Kadenze – The Missing Link Between Creativity & Online Education

It’s a great time for online education. Tons of courses are available, many of them offered by top quality institutions – for free! But what about creative and audio-related courses? Unfortunately, browsing the catalog of the leading MOOC platforms you wouldn’t find much.*
That’s why I got pretty excited a few weeks ago, when I found out about a new company, Kadenze that aims to become a hub for online courses in art, design, music and other disciplines.

Welcome kah-den-zay (kəˈdɛnzɛ)
Kadenze has just launched its platform. It boasts already some impressive partnerships with leading universities and institutions across the globe, like CalArts, CCA, Stanford, UCLA, Goldsmiths University of London, Otis College, SAIC, SeoulArts, Saint Joseph, etc.

Kadenze will offer free versions of the courses, as well as a Premium tier (one-month free trial, $7/month). Members will have access to many extra features like enrolling in For-Credit courses, receiving official college credit, grades and feedback, submitting assignments, etc.  Courses taken for credit are subject to a fee.

These are some of the next intriguing courses:

• An Introduction to Physics-Based Digital Audio Synthesis and Signal Processing
• Online Jamming and Concert Technology
• Sound Synthesis Using Reaktor
• Machine Learning for Musicians and Artists
• Creative Programming for Audiovisual Art
• Introducing Entrepreneurship for Musicians
• Sound Production in Ableton Live for Musicians and Artists

During the chat I had with the Kadenze guys a few days ago, we spoke about the upcoming Ableton Live course (starts on July 20, 2015).
I would recommend you to check this one out – not only because of its quite complete coverage of all Ableton Live can offer for sound production, but also because of the names behind it.
The course instructor is Jordan Hochenbaum, a well known artist and researcher (active also as Natan H), while the course guest lecturer is the uber-well-known Robert Henke, Ableton co-creator and popular electronic music artist (as Monolake), among other things.

Here’s a promotional video:

More than ever
I find the whole Kadenze concept (and its freemium model) very fascinating. It’s something that was missing in the online education world, and it could become a new reference point in the fields of art and creative technology. Let’s face it, in human history we never had as many quality creative tools (both HW and SW) so easily available as today. Software has never been so affordable and powerful (think of your DAW). But what’s power without knowledge? That’s why quality education (online and offline) matters more than ever, especially if it’s within reach of all users.
We’ll have more about Kadenze soon on ANR. In the meantime, check out the website, sign up for your free Premium month and tell us what you think.

*Note: I know, there are also specialized audio-focused online courses, but their business model makes them an ‘elite option’.