So we begin a fresh new semester. The excitement built the whole train ride up to Boston. Back in my room everything felt so familiar, it’s surprising to think that I hadn’t been there in over a month. Where six months ago everything was so new and intimidating, I suddenly have a solid understanding of what I’m doing here and how much I feel at home.

There are subtle changes that I’ve noticed, fresh faces, new people in the dorms, and nice new chairs in the cafeteria. Some people have moved to new locations, and some have left Berklee to pursue their music careers elsewhere. I love taking in these new changes as well as the whole new schedule I have for my week.

Entrance to my dorm building

Two weeks later my roommate and I are watching and listening to the all-new Satriani! Live DVD while we do our homework and prepare for the week ahead.

The new semester has been interesting, so far. While the workload hasn’t changed at all, I’m finding I now know how to prioritize my time, in terms of studying and focusing… especially in classes like Ear Training. Looking back at last semester, I feel I’ve accomplished a lot and am proud of the work I’ve done.

I ended the semester well, with a mostly As, a couple of Bs, and one C (Ear Training). The classes I’m taking this semester are a lot more fun now that I’ve gotten to choose the times, (no 9:00 AM classes!) and the professors that teach them, based on conversations with other students, especially older ones, ratemyprofessor.com, and based on the ones I liked from last semester.

I’m actually finding that I like my new Ear Training class a lot; the new teacher is fun and highly recommended. My roommate ended up in my class, and working together has helped me start off the semester well, and I’m hoping to keep it up. I’m also taking two Harmony classes: Harmony 3 and Traditional Harmony and Composition, which, while dreadfully boring at times, are necessary for being a well-rounded musician. Essentially, these are both like musical ‘math’ classes, but with different approaches to the subject matter.

Traditional Harmony gives us the most common, passed-down, versions of harmonic theory, starting with the original four-voiced Bach Chorales, while Harmony 3 is Berklee’s version of music theory. It’s also interesting to see the difference between Berklee music theory and classical theory (things like: Berklee uses minor7th(b5) chords while most other schools use half-diminished). The sequential class to last semester’s Writing Skills is Arranging 1, which is essentially a continuation of studying the musical form and basic requirements, as well focusing on grammatical mastery.

My Guitar Styles Skills lab, for which I specially requested my instructor from last year, is essentially a continuation of last semester’s Guitar Performance skills. It’s a class of seven to ten other guitarists, where we work on grounding ourselves in the technical aspects of being a reliable guitar player, things like scales, chords, voice- leading, sight-reading and other important techniques. I’ve also taken the same instructor for private lessons, as he already knows what I need to work on from last semester and we can immediately get to doing productive work.

Berklee Performance Center

I started the semester with a songwriting class paired with a lyric writing class, per Berklee’s recommendation. While Lyric Writing class is proving rewarding, I ended up dropping the songwriting class, which just wasn’t for me. The class, it seems, is really designed for singer/performers and not for someone who was looking to be a producer or professional songwriter for various artists, which is what I was hoping to get out of it. I do want to be a performer, specifically a lead guitarist in a band, as well as potentially a solo instrumentalist.

So, I write music and lyrics, but don’t perform as a singer, and it definitely felt like a class for singers. The Lyric Writing class is fun, and has helped tremendously with helping me see the musical and literary tradition that we can build upon, if we are careful to avoid clichés and stay original, finding our own voice.

In place of the songwriting class, I’ve switched to Introduction to Music Production and Engineering class (MP&E). This class is essentially a lecture-style overview of the major itself, which I would like to begin next semester. You have to apply to get into MP&E. There are essays that have to be submitted and interviews with instructors that have to be taken, in order to be accepted into the major. I await my interview tomorrow, and am very excited, after touring the studios and seeing what would be at my disposal if I am accepted.

I’m also assembling a band to possibly perform a Cafe Show. We are considering doing covers of the band Disturbed, as we are all fans, and we think it would generate a nice crowd. I watched a friend do a Cafe Show show recently, and that spurred me on to do this myself.

All the best!

Matt