Commit to your craft or field of study, get a head start on college credits, or complete GE or pre-requisites to help accelerate your academic progress as a matriculating UCLA student. The 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.
Follow Your Curiosity
Summer Sessions begin June 21 & August 2.
SUMMER SESSIONS REMOTE FOR 2021
Guided by our need to protect the health and safety of our Bruin community against the COVID-19 pandemic, UCLA will continue to offer Summer Sessions remotely.
Current matriculated UCLA students can enroll in summer academic courses beginning February 1 on MyUCLA.
ACADEMIC SUMMER COURSES AT A GLANCE
Courses Offered
29
GE-Approved Courses
11
Summer Sessions
2
Featured Summer Courses
Songwriters on Songwriting 
Course Flyer
Explore the songwriting renaissance of the rock era. Examine the work of important songwriters of the post-World War II generation (circa 1952-1994) and those they have influenced.
Course Flyer
Music & Politics Course Flyer
Explore EDM from its origins in 1960’s pop and soul to the present, covering disco, house, techno, ambient, rave, and jungle.
Course Flyer
Anatomy of Popular Song Course Flyer
Explore the skills that go into creating an effective popular song. Learn how to create memorable melodies, emotionally compelling chord progressions, strong bass lines and professional sounding arrangements.
Course Flyer
Music and Religion in Popular Culture Course Flyer
Explore popular music in religious traditions since the 1970s, examining the growth of music in Jewish and Christian contemporary music, from evangelical to cross-over artists performing in the mainstream.
Course Flyer
Academic Courses Available for Current High School Students
Summer Sessions is a unique opportunity to advance your academic career. During the summer, many academic courses that make up UCLA’s regular curriculum are offered in two sessions, Session A and Session C. We hope you decide to join us for an academically, socially and culturally enriching experience!
View Pre-Approved Course List
See All School of Music
Summer Courses, Below:
Summer Courses, Below:
UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music Summer Courses
Register Now!
Advanced Music of China
Advanced performance of specializations in traditional vocal and instrumental music of China. May be repeated for credit without limitation. Course Flyer
ETHNMUS 168A
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: Li Chi
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: Li Chi
Advanced Music of India
Advanced performance of specializations in traditional vocal and instrumental music of India. Course Flyer
ETHNMUS 168F
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: A. Kaushal
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: A. Kaushal
Audio Technology for Musicians I
This course will provide an introduction to basic acoustic principles, practical techniques, and working procedures for equipment used in contemporary music production, including microphones, mixers, recorders, synthesizers, and sequencers. Basic sound processing operations (equalization, compression, distortion, reverberation). Operating principles of most popular systems of music production software and hardware (Ableton Live, Apple Logic, Avid ProTools, etc.). No prior musical training is required to enroll. Letter grading. Course Flyer
MSC IND 107A
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Summer Session C
Meets August 2-September 10, 2021
Instructor: TBA
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Summer Session C
Meets August 2-September 10, 2021
Instructor: TBA
Beatles
In this course you will examine the life and music of The Beatles within the social and historical context of the 1960s. Credit for both courses 68 and 168 not allowed. Formerly numbered Music History 68. P/NP or letter grading. Course Flyer
MUSCLG 68
Summer Session C
Meets August 2-September 10, 2021
Instructor: TBA
Summer Session C
Meets August 2-September 10, 2021
Instructor: TBA
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. Offered in summer only. Course Flyer
MUSC 80F
Summer Session C
Meets August 2-September 10, 2021
Instructor: Brandon Mayer
Summer Session C
Meets August 2-September 10, 2021
Instructor: Brandon Mayer
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. Course Flyer
MUSC 80A
Summer Session C
Meets August 2-September 10, 2021
Instructor: Sanaz Rezai
Summer Session C
Meets August 2-September 10, 2021
Instructor: Sanaz Rezai
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. Course Flyer
ETHNMUS M119
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: D. Story
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: D. Story
Global Pop
In this course you will explore the development of world music or world beat, including its meaning and importance to contemporary culture as well as its history and impact. Fulfills the Visual and Performance Arts Analysis and Practice requirement. GE-approved course. Course Flyer
ETHNMUS M25
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: D. Ross
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: D. Ross
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 reality of) political and spiritual transformation; electronic dance music as new art music. Formerly numbered Music History 8. P/NP or letter grading. GE-approved course. Course Flyer
MUSCLG 8
Summer Session C
Meets August 2-September 10, 2021
Instructor: TBA
Summer Session C
Meets August 2-September 10, 2021
Instructor: TBA
History of Rock and Roll
In this course you will analyze the forms, practices, and meanings of rock and roll music, broadly conceived, from its origin to present. This course will include an emphasis on how this music has reflected and influenced changes in sexual, racial, and class identities and attitudes. Credit for both courses 5 and 185 not allowed. Formerly numbered Music History 5. Course Flyer
MUSCLG 5
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: TBA
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: TBA
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. Course Flyer
MSC IND 112A
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: N. Pasternak
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: N. Pasternak
Jazz in American Culture: Late 19th Century through 1940s
In this course, you will study the development of jazz in American culture. You will discuss different compositional/performance techniques and approaches that distinguish different sub-styles of jazz from one another, as well as key historical figures that shaped the development of jazz from the late 19th century through the 1940s. Course M50A is not requisite to M50B. Fulfills the Visual and Performance Arts Analysis and Practice requirement. GE-approved course. Course Flyer
ETHNMUS M50A
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: A. Rivera
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: A. Rivera
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer 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. Formerly Music History M137. Same as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Studies M137. Letter grading. GE-approved course. Course Flyer
MUSCLG M137
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: TBA
Summer Session C
Meets August 2-September 10, 2021
Instructor: TBA
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: TBA
Summer Session C
Meets August 2-September 10, 2021
Instructor: TBA
Music and Politics
In this course, students will explore and demonstrate the various ways in which music is informed by and informs politics. From individual performances to mass demonstrations, music is recognizable as a political act and tool that is not simply representative, but also constitutive, meaning that music creates belief systems (politics). You will examine the development and use of music by social movements, political parties, and nations, and critical listening practices to better hear the world around us and sounds that compose its futures. Formerly Music History 69. P/NP or letter grading. Course Flyer
MUSCLG 69
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: TBA
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: TBA
Music and Religion in Popular Culture
In this course you will survey popular music in religious traditions since the 1970s. You will also examine the growth of music in Jewish denominations, including Orthodox, Reform and Conservative, and Christian contemporary music, from evangelical to cross-over artists performing in mainstream. Course Flyer
ETHNMUS M73
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: L. Avidan
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: L. Avidan
Music of China
Performance of specializations in traditional vocal and instrumental music of China. Course Flyer
ETHNMUS 68A
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: Li Chi
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: Li Chi
Music of Latin America: Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean Isles
In this course you will study traditional and contemporary musical culture in Latin America. 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. Course Flyer
ETHNMUS M108A
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: J. F. Cristobal
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: J. F. Cristobal
Preparatory Music Theory
This course will discuss music fundamentals, including musicianship, theory and terminology. Letter grading. Course Flyer
MUSC 3
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: Giovanni Piacentini
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: Giovanni Piacentini
Seminar in Music Industry
This course will provide you with an introduction to the intellectual and theoretical frameworks that form the Music Industry minor and that scholars of music and music industries have developed to analyze, understand, and perhaps judge what happens out there, including how music business works in financial, legal, global, and artistic terms, how music technologies of recording, reproduction, and consumption operate, and how basic music science from acoustics to brain biology to music perception affect how music is produced and heard. Letter grading. Required of Music Industry minors. Course Flyer
MSC IND 101
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: TBA
Summer Session C
Meets August 2-September 10, 2021
Instructor: TBA
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: TBA
Summer Session C
Meets August 2-September 10, 2021
Instructor: TBA
Songwriters on Songwriting
In this course we will cover songwriting, arrangement and record production, music publishing, and the recording business in the 20th and 21st centuries. The class experience features in-depth interviews with music industry songwriting professionals who will demonstrate individual creative processes, discuss their paths to songwriting and their place in the world of music. Note: this course is not a workshop or tutorial on how to write songs. If that’s your goal, please check out Music Industry 112A. Course Flyer
MSC IND 55
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: D. Leaf
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: D. Leaf
The Art of Music Production
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. Course Flyer
MSC IND 115
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: A. Moseley
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: A. Moseley
Understanding Movie Music
This course provides a brief historical survey of film music, with strong emphasis on recent development: Japanese animation, advertising, and MTV, as well as computer tools and digital scoring methods. This course is designed to inspire and inform those interested in movie music. P/NP or letter grading. Offered in summer only. Musical experience helpful, but not required. Course Flyer
MUSC 7
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: Michael Stein
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: Michael Stein
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. Course Flyer
MUSC 80V
Summer Session C
Meets August 2-September 10, 2021
Instructor: Jamie Chamberlin
Summer Session C
Meets August 2-September 10, 2021
Instructor: Jamie Chamberlin
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. Course Flyer
MUSCLG 12W
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: TBA
Instructor: TBA
Summer Session A
Meets June 21-July 30, 2021
Instructor: TBA
Instructor: TBA
Register Now!