Berklee School of music??

Hellfighter · 03-22-2005, 08:33 PM

Okay, so I have been playing guitar for 6 years, I feel I am doing pretty well for the time I have been playing. My Sophomore year of highschool is winding down fast and eventually I have to go to college

Anyway, I got a letter in the mail today about a 5 week summer program at Berklee where you take classes 9-5 during the week for your particular instrument/genre as well as private lessons once a week and other extracurricular playing times. I really think this would be a great learning experience, simply to take 5 weeks off of life to focus on guitar I think would really allow me to concentrate and break some habits and learn some new things to really allow my talent to explode.

The thing is that it's kinda pricey, basically $5,000 by the time it's said and done for everything. Now the money isn't exactly a problem, I could moderately easily come up with it, (the nice part about being a teen and not having taxes, a family to support, or rent to make) however that's blowing the wad. And $5000 would go a long way in buying some serious gear as well as other things a teenage boy would enjoy (gas, car, etc)

I just really feel that the experience and the knowlege I acquire there would far outweigh the value of the altermatives, and this letter did arrive the afternoon I had asked God what he had wanted me to do with my summer.

So all of you fellow musicians out there, if you could try and give some advice here, some scripture (if aplicable) would be great here, and especially any of you who have had experience whith Berklee or their summer projects would be great....

Thanks
-Jonathan

MJ_Avalanche · 03-22-2005, 08:48 PM

My only advice would be:

Do it, man. There's no place better than Berklee. Even if it's just a short summer workshop like that, you'll probably be learning from the best in your time there.

If I didn't have to move out this fall and go to college, I'd probably take some time out from my summer this year and go to one myself.

Which program are you lookin' at specifically?

OWMAC21 · 03-22-2005, 10:45 PM

I don't specifically know much about Berklee or anything to that extent, but that sounds like an awesome program. I wish I could could find something like that around here for me to do!

**thesteve** · 03-23-2005, 12:41 AM

well.

berklee is the best. if you see music as a future for you (professionally) then it'd be a start. Petrucci and i believe Vai are Berklee grads...John Mayer (even if you hate him you can't deny the skill) is a Berklee dropout...on the other hand Hendrix taught himself.

part of me wishes i had taken more formal guitar lessons (i'm basically self taught) but at the same time i don't know if i'd enjoy the guitar as much if i was learning everything as it comes instead of under time constraints in a classroom

ApparentlyNothing · 03-23-2005, 04:45 AM

All I've got to say is, if you feel like a big fish in your little pond, get ready to be thrown out in to the Pacific Ocean.

Saxophone · 03-23-2005, 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApparentlyNothing

All I've got to say is, if you feel like a big fish in your little pond, get ready to be thrown out in to the Pacific Ocean.

Good advice. Yeah man, wish we had those kind of oppurtunities where I live but no "Nova Scotia doesn't have a Berklee". lol Go for it and God bless.

Hellfighter · 03-23-2005, 12:36 PM

I'm looking at the 5 week program, and yes I realize that I would be at the bottom of the todum (totum, totom, I have no clue....) pole when it comes to talent.

I do have an excellent guitar instructer (ex nashville session player, played for bonnie Rait, cheryl crowe, several others) and we talked about maybe getting the curriculum they would be starting me on (mainly the note reading, ear training, and some more in depth study of why certain guitarists play the way they do) mainly so that I would be able to take higher level classes (by auditioning into a higher tier) next year. (to simplify, skip this year, take classes, switch to one hour a week lessons, get better, go next summer)

The other thing that supports this new idea is that if I went to Berklee this summer I'd miss out on a missions trip to Nicaragua which is the whole go on boats w/ backpacks, sleep under stars, hardcore kinda thing which would be really cool.

I dunno I am definately going to be spending lots of time these next couple of days weighing out all of the options.
Thanks for the input.

~Jonathan

ApparentlyNothing · 03-23-2005, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hellfighter

I'm looking at the 5 week program, and yes I realize that I would be at the bottom of the todum (totum, totom, I have no clue....) pole when it comes to talent.

I do have an excellent guitar instructer (ex nashville session player, played for bonnie Rait, cheryl crowe, several others) and we talked about maybe getting the curriculum they would be starting me on (mainly the note reading, ear training, and some more in depth study of why certain guitarists play the way they do) mainly so that I would be able to take higher level classes (by auditioning into a higher tier) next year. (to simplify, skip this year, take classes, switch to one hour a week lessons, get better, go next summer)

The other thing that supports this new idea is that if I went to Berklee this summer I'd miss out on a missions trip to Nicaragua which is the whole go on boats w/ backpacks, sleep under stars, hardcore kinda thing which would be really cool.

I dunno I am definately going to be spending lots of time these next couple of days weighing out all of the options.
Thanks for the input.

~Jonathan

It's not even so much that you would be on the bottom skill wise as it is even if you were near the top, there would be probably 20 people who are just as good as you. Music schools tend to get competitive.

jesusfreak86ca · 03-23-2005, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ_Avalanche

There's no place better than Berklee.

umm...okay...this is kind of unrelated. But Berklee is not the best. It has the biggest reputation and bigger pockets. But it's not the best. Berklee was amoung the 8 schools I was accepted into, and I placed it on the bottom of my list to enter. The education has little to do with the quality or name of the teacher. It has to do with the mentoring that the profs put into your life, the friendships developed. The closeness with the faculty. Unlike other schools, music school is about more than the education. The experience of being there is far more valuable than the classes.

Anyhoo. You're not talking about going there for school, just for a 5 week thing. And I say, if you can afford to, do it.

georgeo · 03-23-2005, 03:26 PM

Berklee is pretty much the schnizz. I have a friend there, and famous alumni sit around and listen to his jazz group practicing all the time. It's pretty ridiculous there.

OWMAC21 · 03-23-2005, 03:45 PM

It doesn't really sound like you could go wrong with either option you choose- mission trip or berklee. God will show you where he wants you.

scarsxthatxsave · 03-23-2005, 03:57 PM

All I can say is, if you think that's what God wants you to do... go for it.

Not such great advice, eh? Well... that's all I can say. It sounds like an AMAZING opportunity that you probably shouldn't miss out on.

simple servant · 03-26-2005, 04:42 PM

I'm going to be applying to Berklee soon, because I want to get degrees in guitar performance and either songwriting or professional music. I really want to go to that program, but I think our band camp is the first week of it. Oh well, we'll see what happens.

pyoo323 · 03-27-2005, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesusfreak86ca

umm...okay...this is kind of unrelated. But Berklee is not the best. It has the biggest reputation and bigger pockets. But it's not the best. Berklee was amoung the 8 schools I was accepted into, and I placed it on the bottom of my list to enter. The education has little to do with the quality or name of the teacher. It has to do with the mentoring that the profs put into your life, the friendships developed. The closeness with the faculty. Unlike other schools, music school is about more than the education. The experience of being there is far more valuable than the classes.

Anyhoo. You're not talking about going there for school, just for a 5 week thing. And I say, if you can afford to, do it.

haha i was thinking the same thign.