Introduction to Music Production | Coursera

Hi Guys , 
 
this is a heads up for anyone here that might be interested 
 
Introduction to Music Production
 
https://www.coursera.org/course/musicproduction 
 
Songwriting
 
https://www.coursera.org/course/songwriting 
 
These online courses are free and they are scheduled to begin on January 27 th ...
 
I took the Gary Burton Improvisation course a number of months ago and I got a lot out of it 
 
all the best ,
 
Kenny
 
 
 

Coursera is great!
Remember, though, that their work load estimates are pretty accurate. If they say 6-8 hours/week, that is usually what it is, depending on your starting level. If you take notes or make a synopsis it is probably even more.

René Torenstra
Coursera is great!
Remember, though, that their work load estimates are pretty accurate. If they say 6-8 hours/week, that is usually what it is, depending on your starting level. If you take notes or make a synopsis it is probably even more.

René ,
 
+1 Coursera is great.
when I did the improv class I actually enjoyed the work load , it helped me feel focused .
on the other side of the coin , I tried 2 classes at the same time , whew ….i  got swamped  and I had to tap out .
 
Kenny
 

The Introduction to Music Production course has started today ...
so far , after watching a couple of the videos I can tell you the course is very good and it is deep 
 
Kenny

dubdisciple
I'm liking it so far.  Very thorough.

I'm happy for you  
 
 
Kenny

Yes  , there's a lot of people that do these courses ….from all over 
I thought the first few videos were pretty cool w the spring ….good analogy 
 
Kenny

shhh don't tell anybody , I got to study that propagation thing myself 
 
Kenny 

batsbrew
what an excellent setup ...
 
thanks for the link.
i could use a refresher on several things...
 
i couldn't do the whole course the way it's supposed to be done, too heavy work schedule...
but some of it would be worth it

it is pretty cool 
 
I'm sort of in the same boat myself …
thankfully , the door is open for the length of the course …
brushing up and picking up a few new things might be more important to me than trying to work for a grade .
 
 
Kenny
 

Thanks for the links/info, Kenny. 
 
I was just wondering if there is a less time-consuming route for a bit of an amateur music video producer?  There are bound to be some basic tutorials you could point to for basics on getting good audio production out of a live, semi-acoustic setting.  This course through Berkley is a little more extensive than needed for functionality in audio production.  Got any good tips or pointers you could share?
 
Thanks,

BoostSoftware
Thanks for the links/info, Kenny. 
 
I was just wondering if there is a less time-consuming route for a bit of an amateur music video producer?  There are bound to be some basic tutorials you could point to for basics on getting good audio production out of a live, semi-acoustic setting.  This course through Berkley is a little more extensive than needed for functionality in audio production.  Got any good tips or pointers you could share?
 
Thanks,

I wish there were easy answers ……. I hear you on the time commitment aspect of the course.
a lot of people think since they signed up …they have to do the whole course …..the first time I did one I was 2 weeks late so I just skimmed the lessons and got what I could ...
when the course came up again I took it proper .
(since I had an idea of what I had to do …I did it and passed )
btw …..it was the only one I was able to do that with  this time out I'm just skimming the course 
 
off the top of my head , the only thing I can tell you is to take a look and see what courses Coursera might have coming up in the future . 
as far as other pointers go ,  I'm just like everybody else . I look on forums and follow links to things I'm interested in learning more about . 
If you feel up to it, you could start a thread here on the forum asking for recomendations . 
 
also, a lot of the software and plugin  companies have some pretty decent videos on how to use their products ….often times they feature an up and coming or well known artist / producer that uses their software 
I enjoy those type of videos where the artist/ performer does a little mini tutorial on how they use the product.
 
all the best, 
 
Kenny
 
 

BoostSoftware
Keep coming back to this thread.  Really liked the idea and hope to hear about the next offering, or something similar.  Asynchronous would make it possible.  I'm sure just watching some tutorials would be helpful.  However, this in-depth approach would pretty much cover everything.  Maybe next time...

Hello Erin , 
 
I had to look up the word Asynchronous ….Yes , I think I know exactly what you mean .
 
Currently that's the way I'm working it over here w this course … 
 
This time out I'm not looking for a grade ….
 
Most of what I have learned about music production has been from personal trial and error , the internet and music forums .
After watching many of the video lessons from the course ,  I realized there are a lot of things I could be doing differently and a lot better in my music productions ….
 
at the very least I do have a better idea of what I need to work on and get better at .
 
all the best ,
 
Kenny 
 

I signed up for both of these courses, so will give feedback to those who are interested. (There are MANY courses on Coursera.org alone... and others on Futurelearn.com, but I will speak only to these two specifically).
 
First, I had no real expectations going in, but was actually incredibly disappointed with the "Songwriting" course. I had assumed some music theory (even any music theory) would be involved, but it came across as "glorified poetry" to me. As I have taught college English, I was annoyed that I was sitting through long-winded poetry lectures that I could have taught in 1/10th the time. Ironically, someone (who apparently camps out in each class' forums) dropped the entire course note set in one post, and another with "links from past classes" during week 2. That was enough for me to download them and un-enroll. In hindsight, I wish I had known the true content of this class before it started. Perhaps someone who participated in this one fully can chime in with their impression.
 
Introduction to Music Production on the other hand, is loaded with nice information. The lectures are succinct (and can be downloaded), and the forums dropped a lot of good information as well. The class can be audited for certain, and a lot of learning can be had even not taking this "for grade." The assignments were many people's complaints, but I took the perspective of challenging myself to also learn video, since many posted these assignments on YouTube. So from that perspective, I learned a lot more than simply the "content" of the course. Introduction to Music Production also has a lot of applicable content to posts that appear in this forum. Participation in the forums (there) is highly advised if taken, as a lot of useful information is also passed on in those (upwards to the same level as the lecture content in my opinion).
 
 

Thanks for the input. I am actually more interested in music theory and its application to song development. I tend to develop songs around lyrical content and singing a cappella to develop the "backbone" then often run off to a dark corner with a guitar to work on other pieces. I have never had any "formal training" of any kind in music theory, so I feel this is my biggest "gap." My background is very "hard core" engineering, and even the college I went to had only one book on Music Theory (copyrighted 1906 - no joke). I often feel like I am a leper of sorts when I work on music, since it always comes as a "big surprise" to people I know when they find out that part about me (sort of sad actually).

Thank you. I just went through there listing and found two in there.
 
Fundamentals of Music Theory (https://www.coursera.org/course/musictheory) that you mentioned, starts July, and also Developing Your Musicianship (https://www.coursera.org/course/musicianship) which starts on April 1st (13 days). I just signed up for both of these. They seems similar in some respects and different in others, so is worth checking into.
 
Thanks again!