How to assess music courses and tutorials?

deltadio
@deltadio
3 months ago
55 posts

You guessed it still faffing about and procrastinating and not making good on my new years' resolution of sitting out/participating in lots of courses, but here is my final feint before I delve in: How to assess music courses and tutorials?

AI, we already talked about it, but I use more and more, also for delightful 'graphic art' and giggly text writing, I am a convert & fanboy fo' sho'. but I get to terms with the negative aspects by for instance always heavily editing AI texts  to the tune of my voice and thoughts. AI art on the platform I use has to  be declared as such.

I asked Bing AI (who reduced my verbose and detailed query to a search string 'dance music production tutorials and courses online quality relevance assessment') and it came up with a surprisingly (?) decent initial list (AI cheated a bit and also included stuff valid for any [online] course). Who has something to add to this list? See my own suggestions after list item 20:

[sorry for the white space, too much garbage html riding along]








  1. Instructor’s credentials: Check the instructor’s background, experience, and qualifications in the field of music production.
  2. Course content: Ensure that the course covers the topics you want to learn and is up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies.
  3. Course structure: Check if the course is structured in a way that is easy to follow and understand.
  4. Course duration: Consider the length of the course and whether it fits your schedule.
  5. Course difficulty: Check if the course is suitable for your skill level.
  6. Course format: Consider the format of the course, whether it’s online, in-person, or a hybrid.
  7. Course reviews: Check reviews from previous students to get an idea of the course’s quality and effectiveness.
  8. Course cost: Consider the cost of the course and whether it fits your budget.
  9. Course materials: Check if the course provides any additional materials such as workbooks, exercises, or quizzes.
  10. Course community: Consider if the course has a community of learners that you can interact with.
  11. Course support: Check if the course provides any support such as forums, email support, or live chat.
  12. Course certification: Consider if the course provides any certification upon completion.
  13. Course reputation: Check the reputation of the course and the institution offering it.
  14. Course accessibility: Consider if the course is accessible to you in terms of language, location, and technology.
  15. Course relevance: Consider if the course is relevant to your goals and interests.
  16. Course interactivity: Check if the course provides any interactive elements such as quizzes, assignments, or projects.
  17. Course feedback: Consider if the course provides any feedback on your progress and performance.
  18. Course updates: Check if the course is updated regularly to reflect changes in the industry.
  19. Course comparison: Compare the course with other similar courses to get a better idea of its quality and value.
  20. Course trial: Consider if the course offers a free trial or demo to test the quality and relevance of the course.








I would add these:

21. Reputation/stability of platform, e.g. I paid for courses but they are not online any longer because the website has disappeared.

22 Fun factor: is the course enjoyable, is the instructor engaging?

23. Quality of video, images and audio (some instructors apparently don't know too much about recording commentary and voice-overs etc.), kid you not! Not all screen capture software  is equal and video editing can be a bit harder than you think.

24 Quality of streaming and website accessibility 

'Course relevance' (item 15) has of course a subjective dimension but it also needs to weigh 'is the course relevant for today's music' (is it on trend etc.) but you could argue any (old) course could be relevant for today's music if you make it so and/or contains transferable/applicable techniques...


updated by @deltadio: 01/23/24 11:46:35AM
deltadio
@deltadio
3 months ago
55 posts

Almost forgot:

25 Type of DAW (... don't say logic, pro tools, cubase or I'm out...)

26 Plugins/software featured (yawn, don't say you are mainly going to use fancy new plugins that I don't have and am loath to buy having already a kazillion vsts that I hardly ever touched but paid in full)

Many of the mentioned list items can be squeezed into a table on top of the review with for example a star rating (max 5 stars) but could benefit from a (slightly) more detailed discussion in the review itself

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