Here are the best sound design courses online for beginners and pros alike. These sound design tutorials will teach you how to make music, remix songs, create sound effects, or even work with video games.
Sound design is a complex and challenging field to break into. Sound designers are in high demand, but sound design courses can be expensive and hard to find.
5 Best Sound Design Courses Online
- Mastering Sound Design ( Soundscapes For Video )
- Sound Design – Create Riser FX for Transitions
- Ultimate Sound Design ( Mastering Sound Design )
- Introduction to Sound Design & Mixing Films
- Using Synthesis for Sound Design & Production
All these online sound design courses are on Skillshare. You can get access to all these classes by signing up for a 30-day free trial. Cancel at any time.
Skillshare has over 28,000 online classes covering all music production aspects from audio recording, music theory, mixing, piano, and more.
Best Sound Design Courses Online
Below is a list of the best sound design courses online.
- Mastering Sound Design
- Create Riser FX for Transitions
- Ultimate Sound Design Complete
- Introduction to Sound Design
- Using Synthesis for Sound Design
- Using Sampling for Sound Design
- Ambient Vocal Soundscapes
- Sound Design & Samplers
- Sound Design for Composition
- Sound Design For Beginners:
- Become A Video Game Composer
- Synthesis & Sound Design
- Complete Synth & Sound Design
- Sound Design with Studio One
1. Mastering Sound Design – How to Build Better Soundscapes
This course is designed for beginners and covers layering sounds, creating ambient sounds, adding sound effects, and mixing audio tracks.
You’ll also learn how to render the soundscape in the course. This sound design tutorial is excellent for beginners and pros alike due to its easy-to-follow style.
Students: 900+ | Rating: 89%
What’s Covered
- Layering Sounds
- Creating the Perfect Ambient Sounds
- Adding Sound Effects
- Creating Perspective and Depth
- Mixing Tracks
- Rendering the Soundscape
2. Sound Design – Create Riser FX for Transitions
This sound design course is all about creating riser FX for transitions. You’ll learn how to create different types of risers and use them to create powerful sound effects.
Students: 300+ | Rating: 50%
What’s Covered
- Introduction to Riser Effects
- How to create Riser Effects
- Straight Riser
- Rhythmic Riser
- Moving Riser
3. Ultimate Sound Design Complete: Mastering Sound Design
This course is designed to help sound designers and musicians create sound effects that sound professional. The course covers sound design basics, the sound design process, sound effects recording, and sound design for video games.
Students: 1,900+ | Rating: 94%
What’s Covered
- Physics Of Sound
- Harmonics And Partials
- Overtones & Waveforms
- Sine Waves
- Square Waves
- Triangle Waves
- Sawtooth Waves
- Noise Generators
- Subtractive Synthesis
- Low Pass & High Pass
- Sound Generators And Filters
- Signal Flow
4. An Introduction to Sound Design & Mixing Films in Pro Tools
This course is created with sound designers and sound mixers in mind. The knowledge from this program will put you on the fast track to sound design and sound mixing for film.
You’ll learn sound design techniques, sound editing tips, sound effects, dialogue grading, and mic placement.
Students: 1,200+ | Rating: 88%
What’s Covered
- Watching Scenes
- Session
- Tracks
- Film Sound Editing
- Film Sound Mixing
5. Using Synthesis for Sound Design & Production
This sound design course will teach you all about synthesis and how to use it for sound design and production. You’ll learn about the different types of synthesis, how to create sounds, and how to use them in your productions.
Students: 1,600+ | Rating: 98%
What’s Covered
- Software
- Elements of synthesizer
- Velocity Control
- FM Synthesis
- Making sounds using FM Synthesis
- Adding the bells and whistles
6. Sampling: Using Sampling for Sound Design & Production
Sampling is one of the sound design techniques that sound designers and musicians use to create soundscapes. This sound design technique typically involves using sound recordings which are then chopped up, rearranged, and layered with other sounds or other sound recordings.
Sound designers need to pay attention to the start time of their samples because it can significantly affect the soundscape. For example, fading in a sample creates less of a sense of space than starting it abruptly.
This course will teach sound designers the basics of sampling sound recordings for sound design and production.
Students: 850+ | Rating: 66%
7. Sound Design – Ambient Vocal Soundscapes
This course is perfect for anyone who wants to learn how to create soundscapes and sound effects for films, video games, and other multimedia projects.
The course covers various topics, including sound design theory, sound editing, and sound mixing.
You’ll also learn how to create ambient vocal soundscapes using various software programs.
Students: 450+ | Rating: 67%
What’s Covered
- Intro to Soundscapes
- Sound Stretching
- Further Options For Transformation
- Rendering
8. Ultimate Ableton Live – Sound Design & Samplers
This sound design course is perfect for anyone looking to start sound design using Ableton Live. You’ll learn how to create your sounds from scratch, as well as how to use samplers to add richness and texture to your music.
Students: 400+ | Rating: 78%
What’s Covered
- Synthesis Basics
- Synthesis Types
- Synthesis Elements
- Programming Analog
- LFO and Other Parameters
- Programming Collision
- Electric Preset Study
- Operator Programming
- Wavetable
- Wavetable Modulation
9. How to Sound Design for Music Composition
This sound design course for music composition is perfect for anyone who wants to learn how to create soundscapes and textures that add depth and power to their music.
You’ll learn how to use sound to evoke emotion, convey a story, and create a sonic landscape that supports your music.
Students: 200+ | Rating: 99%
What’s Covered
- Sound Design Core Effects
- Waveforms, Recordings & Samples
- Filters
- Envelopes
- Modulation
- Pitch & Tuning
- Stretch & Fade
- How to Sound Ambient Design Pads
- Deep Sub Bass
- Pluck Sounds
- Design Huge Sub Drops
- Dark Pulses
- Design Ominous Drones
- Epic Risers
- Design Low Booms
- Magical Pings
- Mega Impacts
- Mighty Stabs
- Punch Hits
10. Sound Design For Beginners: Easily Create Melodies
This sound design course is perfect for beginners. You’ll learn how to create leads and melodies in Omnisphere and Serum. You’ll also learn about ADSR and soft synths.
Students: 200+ | Rating: 99%
What’s Covered
- ADSR & Understanding Soft Synths
- Omnisphere Overview
- Designing Bass In Omnisphere
- Designing Leads In Omnisphere
- Serum Overview
- Sound Design In Serum
11. How to Become A Video Game Composer or Sound Designer
The sound design course will show you how the sound is created in a video game. You’ll learn sound design techniques that sound designers and composers use to create the sound for games.
The sound design course will teach you about essential equipment, software, sound design practice, adaptive music, and audio middleware. You will also learn about habit-building: how it works, and its importance.
Students: 200+ | Rating: 99%
What’s Covered
- Essential Equipment
- Choosing Software
- Sound Design Practice
- Adaptive Music
- Audio Middleware
- Habit Building: The Importance
- Beginner Habit Building Techniques
12. Ultimate Ableton Live – Synthesis & Sound Design
This sound design course is perfect for anyone who wants to learn how to create their sounds. You’ll learn the basics of sound design, synthesis types, and more. You’ll also learn to use some of the most popular sound design tools.
Students: 150+ | Rating: 99%
What’s Covered
- Sound Design Basics
- Synthesis Types
- Synthesis Elements
- The Wavetable
- The Matrix And Modulation
- The Simpler and the Sampler
- Using Sampler
- The Choke Setting
- Effects in Drum Racks
13. Complete Synth & Sound Design Course – Beginner to Pro
This sound design course starts with the basics of sound design, covering some music theory and synth terminology, before diving into sound shaping. You will learn about sound synthesis basics, sound waves, harmonics, and sound textures.
What’s Covered
- What are Synthesizers
- Types of Synths
- Synth Terminologies
- Shaping the Sound
- Giving Character to Our Sound
- Adding Some Movement to the Sound
14. Sound Design with Presonus Studio One
This course aims to teach sound designers and musicians how to use Presonus Studio One to create professional-sounding soundtracks.
The course covers various topics, including audio and MIDI device setup, creating synth basses, layering synths, processing sampled instruments, using a multi-oscillator, and more.
Students: 200+ | Rating: 99%
What’s Covered
- Audio and MIDI Devices Setup
- Creating a Synth Bass with Mojito
- Layering Synths with the Multi-Instrument
- Creating Your Own Sampled Instruments
- Slicing Up Beats
- Processing your Sampled Instruments
- Using a Multi Oscillator
- Creating an Evolving Pad Sound with Synthesis
- Sidechaining Synths
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Learn Sound Design Online?
Yes. Sound design courses online for beginners and professionals to improve your sound design skills. You can also find sound design tutorials, sound design lessons, and sound effect tutorials online.
What Is A Sound Design Course?
A sound design course focuses on sound recording, sound editing, and sound mixing. Sound design courses have the sound designer as the instructor who will guide the sound designer student through sound design techniques and methods step-by-step.
How Do I Start Sound Design?
The sound design process starts with sound recording. You need to record the sound first before you can edit and mix it. If you want to do sound design, you must have a sound design course to follow and sound effects to use.
What Skills Does A Sound Designer Need?
A sound designer needs to have sound recording skills, sound editing skills, and sound mixing skills. You need sound recording skills to record sound effects, sound editing skills to edit sound effects, and sound mixing skills to mix sound effects in a way that will sound good.
The world of music production is vast and ever-evolving, offering many career opportunities in the music industry. Software like Logic Pro X, Ableton Live, and Pro Tools are vital tools in this journey, and mastering them is key to producing high-quality audio.
Online courses offer comprehensive guides to these tools, giving beginners and pros alike a chance to learn or improve their skills at their own pace.
The online sound design courses listed on Skillshare cater to different aspects of music and audio production.
Whether you’re interested in creating electronic music or producing sound for video games, these courses have you covered.
They provide insights into using software instruments, working with a MIDI keyboard, and even sound design for films.
Ultimately, whether you’re a Logic Pro enthusiast, an Ableton Live devotee, or a Pro Tools professional, there’s a course tailored just for you. So why wait?
Start exploring these courses today and take a step closer to making your mark in the music industry.
Good luck with learning sound design. These courses should be an excellent start to learning the basics.
