20 Best Music MOOC / Non-credit Programs Online
Choosing an online music course can feel overwhelming, especially when you want to balance cost, content, and credibility. This page compares twenty non‑credit programmes from two well‑known providers, Coursera and Udemy, each priced between $24.99 and $49.99 at the time of writing. The courses cover a range of topics, from production and songwriting to classical Indian ragas, music education, and even the legal side of being a musician. By reviewing the brief descriptions and price points, you can identify which programme aligns with your current skill level and learning goals.
The list is ordered according to our own ranking methodology, not an external claim of superiority. Whether you are a teacher seeking classroom strategies, a producer aiming to master Ableton Live, or a beginner interested in music therapy, this comparison highlights the key differences to help you decide which course to enrol in.
- Courses compared
- 20
- Price range
- $24.99 – $49.99
- Providers
- Coursera, Udemy, edX
- Last updated
- 18 Sep 2026
How these 20 courses were chosen
Every course below is a real, currently listed course from Coursera, Udemy, edX, matched to "Music" by our catalog and ordered by our CourseAsk score. Courses whose own title names the topic rank above those only tagged with it.
The grade on each entry scores how much the provider publishes about the course before you pay — the length and detail of the description, whether it lists learning outcomes and objectives — and whether a named university or institution stands behind it. A is fully documented and institution-backed; E is little more than a title and a price. Courses with almost nothing published are left ungraded rather than marked down, because an unknown course and a poor one are not the same thing.
There are no star ratings on this page — the course feeds we license do not include them, and we would rather leave a column out than fill it with a number we cannot stand behind. What we do have is price: these range from $24.99 to $49.99, as listed by the provider when we last updated the page.
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1
Music Production: Crafting Award-Worthy Songs
Offered by Howard University
In the Music Production: Crafting Award-Worthy Songs specialization, develop the mindset and confidence of an award-winning producer by producing songs that meet the highest musical standards of the industry, across musi...
$49.00listed price -
2
Music Education for Teachers
Offered by Berklee College of Music
In the Music Education for Teachers specialization, you will explore ways of integrating popular music into your teaching. You'll begin by learning from two highly experienced teachers, Krystal Banfield, the Vice Preside...
$49.00listed price -
3
Songwriting: Writing the Music
Offered by Berklee College of Music
If your notebook is full of unused lyrics and you’re struggling to find inspiration for the music, this course is for you. Whether you are an experienced songwriter looking for new ideas or a beginning songwriter learnin...
$49.00listed price -
4
Produce & Write in Ableton Live: Write Music in Any Genre
Offered by Skillshare
By the end of this course with Future Skills, you will be able to write compelling harmony parts in Ableton Live, design rich layered arrangements across genres, and shape professional mixes using EQ, compression, and re...
$49.00listed price -
5
Piano Techniques for Modern Music
Offered by Berklee
If you have always dreamed of playing the piano or keyboard but did not know where to start, this is the course for you. This course will take you through the fundamental skills necessary to build your playing capability...
$49.00listed price -
6
Music Production
Offered by Berklee
This Specialization will give you the knowledge and tools you need to record and produce professional sounding music. You will begin by developing your identity, vision, and intention as an artist and producer. Next, you...
$49.00listed price -
7
Complete Indian Hindustani Classical Raga Music Course
This is one of the most straight forward, professional singing courses available and, for the very first time, made available online!Now ANYONE can learn Hindustani Music.These online classes are specifically designed fo...
$49.99listed price -
8
The Art and Business of Music Licensing: A Complete Guide
Unlock the door to a world where artistry meets commerce with our comprehensive course, "The Art and Business of Music Licensing: A Complete Guide." This course is meticulously crafted to provide aspiring musicians, seas...
$24.99listed price -
9
Keyboard for Electronic Music - Level 2
What is this course?This is the level 2 course of “Keyboard for Electronic Music”!This course purpose is to allow any DJ or Music Producer to acquire the skills of playing the keyboard.If you took the first course (or yo...
$39.99listed price -
10
The Musician's Guide to Copyright
Welcome to the "Musician's Guide" Series!This series is pulled directly from the courses I've created for my university position in Music Business. All of these courses are designed for the everyday musician - amate...
$44.99listed price -
11
Dance Naturally with Musicality
DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO DANCE NATURALLY AND CREATE YOUR OWN FREESTYLES?You've probably attended dance classes where you learned:-swaggy/trendy steps-moves and choreographies-the 5 6 7 8 counting systemDid it w...
$29.99listed price -
12
Introduction to Music Therapy: A Beginner's Guide
Are you passionate about music and its potential to heal? Discover the transformative world of music therapy with our introductory course!Join us on a captivating journey as we explore the foundations of music therapy an...
$24.99listed price -
13
The Complete Guide to the Musical Theater Audition
Are you ready to take your musical theater auditions to the next level? Whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your skills, this course, The Musical Theater Audition Complete Guide, offers everything...
$49.99listed price -
14
Teaching Popular Music in the Classroom
Offered by Berklee
Teaching Popular Music in the Classroom explores approaches to teaching popular music from culturally rich communities in the United States. Students in the course will learn teaching methods that engage youth with the b...
$49.00listed price -
15
The New World of Arnold Schönberg's Piano Music
Offered by Stanford University
This course will introduce you to the solo piano works of Arnold Schönberg (including the Three Piano Pieces (Opus 11), Six Little Piano Pieces (Opus 19), Five Piano Pieces (Opus 23), Suite for Piano (Opus 25), and Piano...
Price on site -
16
Fundamentals of Audio and Music Engineering: Part 1 Musical Sound & Electronics
Offered by University of Rochester
In this course students learn the basic concepts of acoustics and electronics and how they can applied to understand musical sound and make music with electronic instruments. Topics include: sound waves, musical sound, b...
$49.00listed price -
17
Piano Chords for Modern Music
Offered by Berklee
This course is designed to introduce keyboard players to the various chord types utilized in contemporary music. In these lessons, you will learn the theory behind chord construction and perform exercises to drill chord...
$49.00listed price -
18
What Does a Music Producer Do?
Offered by GRAMMY GO
Step into the dynamic world of music production with '"What Does a Music Producer Do?" This course is designed to help you cultivate your identity as a music producer, providing insights into the roles, responsibilities,...
$49.00listed price -
19
The DIY Musician
Offered by Berklee
With social media platforms and powerful recording technology at your fingertips, it’s easier now than ever before to create music and share it with your fans. But where do you begin and how do you get started? This spec...
$49.00listed price -
20
Music Creation Essentials: Theory, Writing, and Production
Offered by Skillshare
This Specialization is intended for aspiring musicians, producers, and songwriters seeking to develop strong foundations in music theory, melody writing, and modern production. Through three courses led by Julian from Fu...
$49.00listed price
Best Music MOOC / Non-credit Programs Online compared
Prices shown are the provider's listed price when we last updated this page. Confirm on their site before enrolling.
What the prices here tell you
The 19 priced courses on this page run from $24.99 to $49.99, with the middle of the range around $49.00 — a spread of $25.00. The options are closely priced, so cost is unlikely to be your deciding factor. A higher price on this page usually reflects who is behind the course rather than how much material it contains, so it is worth opening two or three at different price points and comparing their syllabus before deciding.
Who is behind these courses
These courses come from Coursera, Udemy and edX. The platforms differ in how they sell: some charge once per course, others expect a subscription, and the listed price is not always what you pay at checkout after a promotion. 4 of these are produced by a named university or institution, including Howard University, Berklee College of Music and Stanford University — which usually means a fixed syllabus and a recognised certificate, rather than an individual instructor’s own course.
Before you enrol
Open the provider’s own page and check three things this comparison cannot tell you: when the course was last updated, what the syllabus actually covers in its later sections, and what recent learners say. Prices shown here are the provider’s listed price when we last rebuilt this page on 18 September 2026 — they change often, and a promotion can move them substantially. We earn a commission if you enrol through our links, which costs you nothing and never affects the order courses appear in.