SUMMER COURSES
2024
UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music Summer Courses
Register Now!
Beatles
This course is an examination of the music of the Beatles within social, economic, historical, and artistic contexts of the 1960s. Using recordings, films, and written material we will examine the Beatles, their artistic circles, and their fans and detractors as significant historical actors.We will examine how the Beatles used elements of music and poetry in creating their musical works; how others, including producers and recording engineers, contributed to that creation; and how listeners in the UK and the US experienced their music in the past, and continue to experience it today. GE-approved course
MUSCLG 68
Summer Session C
Meets August 3- September 11, 2026
Mon and Wed, 1:00pm-3:00pm
Online
Summer Session C
Meets August 3- September 11, 2026
Mon and Wed, 1:00pm-3:00pm
Online
LGBTQ+ Perspectives in Pop Music
In this course, you will survey English-language popular music in the 20th century, with a focus on lesbians, gay men, and members of other sexual minorities as creators, performers, and audience members. GE-approved course.Â
Summer Session C
August 3 – September 11, 2026
Mon & Wed, 11:00-2:00 p.m.
Online
August 3 – September 11, 2026
Mon & Wed, 11:00-2:00 p.m.
Online
Music and Gender
Analysis of gender ideologies in several musical cultures; representations of gender, body, and sexuality by both male and female musicians; contributions of women to Western art and popular musics; methods in feminist and gay/lesbian theory and criticism. GE-approved course
Summer Session A
Meets June 22-July 31, 2026
Tues & Thurs, 10am-1pm
Online
Meets June 22-July 31, 2026
Tues & Thurs, 10am-1pm
Online
Music and Internet
Survey of changes undergone by music in digital environment. As music becomes increasingly pervasive--found everywhere, yet living nowhere special--what social, economic, political, and aesthetic forces are determining centers of attention? Examination of formative force of Internet on sounds themselves. What kinds of noises develop logically within digital context, where creative freedoms and public disinterest are equally apparent? What does Internet sound like? GE-approved course.
MUSCLG 94
Summer Session A
Meets from June 22nd - July 31st, 2026
Online
Summer Session A
Meets from June 22nd - July 31st, 2026
Online
India through Music
Exploration of major aspects of society, history, and culture in India through music. Highlights lines of power in particular, notably, those of caste, class, gender, colonialism, and nationalism. Satisfies Writing II Requirement.
Summer Session A
June 22 – July 31, 2026
M/W 11am-1:30pm
ONLINE COURSE
June 22 – July 31, 2026
M/W 11am-1:30pm
ONLINE COURSE
Music of Latin America
In this course you will study traditional and contemporary musical culture in Latin America; Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean Isles. Course M108A is not requisite to 108B. Same as Chicana/o and Central American Studies M108A Fulfills the Visual and Performance Arts Analysis and Practice requirement. GE-approved course.
Summer Session A
June 22 – July 31, 2026
MW 11am-1:30pm
ONLINE COURSE
June 22 – July 31, 2026
MW 11am-1:30pm
ONLINE COURSE
Cultural History of Rap
This course will introduce you to the development of rap music and hip-hop culture, with an emphasis on musical and verbal qualities, philosophical and political ideologies, gender representation, and influences on cinema and popular culture. Same as African American Studies M107. Fulfills the Visual and Performance Arts Analysis and Practice requirement. GE-approved course.
Summer Session A
June 22 – July 31, 2026
T/Th 11am-1:30pm
ONLINE COURSE
June 22 – July 31, 2026
T/Th 11am-1:30pm
ONLINE COURSE
Rock/Pop Studio Ensemble
This course will provide you with a performance-based introduction to popular music styles, forms, and competencies through immersion in studio performance techniques. Students will play in groups to develop ensemble, create material and produce recordings. P/NP or letter grading.
Summer Session C
August 3 – September 11, 2026
MW 12pm-2:50pm
August 3 – September 11, 2026
MW 12pm-2:50pm
Introduction to Songwriting
Learn and employ the craft of songwriting in this course. Students will examine, analyze, and implement song structure, lyric and melody writing, arranging, orchestrating and recording techniques. Students will also learn about the evolution of songwriting in modern society, as well as how songs and society both affect and reflect one another. No prior musical training is necessary to take this class, but you will be required to make music and perform at your level of ability. Formerly MSC IND 112. Letter grading.Â
Summer Session A
June 22 - July 31, 2026
Th 11am-2:50pm
June 22 - July 31, 2026
Th 11am-2:50pm
The Art of Music Production I
Explore techniques, methods, and processes of music production and larger issues in the art of making music. You will learn how to foster and capture performance and emotion in music using a variety of methods and tools, including artistic direction in studio and choices made in sound, arrangement, and application of technology. Letter grading.
Summer Session A
June 22 – July 31, 2026
M 10am-12pm
W 10am-1pm
June 22 – July 31, 2026
M 10am-12pm
W 10am-1pm
Fundamentals of Music Industry
Introduction to current music industry. Overview of career paths, monetization strategies, organizational behavior, and entrepreneurial thinking. Designed to serve as gateway for music industry degree programs. Students familiarize themselves with basic functions of industry that are covered in greater detail in upper-division coursework. Letter grading.
Summer Session A
June 22 – July 31, 2026
W 4:30pm-7:30pm
June 22 – July 31, 2026
W 4:30pm-7:30pm
Fostering Musical Creativity: Artists and Repertoires
Beginning from psychology of creativity (James, Dewey, Csikszentmihalyi) and management literature, exploration of creative process and how to foster and control it; and collaborative process with producer, manager, labels, and other executives. Topics include path of artist; recognizing creative individuality; structure and freedom; collaboration and how teams work, including inside and outside concert hall and recording studio; negotiation and career-building; feed-back and evaluation. Special attention to musical creativity and its rhythms.
Summer Session A
June 22 – July 31, 2026
M 4pm-6:50pm
June 22 – July 31, 2026
M 4pm-6:50pm
Beginning Keyboard
Students learn simple keyboard skills together with basic aspects of music theory and its practical application to keyboard: sight-reading, tonality, chords, scales, cadences, simple compositions, and improvisations. May be repeated for credit without limitation. P/NP or letter grading. Offered in summer only.
Summer Session A
June 22 – July 31, 2026
MWF 9am-10:20am
Summer Session C
August 3 - September 11, 2026
MWF 9am-10:20am
June 22 – July 31, 2026
MWF 9am-10:20am
Summer Session C
August 3 - September 11, 2026
MWF 9am-10:20am
Beginning Guitar
Receive an introduction to guitar techniques, accompanying, and arranging for guitar; coverage of note reading and tablature. May be repeated for credit without limitation. P/NP or letter grading.
Summer Session A
June 22 – July 31, 2026
T/Th 12pm-1:50pm
Summer Session C
August 3 - September 11, 2026
T/Th 12pm-1:50pm
June 22 – July 31, 2026
T/Th 12pm-1:50pm
Summer Session C
August 3 - September 11, 2026
T/Th 12pm-1:50pm
Vocal Technique for Beginners
This course provides voice instruction for singers at the beginner to intermediate level. You will explore the fundamentals of vocal technique, including an overview of the basics of proper breath control, resonance, care of voice, diction and interpretation. Beginning vocal repertoire will be used as a vehicle for understanding these concepts. May be repeated for credit without limitation. P/NP or letter grading. Offered in summer only.
Summer Session A
June 22 – July 31, 2026
T/Th 11am-1:50pm
Summer Session C
August 3 - September 11, 2026
T/Th 11am-1:50pm
June 22 – July 31, 2026
T/Th 11am-1:50pm
Summer Session C
August 3 - September 11, 2026
T/Th 11am-1:50pm
Writing about Music
In this course you will learn specific skills, incorporating technical description, historical contextualization, subjective reaction, and the certain stylistic conventions necessary in writing about music. Formerly numbered Music History 12W. Letter grading. Enforced requisite: English Composition 3 or 3H or English as a Second Language 36. Satisfies Writing II requirement. Summer Session A
June 22 - July 31, 2026
Mon & Wed, 10:00-1:00 p.m.
In Person
AND
Mon & Wed, 10:00-1:00 p.m.
Online
Summer Session C
August 3 – September 11, 2026
Tue & Thurs, 10:00-1:00 p.m.
In Person
AND
Tue & Thu, 10:00-1:00 p.m.
Online
June 22 - July 31, 2026
Mon & Wed, 10:00-1:00 p.m.
In Person
AND
Mon & Wed, 10:00-1:00 p.m.
Online
Summer Session C
August 3 – September 11, 2026
Tue & Thurs, 10:00-1:00 p.m.
In Person
AND
Tue & Thu, 10:00-1:00 p.m.
Online
History of Rock 'n Roll
In this course, you will analyze the forms, practices, and meanings of rock and roll music, broadly conceived, from its origin to the present. This course will include an emphasis on how this music has reflected and influenced changes in sexual, racial, and class identities and attitudes. GE-approved course
Summer Session A
June 22 - July 31, 2026
Asynchronous Lecture
Synchronous Discussion Times on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Online
June 22 - July 31, 2026
Asynchronous Lecture
Synchronous Discussion Times on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Online
Film and Music
History of music and cinema, particularly ways music is used to produce meanings in conjunction with visual image. GE-approved Course.
Summer Session C
August 3 - September 11, 2026
Asynchronous Lecture
Synchronous discussion sections
Mon & Wed, 10am-12pm
August 3 - September 11, 2026
Asynchronous Lecture
Synchronous discussion sections
Mon & Wed, 10am-12pm
History of Electronic Dance Music
In this course you will survey groove-based electrified dance music from its origins in 1960s pop and soul to present, covering disco, house, techno, ambient, rave and jungle. This course will emphasize the interaction of technology, musical structures, psychoactive drugs, and club cultures to induce altered states of musical consciousness; promise (versus the reality of) political and spiritual transformation; electronic dance music as new art music. GE-approved course.
Summer Session C
August 3 – September 11, 2026
Mon & Wed, 10:00-1:00 p.m.
Online
August 3 – September 11, 2026
Mon & Wed, 10:00-1:00 p.m.
Online
Follow Your Curiosity
2024 Summer Sessions begin June 24 & August 5.
Register now!
Current matriculated UCLA students can enroll in summer academic courses beginning February 1 on MyUCLA.
Commit to your craft or field of study, get a head start on college credits, or complete GE or prerequisites to help accelerate your academic progress as a matriculating UCLA student.
The UCLA Herb Alpert School School of Music offers a number of summer courses in music performance, music industry, music history, and world music. Courses are open to high school students as well as musicians and scholars at any skill level. (Some courses have pre-requisites; students may petition for an exception by contacting info@summer.ucla.edu.)
Study alongside scholars, musicians, and music industry professionals to expand upon your current skill set or follow your curiosity and explore something new!
Register Now!