Berklee College of Music

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Songwriting (BMus)

Berklee College of Music

Faculty:Songwriting Department
Degree:Bachelor
Field of Study:Music Theory and Composition
Music, General
Length:4 Year(s)
Cost per year:*
National: $44,360

Cost per year represents tuition fees only.

Careers:Conductors, Composers and ArrangersMusicians and Singers

Description:

As a student majoring in songwriting at Berklee, you will develop skills in melody, harmony, and arranging as well as creative approaches to musical composition, lyric writing, and an individual writing style. You will choose a curriculum that focuses on both songwriting and performance, culminating in a portfolio of your original songs. If you are interested in writing songs for other artists, you will have the option of taking more arranging courses and you will learn studio and MIDI demo production techniques.

To demonstrate mastery of songwriting skills and concepts, you will complete a portfolio of several songs that typify various current practices of contemporary songwriters. The portfolio will include lead sheets, lyric sheets, and demonstration recordings of each of the songs, equivalent in production quality to those typically presented to music publishers, record producers, and record companies by professional songwriters.

Prerequisites:

These courses are intended as guidelines. Speak to your guidance counsellor to see what courses are offered at your school.
    There are no required prerequisites to declare this major. Please follow the regular declaration of major procedure as outlined in the Registration Manual. Interested students should note that they must complete HR-112: Harmony 2 in order to take SW-211: Songwriting 1.

    Test Scores:
    • Test of English as a Foreign Language (Internet Based) [min. 72] or International English Language Testing System (academic or immigration) [min. 6.0]
    Application Notes : If you are applying to the degree program and your first language is not English, you are required to submit a PTE Academic, a TOEFL, or an IELTS score to complete your application for admission. We recommend a PTE Academic score of 48, a TOEFL IBT score of 72 or higher, or a IELTS score of 6 or higher.

    * We make every attempt to provide accurate information on prerequisites, programs, and tuition. However, this information is subject to change without notice and we highly recommend that you contact the school to confirm important information before applying.

    Modified on June 29, 2019