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Learner Reviews & Feedback for The Technology of Music Production by Berklee

4.8
stars
1,058 ratings

About the Course

Learn about the music production process—including recording, editing, and mixing—and the tools available to you to create contemporary music on your computer. With the recent introduction of high-quality-low-cost software and hardware, the tools of music production are now available to the masses. Albums are made in bedrooms as well as studios. On the surface this is liberating. Anyone can make an album for the low cost of a couple pieces of gear and a software package. But, if you dig deeper, you will find that it is not so easy. Producing music requires knowledge, dedication, and creativity. Knowledge is where this course comes in. No matter what kind of music you are making, there is a large set of tools that you will need to use. Each lesson of this course will demonstrate a different set of music production tools, loosely following along the music production process of recording, editing, and mixing. We will start with some background on the nature of sound and how we perceive it. We will then examine the components necessary to record audio into a computer, so that you understand the devices that sound must travel through in a music production process. Once recorded, sound must be organized along a timeline, a process known as editing. It allows us to give the impression of perfect performances and create many of the sounds we hear in contemporary music. The contemporary editing tool is the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), a piece of software that stores and organizes all the assets of a musical project. We will focus on the editing tools that are essential in contemporary music production and that all DAWs provide. After editing, sounds must be combined or mixed together, so we look to the mixing board—a very creative place if you know how to use it. We will explore the basic functionality of both hardware and software mixing boards, including volume, pan, mute, solo, busses, inserts, sends, and submixes. The mixing process, however, includes more tools than the mixing board provides on its own. Sound must also be processed, modified from its recorded state to fit the context of the music. We will look at compression, equalization, and delay, and examine the many audio effects that are offshoots of these devices and how they are used in a musical context. In the end, the music production process relies on your creativity. Creativity is a product of the mind and will stay there, unexpressed, until the right tools are used in the right way to share it with the world. If you have an idea in your head, it will take numerous steps, each with an important tool, to reach your audience. You bring the dedication and creativity, and this course will bring you the knowledge to make that happen....

Top reviews

JJ

Feb 7, 2021

This course gave me a working knowledge of the many parameters of a DAW. I really have a base knowledge to continue my studies and not get frustrated with mental blocks in navigation of the software.

NV

Aug 18, 2022

everything is clearly mentioned, good overall couese. i think it would be better addtional materials are given for various DAW's, because sometimes finding options in daw's were little bit difficult

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301 - 325 of 343 Reviews for The Technology of Music Production

By Ahmad O

Mar 30, 2020

Awesome!

By Rudy J

Aug 27, 2022

GREAT

By Hiderway

Jan 1, 2022

great

By Вильмов С А

Aug 21, 2018

Super

By Marcello A H C

Nov 10, 2023

nice

By Saswata C

Feb 25, 2021

good

By Antoniy V

Mar 20, 2020

Gut

By Franz K

Jan 12, 2018

W

By Dhruv P

Apr 23, 2023

I am almost close to finishing 5 weeks. When I first started I maybe expected the course to have a lot of things I already know but it ended up having a ton of knowledge I wasn't aware of and I have learnt a lot of new things. I feel it covers the essential topics and really nails your foundation. The only downside is that the instructor's delivery doesn't always seem ideal for subject comprehension which really slowed down my pace of learning.

By Roger G

Sep 13, 2024

The course is really good, covers a lot of content in depth and provides a great space to practice skills, whether you have a DAW, equipment, or just sheets of paper - nothing is required, but you can go as far as you would like. The one issue with this course is that all screen share videos are recorded in very low quality, and it is really hard to see what’s going on when the instructor shares screen. Other than that, loved it.

By MAZELDIGH ( K

Sep 30, 2020

I took three courses simultaneously. This was my favorite topic and my least favorite class. There were too many videos between quizzes and it was in more of an 'old fashioned here's the information' format, as opposed to the other MOOCs that I have taken that were of a more modern guided learning format. Good teacher, good class, could have been a more user-friendly format.

By Diêgo L

Jul 14, 2020

The content is great! I had some trouble just memorizing all the info that was given a little too quickly by the instructor, but, in the end, it all worked out fine. Also the subtitles were out of sync in the majority of the videos.

By David J

Feb 23, 2022

Excellent course. The instructor was motivating and clearly an expert on the content. The only issue is that it took a long time to get peer reviewed, so the course dragged out for way longer than it needed to.

By John G

Oct 29, 2019

Very well taught. Some of the gear and software used in this class seamed a little out dated but it is hard to keep up with technology. Overall the material that was taught is still very relevant. Thank you!

By Nicky P

Aug 21, 2016

This is a great introduction to the fundamentals of music production, while you won't end up as a pro after completing this course, you'll have basic knowledge to work your way up!

By Hielmi A

Jun 6, 2017

Overall I felt this to be an excellent course, covering many aspects of Music Technology, in sufficient detail for students to gain a basic all round understanding of the subject.

By Sean C M

Jun 25, 2024

The topics discussed were well thought of and the discussions themselves were very helpful. However, peer-review assignments are a hassle to wait for.

By Austin W

Dec 18, 2018

A well established & detailed class about music tech its very much opened my mind to the DAW and how it can apply for my own sound design. :^J

By Rinkesh K G

Mar 1, 2024

The video were descrpitive and the explanation were too good. The examples gave an actual idea of how the accessories work.

By Francis G

Mar 8, 2018

Great foundational course. Lectures and content well curated and presented. Coursework is lacking imagination somewhat

By EMMANUEL O T

Mar 9, 2021

Very great course , will recommend it to everybody who wants to learn more about music production tech.

By Gustavo A

Sep 17, 2020

An excellent course. Just need to talk a little bit about mastering to be absolutely perfect. Congrats

By Aditya R

Jul 18, 2020

A great and detailed explanation of the basics of sound and instruments required for music production.

By Andrew D

Apr 5, 2022

While the software used seemed a little dated, the fundementals were well taught and easy to grasp.

By Dhruv D

May 20, 2017

Great stuff! But can go a bit more into depth about music production itself.