Courses

Ear training with an emphasis on practical performance experience. Recognizing pitch, rhythm, harmony, and timbre by ear and responding on the student's instrument in class. Some dictation. Some nonsyllabic sight-singing.

Ear training with an emphasis on practical performance experience. Recognizing pitch, rhythm, harmony, and timbre by ear and responding on the student's instrument in class. Some dictation. Some nonsyllabic sight-singing.

Ear training with an emphasis on practical performance experience. Recognizing pitch, rhythm, harmony, and timbre by ear and responding on the student's instrument in class. Some dictation. Some nonsyllabic sight-singing.

Ear training with an emphasis on practical performance experience. Recognizing pitch, rhythm, harmony, and timbre by ear and responding on the student's instrument in class. Some dictation. Some nonsyllabic sight-singing.

Ear training with an emphasis on practical performance experience. Recognizing pitch, rhythm, harmony, and timbre by ear and responding on the student's instrument. Some nonsyllabic sight-singing.

In this course, students will embark on a transformative journey exploring the interconnectedness of musical artistry, community building, personal growth, and professional development. This course transcends traditional music education by emphasizing the importance of cultivating meaningful connections, fostering collaboration, and creating opportunities for personal and collective growth and offering a comprehensive toolkit for navigating the complexities of the music industry. Offering a dynamic blend of lectures, discussions, case studies, and hands-on projects, students will delve into topics related to community such as psychology, group dynamics, social impact and entrepreneurship. Throughout the course, students will have the opportunity to apply theoretical concepts to real-world scenarios, collaborate with peers from diverse backgrounds, and cultivate a professional network that extends beyond the classroom. By the end of the semester, students will emerge with the skills, confidence, and connections necessary to forge their own path in the music industry and make a meaningful impact on the world around them.

This course aims to provide piano and voice principals with the vital skills and techniques necessary for excelling in collaborative musical performances. Students will master effective communication, coordination, and mutual support to create cohesive and expressive presentations. Voice principals will strengthen their leadership abilities, guiding accompanists with precise cues, hand gestures, and vocal dynamics. Pianists will refine their ability to support vocalists harmonically, creating a supportive playing style. Both roles will gain a deeper understanding of musical composition and structure while applying theoretical knowledge in practical settings. This includes concepts such as harmony, rhythm, and phrasing. Students will enhance their ability to analyze and respond in real time during a performance, boosting individual and group musicianship. The course emphasizes practical application in class, ensuring a collaboration that blends practical techniques with theoretical insights, resulting in a fulfilling and cohesive musical experience that benefits both the song and the performance. Furthermore, the course will underscore the importance of professionalism, fostering strong relationships both professionally and musically. We will highlight the significance of respect and the exchange of musical ideas and concepts, as well as the expression and intention behind the music. This approach aims to create a collaborative environment where students can thrive and deliver outstanding performances.

The student group (comprised of individual students or a group of students already established as a band) will experience and successfully meet the challenges presented by the faculty or pursued by the students for musical advancement. Possible areas to explore include collaboration of ideas, arrangements of musical songs or sections, increased musical vocabulary and use thereof with well-balanced improvised performance, and development of solo work in a group setting. Students also have the option to explore original work as a group and to workshop the work's elements including time, tempo, meter, rhythmic feel, rhythmic pulse, energy level, tonality, dynamics, comping, instrumentation, and player mode.

Please note: this course is for performance majors who are accepted in the Berklee Global Jazz Institute only. In this course, students develop their skills in hearing, playing, and composing tetrachord concepts as well as other harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic techniques that can be used to develop new sounds, open ears, and allow the mind to be more globally aware and accepting. Students also learn about light and dark, polyrhythmic aspects of playing, polytonal harmony, and multi-tonic systems.

In this course, students build on what they learned in Global Harmonic Considerations, develop their skills in hearing, playing, and composing tetrachord concepts as well as other harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic techniques that can be used to develop new sounds, open ears, and allow the mind to be more globally aware and accepting. They will also cover polar harmony, modified modes, and the blues, and spend more time applying these to their playing and composing.

Please note: this course is for performance majors who are accepted in the Berklee Global Jazz Institute only. This course explores the concept of global jazz in the past, present, and future and its relationship to community engagement. Global jazz is defined and contextualized as more than a style of music, but a multicultural experience with many dimensions. This course includes a section of local outreach where students perform in unusual settings inside diverse communities that need more live music such as correctional facilities, orphanages, psychiatric hospitals, nursing homes, among other sites in Massachusetts. The course also focuses on performance techniques and repertoire building for performers who wish to engage in community service. It also discusses the history of how jazz musicians engaged in community service since the beginning of jazz.

Please note: this course is for performance majors who are accepted in the Berklee Global Jazz Institute only. This unique BGJI course focuses on binary (2/4, 4/4) and ternary (6/8, 12/8) rhythm structures from Ghana and (time-permitting) South Indian metric concepts. Includes hands-on playing of ensemble instruments (bells, shakers, drums), singing traditional songs, and developing heightened independence using “harmonic time” (HT).

Harmonic time is a 3-tiered body orchestration: first, stepping to the pulse while wearing ankle bells; second, setting up counter clapping/sticking patterns; and third, speaking African and Indian vocal patterns to internalize musical time, groove, and mathematics. This method allows one to “feel” how parts combine rather than relying on the intellect for only “hearing” combinations.