Do not let this short 4 week class fool you, there is a lot great info. The class is short because Stephen Webber gets to the point and gets the important information out there, no nonsense. This class gets you writing and recording, that is the focus. If you are interested in music production, this class will get your feet off the ground quick!

Very short course that is even shorter considering the fact that 90% of it is basically pure water. Even a beginer could hardly find any useful info here, but will probably be stopped by submition tasks which ask you to record you own music, which is kinda odd considering that this is the first recomended course in specialisation that does not require any background knowledge.

I found this course in the suggestions list after taking Introduction to Music Production with Loudon Stearns. I audited it, so I couldn't/didn't do the assignments but I found it really interesting so I binge-watched the lectures in the space of a day. The way the course is set up as compared to Intro to Music Prod. it is a lot less detailed technical instruction and more of a broad look at the artistic/aesthetic/philosophical components of various aspects of music production. And since Loudon touches upon this in the other course, I would say the two courses nicely complement each other and are both worth watching all the way through. I think they could be taken in any order, but personally, even though Intro is more technical, I think I got more out of this one having already taken Intro. Even as someone who considers myself pretty good as far as lyrics/songwriting/composition, I still got something new and useful out of those parts and liked the way the instructor put these "creative" parameters in concrete terms. The way he talked about and clarified Vision, Identity, and Intention I personally found very empowering, interesting, and practically useful. I feel like some of these ideas had been floating around in my mind before, but it validated that they were valuable things to be thinking about. There are a couple specific things that popped up in the course that are really cool and useful: for example, the rule of threes, and the information on panning, delay, mixing, etc. Very glad I found it! I hope these keep being offered for free because I find them more efficient for learning than some YouTube videos, and at some point I would consider doing one not just audited but "for real."

After decades dabbling in bedroom recording, this course's crucial lesson for me was the need for artistic focus, i.e. a clear identity as an artist and a vision for my work.

The homework did at least a couple of great things for me. First, it disciplined me to actually finish writing a song! The First Commandment for aspiring writers is, "Write every day!" Now I see why. Striving for creativity even when inspiration was ebbing was a revelation. Having a completed song is icing.

Second, the homework not only gave me a new perspective on music and art, it gave me a new perspective on myself and my music. In trying to determine my artistic identity and vision, I was struck by how little I knew myself as an artist. My influences didn't show up in the homework the way I expected, and I actually sound more like some artists I don't listen to. Disconcerting but really good to know!

I also enjoyed classmates' music, goals, influences, and perspectives. While grading classmates' work I'd listen to their influences, which exposed me to artists I'd never have even heard of otherwise. Even cooler was enjoying a classmate's music that was unlike anything I'd heard before.

Finally, Stephen Webber is a fantastic, engaging instructor. His enthusiasm was contagious.

For better or worse, I’m a self-taught recording artist (lookup “Don Manolo Frutorama” in Spotify if you’re into lo-fi psychedelic grooves) and I can attest that the lessons given in this course are truly valuable and empirically verifiable. On top of that, Stephen Webber is a super likeable guy who explains complex themes like reverberation, sound proofing or microphone types in a pretty straight-forward manner without ever being condescending. I especially liked his use of this famous quote attributed to Orson Welles: “The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.” and his advice on avoiding the pitfalls of digital audio. I also found very valuable the lessons about Identity, Vision and Intention and The Rule of Threes. If you’re new to the world of music production or just someone who wants to fill some knowledge gaps as in my case, you won’t regret taking up this excellent course! Cheers from Madrid! Don Manolo

There is a major difference in my musical education and a lack of skilled and crafted information which berkley provides in a nutshell. The description instructs and programs us to think link music producers instead of fans. Everything though about create a song a beat went out the window when mastering phase came into play. I spent several years hopping and begging producers to teach and I did pick here and there well enough to create my own radio ready music. I did feel there was something missing in my path on this musical journey. I have heard about berkeley for years but it was now it dawned on me I give this class 5 stars two thumbs two big toes up and all my other fingers as long as I ain't needed on them piano keys.

An extremely enjoyable and accessible course to get started in music production, or to understand music production from a performer and songwriter's point of view. Easy to understand, yet introducing enough technical points to elevate the quality of recordings. The course is presented in a very friendly and genuine way, and alongside the technical knowledge there is a good amount of soul-searching to home artistic/producer identity. No special equipment is needed for the course, and in fact the material is likely to support better equipment buying decisions, so don't go shopping before Week 4. Very inspiring and highly recommended for anyone interested in finding out more about music production.

I am Brazilian and, at the age of 31, the dream of be graduated at Berklee was already slept. However, our dear internet could make it possible bringing Coursera and Berklee world wide. I couldn't be more satisfied. I learned how really works the art of music production as the tools to accomplish the tasks given were gradually revealed. Now I know how a music producer may think to achieve an high level of good listener's responses to the song as well how to experiment and work on the skills to really make a diference. Thanks Berklee for the magnificent course, and thanks Coursera for make it possible.

I took this course to learn the processes involved in Music Production. It was exactly as I had expected. A step-by-step guide to producing good music with or without lyrics in 4-weeks. Such a beautiful compact course.

By the end of the course, I managed to write a full song in Verse-Chorus-Bridge form. I did the recordings and assignments using a cellphone, guitar and my voice, but people with better equipment will probably do more with the concepts and things taught in the course.

Thank you for this course. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I'm a singer/songwriter who's fairly new to music production, my goal is to be able to self-produce. I know my way around GarageBand enough to put something together, but I don't really know what I'm doing or how to make it sound good. This course is a great starting point and I'm excited to take the next one which seems more in depth. This course is also great for artists, it forces you to sit down and think about your vision and your intentions, and guides you through putting it into words. Overall I found it very helpful.

Going into this course, I knew how to use which effects and what knobs to turn. If that's what you're trying to learn, this course doesn't focus so much on that. Instead, it focuses on WHY the music was made, WHAT you're trying to accomplish with it, and shows ways of achieving that goal while improving efficiency. I now look at what I'm trying to accomplish first instead of finding it somewhere along the way (after who knows how many wasted hours turning knobs and pressing buttons). I'd highly recommend taking this course.

Excellent course, but not for a total beginners.

This is a great course if you've already made your first steps in music production. If you're a total beginner who don't have so much experience with music theory and music production at all, I think this could be too difficult for you. But if you've already produced something or you at least know how to do something with sense, this course will be a great journey where you can learn a lot simple but awesome things you may not noticed before. Completely recommending it.

This course offers an excellent introduction to methods that can be used to focus the creative process, with intention and purpose. It forced me to think about exactly what it is I wish to achieve with the music I make, how I want it to sound, and to what end, and also gave some basic information on how to achieve certain aesthetics in a recording. It is a well-structured course that encourages engagement with other participants, and exposes you to the ideas of other creative people around the globe.

This course definitely helped me learn how to evaluate other people's music, as well as my own. I learned some life lasting techniques, such as the rule of threes, prosody, and sonic signature (and more!) I am leaving this course feeling inspired to add more emotion into my music, as well as simplifying the sound. I loved being able to do full evaluations on student progress, as well as receiving feedback in criticism and praise on my own. Awesome course!

i live in yemen and there is a war going on right know

i was really mad at life and i had a big motivation to make music

i realized after i started this course that really my problem is that i was listening technically

that i started to hate music .. i couldn't even enjoy the music i used to love

i just started the first course

but let me tell you after i just watch

the first three videos(listening like a producer)

it really helped me alot thank you so much

this is such an amazing experience and honor to be a part of this course . everyaspect of this course was very interesting and the structure of the entire class the way its set up is so great being able to connect with other students and sharing ideas and getting feed back , makes even more better. i love this course and want to thank the educators and the ones behind the scenes who mad this all possible . this was a great course i loved it!

Well very designed introduction class that covers all the basic of being a singer/musician/producer. It covers all the key concepts on the art of music, what type of singer one can be, the Rules of Three, song structure, basic concepts of manipulating recorded sounds.

The only part I don't understand is the unusual length it spends explaining about the different microphones. (Maybe it will becomes very important in the future).

This course extremely potent in the sense I felt like I learned what I needed to know, was given a clear way to apply the concepts, and gain a grasp of getting my feet wet on my music production journey in an extremely short amount of time. I would recommend this to ANY creative whether you are a performance artist, create social media content, etc - as producing original sound allows unlimited possibilities with your art.

Absolutely loved it. As someone who is quite technically minded when it comes to music production, it was refreshing to see it from an artistic point of view, and to think about the essence of what a music recording all boils down to - capturing and conveying emotion/feeling. The emphasis on staying true to an artistic vision and intention is fantastic. I would recommend this to musicians and producers of any genre.

I enrolled in this specialization to get an introduction to pro tools. I was surprised at how fast the first course went in terms of getting my feet wet! I was composing and recording my own music in week 2. This challenging and exciting course that has me eager to continue and to put together my studio. Exactly the inspiration I needed! The teacher Dr. Weber is very down to earth, encouraging and inspiring.

Even not digging very deep in the subject (just because the subjects, like many others requires a life long commitment which can't be done in just 4 weeks) however I really enjoyed the course, Stephen is a great teacher and every single aspect has been very clearly exposed. I have also enjoyed interacting with my peers by grading each other works and giving and receiving feedbacks.

Definitely 5 Stars!!!

I feel so lucky to have stumbled upon this course. I really appreciate how he continually roots us back down into WHY we are creating, and the bigger picture vision for each project or song. His passion for the subject matter and excellent communication made things click for me in a way they never have, and I am getting my project in motion. Super grateful!

This is a great course for Music Enthusiasts and those who are trying to make a career or even "thinking" of a career in Music Production.

The best part of this course is that it is not overwhelming and too demanding. It sets a good tone by giving an introduction and just enough understanding about what goes into the Art and Trade of Music Production.

The Course really brings out the basics of Music Production, mainly the Identity, Vision and Intent one has to define when one's pursuing such activities. The lessons and exercises are simple and complete, and in the end they enable you to cohesively index the artistic attributes and requirements that a Musical Production requires. Really recommend!

I loved the course. Grateful to stephen for wonderful instruction on art of music production. Learnt a lot and created my first song and started working on it. Hope it gets better as I proceed further in specialization. Thank you Berklee and Coursera. Thank you very much for bringing these courses on affordable rate across the world.