<p>Hey guys, I'm a 19 year old contemporary vocalist and have been singing for a long time but I've never taken any formal training so I was really hoping to go to a music school and improve myself. The trouble came when I wasn't sure which school I should go to... I'm hoping to study vocal performance, songwriting, and possibly taking some music producing classes too.</p>
<p>Berklee is definitely the best choice of three since it's a non-profit school and offers Bachelor degrees while LAMA (Los Angeles Music academy) only offers associate. It also has the best reputation for the best contemporary school, but I'm not sure if I' ready to go there yet since I have had no formal training and am not good with music theory/sight singing/ ear training.... and Berklee also has the name of being the most intensive school so I was wondering if I should go to LAMA (Los Angeles Music Academy) first with an associate degree before applying to Berklee to pursue the final Bachelor.</p>
<p>What do you think?</p>
<p>would the extra degree be worth my time to help me get ready and possibly help me gain even more knowledge (or maybe even graduate early) for when I pursue my degree at Berklee?</p>
<p>I'd love to have some good input on what you guys think about each of these schools?
Also, would you choose MI( Musicians Institute) or LAMA (Los Angeles Music Academy) if I were to get an AA degree first?</p>
<p>much help appreciated!
PS- if you are a grad of any of these schools I'd like to know what you think of your school and if it's very intensive or whatsoever! :)</p>
<p>You may want to look at the Berklee transfer credit guide. You wil get less than a full year of credit for 2 years of work. You also should check with Berklee to make sure they will take credits from LAMA if you decide to do that.</p>
<p>I don’t think the credits form LAMA will transfer at all because the degree does not contain any liberal arts courses… my thought for going to LAMA first would really be a decision to improve my basic skills before starting at berklee… any thoughts?</p>
<p>i thought about that but I’m from Hong Kong… and private lessons here are usually in Chinese and so far I haven’t found any places that teach ear training and sight singing but only music theory.</p>
<p>What I would do, as soon as you can, is take a couple of the online Berklee courses. They have a huge selection and I believe most can be taken for credit. </p>
<p>A few selections: Voice, Ear Training and Harmony, Songwriting, Performance, even a “prep for Berklee” course. Just google “Berklee online courses” and the catalog comes right up. S was involved a few years ago with a group that used Berklee online - they were pretty impressive courses.</p>
<p>You might also want to consider looking into an LAC school for a couple of years and then transferring into Berklee Many schools (LAC & University) have music programs where you can continue to improve your singing while taking classes.</p>
<p>At least then, you would get credit for the time/money you spent.</p>
<p>My son has been accepted to Berklee for this fall and wants to go directly there. I am trying to get him to defer for one year and go to a community college with a good music program, study for free wherever he can, and play and sing everywhere. I have spent several hours on the phone asking questions and verifying info I found on their site. Berklee is #1 a great place for networking in the industry and #2 terribly expensive. It is not a “premiere” education. There are hundreds of excellent professional musicians who choose to be educators as well. Do your research, ask questions. Unless you have money to blow and/or are already educated in the core fundamental curriculum, wait to attend Berklee, if at all. It really depends on what you want to do, how hard you’re willing to work and what you want out of it. There are other programs that are less expensive and a quality, even premiere education.</p>
<p>All of Berklee’s 12 degrees require 120 credit hours and you have to do 60 there. The first 2 years is virtually the same for all degrees with liberal arts and the Core Music Curriculum. There is a Core/Fundamental Music Curriculum requirement of knowledge base (4 semesters- 4 levels each) of Arranging, Ear Training, Harmony and Technical Music. You can’t transfer any music course work to Berklee but you can test out of, and receive credit for your knowledge base of the core fundamentals (30 credits possibly). You are assessed upon entering on each of these 4 core fundamentals.</p>
<p>All of their class descriptions and core requirements are spelled out on their website so it is easy to see what you need to know. All of their degree “concentrations” are listed for general and specific requirements.</p>
<p>You can bring in 24 credit hours of the liberal arts course work plus some music history and a couple other classes. (30 credits aprox) There is someone at Berklee in Admissions or the Registrars office who will verify every course before you take them to make sure they are transferable.</p>
<p>You can transfer these credits Only Before you attend the first semester. After you start you can only transfer in 9 hours. So be wise. </p>
<p>You could actually prepare yourself musically and personally for much less money and stress and then go to Berklee for 2 years, get your degree and have an awesome network for your career. Good luck in deciding for your future. Music is huge business and there is lots of room for everyone to have success. It does depend on ones view of success, be wise with your time, you’re worth it.</p>
<p>It would be great if you are willing to share the major, his instrument (or voice) and the degree he would pursue at Berklee if he were to attend, even if the decision is made to defer. Thanks.</p>
<p>Squiggles is on to something good. You can take online classes at Berklee in music theory and ear training while you wait for your actual audition and eventual start date. You audition will be based largely on your live performance, but they will also challenge you with rhythms and other exercises to see what your basic skills are. As a Berklee music online person, you will find that you can either take classes to prep yourself for Berklee, or if you do well, you may even test out of some of the early (1st and 2nd semester) music theory and ear training classes.</p>