An overview of what to expect and prepare for when auditioning on drum set for Berklee College of Music. #Berklee #College #audition #funk #rock #jazz #drums #drumset #percussion #pocket #groove
I auditioned for Berklee 50 years ago. I was a high school senior. Fred Buda practically laughed at me and got angry with me because of things I didn’t know. Treated me like I was dog doodoo. I was telling him I wanted to go there to learn these things. Walking out of the building, I knew I failed, but noticed a giant bulliten board of musician adds. One was for a horn band in NYC looking for a drummer. I auditioned, got hired, went on tour with them, and I still play, still not learning stuff I wish they would have taught me. So thanks a freaking lot.
I’m not planning to audition, this was still really interesting to watch as I am a drummer that always tries to improve. One of the things i’m actively working on now it good accents to to support “shots” in the music, as well as vocal dynamics. Thank you for the video!
It seems odd to me that one should already be a really fantastic player before being able to get into a school to become a fantastic player. One would think the player would already knows what it takes to become a fantastic player and thus would not need to pay a school a tremendous amount of money to get to where they already are. But hey....it's your money...
It’s a college, you are expected to be able to demonstrate //the ability to learn//. Example: if someone scored bottom 50% on the GED test and applied to a college engineering program, it would be a bit immoral to admit them knowing they would fail all their classes the first semester.
When the number of applicants goes up, the skill of those who are accepted also goes up. Besides, you're not really going there to learn music; you can do that on your own and/or taking lessons. You're going there to network, which is much harder to do on your own and there are no independent courses for.
It’s only odd if you assume music schools select students based on who would benefit the most from their instruction. Because there’s more demand for slots than there are slots, schools like Berklee can simply hand pick students who are already good, which enhances their brand when those students go on to do great things. If you’re thinking that means there’s very little selection pressure to turn not-so-great students into great ones…😬😅
Tip #1: Don't suck. Tip #2: Play perfectly. Tip #3: Don't act like the future of your lifes ambition depends on tip 1 & 2. Joking! Great video and great information. I've been drumming for over 25 years now.. It has always been a pipe dream of mine to go to Berklee and study the greats, the tried and true methods, really getting into the engine room of the art. This is certainly the video I would want to be watching if I were info gathering for my audition. Thanks for sharing this.
Having a Berklee degree, I'm sure, helps in certain scenarios but isn't at all necessary to be a great drummer or have a great career. Figuring out what kind of career you want is probably the most important thing. But, no matter what you do you have to get the basics down solid. Solid timing, pocket playing, rudiments, sight reading, and various styles. With these basics you can do just about anything in the drummer profession and you can learn all that on your own these days from free and pay online lessons. Or find a great teacher who can teach all that in person. Many of the best drummers in the world never went to Berklee or any prestigious school. Many are self taught and never took any real lessons. The key is determination and dedication. Be determined enough to know what you want and go after it. Be dedicated enough to put the proper time into learning and honing your craft and not giving up or being lazy. If you want to be great it requires an obsessive amount of every day practice. No excuses. But it does not require a degree.
Your ratings from the enrolled incoming drummer audition at Berklee determine what ensembles you are eligible to play in by assigning numeric rating to you in areas like sight reading, feel etc. You can audition again at the end of each semester to improve your ratings.
I remember from my audition with Kenwood Dennard - he asked me to play a Mambo. I asked which clave he wanted. He says, “2+3 son… with mustard”. I interpreted “mustard” as to make it swung (but I think he meant at a bright tempo). … Got in, but he started me at a 3. lol.
Hey hello, welcome to Berklee. Here you can learn everything you need to know about drumming, but to get in, we expect you to master 80% of it already.
I auditioned for Performing Arts high school in 1983 You needed to read and play a prepared piece pretty much perfect You Will site read some material you never seen You need to know rudiments They tested your ear on the piano with some solfeggios There was two or three judges in the room they wanna see and hear something in you that shows you belong in that school We only had 4 or five hundred kids in that school if that People from all over came to audition it was pretty special at that time to make it in I did not go to any music college after though Berkeley be the next step to further your education
Wasn't expecting this video to pop up, but I was glad it did. Larry, I have been playing since I was 11. Self taught and still play in my fifties. Do you get people my age signing up?
so many guys made lifelong connections here and made whole careers playing and touring with those players. Yeah there's a lot of wasted college bs here too but you get every kind of playing experience possible and you'll leave a monster player. IDK if this degree is worth the cost considering most make garbage money as players and look for a teaching gig somewhere. That sucks too. 25 years ago this was a better value.
Hey ! Out of interest... I'm dyslexic and have never been able to get my head around ready music,or reading anything really... Do Berklee facilitate non readers?
No they do not. I'm dyslexic myself and I remember auditioning for Berklee a few years ago, I told them I struggle with reading because I'm dyslexic but the auditioners practically laughed at me and stuck the reading material in my face and told me to read it. I fumbled my way through it, barely hitting anything correctly. After the audition ended I felt super pissed off that I wasn't accommodated for my disability. When the results day came I didn't get accepted because my reading ability was below their standards. My mother and I tried to appeal the decision based on my dyslexia but it was rejected. I contemplated waiting another year before doing a second audition, but ultimately I chose not to, why would I want to go to a school that didn't want me to begin with and had staff like that who treated me like shit.
@reebonorton4175 I gathered as much. I've spent years at gigs ,setting up chats and pretending to read them out of fear of getting found out and looked on as a "lesser uneducated " musician. My ear is my better learning tool,my eyes are rubbish. The music world in parts really looks down on not being able to sight read. I just listened to a piece and learn it off by heart and pretend I'm reading it
Why do you have to be a near perfect drummer in order to get into a school to learn to be a near perfect drummer? It seems kind of pointless. I am glad I got a degree from a regular University and kept drumming as a hobby and side project.
