The Audition

The audition will be approximately 15 minutes long and may consist of the following parts:

• a prepared piece of your choice
• an optional improvisation over a harmonic vamp, simple-form blues or a standard tune
• a reading selection (if you can)
• melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic ear training exercises

At the discretion of each audition team, a jam with the faculty and/or technical exercises might be part of your audition. Please refer to the detailed guidelines by instrumental department for further details about each component of the audition.

We recognize it is common for applicants to have imbalances in their playing abilities, and we realize that applicants may not have advanced skills in improvisation, reading or ear training. These are often some of the reasons musicians are applying to Berklee - so that they may develop their musical skills further. Because we take a holistic approach in our evaluation process, each component of the audition helps the audition team assess your overall abilities as a musician and your potential for success at the college level.

The Interview

Quite often when people think about the application process to Berklee, the focus is placed on the audition as being a primary factor in the admissions decision. Equally important and often a critical factor in the board of admissions deliberations is the interview. The interview provides an important opportunity for applicants to express their goals and aspirations, identify why Berklee is a good fit in the accommodation of meeting those goals, and to share their individual story on what drove them to music, what motivates them, their challenges and strengths, and their potential future contributions to Berklee's dynamic and culturally rich environment. To help you prepare for an in-depth discussion, please consider the following questions in preparation for your interview:

• What is your practice routine?
• What are the qualities of a successful musician?
• What are your musical strengths?
• What is your favorite part of being a musician?
• Why go to Berklee?
• What career opportunities would you like to take advantage of in the music industry?
• What benefits do music theory and instrumental training have in your chosen field of interest?
• What inspired you to pursue a career in music?
• What has been your most significant achievement so far? What motivates you?
• One of the biggest challenges for entering students is time management. How do you currently balance school, music, and other activities?
• What has been the biggest challenge in your musical learning and growth? How have you overcome it?
• What would you like a press release to say about you as a person? About you as a musician?
• In what ways do you feel your talents will enhance the quality of life and music in the Berklee community?
• How have your life experiences influenced your musical development?

There are four primary areas of discussion in the interview:

1. Preparation to begin study at Berklee.

In addition to each candidate's musical preparation to meet the rigors of our curriculum, consideration will be given to your understanding of Berklee's history and mission and your affiliation with Berklee's open and inclusive approach to music, including the self-discipline needed for excellence, the empathy required of music making, and the openness and inquisitiveness essential to creativity.

2. Professional/career goals.

Why have you chosen music as the primary focus of your college education? What outcomes are expected as a result of your attending Berklee? What career or advanced study options might be available to you after completion of your studies at Berklee?

3. Why Berklee?

In researching your options for pursuing an education in music, what aspects of the Berklee model are most appealing to you?

4. What will you bring?

In selecting our entering class, the board of admissions must identify how each admitted student will contribute to the quality of our community. How will you contribute to the Berklee network and improve the quality of the experience for all? The interviewer will key off the information provided on your application for admission as the foundation for your discussion. Come prepared to highlight your strengths and share your creative aspirations.

Audition Invitations and Locations

Applicants will be invited to their audition and interview via email approximately one week from the submission of the online application for admission. Due to the demand in certain cities, applicants may be scheduled for their audition and interview in Boston or in the case of students applying from Europe, Valencia, regardless of their preference for one of our HYPERLINK "http://www.berklee.edu/admissions/general/audition_dates.html" tour locations. Due to space limitations in all our remote cities, the majority of applicants will complete their audition and interview in Boston or Valencia.

Audition and Interview Checklist

Please plan to arrive at the audition and interview site no later than 30 minutes before your warm-up time in order to prepare. Make sure to give yourself plenty of time to accommodate any travel delays.

Audition rooms are typically equipped with a piano, a drum set, guitar and bass amplifiers, a PA system, a CD player, and music stands. Vocalists may choose to bring a microphone and cable but it is not necessary. A standard drum set with cymbals for drum set players is provided. Double-bass pedals are not provided.

If you require accompaniment for your prepared piece, you may bring an accompanist, a play-along CD, or an iPod. Berklee does not provide an accompanist to applicants.

You must bring your instrument to the audition if you play acoustic or electric bass, brass, guitar, hand percussion, a string instrument (including the harp, mandolin, and banjo), or woodwinds.

Bass players, guitarists, and string players (including mandolin and banjo players) are reminded to bring a tuner, instrument cable(s), and any effects needed for their prepared piece.

Drummers should bring their sticks as well as a practice pad to use in the warm-up room, as many warm-up rooms will not have a drum set.

Due to rental limitations when we travel, total percussion principals are required to audition and interview in Boston.

For a detailed description of the audition components, click on the instrumental department links below:

• Bass
  Acoustic Bass, Electric Bass
• Brass
  Baritone Horn, Bass Trombone, French Horn, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba
• Guitar
• Percussion
  Drum Set, Hand Percussion, Marimba, Total Percussion, Vibraphone
• Piano
• Strings
  Banjo, Cello, Harp, Mandolin, Viola, Violin
• Voice
• Woodwinds
  Bassoon, Clarinet, Flute, Oboe, Saxophone