
Explore the frighteningly strange history of music through Halloween stories about curses, theft, and eerie legends surrounding composers, producers, and songwriters. Enjoy this hour of spooky music history entertainment.
Selects a family-friendly collection of myths and rumors about music, including curses and hauntings, while centering on the law around music and providing a content warning.
this lecture provides a content warning for suicide and death in music stories, discussing a case of suicide with non-graphic detail, and offering wrap-up guidance for sensitive viewers.
Trace the crossroads legend in blues lore, where a guitarist sells his soul to the devil for guitar mastery, linking Robert Johnson, Sun House, and the 27 Club.
Explore the tarantella, a taranto-origin folk rhythm linked to a dancing mania and tarantula myths. See how mandolin, drums, accordion, tambourines, and flute drive this dance across classical repertoires.
Explore the haunting origins of Gloomy Sunday, a sad song blamed for suicides, banned in Hungary and England, and later performed by Billie Holiday and other artists.
Explore the Glass Armonica, an ethereal 18th-century instrument by Benjamin Franklin that inspired Mozart yet was blamed for madness and a curse, likely due to lead poisoning.
Explore the real-life Halloween tale of Joseph Haydn's stolen head, linked to phrenology, grave robbing, and the skull's journey through collectors, researchers, and a modern tomb.
Explore ninth symphony curse, the belief that composing a ninth foretells death or a missing tenth, with Beethoven, Bruckner, Dvorak, and Mahler renaming the ninth Das Lied von der Erde.
Discover a wide range of music topics—from theory and history to ear training and production—through free and paid classes, including Ableton Live, mixing, mastering, and sound design.
100% Answer Rate! Every single question posted to this class is answered within 24 hours by the instructor.
Welcome to the dark side of music.
For centuries, musicians have been haunted by ghosts, the devil, curses, and more. In this class, I'll tell you all about the history of 6 infamous incidents involving the dark history of music.
If you've taken any of my other classes, you know that as a PhD in music, I've studied music essentially my whole life. In that time I've come across these stories (and many more), and I've been looking for a way to put them into a class. So I decided a special Halloween class was finally in order.
This class will take you through my six favorite stories from the dark side of music. Including:
An incident where a whole city nearly danced themselves to death from a simple melody - one that you've heard hundreds of times.
The famous story of bluesman Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil, and how that connects to Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Jamis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix.
A song that was so sad it was believed to be cursed, and was banned from being played by the BBC and entire countries around the world.
An instrument so ethereal that players and audiences went mad, establishing a belief that the instrument was cursed.
A famous composer's head was stolen, and (maybe) is still missing - probably sitting on someone's bookshelf to this day.
The course of the 9th Symphony, and how one composer tried to cheat fate.
If you don't know me, I've published a lot of classes here. Those classes have been really successful (top sellers, in fact!), and this has been one of the most requested classes that my students (over 1,000,000 of them) have asked for. I'm really excited to finally be able to bring this to you.
"So what is the goal of this class? What will I get out of it?"
Really I wanted to make this class because I thought it would be fun to make. And it was!
I hope you get some job out of it, and maybe a little scare. You will probably learn a few things, too.
My Promise to You:
I am a full-time Music composer and Educator. If you have any questions please post them in the class or send me a direct message. I will respond within 24 hours. And if you find this class isn't for you, I am more than happy for you to take advantage of the 30-day money-back guarantee. No questions asked.
What makes me qualified to teach you?
In addition to being a composer and educator, I also have a Ph.D. in music, I am a university music professor, and have a long list of awards for teaching.
But more importantly: I use this stuff every day. I write music professionally, am an active guitarist, and stay on top of all the latest production techniques, workflows, and styles. As you will see in this class, I just love this stuff. And I love teaching it.
Let's get started!
See you in lesson 1.
All best,
Jason (but call me Jay...)