Berklee

[DanielC]

I am a first semester student at Berklee and have had nothing but disappointing experiences here. I knew what the curriculum was going to consist of (harmony, arranging, ear training...etc.) and went to a community college before to get all Gen Ed. courses out of the way...I'm from the small city of Columbia, South Carolina. Reading up on Berklee and wanting to go here since I was 12, I was under the impression Berklee was one of the most "prestigious music colleges" in the world. Well I would have to disagree. Every experience here has been as unmusical as possible...I hate to be the statistic dropout from Berklee, but now I understand why so many people leave...you wouldn't believe the scene here...it seems as if the objective Berklee initially had when it opened has been lost into something horrible.
For example, the teachers here, in my opinion, have had their dreams shattered and are teaching here because they can't get gigs...and they're burned out on teaching too...the private instruction is only 30 minutes a week for 90.00 a half hour when you work out the math...and I have learned nothing worth that amount of money. Private instruction is also the least important on priorities for Berklee's curriculum...the basic music courses are first thing...I thought this was a school to make you a better player? WRONG...it's a school for if you're already a good player...then you can get in the music click and get all the gigs...if they're any gigs to be played...
It's exam time and for your private instuction the proficiency exam is 50% of your grade...you go before two percussion "judges" that grade you on two snare pieces, various grooves, sightreading, and rudiments...so sit down and play a rock/funk groove with no musicians and in a class room on a weird set of drums in front of a "judge" that will grade you on all of the above..."hmmm...that was 85% funk...that swing was only 78%"...how do you give a percentage for that!?!?!? That's BS if you ask me....I haven't taken the exam yet...but I've been filled in by a faculty member who disagrees with the whole process and has warned me of these things...I could ramble on about other things, but figured I leave this up for discussion...what do you guys think? and reading throughout the message board, I believe some have attended Berklee or are attending...I am considering withdrawing because of the BS this school is...it's not the same school all the greats went to...can't be...I just have no clue what I'd do if I left...who want to go to real college?

[blake1]

Hello first semester Berklee student.
I too went to Berklee in 1998. I waited to go to Berklee because my teacher said I should wait until I was ready. My teacher went to Berklee in the 60's. I had nothing but great experiences there. You really have to be open and be a sponge when you're there because they will really open you up and challenge your way of thinking. Berklee definately has a system of teaching that may not translate into the real world but no system can prepare you from the real world. Over the years they have developed an ever changing system to monitor students abilities to handle certain situations with music. Not everyone is ready to be interrogated with this system but I feel it works for the purpose of screening hundreds of drummers. Abe Laboriel Jr.. even said Berklee had a cookie cutter approach in it's way of teaching but I disagree. I didn't have the experience that he had before coming to Berklee and didn't have any connections.

Now comes the most I M P O R T A N T advice I can give.
Berklee gives you an enivonment to experiment with players around your same level. You get the cultural experience of meeting people from all around the WORLD.
Just like Harvard, Berklee is a great place for networking. I live in New York and because of Berklee I didn't have to starve to death my first year there. I get to play in other countries with former Berklee students. Think about the positive. Seek out musicians that are interested in the same music and stay open because by staying open you can learn so much. Hang in there. I know it cost $$$$ but stay positive and that positivity will translate and help in the real world. BTW. I paid for Berklee out of my own pocket by working in a factory and playing gigs. I didn't get a scholarship until the last 2 years and then Zildjian and Berklee helped pay my way.


Good Luck and all the best whatever your decision.

Blake Lindberg 1992 Berklee Graduate

[jonthibault]

My bass player went to Berklee, and he said upon reading this, "Yeah, Berklee's pretty stupid." He says everything is dumbed down and unmusical. My old guitarist (circa 1996) went to Berklee for a year and he really liked it. So I don't know.

[palmerlouie]

wow.....this is so intetresting that there are so many different experiences..

i am 17 and have been playing for 11 yrs and have always wanted to go to berklee and i will hopefully have a scholarship audition in april.

because of the narrowmindedness here in England our music scene is worse that anyone can imagine....sure the big guys like weckl and smith can seel out ronnie scotts.....but as far as real world gigs go there is nothing and i cant wait to get out of this country....

i have always wanted to go to berklee.....no.1 cause of the education and finally being able to play with serious musicians that give a damn.....and no.2 because of the american way of teaching and the scene....being in the right place helps......

steve smith said he went to berklee a drummer and came out a musician.....that sounds good to me. well its either stay in my stupid town here in england or go live in a lovely city and play music.....

am i wrong? anyone else had good or band experiences???

[palmerlouie]

shedder,

you are obviously enjoying berklee. are you getting many gigs? is the scene good? is the work load particularly big? how did u get in....scholarship or application? could you give me any useful info on the college as i am almost certain to go in 2 yrs....

[DanielC]

thanks for the thoughts so far on your experiences here. I have to agree with Shedder about trying to figure out what will impress the teachers judging you is definately a big part of the audition. I have signed up to reaudition for ratings...I bombed my first audition and was in front of Kenwood Dennard...he stood behind me the entire audition and I was a little "star struck". I think learning how to audition is a big lesson Berklee indirectly teaches you and sometimes it's at the players cost...I.E. my ensemble packet has tunes I played when I was 12...that really pissed me off and to see that some of the players can't play it, I knew I wasn't supposed to be in that ensemble...but everything else was full due to all the students here...PalmerLouie...it's not all what you're dreaming it is...it's a very political place in my opinion and like Shedder said, you have to learn the system...being only a first semester student I have learned so much about the system already...I just don't know if I can succeed in the system and it is a decision I'm struggling with day in and day out...parents and musician and non musician friends alike who don't attend berklee can't understand what it is I'm going through in a crucial decision...right now I feel I should stick it out...I only have 2 and a half years left (got gen ed out of the way) and the grades are very easy compared to a "normal" college....so far at least...it was just a wake up call when the experience at Berklee wasn't what I thought it was going to be like...like my drum lab instructor, Rick Considine, says...you get through Berklee if you keep your head on straight...it's all a head trip"...and it definately is.

[DanielC]

PalmerLouie,
check out www.berklee.edu for admissions procedures and requesting applications...
berklee has two scholarships they offer and details about them are on the website also. The advice I can give you is get your general education requirements out of the way before attending...that way when you get here it's all music courses. Info on this is also on the website.
Good luck

[palmerlouie]

thanks for the info....

what makes it such a political place and system?is it that you have to be a better player than anyone else or know and make friends with the right people??

[PocketPlayer]

"...it's a very political place in my opinion and like Shedder said, you have to learn the system..."

For what it's worth, I'm an educator and I will tell you right out, every organization or institution has a "system". Some "systems" are more obvious than others. If you're an 18YO kid coming to 'School X' you will most likely be so consumed that it will be difficult to rasie your head above the curriculum waters. The few guys that do can be seen as weak or not conforming to the standards set. It's like an unwritten law system of conduct and this internal system is, or can be very subtle.
A student can be caught in a panic feeling, if they go against the system they might never...(fill in the blank). This fear can stay with someone their entire career as a student. Schools like Berklee expose one to the total musical package, many times much more info than asked for. It will challenge the convictions of a student which is what 'education' is supposed to do. At best, a student will have been able to refine their skills to play the music they are passionate about. At worst, a student will leave w/o any convictions, overwhelmed at the fact they can't play all styles convincingly and end up working at Walmart.
In short, it takes a lot of goobers to challenge the system and leave with nothing to fall back on. Maybe those who attened PIT or another school can comment on how to , "Eat the watermelon, spit out the seeds."

Palmerlouie; if you're only 17, I would withhold from being too critical about drummer X or drummer Y. For the fun of it, I checked out as many drum forums as possible and there are a few good ones, but this forum is very mature and stays away from mindless flaming. You can get a real discography on some of the major players out there from past and present. I recently have been turned onto Jeff 'Tain' Watts and I would have glossed over this man's work if not for this forum. If I was a young student, Tain would be very important to listen to as I developed.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ December 09, 2002 03:06 PM: Message edited by: PocketPlayer ]</font>

[Clintuplet]

Well said, on ALL accounts, Pocket.