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.
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STUDENTS
Ha. 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.
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WRAP UP:
People, 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!
Articles
THANK YOU and all other "negatives" here for your comments!! It is what I sensed and suspected. My son is a high school junior, loves music, and wants to consider Berklee, but my sense is that it is not a real "college" or legitimate music education (e.g. like Indiana, as you say). Thank you all for your courage and helpfulness in telling things like they are.