Studying Music Online

Hey, it’s Amy Heidemann!  Like my fellow advisor Liam mentioned, we get to chat with students everyday, so we wanted to feature a “Weekly Favorite” Certificate Program to give you guys the inside scoop.  I’m actually in the midst of the Master Certificate in Music Business and Technology myself, so you’re getting the DIRECT inside scoop here…

My ultimate career goal is to be a self-sufficient artist.  I want to write, perform, record, produce, and market my music!  The reason I chose the Music Business and Technology Master Certificate is because I already have a pretty solid background in performance and songwriting.  I wanted a program to teach me the business lingo and important topics on royalties, publishing laws, and marketing techniques for getting my music out there.  I also needed to know how to record my own, professional sounding demos at home.  There are so many great Certificates to chose from, so why this particular one?

First, I like that it splits Business and Technology right down the middle.  You get half business courses (all essentials for any artist or producer) and half technology or production-based courses.  Hiring a lawyer to consult me about that certain paragraph on a contract or agreement about money issues just doesn’t sit right.  I want to know the basics on how to read contracts and get what I want in terms of revenue and copyright ownership. On the other hand, when I write a song or want to put something down, I can just flip on my system and go!  I am also excited to learn how to edit my performances, tweak the vocal sound, and get a real effective demo put online as an mp3.  Paying $50 -$100 per hour at a studio got very frustrating, especially when it didn’t come out sounding the way I wanted.

Finally, after you’ve gotten into Publishing, Marketing, Recording, Producing, and other valuable areas of study, you have three elective courses.  I chose Critical Listening 1 because I had some issues with feedback and noise interference in my audio tracks.  Finding the solution for this can take a good amount of trouble-shooting, so I figured, why not eliminate it entirely?

Since I chose the Critical Listening course from the provided list of “Recommended Electives,” I am now able to choose the other two electives from ANYWHERE in the catalog.  So, naturally I took a guitar course (so much fun)! Rhythm and Groove Guitar with Bruce Bartlett taught me the real meaning of “pocket.”  Now my rhythm playing/accompaniment to my singing is a lot more natural sounding and diversified.  Prior to this course, I caught myself playing only one rhythmic figure—problem solved.  I’ll be saving my final elective for later because I’ve heard Berkleemusic is launching some awesome new courses this Fall.  In fact, Berkleemusic launches new courses almost every term—so why get tied down?

In conclusion, the Master Certificate in Music Business and Technology is a fantastic program that fits me perfectly.  I’ve recommended it for many other students who have similar interests and they always seem very relieved that there’s a Certificate Program that fits their goals so perfectly.  Get in touch with a Student Advisor if you’d like to find out if this is a good fit for you. If not, there are many other Certificates we’ll be featuring in later weeks.

If so, I’ll see you in class!