BerkleeMusic Theory Certificate

[Crazyeelboy]

I just finished the BerkleeMusic Specialist Program for Music Theory and wanted to share some comments.

In all, it was a great program and has been an excellent step in my musical development. I am very happy with the investment I made in this course.

Pros:

This is serious musical education - the program is no joke;

The courses take you through many different aspects of music and will change your thinking and approach;

The courses specifically teach how chords are constructed and how harmony works, both of which are of critical importance to playing bass in any context;

You will learn how to read music, to some degree (if you didn't already know). I don't mean sight reading but rather an understanding of how to work with standard notation;

The courses are an introduction to many things, and give a good road map for a lifetime of musical learning.

Cons

The courses cost a lot of money.

The courses take a serious time commitment for 12 weeks each (this was by far the hardest part for me as I have a demanding day job and I travel a lot).

You need to manage expectations - the courses are an introduction to many concepts, so you will need follow up work to truly master them. This is really a guide for understanding what to do for further development.

I doubt the certificate you receive is of any formal value - this is all about personal growth and development.

Conclusion

The program has been invaluable for my personal development and I am energized and focused for continual learning not only as a bassist but as a musician. I'm glad I did it and it was well worth the investment of money, time and energy.

If you have the money and time to invest, I enthusiastically recommend the BerkleeMusic Music Theory program.

[Russell L]

Good on ya, dude. You will reap the rewards forever. I declared theory as my emphasis when I majored in music at the U. of South Carolina (B.A., 1976). Understanding harmony and being able to read and write will put your music on another level. I can't recommend it enough for everyone.

[sedgwick1489]

Congrats on your Cert! I am on my 5th Berklee on-line course and love it here (on-line) at Berklee. Thanks for sharing your feedback on the theory program.

[So Low Bass]

An online course of this kind can be as simple as putting you “in the box”. “I PAID for this. I’m getting my money’s worth”. Weight loss programs work that way.

My question to you is: YHou don't live in the middle of nowhere, you live in one of the greatest cities in the world. Could you have learned the same material from a GOOD private theory teacher for the same or less money? True, you now have some sort of certificate… do you want to teach theory for a living? Then that paper might be good. Do you want to be a better bass player… then that bring me back to the question of a private local theory teacher. Do you want to audition for gigs? Nobody is going to care what kind of paper you bring to the audition.

I’m glad you had a good experience.

[Crazyeelboy]

Actually my reasons for choosing the BerkleeMusic program are beside the point of the thread. My intention was just to share my thoughts on the experience for anyone who might be considering the program. I know there are lots of TBers considering the program and I wanted to share some thoughts.

That said, though, to address your questions, I chose the course because I wanted the structure of a well planned program with maximum flexibility for timing. My day job has a truly insane schedule and it makes it nearly impossible to plan even weekly lessons, so the flexibility of the online course suited my needs. I certainly could have found any number of teachers for less money, but I know that my schedule would have frustrated the progress.

As I noted in the original post, I expect the certificate itself to be nothing more than a souvenir, but that is totally fine with me. This is
all about personal growth, not the certificate.

The major drawback to the program is the cost. I am sure there are much cheaper ways to learn the same material, and many will find the cost just too high. That is a factor to consider, but frankly that seems rather obvious as everyone is going to see that the courses are really expensive. In my case, the organization of the program and the flexibility outweighed the cost.

[sedgwick1489]

Originally Posted by Crazyeelboy

I chose the course because I wanted the structure of a well planned program with maximum flexibility for timing. In my case, the organization of the program and the flexibility outweighed the cost.

Crazyeelboy is bang on with his post. The Berklee courses are top notch, well planned out programs. They are expensive and time consuming to complete, but well worth it IMO. Every Berklee instructor I've had has been top notch and really gone the extra mile to make on-line learning an awesome experience. I probably practice at least an hour a day during my work days and about 3 hours a day on my days off. To be honest I was sceptical going into my first course due to the cost, but I've since taken four additional courses and plan to take more. The course content, flexible study times, instructor feedback, and improvements I've seen in my playing has me sold.

All the best

[GrooveWarrior]

The guy who is the network specialist where I work (high school), graduated from Berklee three years ago. He doesn't even play bass any longer. Kinda sad.

[projectMalamute]

Just to be clear: we are talking about $4000 for three music theory courses, the most advanced of which is material available at almost any community college.

So yeah, that's one way to spend money.

[Crazyeelboy]

You're right - there are a number of learning options out there and community colleges are among them. Each person needs to balance all of the factors to make their own decision.

[So Low Bass]

It looks to me like you have a great career going and that you turn to music to relax and spend your free time with. I admire you, seriously! My guess is that you could pay for your study up front because you work your %** off. If I am correct, would you mind sharing with us why you didn’t try a career in music, yet can still have a special relationship with it as an adult?

My concern has been, is, and will be, inexperienced MTVed young players electric bass players who think that through formal, or informal formal college/type education, they can purchase all of the tools that they weren’t born with. After four years of “a great experience”, they wind up with tens of thousands of dollars in debt, no job prospects, no benefits…. and a piece of paper.

Though there is no substitute for talent, luck can come close.

[mambo4]

Could you post a syllabus for the course? I'm curious to see what you get for the money.

[251]

Originally Posted by mambo4

Could you post a syllabus for the course? I'm curious to see what you get for the money.

This might answer your questions;
Music Theory, Harmony & Ear Training - Online Music Courses and Certificate Programs from Berklee

[Samsound]

I completed the Producing master cert with them in 2009. The cert itself - as mentioned likely not much more than a souvenir. Did I learn a lot? Oh my God, yes. I still use every bit of it several days a week - arranging, scoring, writing lines, mixing, remixing. At almost $13K, it was expensive, but I used my USAF and veteran education benefits to pay all the tuition (so yes, thank you my fellow tax-payers for footing 75% of my tuition). I only paid for materials and software. Speaking of which, I also now have a metric fart ton of plugs and software that I was able to get very heavily discounted through the program. Instructors were absolutely top notch, and gave fantastic feedback the entire way. And yes, you could tell the students who didn't really put in the effort. You get out of it what you put into it. With 4 kids and a full-time career, 95% of my work was completed between the hours of 23:30 and 03:00, several days a week, for 2 years. Couldn't have pulled that off anywhere else in my area.

[Crazyeelboy]

Originally Posted by So Low Bass

It looks to me like you have a great career going and that you turn to music to relax and spend your free time with. I admire you, seriously! My guess is that you could pay for your study up front because you work your %** off. If I am correct, would you mind sharing with us why you didn’t try a career in music, yet can still have a special relationship with it as an adult?

My concern has been, is, and will be, inexperienced MTVed young players electric bass players who think that through formal, or informal formal college/type education, they can purchase all of the tools that they weren’t born with. After four years of “a great experience”, they wind up with tens of thousands of dollars in debt, no job prospects, no benefits…. and a piece of paper.

Though there is no substitute for talent, luck can come close.

You are correct - I am neck deep in my non-musical career through which I can afford BerkeleeMusic fees. For me, music is a wonderful hobby and something I plan to do for the rest of my life. At this point, although I am 48 years old, I have a popular local band which gigs consistently, we write songs and record them and we are getting ready to do a video. All I would like is more time to devote to this.

Regarding your point about education and jobs, etc, in the long run, one's education does not build their career - one has to build it themselves. I have friends who graduated from Harvard and Yale who just never got it going career wise while others with less favorable pettigrees have done very well. While the right education will be an easier way to get through the first door, the advantage drops off soon after that.

[Russell L]

Well, actually, I had learned basic theory on my own before I ever went to college to study music. It took awhile, though, since I was picking it up here and there. And, my degree only ever helped me get one job, and that one wasn't specific about what your degree had to be in. If you want to learn basic theory, you don't have to go to school or take a course, unless the scheduling and other rigors help you learn. What school did for me was to impress some things firmly in my mind, give me fortitude, and teach me some other stuff I'd never have pursued on my own. There are advantages both ways, I reckon.