Using online lessons or courses to learn can be one of the best things to do when you're stuck indoors, and MasterClass is perhaps one of the best and well-known places to learn. online. MasterClass is a repository of video courses taught by a variety of recognized experts, people who are the best in the field and have been around for a long time. You might as well learn how to write bestsellers from someone who literally has it, after all! So, to help you get familiar with MasterClass before you invest any money in it (yes, unlike other online courses, it's not free), we've designed this guide to help you understand the website.
How much does MasterClass cost?
MasterClass can cost a bit if you keep the membership, costing €15/£15 (around AU$30) per month or €180/£180 (around AU$320) for a yearly subscription. However, if you only want access to one class, it will cost you €90/€85 (around AU$170). It's about half the price of the annual pass, so if you find yourself using multiple courses per year, the annual pass is best. At the time of writing, there's a sale going on, so if you buy an annual subscription, someone else gets one for free (although I hope I'll give you half the price you paid to match it!). You can find this offer on the MasterClass website here. This offer is perfect for people stuck indoors and looking for something to do.
How do the MasterClass courses work?
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(Image credit: MasterClass) Each course offered is divided into small classes, which means they are all short, but there are a lot of them. Annie Leibovitz's photography course, for example, includes 15 12-minute lessons, while Neil Degrasse Tyson's "Scientific Thinking and Communication" course includes 13 12-minute lessons. These lessons also include folders. You can watch MasterClass lessons on your computer, as well as on your Android or iOS phone or tablet, and even on Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV streaming devices. Some MasterClass courses might actually be better on TV, so if you don't have an Amazon or Apple compatible device, check out some you can use here: Fire TV Stick 4K Streaming...
What MasterClass courses are offered and who teaches them?
There are many different courses in the MasterClass on a variety of topics, and we'll group them as such below. It should be noted that sometimes there are courses on the same topic, but different people are teaching them, probably offering different perspectives. Would-be cooks or bakers will find general courses like "cooking" to more specific skills like "Texas-style barbecue" and "fundamentals of French pastry" like Gordon Ramsay, Alice Waters, and Wolfgang Puck.
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(Image credit: MasterClass) Aspiring movie stars have plenty of options: Werner Hertzog, Jodie Foster, and Martin Scorsese teach filmmaking, Helen Mirren, Natalie Portman, and Samuel L. Jackson teach drama, David Lynch teaches creativity and filmmaking, and there you have even more to choose from. Many writers have courses here in different jurisdictions, with Margaret Atwood, Aaron Sorkin, Neil Gaiman, David Mamet, David Sedaris and Joyce Carol Oats all teaching courses in their specialty. The musicians are there too, with Herbie Hancock, teaching jazz, Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman, film music lessons, Tom Morello, guitar, deadmau5, electronic music production, and Usher, performance art. Also, Judd Apatow and Steve Martin teach "comedy." There are several other categories with renowned courses: Serena Williams runs the 'Tennis' course, Bob Iger teaches 'Business Strategy and Leadership' Bob Woodward runs 'Investigative Journalism', Annie Leibovitz teaches 'Photography' and Chris Hadfield is in charge of the space exploration. You can see a full list of all classes here.