Prepared Piece

(Percussion Principals see below) Berklee embraces and values all music styles so you should prepare a piece that you are comfortable with and displays your strengths as a musician. It should be approximately 3-5 minutes in length, in any style, which demonstrates your instrumental prociency and your overall musicianship. Do not choose a piece or a style of music you think the audition team wants to hear. Rather, select a piece that puts your "best foot forward" and highlights what you feel represents your best playing. Ultimately, the audition is a discovery process and we want to nd out what you do well. It is recommended to seek the guidance of your private instructor and/or musical mentor when selecting your prepared piece. Here are some examples and additional guidelines that may help when selecting your prepared piece:
1 2 3 4 A tune from a well-known artist or band (any style) A standard or jazz tune (which may include blues and rhythm changes) with your own improvisation A composition from the instrumental/voice repertoire or a movement, sonata, concerto or etude A transcription of a well-known artist's solo

If composing or songwriting is your primary focus, you may choose to play an original piece that showcases your individual style. However, the original piece should be no longer than three (3) minutes, and you should also prepare a second piece from the above listing (no longer than 3 minutes). If you require accompaniment for your prepared piece you may bring an accompanist, play-a-long CD or MP3 player. It is not recommended to use the original tracks of artists or bands as play-a-longs. If you are playing to a track, it is preferred that you use standard play-a-long/music-minus-one or karaoke tracks so that you are not playing your part along with the part on the recording. For example, we would prefer a guitar player use a play-a-long

track that does not have the lead part on the track rather than playing along with an artist's original recording.

Note for Percussion Principals

Drumset Principals: You may also be asked to play selected examples from the following list of grooves/techniques:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 4/4 Swing 3/4 Swing Rock Funk Shufe Bossa Nova Samba Trading fours and eights in 4/4 Swing, Shufe, and Rock grooves Brush technique

Vibraphone/Marimba:You may choose to select a 2 or 4 mallet prepared piece that demonstrates your strengths on the instrument. You may also be asked to demonstrate your technical facility via typical practice routines and exercises (scales, arpeggios, etc.). Vibraphone and Marimba players are reminded that they need to bring their own instruments to the audition unless they are auditioning in Boston. Our audition rooms in Boston are equipped with a vibraphone and/or marimba. Total Percussion:You should have prepared pieces on the following:
1 2 concert snare drum solo marimba

solo timpani

You may also be asked to demonstrate your technical facility via typical practice routines and exercises (scales, arpeggios, etc.) on either vibraphone or marimba or rudiments on the snare drum. Hand Percussion:You should be prepared to demonstrate the following:
1 2 3 4 Demonstrate specic, basic tone on the conga drum (closed tones, open tones, "heel-toe", hand rocking motion, slaps muted and slaps open). Congas:Demonstrate basic "martillo" rhythm at a slow tempo. Include some basic variations and improvisations. Bongos:Demonstrate basic "martillo" rhythm at a slow tempo. Include some basic variations and improvisations. Demonstrate basic performance of timekeeping for Cha-Cha and Mambo. Any knowledge of basic Afro-Cuban and/or Brazilian accessory percussion instruments can be demonstrated. Please identify which instrument(s) you are performing.

Hand percussionists are reminded that they need to bring their own instruments to the audition.

Improvisation
We would like to hear you improvise over a short progression to gauge where you are in your instrumental development.Your prepared piece may include improvisation, but it is not required.

Blues
You should be prepared to play over a standard I-IV-V blues progression.

Reading
The examples range from basic to complex in order for the audition team to gauge your reading ability. You will have 15 minutes before your audition to warm-up on your instrument and review the reading material before being asked to play the examples in the audition.

Ear Training
You will be asked to participate in call-and-response exercises. The audition team will play short rhythms and melodies, which you will either sing back or play back on your instrument. You may also be asked to identify intervals and chord qualities. The audition team will also gain a sense of your ability to match pitch during this section of the audition. You may also be asked to demonstrate your technical facility via typical practice routines and exercises (scales, arpeggios, etc.). You may also prepare to demonstrate the ability to showcase the unique characteristic of your preferred music style (oyd rose technique, slide technique, nger picking technique, etc.) Applicants accepted to Berklee will be taking core music classes including harmony, ear training and arranging classes, in addition to private instrumental studies and ensembles, so the audition is formatted to assess students' overall musicianship. In addition, we are also interested in seeing how you function in an ensemble setting.

 What are some fun campus traditions? Are interviews an important part of the application process? Do you require standardized test scores? How do you evaluate students during the admissions process? Do students tend to stick around campus on the weekends? What kind of support services do you offer if a student is struggling in a class? Is it easy to conduct research with professors? How popular are study abroad programs at your school? How active is your alumni association? Is it difcult to register for classes or enroll in the courses you need? What is there to do in the surrounding area? Do students seem to like the food? Do most undergrads live on campus? Or are students dying to get off-campus housing? Are students allowed to have cars on campus? Whats the percentage of students who graduate within four years? How does your career services ofce help students nd internships and jobs? What is your freshmen retention rate? What are your most popular majors? How well are undergrads able to get to know their professors? What do you love most about this school?

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Well, fall has ofcially arrived! For you seniors, this change in seasons should be viewed as a gentle reminder to begin lling out all those college applications in earnest. You know the ones that have been piling up (ed. note: you should have already started!). With deadlines looming, you need to grit your teeth and really buckle down. Naturally, the most time consuming facet of these apps will be your essays/personal statements. And despite those wonderful essay prompts, you might still be feeling unsure of how to begin. Therefore, we gured wed offer a few brainstorming tips to get the good ol creative juices owing. Read, Read, Read. If youre feeling lost and uninspired, consider picking up a book or a newspaper. Reading someone elses stories can spark your own ideas and imagination. And it can help reafrm the basics of good writing! Write (or review) your resume. Take a moment to catalogue all of your work experience and extracurricular involvement. As you assess your achievements, make sure you include details and specics. The deeper you delve, the more likely you are to jog your memory and hit on a great topic. Peruse some sample essays. Often times, its useful to see how other individuals approached a task with which youre struggling. Their execution can certainly inspire your own. Of course, this doesnt mean you should adapt an existing essay to meet your needs. Your personal statement must come from you!

Make a list! Yes, at rst glance lists might seem banal and boring. However, they are actually a fabulous way to kick-start your brain. You can begin by listing personal attributes or fun personality quirks, places youve traveled or even songs you love. Before you know it, youll be leapfrogging from one idea to the next! Try free association. Free association is a fantastic brainstorming exercise because it really allows you to tap into your unconscious. Begin with any random word and just see where your train of thought takes you. Dont fret over spelling or whether youre choosing the right word. Simply let yourself write. Youll likely start to notice some recurring themes. And these premises might just lead you to a fabulous essay topic! Keep writing! Dont kill your momentum by censoring yourself. Every idea holds potential. And every thought and subject can be revised and tweaked. If you continually judge and doubt your work, youll quickly end up derailed. Allow yourself to simply sit at the computer and type. Openness and relaxation will lead to insight. Step away from your essay. Yes, we realize this probably sounds counter-intuitive and counter-productive. However, staring at a blank screen for hours on end isnt all that helpful. Indeed, writers block can feed on itself. Dont just sit at your desk letting the stress build. Get up and move around. Tackle some other homework, go for a walk, chat with a friend. Time away from the computer allows for a mental reboot. Youll return feeling refreshed and raring to type out a killer essay! It can take time to craft a strong personal statement. And the task can feel quite intimidating, especially when all you have are empty pages. However, theres no need to freak out if you dont immediately produce something brilliant. Just employ a few of these tactics and youre bound to strike goldeventually!