Faculty Biography

"As a songwriter, the most important thing is to know your craft. Your craft can set a song into motion and—if you are positive in your approach to life—inspiration often kicks right in. In other words, you have to invite the shy muse in, rather than hope she drops by.

"Berklee-trained songwriters have a deeper understanding of melody writing, lyric writing, harmony, and arranging than the average 'street' writer, and that’s what gives our graduates an edge. And, through classes that offer regular critiques of their work, our students learn how well their songs are communicating and how to deal with criticism—as well as the importance of rewriting.

"The entire environment at Berklee—the recording studios, the incredible amount of good vocalists and instrumentalists, and the energy of the student body—is conducive to creating, participating in, and producing one’s own songs. My hope is that the graduating songwriting major leaves Berklee with a portfolio of songs that he or she can be proud to show to anyone in the music industry.

"Berklee prides itself on teaching contemporary music, and nowhere is that more important than in the songwriting major. The Songwriting Department stays on top of current stylistic trends, using the best of the current songs to demonstrate innovative songwriting.

"I feel it’s also important that present-day songwriters have a connection to the great songwriters of the past. Richard Rogers, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein, Lorenz Hart, George and Ira Gershwin, and Harold Arlen form the backbone of great American songwriting, and are given their due in a course I teach called Survey of Popular Song Styles. In a world where tastes are more ephemeral than ever, it is important to study writers and songs that have lasting value."