.$40) |
| Who it’s for | Beginner and intermediate level music producers who want to learn synthesis and sound design |
| Contents | ● 30+ studio sessions ● 5+ hours online video sessions |
Production Music Live - Sylenth1 + Sound Design
Sylenth1 is another extremely popular VST synth that does a fantastic job of emulating the old-school analog synth sound. In this sound design course taught by Francois, you have access to over 30 video tutorials introducing you to the interface and signal flow of Sylenth1, creating wavetables, modulation, filters, effects, and custom routings to create your own sounds; and even using shaping tools like LFOs, envelopes, and step sequencing to produce naturally evolving sounds for your productions.
| Production Music Live | Sylenth1 + Sound Design |
|---|---|
| Instructor | Francois |
| Price | €37 (approx.$40) |
| Who it’s for | Beginner and intermediate level electronic music producers who want to learn creative sound design |
| Contents | ● 30+ Studio sessions ● 4h+ online video sessions ● Presets included ● 80+ bonus Sylenth1 “Future Essentials” presets |
Sound Engineering Courses
What Is Sound Engineering?
Sound engineering is the technical side of music production. Everything from recording audio to mixing and mastering. It is essentially the process of making sure your recorded audio and your overall mix are both optimized for the best listening experience.
Why Is It Important?
Understanding how to effectively record, mix, and master your music ensures that you have no unexpected issues when you finally publish and that everyone gets to listen in the way you originally intended. Sound engineering also has a lot of overlap with the production process, so having a strong grasp of sound engineering principles can also expand the scope of what is possible on the creative side.
Producertech - Music Mixing Fundamentals
Producertech founder and senior tutor Rob Jones really knows his stuff when it comes to sound engineering, so there are few people better to teach this comprehensive introduction to the subject over at Loopmasters. This 5-hour course covers mixing basics such as level balancing, clipping, and headroom, as well as how to make the best use of the tools at your disposal when mixing a track (e.g. compressors, EQs, reverbs and other send effects, and stereo spread plugins).
| Producertech | Music Mixing Fundamentals |
|---|---|
| Instructor | Rob Jones (Producertech) |
| Price | Currently $19.55 (was $39.11) |
| Who it’s for | For any music producer who wants to learn more about mixing |
| Contents | ● Nearly 5 hours of streamed tutorials ● Ableton Live projects ● Project stems to practice on |
Producertech - Complete Guide to Stereo Width by Rob Jones
Having a dynamic stereo spread is one of the key things that separates a strong mix from an amateur one. In this stereo spread deep dive also taught by Rob Jones, you’ll learn everything you need to know about using panning and utility effects, delays, choruses, and more advanced audio techniques to create wide, compelling mixes.
| Producertech | Complete Guide to Stereo Width by Rob Jones |
|---|---|
| Instructor | Rob Jones (Producertech) |
| Price | Currently $9.76 (was $19.52) |
| Who it’s for | Any producer who wants to learn more about stereo width and add more spread and dynamism to their productions |
| Contents | ● Over 2 hours of detailed tutorials ● 10 live effect racks included ● Live project file ● Comprehensive written module notes |
Producertech - Complete Guide to Compression
Compression is one of a producer’s most important tools. Without it, a mix just won’t have the same punch and presence your audience is used to hearing. If you want to learn more about how you can use compressors effectively to polish your mixes and amp up your productions, we’d definitely recommend checking out this short course with producertech senior tutor Rob Jones.
| Producertech | Complete Guide to Stereo Width by Rob Jones |
|---|---|
| Instructor | Rob Jones (Producertech) |
| Price | Currently $9.76 (was $19.52) |
| Who it’s for | Anyone who wants to learn more about compression and improve their mixing and technical production skills |
| Contents | ● Live project file from course ● Detailed written notes for each lesson ● Over 1 hour of streamed sessions |
Producertech - EQ Fundamentals
Yet another crucial tool in any producer’s mixing toolkit, knowing how to effectively use EQ to polish and blend your instruments will have a huge effect on how your final track sounds. Rob Jones’ crash course on EQ will teach you how EQs work, how to apply them for a variety of purposes, as well as some more practical tips and a brief but extremely useful rundown on the science behind the frequency spectrum.
| Producertech | EQ Fundamentals |
|---|---|
| Instructor | Rob Jones (Producertech) |
| Price | Currently $13.02 (was $26.05) |
| Who it’s for | Anyone who wants to know more about EQ and mixing techniques to improve their mixes and production skills |
| Contents | ● 2.5 hours streamed tutorials ● 2 practice EQ mixing sessions ● Audio stems and DAW project files ● EQ assessment |
Production Music Live - Mixing A Track from Start to Finish
The title of this course should tell you everything you need to know. If you just want to be shown how to mix your tracks from start to finish to a professional standard, it’s definitely worth enrolling in this course taught by Francois. The course is taught in Ableton and provides common mixing errors and psycho-acoustic traps to avoid along the way, how to prepare your live projects for a great mixing workflow, and more fundamental theory that can aid in producing a professional end result.
| Production Music Live | Mixing A Track from Start to Finish |
|---|---|
| Instructor | Francois |
| Price | Currently €47 (approx. $50) reduced from €57 ($60) |
| Who it’s for | Anyone who wants to brush up on their mixing skills and produce more polished tracks |
| Contents | ● 40+ studio sessions ● 5+ hours video sessions ● Slides/cheat sheets ● Bonus ableton projects |
Music Production Courses
What Is Music Production?
Music production is the amalgamation of all three of the above practices: music theory, sound design, and sound engineering. Fundamentally, music production is taking musical ideas and using creative and technical skills to turn them into a tangible final product.
As you delve into this multifaceted world of music production, you may also find it beneficial to explore how the internet can connect you with a global audience, particularly in terms of music distribution and the role of high-speed internet in modern music creation.
Singomakers Complete Music Production Tutorial
Probably one of the most comprehensive music production courses on this list, Singomakers have developed a highly-detailed curriculum teaching every aspect of music production from arrangement to mixing and mastering, sound design, and even finding inspiration to start your next track. If you’re after the ultimate crash course in music production, look no further.
| Singomakers | Complete Music Production Tutorial |
|---|---|
| Instructor | Singomakers |
| Price | Currently $45.67 (was $91.35) |
| Who it’s for | Beginner or intermediate level music producers who want to learn more about producing electronic music genres like house, progressive, techno, EDM, trap, and more. |
| Contents | ● 59 episodes ● Over 5 hours of video tutorials ● 1.89 GB of content |
Ben Böhmer Masterclass: Ben Böhmer - In the Studio
Ben Böhmer is a renowned composer, producer, and DJ signed to labels like Anjunadeep, Keller Records, Cercle Music, and more. In this music production masterclass, you’ll gain insight into his walkthrough and music production process, his approach to idea generation, practical and creative production tips, as well as arrangement, theory, and post-production techniques for a highly-polished workflow.
| Ben Böhmer Masterclass | Ben Böhmer - In the Studio |
|---|---|
| Instructor | Ben Böhmer |
| Price | Currently €77 (approx. $83) reduced from €99.90 ($108) |
| Who it’s for | Anyone who wants a comprehensive introduction to music production |
| Contents | ● 2+ hours of lessons ● Bonus session covering Ben making a track with vocals from Felix Raphael |
Deadmau5 Teaches Electronic Music Production
From a man who needs no introduction, the deadmau5 masterclass on music production is considered to be one of the best resources available for budding music producers. A focused electronic music production course, deadmau5 uses this time to pass on his wisdom on everything from theory and arrangement to building your own home studio, technical experimentation and processing – as well as highly-practical tips on finding your way in a competitive music industry.
| Masterclass.com | Deadmau5 Teaches Electronic Music Production |
|---|---|
| Instructor | Deadmau5 |
| Price | $180 per year annual subscription to Masterclass ($15 per month) gives you access to all of their Masterclasses |
| Who it’s for | Music producers of all levels who want to know more about electronic music production |
| Contents | ● 5+ hours of tutorials ● 21 video lessons ● Downloadable course workbook |
Armin Van Buuren Teaches Dance Music
Another name that likely needs no introduction, Armin Van Buuren is a platinum-selling music producer that has been voted the world’s best DJ at least 5 times by DJ magazine. With that said, you know that this nearly 7 hour-long intensive course will give you everything you need to know about studio setup, arrangement, production tips, working with vocals, and approaching the whole live side of production like DJ sets and performance technique.
| Masterclass.com | Armin Van Buuren Teaches Dance Music |
|---|---|
| Instructor | Armin Van Buuren |
| Price | $180 per year annual subscription to Masterclass ($15 per month) gives you access to all of their Masterclasses |
| Who it’s for | Anyone who wants to know how to produce dance music |
| Contents | ● 31 video lessons ● Nearly 7 hour of tutorials |
Hans Zimmer Teaches Film Scoring
If you’re interested in writing music for score, or even just learning from the medium for impactful, cinematic compositions, the only place you need to look is Hans Zimmer’s masterclass in film scoring. Indisputably the industry’s greatest film composer having produced many of cinema’s most iconic soundtracks, Hans shares his knowledge when it comes to musical narrative, creating themes and leitmotifs, producing rich, powerful sound palettes, and working as a composer in the medium of film.
| Masterclass.com | Hans Zimmer Teaches Film Scoring |
|---|---|
| Instructor | Hans Zimmer |
| Price | $180 per year annual subscription to Masterclass ($15 per month) gives you access to all of their Masterclasses |
| Who it’s for | Anyone who wants to learn how to make cinematic film scores or learn cinematic production techniques |
| Contents | ● 29 video lessons ● 5 hours 40 mins of content |
Timbaland Teaches Producing and Beatmaking
If there’s one thing we know, it’s that Timbaland knows how to reach the top of the charts. Learn his approach to producing and beatmaking and you can absorb some of that wisdom that has him producing hit after hit. Timbaland takes you through how to warm up in the studio and get the creative juices flowing, then proceeds to breakdown his grammy-award-winning production process step by step over the course of 13 in-depth video sessions.
| Masterclass.com | Timbaland Teaches Producing and Beatmaking |
|---|---|
| Instructor | Timbaland |
| Price | $180 per year annual subscription to Masterclass ($15 per month) gives you access to all of their Masterclasses |
| Who it’s for | Anyone who wants to know how to make beats, hits, and produce music alone or in collaboration with recording artists |
| Contents | ● 13 video sessions ● 3 hours 2 mins of content |
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