Are you looking to take a Masterclass course but you’re not sure which one to choose? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. We’ve examined the best masterclass courses for every taste so that you don’t have to buy them and pray you’ve selected the right ones for your taste.
We’ve arranged the classes based on the most popular categories, such as self-development, acting, cooking, writing, art, sports, and much more. So keep reading to find out the top masterclass courses!
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Best Masterclass Courses for Self-Development
Let’s jump straight into the courses, shall we? Here are the courses you should be taking a look at if you want a good self-development class, ranked.
1. Chris Voss Teaches the Art of Negotiation
Negotiation is everywhere. Whether you’re negotiating a salary raise, your new job position, or arguing with your spouse who should do what chores – this is also a form of negotiation. So this skill is not only applicable in business settings, but also in everyday life.
This is why it’s one of the most versatile skills you can learn. And Chris Voss is an expert in negotiation, as he was a top FBI negotiator for many years. He has negotiated in some of the toughest cases with the FBI, from hostage situations to bank robberies.
But worry not, this Masterclass course doesn’t focus on hostage negotiation. Instead, it teaches you applicable skills that you can apply to your negotiations on a daily basis – skills such as mirroring (repeating the words that the other side uttered) and labeling.
The production quality is also top-notch, and Voss’s delivery style is a joy to behold. You’ll get sucked into it straight away, we guarantee you. And you might also want to read Voss’s book Never Split the Difference.
We recommend this course to everyone who wants to improve their negotiating skills no matter where they use them – in personal or professional life.
Read our full review of Chris Voss’s Masterclass course here.
2. Anna Wintour Teaches Creativity and Leadership
Anna Wintour is primarily known as the editor-in-chief of Conde Nast, although she’s been the primary editor of Vogue since 1988. Her day-to-day job involves managing teams of writers and content creators, so she has to know a thing or two about leadership.
And to become a Vogue editor-in-chief, you need to have the nous and the creativity to be able to withstand the strains of the job on a daily basis. She needs to make the right decisions every day, which comes from having good leadership and organizational skills.
In this Masterclass course, you can expect to learn more about leadership and decision-making. You can expect to learn useful things for your career such as interviewing, leadership, man management, but also some more creative skills such as finding a good designer and the importance of good images.
This course is for everyone that wants to improve their leadership skills and create their own leadership style to become a more effective leader.
3. Robin Roberts Teaches Effective and Authentic Communication
This course grabbed my attention straight from the start. Naturally, we all want to be better communicators, but many people have the wrong belief that you have to be born with this skill and there’s not much you can do about it.
Wrong! Mastering effective communication takes action and repetition, but it’s also important to know a couple of tips and tricks that will help you master this skill even faster. Whether it’s public speaking, one-on-one conversations, or group conversations, you’ll need to establish a genuine connection with the other participants.
And that’s not always easy to do, especially if you’re facing someone that’s a tough nut to crack and connect with. And Robin Roberts has mastered this skill to perfection through years and years of leading an American talk show Good Morning America on ABC.
She’ll show you how to craft your message better, how to establish a connection with other people faster, how to master public speaking and interviewing, how to communicate at work, and much more. This course is much more than just a showpiece of Robin’s effective communication skills – it has some really valuable lessons that anyone can benefit from.
You’ll find this course useful if you want to become a better conversationalist, or if you want to master public speaking, crush your job interviews, or establish a better connection with your conversation partners.
4. RuPaul Teaches Self-Expression and Authenticity
Look, the goal of this course is not for you to become a drag queen, like RuPaul. Instead, it will teach you how to find your true self and how to really express yourself, both with your words and with your appearance.
Before taking this course, I thought it was going to be a very niche course in the sense that it might only appeal to those with a flamboyant character. But after the first few lessons, I learned that it’s just so much more than that. It’ll teach you everything you need to express yourself better.
You’ll learn what methods RuPaul uses to express his true character – from meditation to finding the right people around you for support. You’ll also find advice if you’re someone who’s facing past traumas and how to move on from them.
This course is valuable to you if you’re someone who struggles to find your true character and you have trouble expressing your values.
5. Paul Krugman Teaches Economics and Society
We take important decisions on a daily basis. Whether it’s in our personal lives or financial lives, these decisions can impact our lives in the long run. And some decisions, especially financial ones, will determine how well we’ll live.
But not everyone understands economics and how finances work. That’s something that’s not taught in schools (unless you attend a specialized college for economics). And knowing more about finances can help you become more secure and make better decisions with your money.
You’ll learn how economics works, why economic crashes happen, and how money works in general. You’ll also see how some companies use certain tactics to persuade you to buy from them, and how to say no. It’s a valuable class for almost everyone.
Paul Krugman’s course is one of the most comprehensive economics courses on the Internet, so if you’re interested in this topic, you should not miss it.
Read our full review of this course here.
Best Writing Masterclass Courses
Are you a writer? Then you’ll find some exceptional courses for becoming an even better one. Here are the ones I’ve tried and liked best.
1. Malcolm Gladwell Teaches Writing
A good writer knows how to find a good story, research it, and tell it with his or her own style. Another big challenge writers face is keeping the attention of the readers to read all the way through their articles or works of art.
The goal of a writer is not just to repeat the old and well-known stories – it is, in fact, to find a new twist in those stories and convey something new to their readers. To educate them, and to entice them to new ideas. But this takes hard work and deep research, but also the ability to write in an engaging manner.
Malcolm Gladwell, a world-renowned journalist, will teach you all of the above, and much more. He’ll show you how to select a good story, develop it and research it, and then write in an enticing and exciting way that resonates with your style.
Malcolm Gladwell’s course is for everyone that likes to write, either for pleasure or for work. It’s a bit more focused on journalism, but it carries lessons for almost any type of writer.
If you want to learn more about this course, read our full review of it.
2. Margaret Atwood Teaches Creative Writing
Creative writing is an entirely different beast than journalism. Yet some concepts remain the same. It doesn’t involve as much research, although the hallmark of a good creative writer is the ability to tell engaging stories that will let the readers’ minds create an image of the written words inside their minds.
Margaret Atwood is a world-famous Canadian novelist who’s won the Booker Prize twice. She’s written some of the best-selling books ever, such as The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments, Alias Grace, and Oryx and Crake.
In this course, you’ll learn that creating stories is like putting blocks together. She’ll teach you how to create these blocks and how to put them together in order to create engaging stories. That’s a slightly different approach I’ve seen from some other writers on Masterclass, which makes for an interesting watch.
Take this course if you want to become a better creative writer, whether you write poems, novels, or you want to master the art of storytelling.
3. Neil Gaiman Teaches the Art of Storytelling
Gaiman’s course is, in my opinion, a must-have course for any type of writer. Why? Because storytelling is widely present in almost any type of writing. Are you a journalist? Then you need to present your story in an enticing way. For creative writers, storytelling is even more important.
If you can master storytelling, then you’ll do well as a writer. It’s a skill that’s applicable to any type of writing, and it’s certainly helped Neil Gaiman’s career – not only is he a novel writer, he also writes comics, for radio and screenplays.
You’ll learn how to find your voice and how to start developing your characters which will pull your readers in. Everyone wants to get lost in a good book with good storytelling, and you’ll be able to learn this skill from this course.
And no, storytelling is not this magic ingredient that only a few selected are born with – instead, Neil Gaiman will show you that it’s possible to learn it from scratch and improve your writing skills with it – it takes hard work and practice, and a good deal of creativity.
Take Neil Gaiman’s course if you’re a writer – no matter what type. It’s going to improve your storytelling skills, which are applicable to any type of writing.
4. Dan Brown Teaches Writing Thrillers
Dan Brown is THE master of thriller writing. He’s written one of the most famous books of all time, The Da Vinci Code, as well as world-renowned books Angels and Demons, Inferno, and Origin.
And it doesn’t matter if you don’t like thrillers – there’s some knowledge sprinkled in this course for almost any type of writing. But obviously, this course is a must-have if you love Dan Brown’s writing style and you want to become a thriller writer yourself.
It’s a great course done in an informative yet entertaining style. In it, you’ll find some nice tips and tricks along with some sprinkles of magic added to the course, which will (hopefully) help you create amazing thrillers and tell better stories.
Dan Brown’s course is a must-have for Dan Brown lovers, but also for those who would like to learn how to write thrillers. It’s also a great course for any type of writer.
5. Salman Rushdie Teaches Storytelling and Writing
Salman Rushdie’s writing style is a joy to behold. He combines history with magic and fiction, allowing him to create unique stories interspersed with parts from real history, making up for an exciting read.
If you like this style, then you’ll love the course. Rushdie’s course will teach you how to use the right type of language to tell your story. But this kind of writing requires you to use the musicality in the language, as Salman calls it.
Of course, you’ll also learn other fundamental storytelling skills, such as creating characters, developing the story, and adding some uniqueness into the story. You’ll find some unique takes on storytelling and writing in this course.
Take this course if you want to become a better storyteller, and you want to develop your own specific style.
6. Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting
If you’re interested in how movie scripts are created, then you NEED to watch this course. It’ll show you how Aaron Sorkin does screenwriting, and how some of the best scripts were written for movies such as:
- A Few Good Men
- Moneyball
- The Social Network
- The West Wing
It all starts with ideas. But having an idea is still very raw, and it takes a lot of research still. Then, you’ll need to develop your characters. When you have that, you can start telling the story – which needs to be written in your own style, of course.
You’ll also find some nice group workshops inside the course, which will add some value to your writing skills. There’s a lot you can learn about movie-making, too, and how writing should be done for movie scripts.
If you’re interested in screenwriting and movie scriptwriting, then Aaron Sorkin’s course is the go-to class for you.
Other Great Writing Courses
There are a plethora of excellent writing courses on Masterclass, and we’d be doing them an injustice if we didn’t even mention them here. Here are some great alternatives you can consider:
- David Baldacci Teaches Mystery and Thriller Writing
- Billy Collins Teaches Reading and Writing Poetry
- Judy Blume Teaches Writing
- James Patterson Teaches Writing
- David Sedaris Teaches Storytelling and Humor
Best Sports and Gaming Masterclass Courses
Are you a sports enthusiast? Then Masterclass has some nice courses in its arsenal that are sure to pique your interest.
1. Steph Curry Teaches Shooting, Ball-Handling, and Scoring
Do you want to be able to drain those three-pointer shots just like Steph Curry does? Then this Masterclass course is going to be an exciting one for you. Inside, you’ll learn some secrets that Steph Curry uses to land his shots, handle the ball like a master, and score as many points as possible.
It all comes with practice, though, and having the proper shooting technique nailed down. The best thing about this course is that you can learn as you watch the course. It will give you a nice shooting spreadsheet to track your shooting progress, so you can always come back and re-watch Curry’s classes.
Steph Curry is known as one of the best three-point shooters in NBA history. He has had to develop this skill because of his diminutive size – in NBA terms, at least. You’ll also learn some great tips and tricks for ball handling as well as some nice tactical plays to enhance your basketball knowledge.
Take this course if you’re a basketball enthusiast, Steph Curry adorer, or just someone who wants to improve their basketball skills, especially shooting and ball handling.
You can read our full review of Steph Curry’s Masterclass here.
2. Tony Hawk Teaches Skateboarding
Tony Hawk is the biggest skateboarding legend of all time. He’s managed to help turn a hobby into a real and competitive sport. And at the highest level, skateboarding is much more than just a collection of fancy tricks.
It’s all about precision and technique, but also your personal style. This sport is becoming increasingly popular because it allows you to express yourself. Whether you do it as a hobby or if you’re serious about it and want to get competitive, this course will give you the basics.
In it, you’ll learn Tony Hawk’s story and how he helped make this sport an Olympic sport. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Tony Hawk course without some of his best tricks inside. But you’ll also learn the real basics of skateboarding such as steering and keeping balance.
Get this course if you want to learn skateboarding and you want to learn more about Tony Hawk and how he became a skateboarding pro.
You can learn more about Tony Hawk’s course here.
3. Danel Negreanu Teaches Poker
For a long time, poker was perceived as a game of chance and luck. After all, it’s all about the cards you receive and the cards that are turned on the table, right?
Wrong. And Daniel Negreanu will show you exactly why that is. First, your poker playing potential comes from your knowledge about the game and the hands that can win you money. Second, you’ll need to develop bluffing skills and other tournament tactics to win at a higher level.
You’ll also need to know exactly when to bet and when to fold, and also how much to bet. You’ll see that poker is actually a very deep game that requires thought and good decision making. If you’re fascinated by Daniel Negreanu or just poker in general, you’ll absolutely love this course.
Daniel Negreanu’s course is for everyone who wants to improve their poker skills.
Read our full review of this course here.
4. Serena Willaims Teaches Tennis
Do you want to learn more about Serena Williams and her tennis journey? Then take this course. Do you want to learn about proper tennis techniques? Take it. Do you want to develop a pro player’s mindset? It’s a great one, too.
This course is a great resource for almost any tennis player – no matter if you’re a beginner or already a skilled player. The course is a bit on the shorter side – it is “only” 2 hours long, and it has 10 lessons. But all of those are valuable for any type of tennis player.
You’ll also see the technique behind Williams’ powerful serve, which is her ticket for winning so many games. But of course, she’s known as one of the most complete female tennis players ever, and you’ll learn more about her tennis journey, too.
This course is for every type of tennis player.
Here’s our full review of this course.
Other Great Sports Masterclass Courses
There are not that many courses in the sports category, but here are some other alternatives you can consider:
- Garry Kasparov Teaches Chess
- Misty Copeland Teaches Ballet Technique and Artistry
- Simone Biles Teaches Gymnastics Fundamentals
Best Music Masterclass Courses
The scope of the music category of Masterclass courses is quite wide, so we’ll consider courses on singing, guitar playing, music producing, and everything in between. These are the best music Masterclass Courses you can take.
1. deadmau5 Teaches Electronic Music Production
Electronic music production is a form of art. Sadly, it’s still underappreciated by many, although the truth is that you need to have skills and a lot of musical sense to compose fantastic pieces of music.
Note that before you start this course, you’ll want to have a decent command of your skills when it comes to EDM. However, you can expect to get away so much more out of this course than you would get from watching Youtube videos, for example.
You’ll be able to hear how deadmau5 makes his music in particular, and you’ll also be able to peek over his shoulders to see his working process. This sort of thing is invaluable. You’ll get some high-level tips if you’re already an experienced producer, but there’s a lot of ground work covered in the course, making it friendly for all skills levels.
Get this course if you’re an electronic music producer or if you’re looking to break into this field and get tips and tricks from one of the best EDM producers in the world.
Want to know more about the deadmau5 course? Read our full review here.
2. Tom Morello Teaches Electric Guitar
Tom Morello’s course is for everyone that wants to learn how to play a guitar – an electric guitar in particular. The Nightwatchman, which is Morello’s alias, has worked on hundreds of projects involving guitar music. He’s well known for making folk music which involves a mixture of guitar and singing.
Inside the course, you’ll be able to learn many new skills and stuff from the ground up. You’ll learn very basic stuff which beginners will find useful, such as gear, tones, how to play solos, and more. Although it’s not a course for complete beginners, you’ll find many tips for all skill levels.
And if you’re interested in Morello’s path in his musical career, then there’s another huge reason right there to get this course. Overall, it’s one of the more complete guitar courses online sprinkled with stellar tips from one of the best guitarists currently alive.
If you want to learn how to play an electric guitar, or if you’re looking to get some high-level tips, then Tom Morello’s Masterclass is great for you.
3. Timbaland Teaches Producing and Beatmaking
Even if you’re not a massive fan of beatmaking and R&B music, you’ll love this course. Actually, it might warm you up to the genre because it shows you how things are done behind the scene, and you might start to appreciate the complexity of this type of music.
Timbaland is one of the best beat makers in the world. And you’ll have the chance to learn from him in this course. Yes, you’ll hear quite a lot about Timbaland himself and how he does music, but you’ll also find some actionable tips that might make your fingers itchy and might inspire your music creation buds.
Take Timbaland’s course if you’re interested in R&B, beat making, and you’re wondering to see how such music gets produced.
We’ve taken the course and reviewed it ourselves – here’s how it stacks up.
4. Carlos Santana Teaches the Art and Soul of the Guitar
Carlos Santana’s course is for experienced guitar players. You can consider it to be a high-level course on guitar playing that will help you develop your own playing style, and master the art and soul of guitar.
Santana’s a world-renowned musician, and he’s been influenced by music styles from all around the world. This creates a unique and interesting mixture of music that’s typical of Carlos Santana.
You might or might not enjoy the wordy teaching style of Santana, who will take you through his career and his thought process when it comes to guitar playing. But it’s an enjoyable course especially if you’re an advanced guitar played and need a new perspective on your music.
Carlos Santana’s Masterclass course is for advanced guitar players who need to develop their own playing style.
Other Great Music Masterclass Courses
These are all great and versatile courses that you can also consider:
- Hans Zimmer Teaches Film Scoring
- Armin van Buuren Teaches Dance Music
- Alicia Keys Teaches Songwriting and Producing
- Usher Teaches the Art of Performance
- Christina Aguilera Teaches Singing
- Danny Elfman Teaches Music for Film
Best Food Masterclass Courses
The food category of Masterclass Courses is brimmed with quality, so let’s get cracking.
1. Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking I and II
Gordon Ramsay is definitely the star of the show when it comes to cooking classes on Masterclass. If you take his two courses on cooking, you’ll probably have more than enough in your arsenal to at least become a decent cook. But practice makes perfect, so you’ll need to take the advice and put it into play.
You’ll have two courses from Ramsay on Masterclass: the first one teaches you about the basics – how to hold a knife, how to pick your ingredients, kitchen layout, and recipes for some of the most common meals.
The second one builds on the knowledge you get from the first one. You’ll learn some more complex recipes such as Szechuan roasted whole chicken or Raspberry souffle (14 lessons altogether).
Pair this with Ramsay’s excellent delivery style (exactly what you’d expect from him), and you get a powerful combination that will help almost any chef with useful tidbits of knowledge, as well as some tasty and irresistible recipes.
Gordon Ramsay’s cooking classes on Masterclass are great for any type of cook – no matter if you’re a beginner or an expert, or if you prefer meat meals, salads, or desserts.
If you want to learn more about Ramsay’s classes, read our in-depth review here.
2. Aaron Franklin Teaches Texas-Style BBQ
Getting the meat just right when barbecuing is not easy – that’s something you might have learned if you’ve tried it yourself. And Aaron Franklin will show you how to get it right most of the time in his Masterclass.
Inside the course, you’ll learn how to set up your barbecue in order to get the best results possible – everything from choosing the right wood to having the right equipment. Then, you’ll learn what types of meat cook well and what types need some more time to get done.
The course is full of useful pieces of knowledge that will help you transform yourself into a barbecuing pro.
Get Franklin’s Masterclass if you want to enjoy perfectly cooked BBQ meat and impress your friends or family.
Other Great Cooking Masterclass Courses
If you want to learn other styles of cooking, here are some great classes you can also try:
- Gabriela Camara Teaches Mexican Cooking
- Thomas Keller Teaches Cooking Techniques
- Massimo Bottura Teaches Modern Italian Cooking
- Alice Waters Teaches the Art of Home Cooking
Best Arts & Entertainment Masterclass Courses
This category of Masterclass courses is quite wide, so let’s get right into it.
1. Samuel L. Jackson Teaches Acting
“Say what again! I dare you! I double-dare you!” Know that quote? This legendary quote comes from Pulp Fiction and is uttered by Jules, a figure played by Samuel L. Jackson. This movie represents Jackson’s pinnacle, although he starred in some exquisite movies, such as Django Unchained, Die Hard, and The Hateful Eight.
His Masterclass? It starts by creating your character, and it teaches you to develop and imagine yourself as this character. You need to learn how to move like them, speak like them, think and behave like them.
In the class, you’ll also learn some acting techniques for learning your script and other useful tidbits of knowledge from an actor that’s done it all. He also tells you how to grow your acting career.
Jackson’s acting Masterclass is for those who are just getting into acting or have been into it for some years, and for those who love Jackson.
2. Martin Scorsese Teaches Filmmaking
Scorsese needs no introduction as a film director, so we’ll jump straight into his course. In it, you can expect to learn a lot about Scorsese himself and his career, and how he got into filmmaking (initially, he wanted to become a priest but failed).
Later on, you’ll find some high-level information and tips such as developing your style, managing influences, finding the story, casting actors, finding locations, costumes, production, and much, much more.
To be honest, this course is over the top with the information for a regular, hobby filmmaker. So this course might only be applicable to a narrow audience of young and aspiring film directors. But since Scorsese is a high-profile teacher and the course is so fascinating, it’s a great one for everyone that’s ever watched and enjoyed a Scorsese flick.
Take this course if you’re a movie lover.
3. Helen Mirren Teaches Acting
This is a fantastic acting course that will inspire any actor of any skill level. But it’s especially great for those who don’t believe they have the acting chops yet. It will give them the confidence they’ll need to develop a career.
To be honest, Mirren was not a natural when it comes to acting. She grew into it, which makes this Masterclass even more fascinating. This course is different from Samuel L. Jackson’s course, which is a bit more focused on Hollywood, while this course is a bit more focused in classic, Shakespeare-like acting.
The class is full of actionable tips for up-and-coming actors, such as how to pick your role (and avoid choosing wrong ones), find and research your character, preparation, and much more.
This course is a must-watch for any aspiring actor, especially if you love Helen Mirren or if you’re into theaters.
4. Ron Howard Teaches Directing
Movie directing is a mixture of man management, determination, research, and having a clear idea about the story and the setting. As a movie director, Howard’s best works include Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, and Inferno.
He’s been a movie director for almost 40 years, although he has plenty of experience in other parts of moviemaking. So you’ll be blessed with the knowledge Ron’s accumulated in these 40+ years in filmmaking. You’ll learn how to direct a movie, choosing a story, refining a script, and cinematography in general.
It’s a great course for anyone aspiring to become active in movie making, especially in film directing.
5. Annie Leibovitz Teaches Photography
Photography is a form of art. Annie Leibovitz’s course is the only photography course on Masterclass, and it’s a great one. After taking some photography courses from other sources, we believe that this one is more of a high-level course.
Sure, it will teach you some fundamentals. But if you’re looking for real technical details, you may not learn as much as you would from other courses. Where this course shines is teaching you the essentials of quality photography, such as picking your location, picking the right subject and location, and some technical details.
We believe this course will benefit anyone who wants to learn more about photography.
Other Great Arts & Entertainment Masterclass Courses
This category is filled with quality courses, so we’d be doing an injustice to some of these courses if we didn’t at least mention them:
- Jodie Foster Teaches Filmmaking
- Judd Apatow Teaches Comedy
- Natalie Portman Teaches Acting
- Jimmy Chin Teaches Adventure Photography
- Jeff Koons Teaches Art and Creativity
Best Home & Lifestyle Courses
This category is also very broad, so we’ll only mention the best courses in this category (you can pick your favorite courses based on your preferences and hobbies). These are all lovely courses, although they’re quite niche and might suit you if you’re interested in the topics.
- Apollonia Poilane Teaches Bread Baking
- Brandon McMillan Teaches Dog Training
- Ron Finley Teaches Gardening
- Dr. Jane Goodall Teaches Conservation
- James Suckling Teaches Wine Appreciation
- Penn & Teller Teaches the Art of Magic
- Lynette Marrero & Ryan Chetiyawardana Teach Mixology
- Kelly Wearstler Teaches Interior Design
- Matthew Walker Teaches The Science of Better Sleep
Final Thoughts
So now that you know some of the best Masterclass Courses in each category, which one are you going to pick next? You can choose multiple ones or just watch all of them (although that might take ages!) if you go for the Masterclass yearly subscription, which gives you an all-round access to all of the courses. No matter which topic you like, it has a great Masterclass course taught by a superstar.