Songwriting
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Mark Simos, Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT : Songwriting Department"I don't stand in front of the class dissecting students' songs. That style of critique reinforces the false notion that there is just one way of writing a good song, oriented towards following mainstream conventions. What about the song that's going to come along every once in a while—like John Hartford's Gentle On My Mind—that breaks every single rule and is a brilliant song?"
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Daniel Cantor, Assistant Professor
DEPARTMENT : Songwriting Department"I love working with all kinds of technology and all kinds of instruments. New engineers, producers, songwriters are too easily enamored with thinking one tool is superior to another. What's more important is finding how each tool can be valuable in your bag of tricks. It matters not what technology you use or whether you use technology at all. All that matters is that you arrive at a recording that has the sonic and emotional impact that enhances the song."
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Jack Perricone, Chair
DEPARTMENT : Songwriting Department"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."
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