“What do I do?”

“Where do I begin?”

“Where can I study music?”

“What the heck can I do with a career in music?”

Well, if you’re on this page, you are already 3/4 of the way there.

Berklee College of Music is the place to study contemporary music styles in the world… no, I take that back… the Universe. So, what’s the process? A lot of prospective students freak out to find that there is a live audition process to be accepted into the college. I am here to tell you the best way to approach that audition, and to cut down on that looming dark cloud of stress.

1) Be Yourself! You are who you are. Everyone that is applying and auditioning comes from different walks of life and different skill levels. The coolest thing about Berklee is how diverse it is. You are there for you, not Bob or Susan in the next room over.

2) That being said, remember what the website says, “Put your best foot forward”. That means do what you do best. If you are an amazing shred guitarist, or classical pianist, don’t walk in to your audition thinking you have to prepare a Jazz piece. Berklee has become more and more all styles than ever in the past few years; all genres are welcome! Concentrate on your strengths and really let that shine in your prepared piece.

3) Make sure you read the Audition Guidelines on Berklee’s site. That will show you exactly what you will be asked to do in your 15 minute audition. That’s right, 15 minutes! It goes by in a flash. I am sure you’ll find that there are some things you are unsure about (concerning your skills). If we were all musical geniuses we wouldn’t need to be auditioning for Berklee. The faculty members that will be proctoring your audition understand that everyone has strengths and weaknesses and they want to see how well rounded you are as a musician. For instance, some people are great sight-readers, but struggle with improvisation, and vice versa. Once again, see # 2.

4) Lastly, go in calm. Remember you are there because you love music! Don’t let one audition get in the way of that. A lot of people are crushed if they don’t get in to Berklee. It’s not the end of the world; you can always re-audition the following year. If you do end up re-auditioning think about how much further ahead in the game you would be than the first timers shaking in their boots.

All-in-all, I found my Berklee Audition to be a thrilling experience. It was a blast! Plus the faculty are great at making you feel at ease and you get to jam with them. Go in there with your head held high and do your thing with confidence and a smile on your face.

Berkleemusic’s online spring term begins April 5, 2010.
Find out more at berkleemusic.com or contact a Student Advisor:
1-866-BERKLEE (USA) | +1 617 747 2146 (Intl) | advisors@berkleemusic.com

Student Advisor Amy H answers one of our most commonly asked questions, and explains how students interact with their instructors and classmates online.

Berkleemusic’s online winter term begins January 11, 2010. Find out more at berkleemusic.com.

Berkleemusic’s online winter term begins January 11, 2010. Find out more at berkleemusic.com.

Student Advisor Michael answers one of our most commonly asked questions about studying music online with Berklee.

Berkleemusic’s online winter term begins January 11, 2010. Find out more at berkleemusic.com.

I’m here to assist current and returning online students, make sure that they are well prepared before they start, help them choose their future courses, and check in on them throughout their studies.

Our summer term began June 29th and we are at week five of the term already. How time flies!

For the last few weeks, we have been checking in on our students to make sure that they are receiving the finest and most enjoyable learning experience possible. Between weeks three and five, I’m calling and emailing everyone to make sure that everything is going well. It’s very important to get our students’ feedback so that we can advise them in the best way possible.

My personal background is in music business, so I am especially excited to hear how our students are doing in our business courses, and what their future plans are! I also love to hear new things about our other subject areas like production, songwriting, arranging, theory, guitar, and bass.

One of my favorite things about being a Student Advisor is hearing each student’s unique experience with our online courses and programs. I love hearing how their studies have impacted their lives and careers differently—especially since our students come from all over the world, and represent a huge range of ages, from 15 to 70!

If I haven’t talked to you already this term, I look forward to speaking with you soon. I hope your course is going wonderfully, and if you do have any questions at all, don’t forget to contact an Advisor.

I know that many of you have spoken to us via phone and email, but I wanted to give you a bit more insight into our Advising team and all of our responsibilities at Berkleemusic.

Within our Advising team, there are two sides: Recruitment and Retention.

The Recruitment Advisor’s main responsibilities are to educate potential students about the many details of the Berkleemusic online learning experience. For example, how our courses function, which course is best for the student’s goals, how financing works, our affiliation with Berklee College of Music, our certificate programs, and more.

The Recruitment Advisors keep in touch with the student as they make decisions about their enrollment plans, answering any questions along the way, up until the point where the student actually enrolls in a course or certificate program.

At that point, the student is assigned to a specific Retention Advisor.

The student’s Retention Advisor is now their permanent Advisor contact at Berkleemusic. The Retention Advisor’s responsibilities are to help the student with any questions about our academic policies, help them pick courses for the future, guide them through scheduling their certificate programs, check in on them throughout their studies to see how things are going, etc.

The Recruitment and Retention team all work in the same space in our office which allows our tight knit group to communicate with ease and assist our students throughout their Berkleemusic experience.

I hope this insight is informative and helpful to you and I encourage you to contact the Advisors with any questions you may have!