Is Berklee College of Music Worth It? 11 years later...
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- Опубликовано: 21 окт 2024
- Today I ramble about my experience at Berklee College of Music and the 10 years since graduating. Forgive me as I don't really have any specific point to this video other than to share some insights and considerations for those who are considering going to music school.
Thank you so much for watching, I enjoy comments, questions, and polite criticisms
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It’s a great story and very cool you were grounded enough to kind of know your path and grow positivity along the way! I had a great Berkeley grad teacher in high school but quit early since I wanted to play AC DC and Deep Purple covers instead! Probably a huge mistake but after continuing on my own by ear for 30 years I feel as you described yourself! I learned along the way I’m definitely not a performer, I’d be a studio guy all the way. Currently use studio one and amateur record produce my own stuff eventually I’ll do a RUclips channel or such and probably just give it all away free downloads etc…lifetime of joy and at almost 60 I’ll play until I cant!
Awesome!!! Keep jamming my friend!
Honest, fair and insightful. Thank you.
Thank you!!
I graduated from Berklee in 2013 and it was some of the best four years of my life. I would do it again but the student loan debt really sucks. I would do it again though. Can’t imagine what it costs now.
Agreed. I can't imagine any other path to have taken.
I went for 3 semesters. Reality hit me hard once I realized I was nowhere near the level I needed to be so I enlisted in the Marines playing in the bands. I still have a small group of friends that were my roommates when I was living in Boston and I think that was worth it. 10 years later now and I feel like I could go through the school and not feel out of place but back then I just didn't feel good enough.
@dansots i bet the marine band was killer!! I totally understand where you were at. I wish I could go back now that I have some real skills and music knowledge. Yeah friends are always worth it. I never really connected with others at Berklee cause I lived way far from campus but I did find a wonderful crew from MassArt that I'm still very close with
Solid essay. One puts in the time to accumulate information about an area of interest at a formative period in life, and then goes out into the world and sees how it goes.
I studied biology as an undergraduate, went into and then quit a masters program(“everyone” was disappointed), worked as a research assistant in a big productive immunology lab(made tiny money), maintained an electron microscopy facility(no new challenges after a few years), and then….decided to go to dental school(combine love of biology with talent for and interest in manual manipulation and fixing things).
30 years later I’m retired, healthy, soul nourished….looking forward to a phase of life involving my grown children, maybe grandchildren, new adventures.
You got this.
For lack of better words, you are the man. Or seem like it, thanks for the kind words!
This was really well said. Thank you Ravi.
@@DaveBermanKeys Mahalo Dave!
The College is worth it, the loan is not.
Agreed! I can't imagine how much a loan would be for tuition in 2023
@ravilambmusic after 2 years one guy said he's 100k in debt. That alone was enough to turn me off from berklee.
@travisbennett3332 yes it was expensive 10 years ago and I know tuition has gone up dramatically. I had to work my ass off to minimize my loans. Had I lived in the dorms, and not worked during my school I would have been out 3-5× as much. Lifestyle has a huge influence on how expensive any degree will cost you. Best bet for avoiding financing stress is to go some state school in the Midwest. There are some awesome programs, but you can't have it all, i was making great money for a 20 year old working in bars in downtown Boston, not sure that same wealth is available for young adults to access in cheaper areas..Everyone has to make their own decisions, there is a reason certain cities are more expensive. That all being said, I live in a very rural area and wouldn't choose to raise my kids anywhere else.
Nail on the head
21000, sick @@ravilambmusic
respect, I'm at Berklee now and have already been teaching guitar for a while. Did you have John Baboian and Bruce Bartlett as your teachers? Did you master in song writing?
Baboian is the man! Did pro music so I could graduate in 7 semesters
A very frank and insightful discussion
Thank you for making sense of my blabbering!!!
Thanks for being brutally honest about your experience. ❤
Thank you!!
Unfortunately, Even though I was doing so great at Berklee, after 4 semesters I was just about to max out in my loans so I couldn't finish and I ended up with a massive amount of debt. Thankfully I got a job teaching. My boss hired me just based on the fact that I went to Berklee but every day I am very sad I never got to finish my Degree. 😢
I totally understand that...I was at my absolute last thread when I changed majors to pro music just so i could grad a semester early to make it work out. I lived deep in Roxbury my whole time in boston and never worked less than 20hrs/wk in the service industry while doing 9+ classes a semester at berklee. now im in a different hustle, i have 2 kids and my wife and I are both independent artists haha!! the struggle will never end...
@@ravilambmusic I also considered changing to the Pro Music degree while I was there. I was dual Major Composition and Performance. I transfered in with an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts. That plus the 4 semesters at Berklee and I still needed a lot more semesters for that dual degree. I should've done the degree you did. That must have been so hard to work at your job and keep up with your school work! You got the degree though. You and your family must be so proud of you. Congratulations!!! Maybe in a few years I can figure out a way to finish. You must have not slept much while getting your degree! I wouldn't be able to handle 9 classes and 20 hours of work!! Again, Congratulations!!! You graduated Berklee!!!!! You'll take that with you the rest of your life.
I feel like for as much emphasis is put on the degree, it winds up being a crutch or an excuse for the people who obtain it for the wrong reasons…
There is a big difference between “I’m the musician I ought to be.” And “I have a the credentials that a good musician ought to have.”
that must have been exhausting (the service industry is especially exhausting) but it must have built great character, liked your video@@ravilambmusic
thank you! i have two kids now...im still tired
I greatly respect those that follow their dreams and go to art/music school. To me, the ROI is just never there. You'll spend $200k and four years of your life to (most likely) make less than an electrician or plumber. Not to mention the crazy competition and lack of job security. I chose a career that doesnt interest me much (engineer), and it gives me enough time and money to enjoy my interests as hobbies. As much as I like the choice I made, I still envy those that took the riskier, and in a way, more challenging path.
Thanks for the great reply!!! I hustled my ass off and worked and paid my own rent and school, I left Berklee with a little over 40k in loans. That was 10+ years ago tho, I lived in the hood and my rent was $400/mo. Totally different world new college students face. But I guess what I'm saying is, I could have gotten way more out of my college experience if I didn't work and lived on campus, but I would have been out waaaaay more money. Can't have it all at once in life. I'm now a father and now have the opportunity to be present in my children's life because I don't work traditional hours. But believe me I considered electrical training during covid 😄 🤣
@@ravilambmusic Music isn't worth risking your life for. Hood life is never fun.
Less than an electrician or plumber?! Try fast food restaurant worker.
@@yishihara55527 haha yes I don't like hood life!
@ayakosaito7323 haha yea I probably make less than a well paid fast food worker. But I get to be a musician that doesn't smell like French fries. You can't have everything in life.
Went there around the same time as u! But i used all my money on the first 1.5 semesters lol. So i dipped and got lucky for a few years after with a record label and then transitioned into other things from there. I def would’ve linked w u if we crossed paths at school.
no schooling and i know more than most people that leave that school... not just jazz.. ever thing . country . flamenco. etc.... dont believe the hype of music schools.. good video partner...
@@IamtheI Mahalo! Humility goes a long way
Hey great video very informative, one question I have for you is was there a audition to get in or was it the standard application process?
Yup application and in person audition. I have anther video about that on my channel
@@ravilambmusic thanks I’ll look that up!
Very interesting story, thank you for sharing that. Greetings from Ukraine!
Thank you!!! Hope you and your family are safe and well. Happy holidays
Great video! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Thank you! I'm glad you made sense of my blabbering
Did they teach you audiation in Berklee by any chance? And by audiation I mean ability to perform music in your mind while simultanously being aware/being in the know/understanding/utilizing the music theory. Inner hearing would be audiation without the latter part.
@michaelk1589 yup 5 semesters of ear training. Aural or Audiation is essential esp for guitarists that don't read!
If I had to do it again, I wouldn't enroll in Berklee Online. I've definitely learned alot and grown as a musician, but I could probably get all the knowledge I've learned from a few books and online courses. I was fortunate to have the GI Bill, so for the most part I haven't paid tuition, but in hindsight I would have pursued a completely different degree (visual arts, 2D/3D) and acquired all the music knowledge elsewhere. Others mileage will likely vary greatly...
I've heard terrible things about Berklee online
I should do a video about that
Thank you so much for your guidance
Just sharing my experience, best of luck on your journey!
My son is studying options to further his musical education. For him, it's a broader choice than for most Americans thanks to his dual US-EU citizenship. Coincidentally, we live a few miles from the Berklee Valencia (Spain) campus. They have a great reputation, and we have met a number of their people. It didn't make sense for us, however, when every other music school and conservatory here costs about 3% of Berklee's price tag. There's definitely a "big fish in a small pond" effect here too. He has been given opportunities he likely would not have Stateside: accompanying orchestras, Big Band, and rock gigs (he played 'Disney Rock' this past December). For him at least, what he does on his own has played a bigger part in success than what he gets with an hour or two with teachers in a week. Classes are important, however, because it shows what you don't know- you just don't need to pay a fortune to get them.
Sounds like he is doing great!!!
@@ravilambmusic He's doing what he enjoys, and something for which clients are willing to pay. So for us as parents, that's awesome. A saxophone playing pro came to one of his gigs recently. Halfway through the show, he learned over to me and said, "You're gonna be rich." LOL. I don't know about that, but if he can spend his hours doing something he loves that puts food on the table, why not?
You are correct that graduation is just the beginning of the grind. Berklee gives you the tools to get started, but it’s just that: a start.
I bet you been grinding
The same as every university / college
Thank you for sharing !
Thanks 😊
Hey thanks for being honest about your experience. I am wondering though that in the video you talk about how you had very little guitar knowledge prior to your attendance at Berklee, what did you know and what should have you known before going into it?
I knew a bunch of Metallica riffs lol!! Yea I didn't know how to read or nothing but I really liked music. I did a video on the Berklee audition that night answer this question a bit more too. Hope this helps!!!
I’m guessing it’s 50k a year now?
42000
Interesting Story! Thanks!
Mahalo Ted! How you been??
Doing well. Thanks.
Hey Ravi, thank you for your insights and honesty. I am thinking of enrolling in Berkeley's Guitar's Skills classes. The tuition is $6k. What are your thoughts?
Is this one of those online courses? I don't recommended them. Those "certificates" don't really count for anything and are kinda seen as a joke. You will def learn a lot but you could spend half the amount on a good private teacher and get more out of it.
Berklee has become this mega corporate music giant figuring all sorts of ways to cash in on the legacy name, Berklee online being a recent iteration.
Thank you for this information. I will definitely look into other ways of gaining information and learning.
Mahalo,
Larry Jay
Is Berklee College of Music Worth It? It is if you want to learn the mechanics of playing music as a whole.
@Charles53412 in 2024 it's a highly debateable topic, as seen in this comments section. That being said, I don't regret going! I'm just not going to try to convince anyone else to go, esp with how $$$ it has become in the last 10 years.
I’d love to be in front of a crowd playing guitar competently and you get to tell people you’re a BERKLEE GRAD - and THAT is IMPRESSIVE.
Thank you! Yes I have many priceless memories of playing in new cities on big stages and meeting amazing musicians. There was no paycheck for it, but I'll have it with me all my life
Took a Berklee tour in 2005. Just couldn’t see myself that much to learn the guitar, walking away thinking.
Do you feel Berklee’s online courses have the same status and prestige that the in person courses do?
good question. I've been looking at the online courses and certificates
Definitely not
I'm gonna do another video addressing that
Actually the same professors teach the same courses. The difference is ensemble participation and connections you make on campus. From an academic standpoint it’s the same, and the diploma is the same.
Just because someone finds a few pennies in the industry and/or happiness doesn't mean that it isn't one of the biggest scams going. All the real money goes to the schools and musical instrument/gear manufacturers as they prey on people's hopes. I say this as someone who has been around the block a few times.
You should teach at Berklee, "the grind starts when you graduate."
@@jeffzafiropoulos2393 I applied for a few jobs at Berklee. They threw me a few "opportunities" unpaid. Still yet, I don't regret my choices!!
That didn't sound too convincing. I detect some doubt as to your choices. Good luck though, I hope things work out for you. It's tough when you are competing with people that were bread for that field and have parents that are already in that field to help and mentor them. They have a huge advantage.
Thanks! Yes it's never gonna be easy. I'm lucky to have the opportunity to play, some cultures poor people are forbidden from music
@@ravilambmusic what? which ones? im actually from a very poor country and i really want to know the answer to this, never heard of such a thing.
@@akirathedog777 Why is this hard to imagine? In some places, you can get killed for SAYING the wrong things. It's not impossible
11 years later...... in just 11 mins?
I'm surprised anyone is watching more than a few minutes of my rambling 😄
You haven't told us what you do for a living
@patoni860 thank you for watching and commenting! I play music at weddings and tour with some bands, record and Studio sessions.
@@ravilambmusic if you are enjoying your life that's what counts... I install art for a living... Been doing it over 25 years and made money the first time and been doing it ever since never knew or heard of it before... Independently I might add... At 50 years old I got serious about becoming a good musician... I have been peddling with the guitar for 25 years but I wasn't making any progress and I wasn't getting anywhere. But I knew I could play a trumpet. So at 50 I started practicing everyday. Now at the age of 64 I play with the top musicians in Atlanta... None of them never figured out I'm just playing rhythm guitar on the trumpet... Because becoming a good musician was more important than your ego trying to play the guitar.... I have guitars but I don't have time to play on because I play the trumpet every single day.... I watch videos I got my notebooks I got my lesson books and I find good teachers right here on the internet and the most important thing is I bought a stand and I put my horn on a stand within reach of me and I went from playing 7 to 10 hours a week to 25 hours a week
Now that there's RUclips, music schools are just a pure scam 😂
Now Berklee online, that's a scam. I definitely recommend playing with other people in real life versus being alone in your bedroom during your musical journey. Even if you are just doing electronic production, having in person criticism is crucial to growth.
@@ravilambmusic Yes 1000% agree with playing with others. That's probably the only good thing coming out of school, being surrounded by other passionate musicians. But I guess there's cheaper ways to do it also
LOL!
Thanks for watching!
I've heard your playing, you should ask for a refund.
Thanks for all your support!