by Matt Baamonde.

It always feels great at the end of a hard year to sit down and watch baseball with my family, after sleeping in and enjoying the beautiful summer weather. My second year at Berklee has reached its conclusion and I’m finally settling back down at home and relaxing, but also preparing myself for the next, and possibly final, year to come.

Looking back, this year was much more eventful and exciting than I could have ever imagined, coming out of my first year.

For starters, I was notified on the final day of the school year that I won a Berklee Achievement Scholarship, which is a major financial relief for me. That, combined with winning the 2008 Peter Kaleta Scholarship Award, I feel like my resume has greatly improved, while finances have gotten somewhat less stressful, since I’m looking at less debt from student loans.

I’m also excited and relieved that I’ve completed all my core music requirements, with some satisfying results. I brought home nearly straight As this semester- minus one B+ in Ear Training 4. (If there is any sure sign that Berklee can mold you into a better musician, it’s that I landed first semester’s Ear Training 1 with a C- and just finished Ear Training 4 with a B+).

Now, my ear training requirements are complete, my harmony classes are complete, my traditional/tonal harmony and counterpoint classes are complete, my arranging classes are complete, and my private instruction and proficiency exam requirements are complete.

I have only one more guitar lab left to take, which will be Jazz/Blues next semester. Finally, the only classes I am required to take outside of my major classes are the History of Western Music 1 and 2 lecture classes, Basic Keyboarding 1 and 2, and Conducting 1 and 2. I am registered for the “1” in all those classes next semester and plan to take the “2”s in the spring. Also required is one physical science class for which I’m taking Health and Wellness.

The rest of my classes will be based around my major- Contemporary Writing and Production. For Fall ’08 I’m taking Writing for Large Ensemble 1, Scoring to Visuals, Sound Processing Applications for the Writer and Introduction to Writing and Production in the Studio.

It’s looking like a challenging, but exciting year ahead of me and I’m planning out this summer to prepare for it.

While I’m home, I aim to play a few gigs with my local band friends from high school, whom I played with before Berklee. Jessica Mellott and I are also songwriting together and looking to have a solid schedule of gigs lined up for the fall and looking to see where that takes us. I should also be teaching quite a bit at the local music chain that I have worked for previously, and taking the time to update my website, my MySpace pages, and to do a few feature interviews for Modern Guitars. My latest interview with Joe Trohman of Fall Out Boy is on the MG homepage now, and I think it is one of my best. I hope you check it out.

May Teacher Review

Jerry Gates – Writing for Small/Large Ensemble – Jerry teaches a challenging but very practical class to prepare one to become a working arranger preparing parts and scores for real life presentation to clients. Jerry is very clear with his instructions and gives a good amount of homework to ground you with a solid foundation for the real world. Jerry is a difficult but rewarding teacher.

Arthur Welwood – Traditional Counterpoint 2 – Counterpoint classes can be considered one of the most frustrating and time-consuming Berklee requirements, but Arthur makes it a treat and offers enough help and guidance to see you through it. Class is a lot of fun and the projects leave you with a real appreciation for styles that you may not have thought you liked. Highly recommended when you are faced with these requirements.

Andrew List – Traditional Harmony 2 – Andrew is a very philosophical, very focused teacher who does not appreciate students who waste time and show up late. If you’re a slacker, I don’t recommend taking him. Why? Because, he will let you know in a very direct way what he thinks of you and your work. If you’re a hard worker, Andrew’s class is highly rewarding and will really help you appreciate the works of Mozart and a lot of the Romantic Era classical styles. Andrew also really pushes his students to put their hearts into their music in a way that can be very inspiring.

Jim Kelly – Jazz/Rock Rhythm Lab – Jim is a very skilled guitar player and a really cool guy, in general. His class is fun, but since you can’t take notes while you play guitar and he doesn’t offer a lot of handouts, it’s really hard to remember half the things you work on in class. Even if you take a tape-recorder to class, you can’t actually see the fingerings and exercises that he shows you. There is not a lot of work necessary outside of class, which can be a blessing if you don’t have the time But, you may come away from it having not really remembered a lot of what you learned. If you have a great memory, then he is recommended for a very cool chord-based guitar lab.

I want to wish everyone a wonderful summer.

All the best,

-Matt
(Baazar)