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Electronic music production can be an incredibly complex skill to learn
Beyond the fact that there are endless elements to consider, including software, sound design, music theory, and more, the way in which you approach electronic music can vary based on the genre you’re working in and the DAW you’re using.
While you can no doubt find a breadth of information on YouTube or reputable music production blogs, these resources don’t provide mentors to work you step-by-step through the process and keep on on track. This is where online music production courses come in handy.
In this guide, I’ll be rounding up some of the best and most reputable electronic music production courses, so you can take your learning to the next level!
Summary of Best Online Music Business Courses
- Point Blank Music School – Electronic Music Production In-Depth – Whether you’re an aspiring producer or a seasoned expert, this might just be the best broad-range course outlining the music production process.
- Point Blank Music School – Ableton Live In-Depth – If you want to begin your music production journey in Ableton, then this is the course for you.
- Point Blank Music School – Music Production: Ableton – This course is a trimmed-down version of the above course, asking students to commit to three months rather than six.
- Berklee College of Music – Electronic Music Production – From sound design to mixing and mastering, this Berklee Online production course offers credits toward an undergraduate degree program.
- Plugin Boutique Courses – Those looking for shorter and super affordable production courses should check out what Plugin Boutique has to offer.
- Udemy – Electronic Music Production with Ableton – This intimate module-style course is wonderful for students who want to learn at their own pace.
- Production Music Live Courses – Production Music Live offers a range of start-to-finish courses for beginner and advanced producers, many of which focus on specific genres.
- Masterclass – Armin Van Buuren – As one of the most well-known DJs and producers in the music business, there might not be anyone that can teach dance music better than Armin Van Buuren.
- Masterclass – Deadmau5 – Deadmau5 takes a slightly different approach than Armin Van Buuren, teach the overarching art of electronic music production with the same level of content quality.KMG Life Ableton
Related: The Best Electronic Music Production Books
Table of Contents
Related: The Best Music Production Schools
Point Blank Music School
When it comes to award-winning electronic music production schools, Point Blank Music School consistently ranks as one of the best. For over two decades, they’ve been a world leader in music education, offering a springboard for those looking to find careers in music production, DJing, sound engineering, singing, and so much more. In 2023 Point Blank was recognised by the Office for Students as TEF (Teaching Excellence Framework) Gold, the only music production school in the UK to earn the award.
Beyond its expert teaching staff and impressive alumni portfolio, Point Blank Music School offers a huge list of degree programs, many of which offer weekend and evening classes if you choose to attend in person at one of its many physical campuses.
Point Blank offers access to a range of Online Learning features to help with studying online. Including valuable 1-2-1 sessions, so that you can speak to your lecturers and share your projects. This is great as it allows for feedback, advice and guidance on specific areas of your assignments.
Their online music production courses emphasize collaboration, creativity, and innovation, great for any burgeoning music producer looking to make connections in the industry. There’s a reason the school holds the DJ Mag title of ‘Best Music Production & DJ School.’
Students at Point Blank also are eligible for discounts on the following brands:
- 50% off Ableton Live
- 50% off NI Komplete
- Discount on Pioneer DJ equipment
- 70% off Eventide plugins
- 40% off Serato DJ
- 35% off selected Waves bundles
- Over 50% off Roland Cloud Ultimate
Electronic Music Production in Depth
6 months
The Electronic Music Production In-Depth course is excellent for students of all skill levels, as it starts out with fundamental concepts before moving into advanced electronic music techniques.
Led by industry experts, you’ll learn everything from crafting advanced basslines to using effects. While the course takes place in Logic and Ableton, it’s well-suited for just about any genre of electronic music, meaning you can tailor what you learn to your style.
The learning experience is split into two terms.
In Term 1, you’ll explore the basic concepts of modern music production. Some of the main skills that come with this term include:
- Ableton Live/Logic Overview
- Drum programming
- Audio and MIDI processing
- Pre-production techniques
- File management
By Term 2, you’ll step deeper into the creative electronic music production and remixing process, using what you learned in Term 1 to develop a unique style. By the final module, you’ll understand:
- Advanced drum programming
- Writing with vocals
- Creative intention and production strategies
- Active listening and analysis
- Remix culture
Not only do you get access to Point Blank’s wide range of online learning features, but you also get exclusive 1-2-1 sessions for additional guidance and mentorship.
Ableton Live in Depth
6 months
Ableton Live is one of the most renowned DAWs in the electronic music production scene, so it only makes sense that they offer one of the best in-depth Ableton Live courses on the market. In just six months, you can go from complete beginner to Ableton expert, learning how to program, arrange, record, synthesize, and so much more.
As with many Point Blank courses, this course is split into two terms:
- Term 1 – Music Production
- Term 2 – Creative Audio
In Term 1, you’ll develop a basic understanding of modern music production, from recording and editing MIDI to audio effects processing. Your lecturers will give you a production project, which you will then apply your newly learned creative and technical skills to in order to produce your very own track.
Related: The Best Ableton Courses Online
Once you’ve developed your core composition and production skills, you’ll move on to Term 2. In this module, you’ll explore how to use your DAW as a sound design tool, how to sample creatively, and how to use advanced synthesis in your music. I love the fact that this module provides a historical background for contemporary audio processing, as, to me, having fundamental knowledge of any art form you’re trying to learn is key.
Music Production – Ableton
3 months
If the above six-month course seems like too much of a commitment, you can take Point Blank’s more practical three-month course, in which you’ll learn the ins and outs of Ableton Live Music Production. Every lecturer in this course uses Ableton for their work on a daily basis, so you’ll be learning from those with real-world experience.
The actual content is very similar to Term 1 in Point Blank’s Ableton Live In-Depth, as it includes:
- An overview of Ableton
- Drum programming
- Rhythm, melody, and harmony production
- Track automation and arrangement
- Mixing and exporting
- File management techniques
Related: The Best Electronic Music Production Books
With the 1-2-1 sessions, you get expert guidance outside of the classroom environment, making the whole experience feel more personalized. You also get access to the Point Blank Virtual Learning Environment, which is a purpose-built digital platform for connecting with the wider music production community.
Overall, any music producers looking to take their electronic music production skills to the next level will no doubt benefit from this highly-rated music production course.
Related: Best DJ Courses Online
Berklee College of Music
In 2013, Berklee College of Music partnered with online learning platform Coursera to begin offering their award-winning education online. The school has certainly been at the forefront of both music education and distance learning for quite some time, though this partnership made their offerings more accessible than ever before.
They offer a lot of comprehensive music production courses and music business courses on the Coursera site if you’re interested in diving a little deeper into your music business and production studies.
Electronic Music Production Specialization
via coursera.com
Berklee’s Electronic Music Production Specialization course teaches students the latest and greatest in music production, synthesis, and sound design. If you’re learning to take your musical compositions from start to finish through the recording, editing, and mixing processes, it’s truly one of the best online courses around.
By the end of the course, Berklee promises every student an extended portfolio of pro-quality electronic music compositions and sound design pieces, making it an actionable commitment that you can use to find real work once you graduate.
As you move through this electronic music course, you’ll learn how to:
- Compose electronic music in a wide range of genres, from hip-hop music to dance music
- Use various synthesis techniques, including additive, subtractive, FM, and granular in sound design
- Apply core studio techniques in the music production process, including recording, editing, mixing
- Develop your unique voice as a professional producer
- Create remixes using existing source material
In terms of comprehensiveness, it’s one of the most complete electronic music production course options online.
You also get a certificate upon completion.
Other Berklee College of Music courses that may be of interest:
- Electronic Music Performance
- Creating Sounds for Electronic Music
- The Technology of Music Production
- Music Production Capstone.
Related: The Best Keyboards For Ableton
Plugin Boutique
Though many music producers know Plugin Boutique as an online market for software developers to sell their virtual instruments and plugins, the platform also plays host to some of the best online music production courses around.
Let’s take a look at a few of their highest-rated music production courses:
- Jafunk Bass Production Masterclass – This online course is just one of the many genre-specific production courses on Plugin Boutique. What makes this particular course stand out is that it taps specifically into producing and arranging funk bass.
- Hip-Hop Production Techniques – Kaelin Ellis is one of the most interesting hip-hop producers in the game right now, and this beginner-friendly hip-hop production course outlines everything from finding inspiration to producing a full-fledged track in Ableton Live music production software.
- Advanced D&B Masterclass – If you consider yourself a seasoned music producer, you might enjoy this 90-minute masterclass on one of the most technically complex electronic music genres — drum and bass.
The wonderful thing about Plugin Boutique’s online courses is that they’re all wildly affordable, meaning you can take a number of other courses beyond your main choice for a fraction of the cost of popular in-depth electronic music production courses.
Udemy’s module-based framework is very similar to that of many online learning platforms, though, with more than 35 million users and 57 expert instructors across 180 countries, it’s one of the most popular online learning platforms out there. Those looking for high-quality online music production classes will have no shortage of resources to explore here.
Electronic Music Production with Ableton Live
Udemy is a great place to find electronic music production courses, at reasonable prices too. Keep your eyes peeled for the Udemy sales, they sometimes knock as much as 75% off a video, meaning you might pick this course up for £12.99. Which is exceptional value.
Though some Logic and FL Studio purists might disagree, Ableton Live is the greatest electronic music production software around, and with this Udemy course, you get 12 hours of world-class training to learn everything about it.
The class is taught by Simon Stokes, who is not only known for his artist work as Petrichor but is also an Ableton Certified Trainer.
Whether you’re looking to learn music production for the first time or seeking new inspiration for your tracks, this course has 58 videos and numerous course materials, covering everything you need to know, from creating a kick drum to mixing and exporting your music for release.
Stokes has a very clear and friendly way of teaching, taking all of the otherwise complex music and production jargon and boiling it down into something digestible that you can keep with your for a lifetime.
Related: The Best Music Business Courses
Production Music Live
Production Music Live is one of the best platforms for learning electronic music production, as the team offers a wide range of music production courses aimed at people of all skill levels.
Let’s take a look at some of the top-rated Production Music Live course offerings:
- Beginners Course: Ableton Live 11 – The Ableton Live Start to Finish course is one of the most comprehensive beginner-friendly Ableton courses on the internet, where you’ll learn how to produce your very first track using Ableton Live’s software.
- Techno Masterclass – Techno is one of the fundamental electronic music genres, and with this in-depth masterclass, Berlin-based music producer, Johannes Menzel, provides an exclusive look at his production techniques using Ableton.
- Mixing Course – Of course, no great production can be complete without a mix, and with this start-to-finish mixing course, you’ll learn all about how to elevate your tracks using processing tools, such as EQ, compression, reverb, and more!
If you are interested in other electronic music courses, Production Music Live have a range of genres to choose from. Check them out!
Related: The Best Mixing and Mastering Courses
Masterclass
You’d be hard-pressed to find online courses of the same caliber as Masterclass courses, as they’re taught by leading professionals in their respective classes. The beauty of Masterclass, as opposed to some of the other major online learning platforms, is that a single annual subscription gives you full access to their 180-course catalog.
Related: The Best Music Production Schools
Armin Van Buren
If you’re looking to learn music production from one of the greats, look no further than Armin Van Buuren’s Masterclass.
Armin Van Buuren is arguably one of the most successful producers in the history of electronic music, and with his ‘Teaches Dance Music’ course (his very first online course ever), you get an inside look at how he builds a track from scratch.
From his sample selection methods to his plug-in techniques for mixing, this dance music course has almost seven hours of high-quality content.
Deadmau5
Up alongside successful music producers like Armin Van Buuren is Deadmau5. In many ways, he pioneered progressive house and electro-house music and to this day, he still sells out stadiums around the world.
His six-hour Masterclass takes you through his approach to music theory, sound design, building a home studio, developing melodic structures, building arrangements, mixing, mastering, and so much more.
Best of all, he teaches from the home studio perspective, meaning applying what you learn in this course doesn’t require you to spend thousands of dollars on high-end gear.
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