The Berklee College of Music

Date: Oct 26 2004
Major: Music - Composition/Theory (This Major's Salary over time)
Ok…This advice is coming from a student who has already completed an undergraduate degree from another university. I decided to follow my lifelong passion, music, and to attend Berklee College of Music because of its "reputation" in contemporary music and that it would prepare me for a career in music. Below I have listed some major issues that I have w/ the school and think that EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN GOING TO BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC.

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CONTEMPORARY MUSIC?

Berklee overly defines itself as being the leading institution in the education of contemporary music. Hypothetically speaking, my question to you, is how you define contemporary music. Music of Metallica? Radiohead? Dream Theater? Frank Zappa? Phish? Grateful Dead? Steely Dan? Others? Berklee College of Music (BCM for now on) unfortunately is stuck in 1945. Their definition of contemporary music is Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Mingus, and many other mid-20th century jazz greats. Is this your definition of contemporary music? I didn't think so. To expand on this point, as a student you will have to take core music classes that include: harmony, ear training, writing skills, and arranging. When learning these skills YOU WILL BE APPLYING THE MATERIAL TO JAZZ. Teachers in the core classes are extremely jazz heavy and shew off other types of music.

Further examplifying the phonies of Berklee, the school calls itself "the most prestigous contemporary music school". Good marketing technique Berklee, YOU'RE THE ONLY "CONTEMPORARY MUSIC SCHOOL". It's like the Cleveland Browns calling themselves the best professional football team in Cleveland. They're the only professional football team in Cleveland!

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YOUR PRIVATE INSTRUCTOR

If you're interested in learning music, don't go to Berklee. The teachers there are very selective towards their favorment/treatment of students and half-ass their lessons with you. You're only given 30 min's a week w/ your instructor. If you want more time, "you have to pay a seperate fee" - a coined phrase by the "Berklee Bank". Now seriously, how much material can you learn in a 30 min lesson? half of it is displaying the material you learned from the prior week, so really you're only learning 15 min's of new material a week. And that's a generous 15 mins b/c many teachers are late, missing in action, or just dismiss you early so that they can grab a coffee break. Finally on this point, most of the teachers at Berklee shouldn't even be teaching collegiate level. They lack the musical intellect, the ability to teach, and have absolutely no ounce of professionalism.

If you're wanting to puruse music, take this advice. Look into your state school or state university school, that's where the money is, and that's where the teachers will go to get a piece of that money.

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BERKLEE AT THE LEADING EDGE OF MUSICAL TECHNOLOGY?

I was in a class last semester that was about technology in music. The first six classes we had, the teacher lacked the appropriate equipment to teach the class w/. The overhead projector was working, her computer wasn't working and we wasted mins, and accumulation of hours by week 6, of just watching her baffle around w/ her equiment. I'm sorry, but when you're paying \(11,000 per a semester to go here, you can at least expect the equipment or even the teacher to work. Speaking of technology, the Berklee wireless server, ha, it's down ALL THE TIME.SRF:ELEMENTS:20xsrf______________________________________________SRF:ELEMENTS:13xsrfSTUDENTSSRF:ELEMENTS:14xsrfHa. This is where I really start to crack up. Almost all the students dress up for class like they're about to make their debut appearance on TRL. They walk around like they're hot stuff and think they're amazing on their instruments, but in reality, their egos and hollow-self confidence are on the verge of collapse, when they fail their core music classes. If you're a student and reading this, drop your act and go get a job, because the probability you're going to make a living doing what you want to do or how you want to look, is about .0000001% chance. Deal with it.SRF:ELEMENTS:21xsrf_________________________________SRF:ELEMENTS:15xsrfWRAP UP:SRF:ELEMENTS:16xsrfPeople, don't go here. I'm now studying at Indiana University and absolutely love it. The teachers care. The school doesn't steal your money. You get a great academic foundation. People around the country know the name of the school and don't associate it w/ a real school in California. I wrote this comment b/c I don't want you to make the same mistake that I did. I'm thankful that I only stayed here for a semester. The bottom line, is that Berklee just wants your \)$$$. It's like a shady business or something. Finally, saying you went to school at Berklee is like telling somebody you just crapped your pants. It's embarrasing. The conservatories around here just laugh at the stooges sitting outside the building, not practing, but just joking around and building teepee's of cigarettes. If you want a fine musical education look into what the other commentor mentioned, Indiana University, Northwestern, Oberlin, UC, UCLA, the list goes on and on. Not only is it cheaper but you'll find the best teachers. I believe the best music school for jazz is the Cleveland Institute of Music. Berklee what? Ha…Berklee is a fake, defunct, and money grabber thief. Don't throw your money away!