Berklee
 

Does anyone here have expirience with the school? I've been checking it out and am very very interested. I'm only a sophmore in highschool, but I've been working to get most of my credits out of the way so I have my senior year to practice all day.

Yes.. Berklee school of music has fallen very much flat since it's hay day. The school rides on it's reuptation from back in the day, when people such as Alan Dawson taught there and students included Steve Smith, Vinnie C. etc.

The school is nothing like that now, I would not in anyway recomend it. It's a pretty shabby place with questionable facilities for drummers and even less to offer educationally on the drumset.

I was wondering what are some good schools for drumset players ?

PIT, The Collective, UNT has a good jazz/classical based program.

[QUOTE=Josiah]Yes.. Berklee school of music has fallen very much flat since it's hay day. The school rides on it's reuptation from back in the day, when people such as Alan Dawson taught there and students included Steve Smith, Vinnie C. etc.

The school is nothing like that now, I would not in anyway recomend it. It's a pretty shabby place with questionable facilities for drummers and even less to offer educationally on the drumset.[/QUOTE]
Tis a shame. Josiah, you have some experience with PIT, don't you?

Most applicants that apply to Berklee apply on drums or guitar. So it's very competitive on either of those two instruments, you have to be very good. And most freshmen who come in on one of those two instruments drop out after the first year. Your choice though. It's a great music school, I plan to go there when I'm out of high school.

How much is the semester on berklee?
And also, what does PIT stand for?,a link to it?

I have a good friend who's going to school there now, and he pretty much echo's exactly what Josiah said.

[QUOTE=Kris2000]How much is the semester on berklee?
And also, what does PIT stand for?,a link to it?[/QUOTE]
I believe its Percussion Institue of Technology. Probably terribly wrong. Cant find a site.

Hey Josiah, could you post us a link to PIT?

I know a girl that went to Berkely after she graduated from my high school, and she said that she was too advanced and Berkely couldn't teach her anything she hadn't learned already.

[QUOTE=ThisMustBeHeaven]Hey Josiah, could you post us a link to PIT?

I know a girl that went to Berkely after she graduated from my high school, and she said that she was too advanced and Berkely couldn't teach her anything she hadn't learned already.[/QUOTE]
You mean Berklee....Berkley is a university.
And I think your friend is lying, you can't go there and not learn ONE SINGLE thing.

Anyone know a site were we could learn a little bit more about Music Universitys?

The Conservatories are ace, but good luck. They accept something like 3 or 4 applicants a year across the entire country. A friend of mine ended up getting accepted there, though, and now he's in the big time. Unfortunately, I haven't spoken with him since pretty much sophmore year (I'm a senior now).

I believe Mike Mangini taught at Berklee at one time, but that must have been ages ago.

[QUOTE=ThisMustBeHeaven]I know a girl that went to Berkely after she graduated from my high school, and she said that she was too advanced and Berkely couldn't teach her anything she hadn't learned already.[/QUOTE]
Thats bull****. If she learnt nothing there, she should be the one teaching.

PIT stands for the Percussion Institute of Technology, this is the percussive school subset in Musicians Institute. You can find them at [url]www.mi.edu[/url]

I did attend PIt for almost 2 years myself.


I know 2 people who have gone to berklee school of music, 1 for their normal program and another for a summer program. Both walked away saying it was a waste of money and very much "built" up image that does not exist.

[QUOTE=novacain]Does anyone here have expirience with the school? I've been checking it out and am very very interested. I'm only a sophmore in highschool, but I've been working to get most of my credits out of the way so I have my senior year to practice all day.[/QUOTE]

a friend of mine went to Berklee for guitar.

Advice: if you can get in, GO. If you get accepted, it means you are one of the best drummers out there. It's really expensive, though. And it's in Boston, so you'll have to deal with all those god **** red sox fans. lots of hot girls though.

the catch with Berklee: most people who go to Berklee end up dropping out and pursuing a career in music. This is how the band Godsmack was formed, as well as Martin, Medeski, and Wood... Along with countless other touring and nontouring acts.

good luck, but this is a really tough school to get into. if you can do it though, GO. check it out... it might be the best thing that ever happens to your music career.

I think I'd rather go to Berkley.

Then where else..?


This is the problem with Berklee right here..

" If you get accepted, it means you are one of the best drummers out there."

That is completely untrue!

You want to talk to somebody who ACTUALLY weant their for drums?

AIM him at 'cardboardcabin'

That guy spent the summer at Berklee, IM him, ask him about it. He'll tell you waht I did. It's practically a joke, the money is insane and the facilities are sh*t house. The place it's in in Boston is way bad and the people their are a lot of well.. just talk to him...

[QUOTE=drumforyourlife]

the catch with Berklee: most people who go to Berklee end up dropping out and pursuing a career in music. This is how the band Godsmack was formed, as well as Martin, Medeski, and Wood... Along with countless other touring and nontouring acts.
[/QUOTE]

If Godsmack is the calibre that Berkeley produces, then they're in trouble.

Alot of rockguys seem to come from Berklee these days...Adam D from Killswitch spend a few years at Berklee..same for Chris Pennie from Dillinger. And trust me, those guys can PLAY. that they choose to out it in a rock context, that's their problem ;D

Anyway, to sum it up in my opinion:
- Do you need to go to a school like Berklee to become a better player? No.
- Is the chance bigger that you meet people who share similar musical ideas and allow you to play music you really like to play? Yes. As its already been said, alot of people drop out after 2 years because they achieved a goal..being able to play music for a living.

Its more about networking and meeting people than the actual schooling itself, imho.

If you really want to focus on becoming a better drummer, try finding some good teachers in your area first. Will save you tons of cash in the end.

any1 no what drumsets they have in berklee?

Wow, and I was just about to enrol in ICOM, and local music school linked to Berklee. I guess I should just screw it.

[QUOTE=Carn]Alot of rockguys seem to come from Berklee these days...Adam D from Killswitch spend a few years at Berklee..same for Chris Pennie from Dillinger. And trust me, those guys can PLAY. that they choose to out it in a rock context, that's their problem ;D

Anyway, to sum it up in my opinion:
- Do you need to go to a school like Berklee to become a better player? No.
- Is the chance bigger that you meet people who share similar musical ideas and allow you to play music you really like to play? Yes. As its already been said, alot of people drop out after 2 years because they achieved a goal..being able to play music for a living.

Its more about networking and meeting people than the actual schooling itself, imho.

If you really want to focus on becoming a better drummer, try finding some good teachers in your area first. Will save you tons of cash in the end.[/QUOTE]


you know Chris Pennie didnt even go there for percussion

Yes I know. But I`ll be ****ed if he didnt pick up a few things there.

Same for Adam from killswitch. I do believe he majored in production and minored in bass.

"any1 no what drumsets they have in berklee?"

It's anyone, and yes.. not that it really matters. Nothing special to mention.

[QUOTE=Josiah]Yes.. Berklee school of music has fallen very much flat since it's hay day. The school rides on it's reuptation from back in the day, when people such as Alan Dawson taught there and students included Steve Smith, Vinnie C. etc.

The school is nothing like that now, I would not in anyway recomend it. It's a pretty shabby place with questionable facilities for drummers and even less to offer educationally on the drumset.[/QUOTE]

That is untrue. Sure there are better music schools out there, but Berklee is still one of the best in the business, I would venture to say that its in the top 10. It is the largest primier institute for music and many successful, talented, and respected people have come and are coming through this school. The faculty is amazing for drums how could anyone not see that. Mike Mangini, Kenwood Dennard, Rod Morgenstein, Dave Dicenso, Gary Burton, as well as guest appearances throughout the year which include Dave Weckl, Haracio Hernandez, Mike Portnoy, Steve Gadd, Steve Smith, and the list goes on.


The facilities for the drummers are just as good, and the education that i received when i was there was great. To me its seems like you have a grudge or something against the school. Yes, its expensive, but I think its worth it, and so is the education that you get with it. I have been there for a summer program and it was the best experience I've had with drums. I dont want to start arguments with you Josiah, Im just trying to tell it from the other side. You shouldnt base your perception on what 2 people have said, because it looks like thats what your doing. You should go and see the school and its facilities for yourself. I would also like you explain your reasoning a bit further because I'm having trouble understanding your reasoning.

Yes Berklee is **** expensive, but so is Eastmen, Julliard, Manhatten, New England, and all those other top notch conservatories. Berklee is a **** good. Basically if you have the chance to go...GO!!!

People either love this school, or hate it; it seems.

Theres tons of differenet opinions out there.
Hey flyguy,could you give us a little inside on your experience at berklee?
How are the facilities?,The teachers?,
Anything that dissapointed you?
And suff you really liked?

[QUOTE=Kris2000]Theres tons of differenet opinions out there.
Hey flyguy,could you give us a little inside on your experience at berklee?
How are the facilities?,The teachers?,
Anything that dissapointed you?
And suff you really liked?[/QUOTE]


Well...to start off I thought it was great. The school, the people, the students, the enviornment, the faculty, everything. The facilities are very nice and advanced. I believe there are 12 fully equipped recording studios, and about 10 labs. There are an abundant amount of practice rooms. The 52 drum set practice rooms are equipped with a standard 5 piece drum set usually a yamaha/pearl set. They are availible for use 16 hours a day. There is also 41 drum set equipped rooms for ensembles. You can also get practice rooms with marmibas, vibes, whatever, pretty much anything you can think of.

The teachers are great. Ive talked and studied with many of them during the sumemr class i took, and ive found them to be great instructors as well as great people. You can really talk to them, and they really want to make you a better musician. You can find a list of the faculty, and visiting artists on the website.

Something that disspapointed me...Hmm, well the only thing negative about the school I would say is the cost of the school. It is a private school and it isnt cheap. I believe its up around $30k a year.

I really liked the Berklee experience that i got there, i learned alot and found that it was definately worth checking out.

Hope i answered your questions. If not, shoot me again.

Well I know several people who attended Berklee.

First off, it's not the biggest by FAR. Its one of the smaller ones. I never said it's not good, it's just not what it used to be.

The facilities for drummers are questionably decent. The studios are good, but the rest is the worst of all the schools I looked at before picking one.

When I saw it, you had to provide your own kit for practice, the practice rooms we're small and not nearly as secure as one would hope. The number of practice rooms is also iffy, so sharing becomes an issue.

It's a good school, but you have to look at the goals of a drummer. If you want to go pro, spending 4 years at Berklee would help. But 4 years is a long time, in wich you end up spending a lot of time doing things other then drumset.

As aposed to some other schools where ALL you do is drumset classes.

Location is a big one as well, while Boston has a music scene, it's not comparable to LA or NY.

There have been several pro's who attended the school who have spoken out against it in major mag interviews (such as Modern Drummer). Abe Loberial Jr described the school as having a "cookie cutter philosphy, training you to play at Holiday Inn's".

Also you can not compare Berklee to schools like Julliard, Julliard is a very very different school, with a different program geared entirely for classical and dance. If the number of famous people coming out of Julliard we're compared to berklee, it would be a joke. But again, that's apples and oranges.. one is a contemperary music school, the other is pure classical.

When it comes to paying that kind of money for drumset instruction, I found options to be out there.

Again, Berklee is not a bad school at all. It's deffinetly in the top contemperary schools for music. However for a drummer, I think it's important to look at your goals as a player and your career. In the music industry, nobody cares where you weant or if you have a degree. People only care about you're abbility to play.

yea well my teacher went to burkely

Josiah, which would think is better? A school where all you do is drum your time away, or a school where there's a bit of variety involved?

Personally, I prefer one with variety. I'd hate to come out only able to speak drums.

[QUOTE=RavEMasteR]Josiah, which would think is better? A school where all you do is drum your time away, or a school where there's a bit of variety involved?

Personally, I prefer one with variety. I'd hate to come out only able to speak drums.[/QUOTE]


Yes, I totally agree with you. Plus all that other stuff that you learn can translate to your drumming as well. Maybe not so much as if could if you played piano or guitar, but it also helps you become a more rounded musician and. If drum set is the only thing that you want to do. Thats fine, you can get a certificate or diploma, or just teach yourself the nessecities for that. If you like all forms of percussion (hand drums, mallets, aux stuff...blah blah) and would like to expand your music theory, composition, harmony, ear training, etc... then i think a degree based program is what you should be looking for.

It depends, different things are right for different people. Make the desicion that you think is best and right for you. Dont let other people tell you otherwise.

[QUOTE=RavEMasteR]Josiah, which would think is better? A school where all you do is drum your time away, or a school where there's a bit of variety involved?

Personally, I prefer one with variety. I'd hate to come out only able to speak drums.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, but...

At a school dedicated to percussion, you're alot more likely to be doing things that are actually going to help you, as opposed to just a general music program with an emphasis on percussion. Go to full-time University and you'll be doing mostly Mallet and Marimba work, with minimal set-time. If that's your thing, then go for it...but if you want to be the next Portnoy or whatever the hell, you're probably going to be better off going to a more focused program.

Schools like the one Josiah went to typically will take less time to finish (didn't you only have to attend PIT for 2 years Jos?) and will be MUCH more focused on what you're probably going to want to be doing: playing the ****ing drums! If you still want to do other things, attend a full time college with a focus in some other field; for god's sake, you're going to want something to fall back on; music isn't exactly steady!

This was a large part of the reason why I became a history major instead of a music major. I go to a small liberal arts college. Our music program is superb, and in fact in some areas, it has one of the strongest music programs in the nation (our vocal performance majors are fabulous). However, I've known most of the drummers that go here, and alot of 'em really don't have much going on at all in terms of kit playing....monkey see, monkey do kinds of kids, really. There are a few who are pretty decent, but I think that a large part of that comes more from their own independent studies and whatever experiences that garnered before coming here. In the 4 years that I've been here, the best drummer I ever saw was, oddly enough, a history major.

So...if set is what you want to do, if you want to do session stuff, play in a band, do jazz gigs, etc...go to a music school like PIT or Berkeley.

"Josiah, which would think is better? A school where all you do is drum your time away, or a school where there's a bit of variety involved?"

Invalid question.

Neither is better, they are different.

Almost all (actually I can't think of one) school that is purely dedicated percussion does not have Music theory/harmony and ear training. That's 2 classes.

When I am going to spend $24,000 or whathave you to learn about drums, I WANT TO LEARN ABOUT DRUMS.

If you want to be well rounded, then pay $33 and go to a Juinor College or $2,000 and go to a University.

Berklee is a Jazz and Rock oriented college, it's main focus being Jazz. The focus isn't on playing really, but rather composing and theory. If you want to go to a college to learn how to play drums really good, Berklee isn't for you.

I plan to go to Berklee with Trombone as my primary instrument. Jazz is my life, and that's why I'm excited to attend this college.

Off topic, but, Blakey, where have you been? Ormaybe Im jsut having a memorylapse right now.

I want to become a really good drummer.I am playing drums for 4 years.My drums tutor says that I am better than others who are playing for 4 years too.Anyway I want to go to a school with frendly teachers to become a pro drummer and nothing else(no History lesson,maths or other musical instruments).
If I go to a shool like berkley, am I supposed to stay,eat in the university or I will have to rent a house nearby?
Suggest something that fits my needs(not very expensive schools because I am not a millioner)
If anyone knows any links for music schools, tell me.

Berklee is a private school, which means, chances are, you get your own housing. I hope someone can confirm this though.

Haha Berklee might have dorms now. You have to rent an apt or such nearby. Either way, schools charge for using dorms. I'm also positive Berklee does not have their own cafeteria so you're on your own for food.

Most of these type schools are going to run you up a nice bill. That's why they have loans.

"I want to go to a school with frendly teachers to become a pro drummer and nothing else(no History lesson,maths or other musical instruments)."

Don't go to Berklee School of Music then. Look into places like PIT or The Collective.