The Art of Music Production (Coursera)

Assignments will include posting your own recordings for peer review, and reviewing your classmates’ work by employing specific tools and strategies. If you use a digital audio workstation to record and mix, that’s great, but as long as you can record into your computer and post an MP3, you can complete the assignments.

As you learn about the art of record production in this 4-week course, you will also learn about yourself and who you are as an artist and producer. It is not necessary that you read music or play an instrument to take this course.

This course can be applied to multiple Specializations or Professional Certificates programs. Completing this course will count towards your learning in any of the following programs:

- The DIY Musician Specialization

- Music Production Specialization

- Music Education for Teachers Specialization

- The Business of Music Production Specialization

What You Will Learn

- Discuss why one musical recording is more compelling than another and identify the unique elements of the recording that contribute to it

- Begin to assess and establish your identity, vision, and intention as an artist and producer

- Write and develop a compelling piece of music by utilizing various tools

- Establish the sonic signature of your production by utilizing specific production techniques

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Welcome to The Art of Music Production

Welcome to The Art of Music Production! Before you begin the course, we will cover all the details about the course and what you'll need to know to get the most out of your experience.

Listening Like A Producer

By the end of this lesson, you’ll understand the concepts of listening to music emotionally and technically. Strategies for maintaining objectivity and using kinesthetic observations to discover musical effectiveness will be internalized. You’ll train yourself to make distinctions on what works and what doesn’t work, rather than just passively listening as a fan.

WEEK 2

Identity, Vision, and Intention

In this lesson, you’ll hone in on your identity as a recording artist: who are you, and what are you meaning to convey through your music? You’ll work on refining your vision and intention for the recordings you’ll make employing these skills, and record and post a “work tape” of a new piece of music.

WEEK 3

Strengthening Musical Productions: Tools & Strategies

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to employ several useful techniques for strengthening your songs and instrumental tracks. You’ll acquire skills in prosody, focus, and an intelligent approach to repetition. You’ll also learn to craft better melodies, write better lyrics, and construct a musical form that best suits the emotional contour you are trying to accomplish with your recording. You’ll understand the principles of getting the most out of feedback on your recordings, in order to gather valuable perspective to better convey your intended response. You’ll incorporate notes from your colleagues to further refine your recording and re-post an updated version.

WEEK 4

Defining the Sonic Signature of your Song

By the end of this lesson, you will address the sonic signature as it relates to your intention and vision, as well as your technology resources and acoustic space. You’ll learn about microphone techniques, getting good levels, and mixing with reverb, EQ and compression. You will record your material, having made some deliberate decisions about the sound of your record, and post your recording for peer review according to specific criteria.