Curriculum
Your education at Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive is provided by Berklee's world-class faculty and includes a mix of private instruction, instrumental labs, ensembles, theory, performance, and musicianship training.
Classes generally take place between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. and are tailored to your musical interest and experience level. The program culminates with a final week of concerts where you will perform for faculty, fellow students, family, and friends. Browse course descriptions below.
Core Curriculum
Private Instruction
This is a half-hour lesson each week on your principal instrument.
Instrumental Labs
Three hours each week will be spent in instrument-specific small group courses to develop instrumental style, reading, and technique.
Instrumental Survey
Instrumental/vocal departments will present a survey class, which examines various performance styles and techniques from a historical perspective.
Ensemble
Ensembles will run for two hours each week. Instrumental and vocal groups are available in a wide range of contemporary styles, including jazz, pop and rock, funk/fusion, pop/R&B, bluegrass, salsa, and world music. Additional ensembles are available depending on instrumental balance and need. Twenty-three ensembles will be selected to record in one of Berklee’s 10 state-of the-art recording studios. All ensembles will perform a short set in an on-campus venue during the final week of the program.
Musicianship
You will spend four hours per week developing your musical ear, performance skills, and reading ability. This class level is determined by your entering musicianship assessment.
Theory in Performance
You will spend three hours per week studying the rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic elements of music as they relate to playing your instrument. This class level is determined by your entering theory assessment.
Performance Perspectives
Performances/discussions are held two hours per week to expose you to valuable career insight from music professionals in every sector of the industry: performance, songwriting, film composition, music business, and more. Notable guest artists who have recently visited Berklee include Victor Wooten, Cory Henry, Crissy Collins, and Charlie Puth, among many others.
Visiting Artist Clinics
These lectures and demonstrations feature performers, songwriters, film composers, and music business experts with experience in the industry. They are open to all students.
Visiting artists are announced at the start of the program. Notable artists who have recently visited Berklee include Amanda Palmer, George Duke, Melissa Ferrick, and Dawaun Parker, among many others.
Music Technology for Blind Students
Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive offers a laboratory course on assistive music technology for blind students. The course explores digital audio workstations, notation, and Braille music. For more information on the course, contact the instructor, Chi Kim, at cgkim@berklee.edu. For more information on services for students with disabilities, contact Berklee Accessibility Resouces for Students at 617-747-2387 or accessibilityresources@berklee.edu.
Final Week Concerts
During the final week of the program, you will perform in at least one of more than 300 student ensemble concerts. Concerts are open to the public and will take place in one of the college's many performance venues including the recital halls, Red Room at Cafe 939, and the Berklee Performance Center, a 1,220-seat, world-class venue.
Please note: The Berklee City Music Scholarship Concert is the only performance that charges an admission fee. All other shows are free, but may have limited capacity. Admittance is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Electives
Electives give students the opportunity to learn more about an area that interests them in a class that meets once a week for two hours. Students will receive one elective from the list of required electives below. You may also choose to receive one additional, optional elective. You will rank your preference of electives while taking your online placement assessment before the program begins.
Required Electives
Electronic Production and Design: Producing Music with Ableton Live
Ableton Live is a powerful software tool that allows musicians to develop musical ideas in a unique, nonlinear environment and presents a way of working that is fundamentally different from other software used in music production. In this workshop, students will learn to create new musical ideas and produce electronic arrangements using software instruments and effects that come with Ableton Live. Emphasis will be placed on developing the basic skills that can be used to write and produce new works, as well as to create remixes and prepare songs for electronic performance.
Groove Essentials for All Instruments
Examine many of the essential grooves that continue to define contemporary music. The styles examined may 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 of 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.
Jazz Composition and Arranging
This lecture class will introduce you to composing and arranging techniques used by important jazz artists. Topics include orchestration, song and arrangement form, music analysis, and the process of creating and harmonizing melodies.
Music Business
This course will provide you with an introduction to the music business. You will gain an understanding of how your creative works are protected by U.S. copyright law and promoted by publishers. The contractual relationship between artists and record labels will also be reviewed with discussions on how to set up and manage a small business (business formation, band agreements, etc.). This course will also explore artists’ managers, their work, and their relationship with artists. You will learn why touring is a profitable component of the music business, showing how artists and promoters budget for a successful outcome.
Music Therapy Basics
This course is designed to provide a basic overview of the profession of music therapy. This includes the neurological basis for music as therapy, a brief history of the profession, and current advances in professional practice. Students will explore personal connections with music, the education and training requirements for music therapists, clinical populations and settings music therapists work with, and the treatment planning process in music therapy.
Scoring for Visual Media
This course will provide an introduction to the exciting world of scoring for today’s visual media. Using a wide variety of examples from film, video games, television, and commercials, this class will give you a behind-the-scenes look at the process of composing and producing a musical underscore, from traditional linear scoring to the cutting-edge, nonlinear techniques used in current-generation video games and interactive media.
Social Media Marketing: Mapping and Mastering Your Online Identity
This class will explore and help you learn how to identify and promote yourself clearly and consistently over a broad range of platforms, and will introduce you to the fundamentals of using online marketing tools and strategies to create a personal brand that stands out in the digital marketplace
Songwriting
This lecture class will examine song form, strategies for creating melodies, and effective use of harmony to create forward motion in songs. Lyric writing, as well as tips to help the creative process, will be discussed with the instructor and guest lecturers.
Because technology allows the easy exchange of ideas and files, strategies and tools for improving both songwriting and production through collaboration will be demonstrated. Lastly, we will discuss an overview of how songs are currently used in film, TV, and other visual media, along with the tools needed to place your songs and start earning royalties.
Survey of Production Styles
This course will explore how a modern song is taken from inception to full mix. It includes discussion of song form, songwriting, and techniques to invoke the best performances from players on the spot. This course also addresses the creative use of modern microphone and recording techniques; the use of outboard and computer processing, such as reverb, equalizers, and compressors; and basic mixing techniques. Strong interpersonal skills are needed. An open mind and active participation are required.
Optional Electives
Musical Theater Workshop
This ensemble will focus on large and small ensemble musical theater literature. Strong emphasis will be placed on vocal technique, ensemble singing, and lyric delivery. Students will prepare, rehearse, and perform Broadway-style selections from a variety of productions, leading to a performance at the end of the program.
Open Drum Circle
Drum circles are available to percussionists and non-percussionists alike. This weekly workshop provides an opportunity to develop skills using various percussion instruments from around the world.
Poetry Slam and Performance
This workshop is dedicated to the art of slam poetry and spoken word. Great for songwriters, poets, or hip-hop artists, this is for anyone wanting to amp up their stage presence and work past performance fears. With equal emphasis on writing and performing, this high-energy class features special guest artists, writing and editing prompts, vocal exercises, and stage movement techniques designed to emphasize your own unique style.
Singer-Songwriter Workshop
This class will provide singer-songwriters an opportunity to write and perform their own songs, and learn the tools of the trade. The class will focus on the song: how it’s created and how it is used to express and communicate the songwriter's feelings and stories to the audience. You will develop the tools and techniques used by songwriters today and participate in facilitated song critiques with your classmates. The class will culminate in a live performance.
Yoga for Musicians
You will learn to practice meditation approaches and breathing techniques, play using healthy posture and technique, get more out of your practice through improved focus, use your breath to improve phrasing and ease performance anxiety, and play with deeper expression through inspiration. These concepts, exercises, and practice routines present yoga from the musician's perspective, focusing on direct relationships between using yoga and creating music.
General Curriculum Information
Genres and Styles
You can choose to study the following styles:
- Jazz—The repertoire will focus on music drawn from jazz standards, the Great American Songbook, blues, Latin, and modal jazz compositions by a wide range of important jazz artists, including Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, and others.
- Pop/Rock—The repertoire will focus on music drawn from important performers, including Adele, the Beatles, Carrie Underwood, the Black Keys, and more.
- Funk/Fusion (instrumentalists only)—The repertoire will focus on music drawn from important performers and groups such as Herbie Hancock, the Chick Corea Elektric Band, the Pat Metheny Group, and others.
- Pop/R&B (vocalists only)—The repertoire will focus on music drawn from important performers such as Beyoncé, Robert Glasper Experiment, John Legend, Aretha Franklin, and others.
Performance Opportunities
Performance is the centerpiece of the Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive program. Family and friends are encouraged to attend these performances as all concerts are open to the public. During the program, you will have many opportunities to put your coursework into action.
Please note: The Berklee City Music Scholarship Concert is the only performance that charges an admission fee. All other shows are free, but may have limited capacity. Admittance is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Sample Schedule
Students' schedules are tailored to their musical interest and experience level. Each schedule is different, and meeting times may vary. Below is a sample schedule of a typical week.
Monday | Activities |
8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m. | Breakfast in the Berklee Dining Hall |
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | Mandatory Elective |
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. | Survey of Instrumental/Vocal Styles |
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m. | Lunch in the Berklee Dining Hall |
3:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. | Performance Perspectives |
6:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. | Dinner in the Berklee Dining Hall |
7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. | Open Mic (optional) |
9:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. | Homework in the Dorm Lounge (optional) |
Tuesday | Activities |
8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m. | Breakfast in the Berklee Dining Hall |
9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m. | Music Theory |
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. | Musicianship |
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m. | Faculty Artist Clinic (optional) |
3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. | Musicianship Teacher Office Hour (optional) |
4:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. | Additional Elective (optional) |
6:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. | Dinner in the Berklee Dining Hall |
7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. | Tuesday Night Jams (optional) |
9:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. | Study Group at Cafe 939 (optional) |
Wednesday | Activities |
8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m. | Breakfast in the Berklee Dining Hall |
11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | Musicianship |
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. | Live at 160 Caf Show (optional) |
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m. | Lunch in the Berklee Dining Hall |
2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. | Reading Lab |
4:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. | Ensemble Class |
6:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. | Dinner in the Berklee Dining Hall |
8:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. | Shakespeare in the Park, Boston Common (optional) |
Thursday | Activities |
8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m. | Breakfast in the Berklee Dining Hall |
9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m. | Music Theory |
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. | Musicianship |
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m. | Faculty Artist Clinic (optional) |
2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. | Theory Teacher Office Hour (optional) |
4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. | Styles Lab |
6:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. | Dinner in the Berklee Dining Hall |
7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. | Thursday Night Jams (optional) |
Friday | Activities |
8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m. | Breakfast in the Berklee Dining Hall |
9:30 a.m.–10:00 a.m. | Private Lesson |
11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | Musicianship |
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. | Live at 160 Caf Show (optional) |
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m. | Lunch in the Berklee Dining Hall |
2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. | Department Choice Lab |
3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. | Practice Room Session (optional) |
6:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. | Dinner in the Berklee Dining Hall |
Saturday | Activities |
9:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. | Breakfast in the Berklee Dining Hall |
10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. | Yoga for Musicians (optional) |
12:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | Trip to Providence, Rhode Island, for Waterfire (optional) |
10:00 p.m.–11:00 p.m. | Caf Show |
Sunday | Activities |
10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. | Brunch in the Berklee Dining Hall |
1:35 p.m.–5:30 p.m. | Red Sox vs. White Sox game at Fenway Park (optional) |
5:30 p.m.–6:00 p.m. | Dinner in the Berklee Dining Hall |
6:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. | Practice Room Session (optional) |
7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | Homework in the Media Center (optional) |
College Credit
Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive students have the opportunity to earn college credit, which many parents find helps to significantly offset the cost of the program. Students participating in our Five-Week program may receive three college credits by earning a grade of B or higher in the following classes:
- Theory in Performance
- Musicianship
- Private Instruction
- At least one section of Five-Week Ensemble
Five-Week students may receive a maximum of six college credits when attending more than one summer of the program.
Participants in our 2020 online program who earned up to six college credits are still eligible to receive an additional six college credits through our on-campus program for a total maximum accrual of 12 college credits.
These credits will count as general elective credits upon admission to Berklee College of Music and will transfer to other institutions at their discretion. Students who qualify for credit will receive an unofficial transcript in addition to a grading report.