With the weather still boiling and New Orleans hitting its downtime between summer festivals and tourist season, many of us are spending more time indoors in the air conditioning. Make your time productive by taking one of these free online courses:

• Basic Concepts of Music Theory – Free – Jamie Henke, U. of Wisconsin
• Dave Conservatoire (Music Theory Lessons) – Free – David Rees, Royal College of Music, London
• Free Music Courses (Multiple Offerings) – Free – Berklee College of Music
• Introduction to World Music – Free – Missouri State, John Prescott
• Jazz and Culture – Free – Andrew Barnes, Arizona State
• Listening to Music – Free –  Craig Wright, Yale
• Politics in Music – Free – Courtney Brown, Emory Craig Wright, Yale
• The Ethics of Jazz (Series) – Free – Herbie Hancock, Harvard
• The Langauge of Music – Free – Amy Muchnick, Missouri State
• The Unanswered Question: 6 Lectures on Music – Free – Leonard Bernstein, Harvard

If you're into something that requires a bit less effort, there are also many free, fascinating documentaries available:

• 1959: The Year that Changed Jazz – Free – Documentary looks at the transformative albums released by Miles, Brubeck, Coleman & Mingus in 1959.
• Blitzkrieg Bop – Free – Hour-long TV documentary takes an old school look at CBGB during the heyday. Features The Ramones, Blondie and The Dead Boys. Mixes live performance with short interview clips. (1978)
• CBGB’s: The Roots of Punk – Free – A carnival of vintage performances from New York’s seminal punk bands. The film was produced for Hilly Kristal, creator and owner of CBGBs.
• Chasing Sound – Free – At 90, Les Paul tells his rags-to-riches story in a documentary featuring a soundtrack of hits by B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Paul McCartney and others. (2007)
• Cream’s Farewell Concert – Free – Tony Palmer captured Cream’s final show (starring, of course, Eric Clapton) at the Royal Albert Hall in London, November 21, 1968.
• Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks the World – Free – Tells the story of the wah wah effect pedal, from its invention in 1966 to the present day. (2011)
• Curious About Cuba: The Great Museums of Havana – Free – This film shows a side of the island nation that we seldom hear about: her art, history, and culture. (2008)
• David Bowie: The Story of Ziggy Stardust – Free – Film tells the story of how Bowie arrived at one of the most iconic creations in the history of pop music. The songs, the hairstyles, the fashion, etc. (2012)
• Day of the Dead – Free – Designers Charles and Ray Eames short portrait of the Mexican festival, Day of the Dead. (1957)
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Man Of Peace In A Time Of War – Free – Documentary examining the life of MLK Jr. includes rarely seen footage.
• Homemade American Music – Free – A history of rural southeastern traditional American music, as told and played by Mike Seeger and Alice Gerrard. (1980)
• Jammin’ the Blues – Free – Directed by Life magazine photographer Gjon Mili, the film features Lester Young and other jazz/blues legends. (1944)
• Jazz Hot – Free – Django Reinhardt, violinist Stéphane Grappelli and their band the Quintette du Hot Club de France perform together in a short film designed to promote a UK tour. (1938)
• Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind – Free – Detailed documentary on Joni Mitchell’s life and her music, written and directed by Susan Lacy and produced for broadcast as a TV special. (2003)
• Ladies and Gentlemen… Mr. Leonard Cohen – Free – This Canadian documentary captures Leonard Cohen just as he was poised to begin his singer-songwriter career. (1965)
• Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life – Free – A musical short that features Duke Ellington’s early extended piece, “A Rhapsody of Negro Life.” Stars 19-year-old Billie Holiday. (1935)
• The Charles Bukowski Tapes – Free – A collection of 52 short interviews conducted by French filmmaker Barbet Schroeder, who directed the Bukowski-penned Barfly. (1987)
• The Confessions of Robert Crumb – Free – A portrait of the artist scripted by the underground comics legend himself (1987)
• The Cry of Jazz – Free – Controversial film by Ed Bland explores issues around African-Americans and jazz in the United States. Includes interviews with artists and intellectuals and performances by Sun Ra and John Gilmore. In 2010, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. (1958)
• The Distortion of Sound – Free – A documentary about the decline of sound quality and how technology has changed the way we listen to music. Features numerous musicians. (2014)
• The Land Where the Blues Began – Free – Alan Lomax takes you into the Mississippi Delta, into to the heart of the Blues. (1978)
• The Story of the Guitar – Free – A three part documentary reveals how the guitar came to “dominate the soundtrack of our lives.” (2008)
• The Universal Mind of Bill Evans – Free – 1966 documentary takes you inside the creative process/world of jazz pianist Bill Evans.
• The World According to John Coltrane – Free – Produced with his widow Alice Coltrane, the documentary focuses on the later period of Coltrane’s work where he explored themes of Eastern spirituality. (1990)
• To Hear Your Banjo Play – Free – 16-minute introduction to American folk music, written & narrated by Alan Lomax and featuring rare performances by Woody Guthrie, Baldwin Hawes, Sonny Terry. (1946)
• Woody Guthrie – Free – Covers the life of Woody Guthrie, America’s great travelling singer-songwriter. (1988)

Lists sourced from openculture.com.