Music can have a “profound” and lasting impact on our brain. Since Universities and schools are yet to open for the new semester, more and more parents are now choosing to include some form of musical learning in their kid’s lives. The extended lockdown can be pretty boring, if you’re wondering how to channel your creativity while self-isolating, or rather, use the time to level up your skills, some leading platforms are offering online music classes at both national and international level. There are more options than ever for aspiring musicians to sharpen their skills. As learning skills and sharing information becomes increasingly digital, the challenge becomes how to ensure quality and value in an area as subjective and close to the heart as music.
Many music teachers, art courses, and classical tutorials are going online, tempting lots of us to enroll our kids. These platforms also have amazing deals and discounts that they are offering on several of its programs. Any investment of your time and money is worth due diligence, so here are some of the best online music classes to help you connect with the right music learning sources.
1. Berklee College of Music
The cornerstone of Berklee College of Music is based on the revolutionary principle to help students learn the basics of contemporary music. They also offer online contemporary music classes to aspiring musicians which are taught by Berklee faculty itself. Berklee Online music lessons include video and audio clips, weekly assignments, and discussion topics. Through Berklee Online, they offer degree programs as well as certificate courses and which are affordable and flexible options for earning a music degree from the reputed Berklee College of Music. They offer degree and certificate courses on music production, guitar, music business, songwriting, interdisciplinary music studies, writing and producing music, song design, music composition for film, television, and games, and electronic music production. Your kid will also get access to their free sample course, featuring 12 lessons from their most famous courses. Moreover, your kids can also chat with their instructors, upload their assignments, and get feedback, and interact with their fellow students.
2. MasterClass
Launched in 2015, MasterClass is an online learning portal with courses taught by the world’s best masters in the world. They offer online music lessons to which one has lifetime access once registered. For ₹1,295.83/month, your kid will get access to the instructional music classes and practice sessions that made up each course. Students also get the opportunity to interact with one another and maybe their star teacher. Most of the music classes are taught by music icons like Hans Zimmer teaches film scoring, deadmau5 teaches electronic music production, Reba McEntire teaches country music, Christina Aguilera teaches singing, and Usher teaches the art of performance. Students also submit assignments and get direct feedback from the masters. Moreover, new music courses are constantly being added which makes it a great way to learn music in the comfort of home.
3. Shankar Mahadevan Academy
Shankar Mahadevan Academy is a famous music academy with affiliates across the world. Established under the supervision and leadership of the award-winning music composer and singer Shankar Mahadevan, the academy aims to make learning music convenient, easy and fun and his courses are of international standards. With more than 11,000 students from over 47 countries, your kids can pursue his or her passion for music from the comfort of their homes. The academy offers numerous courses and virtual classes to help students achieve their aims. They also offer instructor-led online certificate programs in Indian Classical music including Hindustani and Carnatic. The price of the courses starts from Rs 9299 and also offers self-study online programs in Hindi music songs, devotional music, and other popular forms of Indian music. Your kid will also get access to a student portal, the OM Book, a week-by-week study guide, unlimited singing practice with recording tools, and expert feedback on recordings.
4. Alison
Alison is a free online learning platform that offers free courses, diplomas, and certificates on six models in classical music that will bring your kid musical skills to the next level. From the fundamentals of music to important musical notes and scales, harmony and bass patterns, chord progressions, and more, the free online music courses from Alison will give a solid boost to the music skills of your kid in no time. All the music courses of Alison are taught by experienced and talented musicians and designed to take less than 5 hours to complete. Alison also offers an ad-free experience through a premium membership that costs 7.99 euros (about $8.70) a month, 79 euros ($86) a year, or 499 euros ($545) for unlimited access to the course content. Besides, premium members also get access to additional features and discounts on certificate costs.
5. FutureLearn
Founded in December 2012, FutureLearn is an online learning platform where your kid can join online music courses for free. From Songwriting, Vocal training to jazz Piano, FutureLearn offers a wide range of courses to help your kid learn music online to make his or her musical knowledge effective. They have collaborated with top universities and cultural institutions across the world, to help students learn music theory, anyone wanting to teach music to others, or want it as their professional career. These online courses are 2-5 hours long and can be bundled into virtual certificates for students who want to build specific sets of skills. Most of their online music courses are free, however, an additional fee provides access to the course’s tests as well as a print and digital Certificate of Achievement once you’re eligible, which costs about $44 to $74.
6. EdX
Founded by Harvard and MIT University, edX is an online learning platform that gives students from any country the opportunity to take up free online music courses offered by premier Universities across the globe. Through edX, your kid no longer needs to travel to the renowned Boston music school to take Berklee classes anymore. edX partners with Berklee College of Music to offer course content in multiple languages and subject areas online for free, including Creativity and Entrepreneurship, Music for Wellness, and Vocal Recording Technology. EdX music courses are free to everyone, all your kid needs is access to a computer with a current browser, an Internet connection, and, of course, a passion to learn. The same goes with other edX partners, users have the option to earn a Verified Certificate for $49 to be able to submit assignments for feedback and to receive a certificate.
7. Skillshare
Skillshare is an online learning platform that offers project-based music classes and the company’s main goal is to provide access to high-quality learning across the world. Each music class on Skillshare’s platform is taught by a talented expert and includes short video lessons, written text, and a hands-on project, etc. Skillshare offers more than 2,200 music-related courses such as Music Composition, Music theory, Songwriting, Music marketing, Piano, and lots more. Skillshare generally works on a freemium business model i.e users can sign up for free to gain access to all Skillshare courses. Skillshare’s free subscription allows members to watch one hour of video lessons monthly (with ads), and includes full access to all classes. However, the paid version of Skillshare ($2 and $ 8 per month) allows users to watch unlimited video lessons each month and is an ad-free experience. A paid membership allows users to download videos through the mobile app and videos in full screen and high-definition.
8. Udemy
Udemy is one of the most popular platforms for online learning with global outreach and learners across the globe are benefitting from its huge repository of online courses. They offer a wide range of courses for learning music online which are taught by expert teachers from all corners of the world. Some of these online music courses include learning to play musical instruments like guitar, piano, drum, trombone, ukulele, flute, harmonica, bagpipe; musical theory, songwriting, singing techniques, and mixing for music producers amongst others. Besides, your kids will get a chance to learn from experts in the field at their own convenience at Udemy. The price of music courses starts from Rs 700 and includes on-demand video, downloadable resources, articles, and other resources that will allow your kid to play any song in any style.
9. OLYK
OLYK is an online learning platform that offers personalised one on one classes to ensure that your kid gets the best teachers and knows what’s behind the music rather than scales and rhythms. The online learning platform offers Vocals & Guitar classes as per your kid’s comfort and sends each practice session on your email so that you can track how far your kid has come. The price of the online music classes starts at INR 500 per class and teaches how to create expressive, compelling music and organize sounds in new ways. Moreover, they also offer discounts and free demo classes before picking the best course for your kid. Demo classes help the parents to understand OLYK pricing and help them pick a perfect course for their kids.
10. Coursera
Coursera is one of the most popular platforms for online music classes, and its catalog is so extensive that your kid can even complete a degree on the platform. From learning guitar, songwriting to classical music, and Fundamentals of Music Theory, Coursera offers courses on a broad range of subjects. Your kid can join Coursera for free and can take up many of the music classes for free, but you will have to pay a nominal fee of $49 if you want a course certificate, to submit assignments, or get grades from the teachers. Some music courses have a one-time fee, or you can pay a monthly subscription fee to access a related set of courses, called a “Specialization.” Moreover, you can also pay a yearly subscription fee for Coursera Plus, which gives you access to and allows you to earn certificates for most of Coursera’s music classes.
Final Thoughts
With an excess of professions to choose from (not limited to medicine, engineering, and management) school kids of the 21st century do have an opportunity to see themselves as, designers, painters, musicians, etc. So, now that your kids got a little more time at hand, an online music class would be a perfect way to go about doing something fun while at home. Best for kids, as well as adults, these Online Music classes, will give your kid a chance to try your hand at learning Western Vocals, Indian classical music, Guitar, Piano, and Keyboards. The music explores creativity and in today’s world, one thing that we have learned is that you need to be creative in whatever job you do. So all the artists in the making, why not brush up your music skills by signing up for these online musical classes?
