by Matt Baamonde.

I remember one moment during the week of December 11 very vividly: My roommate hangs sideways off of his bunk, pages from the Real Book lay scattered all around him. He’s got a vice grip on his guitar neck with one hand while mumbling, “I can’t take it anymore...” I’m lying flat on the floor staring at the ceiling. I have Berklee Guitar Method books draped all over me and I am as far away from my guitar as possible, while still being in the same room. It's 5 a.m.. We both have finals at 9. What a week.

I had a total of seven finals, not including final projects such as Writing Skills, Harmony 2, (the dreaded!) Ear Training, Guitar Lab, Ensemble Final Performance, Music Technology, and the (ever-demanding) Private Lesson Proficiency Exam.

Not only that, but because Berklee lets out the week of Christmas and not the week before like many other schools (we started our semester a week later than most schools, as well), I had to do my Christmas shopping during finals week too!

But, that’s all over now, and aside from a few mental bruises and a lingering wariness every time I look at my guitar, I came out relatively unscathed.

Being back home for three weeks is really feeling like a vacation, especially now that my family is back to work and school, and I, and a few of my old high school friends, have all day to hang out. I get to relax and practice at my leisure, while awaiting Spring semester and I've picked up some sub work, teaching guitar at a local music shop and I'm putting away some spending money.

I wanted to work more, but because I only got home a couple of days before Christmas, most of the seasonal jobs were done hiring. I found time to record an instrumental Christmas song for my mom, which I might post on MySpace sometime soon.

I thought I would have my grades at this point, but they are still not posted. I feel confident that I did well. I’m looking forward to next semester, with a new class schedule that I got to choose for myself. Here are the courses I am signed up for:

- Ear Training 2 (that should be fun!)
- Harmony 3,
- Arranging 1 (this is basically Writing Skills 2)
- Guitar Styles Skills (a new guitar lab)
- Private Instruction
- Traditional Harmony and Composition
- Songwriting 1
- Lyric Writing 1

It’s a lot, but my plan is to get as many credits out of the way early-on, so that I can open up my schedule and take the classes and electives I really want to take in the upcoming years.

Much of my schedule was not rigidly set due to the fact that I went to a local university before coming to Berklee. It was an idea given to me by a orientation tour guide at Berklee two years ago. One can chop a year of off Berklee’s daunting tuition by transferring in a year of credits.

I went to George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia last year. A great year to be there by the way with their Final Four NCAA Basketball finish! And I transferred in to Berklee with 27 credits, so most of my General Education requirements were completed before starting Berklee classes. I also had some AP credits. I highly recommend this path if you are considering applying to Berklee and are worried about the tuition costs, or live out of state. Any non-music related credits can be taken at a community college or other similar institutions, but it's important for me to mention that Berklee will not accept any transfer credits in any music related subject, regardless of the stature of the institution.

It's also possible to attend Berklee for three years and only take music coursework to get what is called a Professional Diploma. This requires 96 credits - minimum - and you take all the same coursework as the degree students, but without the liberal arts courses. There is also an option to take a minimum of 48 credits over two years in music coursework to get a Berklee Certificate, with the completion of required core courses. More information is available at the Berkliee website.

There are a lot of things to look forward to next semester, aside from the actual Berklee academics. There are the ever popular Cafe-Shows, where students perform original and cover songs in the cafeteria every Thursday through Saturday night from 10:00 to 11:00. Berklee also boasts a wide variety of student activities and clubs, though most are not music related, like Berklee C.A.R.E.S, which is a community service project for students, and the Philosophy Club, the Movie Club, the Anime Club, and several others.

I also can’t wait to get back to Boston for personal reasons with the main one being my new girlfriend! The weather was beautiful this December and I’d like to do some more sightseeing before it gets too cold. I’ve developed quite a close-knit group of friends and a network of acquaintances, mentors, etc. Berklee highly recommends networking, finding that a widespread and diverse group of contacts definitely helps you advance in your music career. Along this line, one of the big reasons I can’t wait to get back is that one of my professors has asked me to provide guitar work on the soundtrack for a new version of a well-known video game! I am honored that he asked me to work with him on this project and hope that everything goes well. ‘Mums the word’, though, for now. I don’t want to jinx it!

So I’m enjoying my few weeks off, but my mind is mostly set on getting back to Boston. It is nice, however, to see my other guitars, and my old friends and, of course, my family, and to feel what its like behind the wheel of a car again.

Semester one is finished, except for the actual final grades. Easy as A, B,…and hopefully nothing lower!

For those of you who speak Esperanto, I hope you all had a great ChrismaHannaKwanzEidYule Season, and I wish you a Happy 2007!