by Matt Baamonde.

Matt Baamonde

I won’t soon forget looking back at Berklee as I drove across the bridge towards home, remembering all the moments that I have shared over this first year. Nine months ago I was a very different guitar player, and a very different person. Berklee has shaped me into a much more mature, accomplished musician and self-sufficient adult, but, the truth be told, I was ready to go home.

Finals week was brutal, a bug had been going around the dorms, and my roommate had gotten very sick. We were all fairly stressed, getting little to no sleep each night, working on projects, solfeging our voices to nearly losing them, and cramming in every bit of last minute musical knowledge.

So, needless to say, I took a nice long week off when I finally got home.

It had been a very long semester, but for all the stress, it ended up being very successful. I pulled off five As, a B+, and a B (Ear Training) on my final grade report. Additionally, I’ve been accepted into the Music Production and Engineering (MP&E) Major, which I have been told rarely happens on the first try. I now have a lot of thinking to do about what I see myself doing in the future. My guitar-arsenal is ever expanding, and my vocabulary has exponentially increased since last summer.

I’ve just started working at my part-time summer internship at the Recording Arts Studio, a highly regarded, award-winning recording studio in Northern Virginia, led by producer and engineer Marco Delmar.

I highly recommend interning for anyone looking at a future in music production, just sitting in and watching a commercial record being made is an incredible experience and the amount of knowledge you will absorb once you get hands on the work is unbelievable. Plus, it’s great for your resume.

I’ve also gone back to teaching in order to make money over the summer to finance a guitar I really want! Steve Vai’s Ibanez Jem7v, and to have spending money for next semester. For those of you considering living in the dorms, consider bringing about $250 to $500 dollars just to spend on food and snacks.

Eventually you will want to eat something other than “cafe” food. Sometimes getting to the Cafe for a meal can be inconvenient or just plain impossible, so having real food on hand is a nice fallback, especially if you want food before 9 A.M or after 7:30 P.M. And then there are times where having a McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, Boston Market, Wendy’s, (excellent) Thai Food, pizza, and Chinese food directly across the street from your room can be way too tempting to pass up.

This summer I’ve also set myself on a course to be ahead in all my studies for next semester, especially my private lesson. Your private lesson is essentially a one-on-one class on your principle instrument with an instructor, with a proficiency exam at the end of the semester. As I’ve said before, your half-hour lesson is crucial time to learn as much as possible, and it would be foolish to waste that time just preparing for the proficiency alone.

So, before I left, I made sure to check my Level III proficiency exam requirements and my plan is to knock them all out this summer before I even get back to Berklee, so I can get right on to more important things with my instructor.

As part of my duties with Modern Guitars, I interviewed renowned guitarist Michael Fath over the winter, which should be available online soon. He lives in my area, and I have decided to take lessons with him this summer, with a two-hour lesson every two weeks. He will help me stay on track, and also offer career insights and advice, as I progress. I am grateful to have such an extraordinary performer and teacher in my area.

Other than that, I’m just getting myself prepared for next semester and enjoying the time I have to sit back and relax, and hang out with friends.

My schedule for next semester is Ear Training 3, Traditional Counterpoint 1, History of Art 2 ( I took Art History 1 at local college,) Electronic Effects Lab for Guitar, Private Instruction – Guitar, Principles of Music Production, Rock Guitar Lab \\m// , Harmony 4, and finally Groove Writing (I love this title!).

May Teacher Review

Scarlet Keys – Lyric Writing – Scarlet is a very knowledgeable staff songwriter for Warner Chappell/The New Company Nashville, and has written many songs for various jazz and country artists such as Anna Wilson, Sherry Austin, Jill Johnson, Emily West, Patricia Conroy, Denny Hemingson (Tim McGraw’s band), and Blue Miller (writer/producer for India Arie.) Her class is loads of fun, and she really connects on a personal level with the students. Her class mainly focuses on ridding your vocabulary of clichés using deep language with mainly love and relationship-bent lyrics. Each week you will be assigned to write, perform and record a song for a particular set of exercises.

Izhar Andy Schejter – Harmony – Andy is a very experienced jazz writer, arranger, and saxophone player with a long history of orchestras and ensembles. His harmony class moves at a moderate pace, usually beginning each class by reviewing the class before, but he does assign a lot of weekly work out of the book for homework. It’s fairly easy to maintain a good grade as long as you stay on top of your assignments and focus. You’ll be surprised at how much you’ve learned when you leave his class.

Curtis Shumate – Private Lesson – A performing and recording artist, Curt immediately begins to focus on your weak spots when you enter his class to prepare you for the proficiency exam. His class moves in sections focusing on the different guidelines for the exam. He does expect a lot of out of class preparation and you will have to work hard to get an A in his half of the class. Highly recommended if you are a dedicated guitarist and your weak areas tend to be jazz and blues.

I wish you all a happy, and productive summer.

All the best,

Matthew Baamonde
“Baazar”