Has anyone here ever attended Beerkle?

BluesGuyJ

New member
Hey guys, I'm going to be applying to Beerkle (Boston one). I was just curious if anyone here has ever attended Beerkle? I'm making an audition CD for their Best Scholarship which i will be finishing this coming Sunday. I'd just like to hear some info/opinions/thoughts on Beerkle. I know you can still become an amazing guitarist without going to a music school, but guitar/music is what I want to dedicate my life and every cell of blood to.
 
Re: Has anyone here ever attended Beerkle?

PS: I know this doesnt really belong in The Guitar Shop, but I wanted the forum where the most people were, and it's sort of important.
 
Re: Has anyone here ever attended Beerkle?

In 1996 I received a B.M. from Berklee (major performance) , & in 1998 I received a M.M. from Boston Corservatory/Berklee's joint masters program (major in jazz studies/performance).


What wouldja like to know?
 
Re: Has anyone here ever attended Beerkle?

You might want to learn how to spell it before you apply to it. ;)
 
Re: Has anyone here ever attended Beerkle?

seafoamer said:
In 1996 I received a B.M. from Berklee (major performance) , & in 1998 I received a M.M. from Boston Corservatory/Berklee's joint masters program (major in jazz studies/performance).


What wouldja like to know?

Do you think it has helped you get any jobs?
 
Re: Has anyone here ever attended Beerkle?

Grandor said:
Do you think it has helped you get any jobs?

Well, seeing that since graduating the jobs I've held were:
Private Instructor (mostly gtr), & Band Director in a public school, all signs point to yes.
 
Re: Has anyone here ever attended Beerkle?

Was it worth the price? I've worked at a summer music program at UNH with a teacher from Berklee. He's actually a former teacher from my high school here in New Hampshire. Sorry, I didn't see that I spelt Beerkle wrong, I'm legally blind. How long had you been playing guitar before you went to Berklee? I've been playing for a little over 3 years, and I can say I'm a decently accomplished player. I've been taking private lessons for the past 3 years too. The only thing I'm worried about is being able to read sheet music. I'm trying to find out if I can learn how to read sheet music on brail. Did it make you a better player, enough of a better player so that it was worth the cash?
 
Re: Has anyone here ever attended Beerkle?

Honestly, Berklee is like anything else in life. You’ll get what you put into it. I worked my ass off their and I learned a lot from the experience. I learned as much from hanging out and playing with tons of other students, as I did from the professors & classes. Just a great place if you can afford it & are ready, & willing to work your ass off to make it worth the $.
I would definitely contact Berklee’s admissions office to get some insight into your sight issue. I have no idea how that would play into things for you. I do know that, while at Berklee, I played once or twice with a student pianist who was 100% blind.
I always was pretty creative & musical, but Berklee helped me, intensely, better my ear. I went from not understanding Harmony so well, to being one of the cats that other students used to come to for answers to their harmony questions. Regarding whether the Berklee experience has made me a better player: Definitely! I took some improv classes from the legendary Hal Crook, that would make most musicians sh!t their pants.
If you have the drive, and it sounds like you do, I think further investigating the opportunity is a great idea.

LMK if there is anything else I can help you with.
 
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Re: Has anyone here ever attended Beerkle?

TheLizardKing said:
How can you read the computer screen and not sheet music?

In my senior yr at Berklee, I was in the Charlie Parker ensemble. Professor would put bebop tunes in front of us, and ask us to sight read the melody, then improv over the tunes. As if sight reading bebop tunes wasn't hard enough, that bastard would count us off like we've been playing the tune forever. Still gives me nightmares. :D

I think BluesGuyJ is worried about things like sight reading & reading charts & stuff. I honestly think he'll be fine, though.
 
Re: Has anyone here ever attended Beerkle?

JOLLY said:
You might want to learn how to spell it before you apply to it. ;)
Naw, John, he was applying for the PARTY school!!!

:joke:


BluesGuyJ, there should be assistance available to accommodate your disability. Ask to speak to someone Otherwise, they might be in violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 1978, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Check out this link:

Berklee Special Services

They should be able to take care of your needs, bro.
 
Re: Has anyone here ever attended Beerkle?

I went to see the legendary Al Kooper last night.

among the many interesting things in his bio, he once taught at Berklee:

Al relocated to Boston in the fall of '97 to teach at the Berklee School Of Music. In the fall of 2001, Berklee bestowed their own doctorate on Kooper, in a ceremony also honoring jazz great Elvin Jones.

His teaching was cut short prematurely in 2001, when a debilitating condition permanently robbed him of two-thirds of his sight. “Not to worry,” he said with typical aplomb, “As long as I’ve got my hands and my ears, I can still see my way clear to performing the music I love. Besides, what a great excuse to not have to drive in Boston!”

Berklee set up a scholarship fund in Al's name to assist handicapped students in overcoming any difficulties that would prevent them from attending the school.
 
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