Berklee question

[CounterpointFTW]

well ive been playing bass for a year and im a sophomore in high school. ive progressed a lot and i would want to pursue a career in music. I know a good amount of theory and i play trumpet ( not as well as i play bass) but i know the inner workings of a band. I was wondering if its possible to go to berklee on bass without being majoring in jazz. i play in the jazz band and i know basic jazz stuff but its not really my thing. i actually play a lot of classical stuff on bass, like bach cello suite and solfeggietto. i do not want to be a bass payer , but more of a composer whose main istrument is bass.

so basically my question is can i get into berklee to be a musician, not bass player, on the bass without being jazz oriented?

[Kobaia]

learning to play jazz is a requirement there, as fas as, you need to know how to play it. you must know the ins and outs of it, and be able to demonstrate that you can play it if you got a call for a gig. they expect just as much from you as a latin bassist, a funk bassist, rock, blues what ever. they give you the opprotunity to excell in any way you choose, but you must show that you can do it all if you go for performance, which i really dont suggest any one do. so yeah there it is

[PocketGroove82]

Hey CounterpointFTW,

I had friends at berklee who couldn't play a lick of jazz and they graduated just fine with degrees in Production and Engineering, Music Business, Education, Film Scoring, Professional Music, and Music Therapy.
Granted, you will take 2 years of jazz based harmony class requiring you to analyze changes and melodies, also you will have to take mandatory ensembles which will play jazz music, although there are rock/blues/latin ensembles you could possibly opt for.

You do not have to be a jazzer to get through berklee, although you may find it hard to fit in sometimes, teachers/instructors probably will have little patience for you, and you may be unsatisfied. Granted, you can get a rock bass guy as your instructor for private lessons, if you know who to choose.

But honestly, if you want to do Composition, keep in mind the berklee program is "Jazz Comp.", so if you aren't comfortable with tooling around with 5 horn and big band arrangements, a harmonic instrument like the guitar or piano, and the jazz idiom, it's really not where you wanna be learning the stuff cold.

The Berklee Jazz Comp. program is one of the hardest musical undergraduate programs out there. If you don't want to compose jazz, I would not recommend it...as composing jazz is what you'll be doing. You may be better suited for a conservatory, and you have three years to work your Upright Bass chops.

If you want a taste of what you will encounter, order "Modern Jazz Voicings" from the Berklee Press. It's a great reference and will get your feet wet.
If you were to do the "cut and paste degree" called, Professional Music then you could take some arranging/comp/scoring/finale classes and create your own degree with the help of a counselor.

Matt

[CounterpointFTW]

wow thank you pocketgroove82.
i dont want to major in performance, but composition. its just that the intstrument i currently play best is the electric bass and jazz is not my favorite music. berklee does have a general orchestral composition program on their website, but im guessing its overshadowed by its strong jazz composition program from what pocketgroove said?
i have thoguht abotu switching to upright bass and chances are that i will.
antoher question, i heard saw yale being mentioned as accepting bass guitars when searching through topcis of this subject, does anyone know if that is true?

[Snarf]

Berklee has a classical composition program, and it's really good if you get with the good teachers. But if you're seriously looking to do that kind of thing, there are other colleges better suited.

[CounterpointFTW]

yes but will other colleges accept someone who composes but plays the electric bass as their best instrument?

[Snarf]

Well, probably not. Berklee's probably your best bet in this case. And if you get in, you should study with Marti Epstein, Rick Applin, and Julius Williams. If you feel like getting your ass seriously kicked, take with Ivana Lisak too.

[jakerules13]

Hey, I'm a sophomore in high school and want to go to college for sax ( not sure, deciding between bari and tenor ). Does anyone know how a typical sax audition works at berklee? My neighbor went there and he said he loved and it and I just wanted to know what a sax audition consists of before I get my hopes up too high.

[Kobaia]

reading, ear training, and a prepared piece

[CounterpointFTW]

Well, probably not. Berklee's probably your best bet in this case. And if you get in, you should study with Marti Epstein, Rick Applin, and Julius Williams. If you feel like getting your ass seriously kicked, take with Ivana Lisak too.

thank you.

[Illbay]

Originally Posted by CounterpointFTW

so basically my question is can i get into berklee to be a musician, not bass player, on the bass without being jazz oriented?

ALL popular music, no matter what you call it, is "Jazz oriented." If you want to be a complete musician, you need to understand it, and be able to apply the concepts to what you're doing.

You're young yet. When I was your age, I felt the same way (and at your age I was looking at the Berklee catalogues, etc., wondering what all this "Jazz stuff" was about). But within a couple of years, notably because I attended a Fine Arts high school soon after, I learned to appreciate, and even LOVE, classical and Jazz music.

Just take the approach that at your level you have a LOT to learn, and everyone you're coming in contact with in music has something to teach you. Don't close your mind so early.

[andrewd]

http://www.berklee.edu/majors/composition.html
http://www.berklee.edu/faculty/facli...tment&value=CP

Originally Posted by Berklee

The student majoring in Composition will study tonal harmony, counterpoint and fugue, tonal composition, twentieth-century compositional techniques, instrumentation, and orchestration. Music literature studied will emphasize the concert music repertoire of the twentieth century, but also will include principal composers and styles from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. The student will demonstrate mastery of these skills and concepts as well as the development of an individual compositional personality and voice, by completing a portfolio of scores that will include (but not be limited to) a number of pieces in smaller forms, a tonal four-part fugue, a composition for solo voice or mixed chorus, a sonata in three movements, and a composition for full orchestra.

The study of acknowledged masterpieces from different historical periods will develop in the student an individual aesthetic vision and the critical ability to recognize and discuss music of quality. The student will gain skills by working with performers, rehearsing them, and conducting and/or producing performances.

The Composition major will develop sufficient skills and knowledge to function as a composer of concert music, to gain entry to a graduate program in music theory or composition, and hence to pursue a career as a teacher, scholar, and practitioner of music theory and composition.

I have two friends who are very happy with the Composition major, and I've heard good things about Film Scoring too.

edit: What's with all the Berklee threads lately?

[Illbay]

Originally Posted by andrewd

What's with all the Berklee threads lately?

My guess is, it's right at the deadline for submitting college applications for the Fall semester.

[CounterpointFTW]

thanks for eveyrones feedback and sorry for the late reply.

Originally Posted by Illbay

My guess is, it's right at the deadline for submitting college applications for the Fall semester.

im not applying to college yet, but i want to get ready very early for it to have th best chance of getting in. im already studying coutnerpoint on my own.