Your education, provided by Berklee's talented and experienced faculty members. Classes generally take place between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Other activities follow in the evening. All participants will be given an individual student schedule during the first week of the program.

Your classes will include:

• Private Instruction-A half-hour lesson each week on your principal instrument.
• Instrumental Labs-Three hours each week in instrument-specific courses to develop instrumental craft, style, and technique.
• Ensembles-Two hours each week, including instrumental and vocal groups playing jazz, pop/rock, funk/fusion, pop/R&B, and other contemporary styles such as bluegrass, reggae, and world music.
• Musicianship-Four hours per week to develop your musical ear and your performance and reading skills.
• Theory in Performance-Three hours per week studying the rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic elements of music as they relate to playing your instrument or singing.
• Performance Perspectives-Performances/discussions held two hours per week to expose you to valuable career information and insight from some of the finest performers and songwriters in the music industry. Notable artists who have recently visited the Five-Week program include the Bad Plus, John Blackwell, Terence Blanchard, Billy Bragg, Larry Carlton, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ron Carter, Larry Coryell, Lalah Hathaway, Richie Havens, Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Wyclef Jean, Patty Larkin, Christian McBride, Lewis Nash, Patrice Rushen, John Scofield, T.M. Stevens (Shocka Zooloo), Susan Tedeschi, and many more.
• Final Week Concerts-You will get to perform before members of the Berklee community, faculty, fellow students, and any guests you invite. Final week concerts are scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 5 and conclude at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, August 10. More than 250 student ensembles, each led by one of Berklee's faculty members, perform in concerts held during the final week. Every student performs during this week. Students will know where and when they will be performing by the second week of the program. All of these concerts are open to the public. We strongly encourage family and friends to attend.
• Concert Venues-The final week concerts will take place in all of the college's venues, including the recital halls, Cafe 939 and the 1,220-seat, world-class Berklee Performance Center.
• Berklee Performance Center concerts are scheduled for the evenings of August 6, 7, 8, and 9.
• Visiting Artists-Lecture/demonstrations by performers, songwriters, film composers, music business experts, and music professionals from every sector of the industry. Notable artists who have recently visited Berklee include Jane Ira Bloom, George Duke, Melissa Ferrick, Dawaun Parker, Trina Hamlin, Will Kennedy, Dave Liebman, Bob Mintzer, Bernard Purdie, Noel Redding, and Derek Trucks. Visiting artist clinics are open to all students. The visiting artists will be announced at the start of the program.
• Electives
  You will be asked to choose one of the following two-hour lecture classes:
  • Songwriting-This lecture class will examine song form, lyric writing, analysis of music style, publishing agreements, and provide an overview of important songwriters.
  • Music Business-This course will provide an introduction to the music business. Students will gain an understanding of: how their creative works are protected by U.S. copyright law and promoted by publishers; the contractual relationship between artists and record labels; tour promotion and planning; and artist management.
  • Great Performers-Through the use of audio and video recordings, students will learn about the contributions of influential performers in the pop, R&B, rock, and jazz idioms. Topics will include analysis of each performer's works, improvisational techniques, biography, and more.
  • Electronic Production and Design-An introduction to the world of music technology, geared to the needs of today's professional musician. The course topics will give an overview of all aspects of the current tools, technology, and techniques for desktop music production including basic sequencing techniques, MIDI editing, introduction to virtual instruments, sample manipulation, and industry leading DAWs.
  • Survey of Recording Styles-Studio equipment, the technical aspects of recording (logarithms, decibels, etc.), and various studio procedures will be discussed and demonstrated in one of Berklee's recording studios.
  • Jazz Composition and Arranging-This lecture class will introduce you to composing and arranging techniques used by important jazz artists. Topics include the process of creating and harmonizing melodies, orchestration, song and arrangement form, and music analysis.
  • Groove Essentials for All Instruments-This course will examine many of the essential grooves that continue to define contemporary music. The styles examined will include funk, hip-hop, and music from Brazil and Cuba. Music examples and scores will be examined to analyze the rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic components to each style. Documentaries will be shown to support the historical and social aspects of these styles with an emphasis on the innovators who made them popular.
• Optional Electives
  The following classes are in addition to the electives above. Optional electives meet in the evening. Seating is limited, and we will try to accommodate student choices.
  • Drum Circle-Available to percussionists and non-percussionists alike. This weekly workshop provides an opportunity to develop skills using various percussion instruments from around the world.
  • Exploring the Artist Within-This class, designed for vocalists, songwriters, instrumentalists, and composers, will help you to get in touch with your artistic identity. Through a series of innovative exercises, this unique artist circle will allow you discover your true musical voice: the artist within. The next time a bandleader, producer, or fellow musician asks you to be yourself and play what you feel, you will be prepared.
  • Five-Week Chorus-Developed especially for this program. The chorus performs in the Berklee Performance Center during the final week.
  • Musical Theater Workshop-This workshop will introduce you to the skills and techniques needed to get work in musical theater. Strong emphasis will be placed on audition technique, including developing your book, song selection and development, and identifying songs suitable for your individual style and the roles for which you may audition. Students will rehearse and perform, individually and in groups, scenes and musical numbers from a variety of productions leading up to a performance at the end of the program.
  • Turntable Technique-Students will develop a basic skill set of turntable techniques, including cueing, mixing, beat matching, cutting, and scratching. By tracing the transformation of the turntable into a musical instrument, students will learn of its development as a major expression of hip-hop culture and thus understand its prominence in contemporary music. The course is open to students with little or no prior experience.
  • Poetry Slam and Performance-Learn to own the stage in this workshop dedicated to the electric art of poetry slam and spoken word. With equal emphasis on the writing and performance of compelling poetry, you'll learn to liberate your true voice, free your body on stage, and communicate your ideas with unstoppable power. Dive into poetry writing and editing exercises, explore different ways to use your voice, and learn stage movement techniques designed to emphasize your own unique and creative personality.
  • Movement for Musicians-This course is designed to increase students' awareness of their technical and creative abilities through investigating movement and how it relates to their stage performance. Students will be encouraged to explore their own capacity and range of movement, realizing its aesthetic, physical, and visual possibilities. The technique portions of the class will emphasis increasing the body's flexibility, strength, control, and body awareness. Choreographic exploration will concentrate on the use of space, dimension, time, rhythm, energy, and contrast through improvisation and development of movement phrases.
• Additional Performance Opportunities
  Performance is the centerpiece of the Five-Week program. During your five weeks, you will have many opportunities to put your course work into action. Additional performance opportunities available to you include:
  • Jam Sessions-Tuesday and Thursday night jam sessions are open to all. This is a great way to get to know other students and explore your own potential in an informal group-playing situation.
  • Recording Studio Sessions-For selected ensembles to record in one of Berklee's 10 state-of-the-art recording studios.
  • Recording Sessions for Vocalists-Vocalists will have the opportunity to record a song in a professional recording studio, singing with prerecorded tracks or with their own accompaniment.
• By-Audition Performance Opportunities
  
  • Performing Songwriter Showcase-Auditions are open to all. Students may perform an original or cowritten song by signing up for an audition in the Student Activities Center during registration. A panel of Berklee faculty will select 40 students to perform their songs at the Berklee Performance Center and Cafe 939 in a series of showcases scheduled for the fourth week of the program.
  • Singers Showcase-Vocalists may audition during the first week of the program for selection as one of 10 featured vocalists-five soloists and five background vocalists-who will perform in the Berklee Performance Center during the fifth week of the program. These students will perform arrangements that will be written for them by faculty members and performed with a band of upper-semester Berklee students.
  • Instrumental Showcase-Instrumentalists may audition during the first week of the program for an opportunity to perform in one of three all-star groups. These groups will perform in the Berklee Performance Center under the direction of Berklee faculty members during the fifth week of the program.
  • Musical Theater Showcase-Auditions for the Musical Theater Showcase will be open to all students during the first week of the program. Vocalists may audition for lead and supporting roles. Instrumentalists may audition for a seat in the Musical Theater Ensemble. Students selected for the Musical Theater Showcase will perform in the Berklee Performance Center during the final week of the program.
• Student Activities-The Student Activities Center, in collaboration with the Five-Week Office, welcomes you to Berklee and to Boston with a dynamic two-day orientation program complete with student performances, jam sessions, introductions to Berklee resources, and community-building social events. Over the course of the Five-Week program, the Student Activities Center organizes a host of activities meant to connect the Five-Week community and encourage students to take advantage of the student experience that Berklee and the City of Boston have to offer. Past activities include group outings to movies and concerts, trips to the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and hikes on local trails. Planned ongoing events have included caf shows (concerts in the Berklee dining hall run by students for students), game nights, and dance parties. Students are bound to find something of interest and meet a few friends along the way. While the specific offerings may change from year to year, the Student Activities Center promises there will be plenty to do. We recommend that all Five-Week students stop by the Student Activities Center to hang out, watch television, play games, or learn about getting involved. For more information about Student Activities at Berklee, contact studentactivities@berklee.edu.