Much like MTC 1, Music Theory & Composition 2 was a very challenging course with a lot of material covered. At times, it felt like a bit too much information to absorb in 12 weeks’ time. That being said I did get a lot out of the class and am really glad that I took it.
I won’t go through listing all of the material covered, but some of the highlights for me were: further work with Modal Interchange, Composite Minor Scales & Chords (Minor/Melodic Minor/Harmonic Minor), writing in Compound & Odd Meters, Secondary Dominants & Chord Scales, Tensions, Related II Chords, Harmonic Rhythm, Deceptive Resolutions, Parallel Scales, African Polyrhythms, Indian Talas, Modulation, Pivot Modulation and Modal Interchange, Hybrid Chords, Guide Tone Lines, 3-Part Voice Leading, Binary/Rounded Binary/Ternary Forms, Rhythmic Augmentation & Diminution, Motifs and Transposition.
Thanks for another great class, Berklee!
Here are some of the pieces that I put together for this term’s assignments and exercises.
As mentioned in an earlier post, “Mixing and Mastering for the Electronic Musician” was my favorite class of Term 2. The course material was perfect for someone like me, a solo musician/composer/songwriter wanting to make their work sound a bit more polished and professional.
While the course material was very well thought out and presented I think the thing that I loved most about this class was the immediacy of being able to apply what I learned to my own music. Just what I learned about EQ, compression and limiting made a huge difference in the clarity and power of my mixes.
Other subjects that I found really helpuful were: “Developing Relationships in a Mix” via external keying and side-chaining (particularly helpful for dynamically ducking tracks under other tracks); Direction Mixer plugin on stereo tracks; using Distortion to color and shape EQ of tracks like hi-hats and vocals; using Noise Gates to shape output of audio tracks; using Side-chain/External Keying on Reverb and Delays to dynamically control output; Reshaping Transients (a bit like synthesis on audio tracks); Dotted 1/8 & 1/4 note delays; Ping Pong Delays; Pre-Fader Metering (to help control gain staging); Subgrouping; Parallel Compression (on individual tracks, subgroups and global tracks); Flex-Pitch; Auto-Filter (to help tracks stand out); using Sample Delays to pan; VCAs (to control volumes of subgroups); and how Mastering really is all about making small, subtle changes in EQ, Compression and Limiting.
As usual with a number of Berklee Online classes I’ve taken already, there was a lot of ground covered in 12 weeks. Here are the subjects, by week.
Week 1 – Getting Ready to Mix Logic Pro Skills & Preferences, Plug-In Latency & Track Meters, Logic Pro X Interface, Screensets, Mixing and the Electronic Musician, Composing & Mixing Simultaneously, Working with Software Instrument Tracks, Rendering Software Instruments to Audio Tracks, Mixing Workspace Ergonomics and You, Monitors & Walls, The Mix Position, Monitor Loudness Levels, Using Reference Material, Getting Ready to Mix, Organizing Tracks & Assets, Setting Up a Listening Mix, Gain Structure & Digital Meters, Mixing Balance & Panning, Panning Stereo Tracks, Panning & the Direction Mixer, Working with Automation, Volume Automation & the Dynamic Mix, Real Time Automation, Automation Modes, Automation and Sculpting the Mix, Discussion 1.3: Automated Mix Example, Why We’re Starting Here, Assignment 1: Levels, Panning and Automation Mix
Week 2 – Shaping Your Sounds: EQ and Compression Prepping the Mix Project, Working with Logic Pro X Markers, Introduction to EQ, EQ Bands, Shelving EQ, Filters, A Word About Q-Couple, EQ in Mixing, Kick Drum EQ, Snare Drum EQ, Bass and Vocals EQ, EQ in a Sample Project, Doing More with EQ, EQ Means Endless Tweaking, EQ Tips, Boosting vs. Cutting, Controlling the Low End of Your Mix, Bracketing Sounds with Filters, EQing in Solo Mode, Plugin Presets, Introduction to Dynamics Processors, Dynamics Processor Block Diagram, Working with Compressors, Compression Curves and the Transfer Function, The Logic Pro Compressor, The Logic Pro Compressor Setup, Using Compression, Compression Gain and Make Up Gain, Classic Uses of Compression, Mix Analysis: Compression, Limiters in mixing, Using the Limiter in the Logic Pro X Compressor, The Logic Pro Limiter, Assignment 2: Begin the Mix Project
Week 3 – Doing More with Dynamics Processors Where Are We?, Compressors Continued, Detection Mode, Sidechain Filtering, Distortion and “Color”, Other DAW Compressor Plugins, Pro Tools, Waves, Circuit Types in the Logic Pro X Compressor, Compressor Design, Transfer Functions, Changing Compressor Settings, Introduction to Noise Gates, Why We Use Gates in Mixing, De-Essers, The Logic Pro X De-Esser, Why We Use De-Essers, Exercise: Listening to the Mix So Far, External Keying and “Sidechaining”, Setting Up Sends as Key Signals, Sidechaining and “The Pump”, Developing Relationships in a Mix, Externally Keyed Compressors, Externally Keyed Gates, Ghost Keys, Ghost Tracks, External Keying Vs. Automation, Discussion 3.1: Mix Analysis, Assignment 3: Dynamics Processors
Week 4 – Reverb and Delays in Mixing Reverberation, Creating Reverb in the Studio, The Reverb Event, Algorithmic Reverbs, PlatinumVerb, Setting Up Reverb Plugins, PlatinumVerb and Reverbs on Individual Tracks, Making Reverb Decisions, Exercise: Reverb, Reverbs in Mixing, Setting Up Reverbs on Aux Tracks, Reverb Modification, Reverbs on Track Inserts, Reverb Tips, “Come to Me” Mix with Reverb, Introduction to Delays, Delay Effects, Introduction to Tape Delay and Stereo Delay, Stereo Delay, Delay Parameters, Delays in Mixing, Slap Delays, Ping-Pong Delay, Processing Delays, Delay Tips, Working With Automation: Sends Automation, Mix Limiters: An Introduction, Final Mix of “Come to Me”, Assignment 4: Finishing Project 2
Week 5 – More with Dynamics and Mixing Working with a Large-Scale Mix Project, Strategies for Project Organization, Screensets and Markers, Marker Sets, Developing a Vision for the Mix, Discussion 5.1: Developing a Vision for the Mix due Tuesday, Arrangement Editing, Editing vs. Mute Automation, Creating and Working with Track Groups, Track Groups and Workflow, NOW Where Are We?, Reshaping Transients, Upward Expanders and the Logic Pro X Expander Plug-in, Multiband Compression Techniques, Logic Pro X Multipressor, A Sidetrip About Expanders, Noise Gates vs. Downward Expanders, Mixing, Gain Structure, and Headroom, Pre-Fader/Post-Fader Metering, Getting Off the Ground!, Assignment 5: Dynamics and Mixing
Week 6 – Doing More with Mixing A Starting Point, Creating and Working with Audio Subgroups, Setting Up Audio Subgroups, Deciding When to use Subgroups in a Mix, Vocal Tuning, Fixing Pitch Problems, Going Deeper with Flex Pitch, Flex Pitch in the Track Editor, Tuning Other Instruments, Exercise: Exploring Vocal Tuning, The Big Freeze!, Parallel Compression Techniques, Setting Up Parallel Compression, Parallel Compression for Multiple Tracks, Parallel Compression Guidelines, Exercise: Parallel Compression, Adding Color and Character to the Mix, Filters, AutoFilter, Distortion Effects, Clip Distortion, Re-Amping, Enhancing the Low End, Exercise: Distortion, Assignment 6: Adding Character to the Mix
Week 7 – Working with Delays Short Delay Effects, Delays and the Stereo Image, Using a Short Delay for Panning, Modulation Delay Effects: Flanging, Hands-On Tweaking, Modulation Delay Effects: Chorusing and Doubling, Chorusing, Ensemble, Exercise: Mix Example, Convolution Reverb and Space Designer, Tweaking Space Designer, Using Convolution Reverbs, Exercise: Mix Analysis, More Mixing Ideas with Delays and Reverbs, More with Processing Effect Sends and Returns, Exercise: Putting it all Together, Assignment 7: Working with Delays
Week 8 – More Mix Techniques Automation 1 Checking Up on Our Mix of “Please Baby”, The Dynamic Mix, Manipulating the Sounds, Splitting Regions to Tracks, Making Sounds Bigger: Stereo Width Ideas, Pitch Effects in Mixing, Discussion 8.1: Pitch Manipulation, Vocal Transformer, SFX, Ear Candy, and Transitions, Delay Designer, Exercise: “Please Baby” Mix, Assignment 8: Mix Techniques
Week 9 – Shaping the Mix Automation 2 Checking Up on Our Mix of “Please Baby”, Where We Are, Global Parallel Compression, VCA Tracks and Mixing, VCA Usage, Mix Bus Compression, More With Mix Automation, Working with Mix Automation, Final Touches: Mix Limiters, Final Touches: Mix Limiters – Mix Fade Out, Bouncing the Mix, Exercise: “Please Baby” Mix, Assignment 9: Automation
Week 10 – Mastering 1 What is Mastering?, The Creative Side of Mastering, Discussion 10.1: Original vs. Mastered Versions, The Technical Side of Mastering, Discussion 10.2: Top Mastering Engineers, Mastering in the Project Studio, Tweaking Your Studio Space, Installing Ozone, Mastering with Logic Pro X: an Overview, Intro to Ozone, Exercise: EQ, Corrective and Creative, The Ozone EQ Module, Exercise: Mastering EQ, Discussion 10.2: Ozone History, Ozone Digital EQ Mode, Exercise: Analog and Digital Mode, The Digital EQ Surgical Mode, Some Tips on EQ and Mastering, Limiting in Mastering, Assignment 10: Project 4
Week 11 – Mastering 2 The Mastering Process, Compression in Mastering, Using the Dynamics Module, Exercise: Compression, Multiband Compression with Ozone, Exercise: Multiband Compression, Multiband Compression Considerations, Discussion 11.1: Multiband Compression, The Dynamic EQ, Mastering, Loudness, and the “Loudness War”, Loudness and CD Mastering, Discussion 11.2: Loudness and CD Mastering, The Ozone Maximizer, Exercise: Ozone’s Maximizer module, Daily Assignment Practice, Assignment 11: Project 5
Week 12 – Mastering 3 Image Manipulation in Mastering, The Ozone Imager Module, Exercise: The Imager Module, Multiband Image Adjustment, Exercise: More With the Imager Module The Vintage Limiter, Mastering Workflow, Making a Mastering Chain, Workflow Tips, Bouncing Your Mastered Audio, Mastering for Digital Delivery, CD Delivery Masters, Exercise: Truncation vs. Dither, Creating a CD Master, Loudness, Audio CDs, and Streaming Audio, QC = Quality Control!, Discussion 12.1: Project 6
Here are a couple screenshots of an assignment mix that I submitted. Check out the number of tracks and plug-ins. This was a pretty massive project. Took two screenshots to get all the tracks shown!
Here’s a mix that I did using many of the techniques that I learned in this class for my final project in MTC2 (Music Theory & Composition 2).
Harmonic Ear Training was one of the three classes that I took in my second term with Berklee Online. It was a great class that covered a lot of ground in just 12 weeks. Subjects included:
Hearing & Visualizing the Bass Line, Hearing & Identifying Major & Minor Triads, Transposing Bass Lines and Chord Progressions, Identifying Chord Progressions, Memorizing Music, Voice Leading, Diminished Triads, Identifying Major & Dominant Seventh Chords, Guide Tones, Identifying Minor 7 & Minor 7b5 Chords, Transcribing Root & Voice-Led Guide Tone Lines, Diatonic Seventh Chord Progression Dictation, Chord Inversions, Inversion & Passing Sevenths Dictation, Chromatic Scale, Identifying Non-Diatonic Chords Using the Chromatic Scale, Melody & Harmony Relationship, Identifying Chord Tones in a Melody, Secondary Dominants, Guide Tones of Secondary Dominants, Secondary Dominant Cycles, Cliché Patterns, Transcribing Guide Tone Lines, II V Patterns, Secondary II V’s, Arranging the Harmony, Transcription of Harmony Lines, Reharmonization, Lead Sheets and Real-World Song Transcriptions.
As I pointed out in the previous post this was the most challenging course for me in term 2. It took me a long time to get through the assignments where we had to determine chord types without using an external reference. While I got pretty good at hearing bass lines, and whether something was major or minor, it was some of the finer details (like if there was a seventh or a sus4 in the chord) that really tripped me up. I would listen to the same chord looped over and over trying to make sure that I was hearing everything.
I think the difficulty I had in this was with chords played on a piano in full chord progressions. I had done some basic ear training identifying simple chord types played on piano but only in isolation. This was the first time that I had to identify chords within larger chord progressions. Sometimes the middle voices would just blur all together and I wasn’t sure if I was hearing overtones or the actual pitches. Eventually I had to resort to using a keyboard to mimic what I was hearing on the recording, arpeggiating each chord one note at a time while singing each pitch that I heard.
I still have a ways to go to get really good at this but I’m much further along in my Ear Training than I’ve ever been. Thanks Berklee Online!
I just wrapped up my second term with Berklee Online and feel more than ever that it’s an excellent program. Great content with fantastic teachers. I can’t say enough good things about Berklee Online.
As mentioned in a previous blog entry, I really do wish that I had taken these courses a long time ago. I believe it would have made a tremendous difference in my life as a musician. That being said, I do feel very fortunate to be able to do it now. It’s all been very challenging yet rewarding and enriching at the same time.
Thanks to everyone who made term 2 so great and onto term 3!
The fourth class that I took this past term was “Music Theory and Composition 1”. This was by far the most involved class in terms of workload, so much information was covered each week. If I wasn’t familiar with most of the material already I think I would have really struggled with this class.
That being said there was plenty of information that was either new to me or needed clarification: box notation, identifying motifs & phrases, figured bass, counterpoint, free organum, harmonic analysis, imaginary bar lines, stable & unstable tones, classical voice leading, chord function harmonization, reharmonization, modal interchange, voice leading 7th & extended chords, drum set notation, writing walking bass parts, chord scales, passing tones, neighbor tones, non-chord tones, tensions, tension substitutions, dynamic markings, hybrid chords and score layouts.
There was a lot covered each week and time management became a crucial factor in getting everything done. Once the coursework was completed I needed to write, record, edit and mix at least one new composition a week. At times I got lost in the details and needed to fall back on what I had learned about time management from corporate life. Creating a “Plan A” (best case scenario) and “Plan B” (worst case scenario) helped me to get refocused on what needed to be done, how to do it and how much time it would take. The great thing about this approach was that I often got Plan A results in the same amount of time Plan B would take. I really need to remember to revisit this process with future class assignments.
For the most part I really enjoyed this class and am looking forward to taking MTC 2 in the Winter 2020 term.
Here are some of the pieces that I put together for various assignments.
The third class that I took during my first term with Berklee Online was “Music Notation and Score Preparation Using Finale”. Overall I feel it was a really good class for me to take as I hadn’t really used Finale before and it got me very familiar with the ins and outs of the software. It’s an older application that doesn’t have some of the features that many have come to expect from modern software (e.g. ability to option+drag duplicate objects, a way to align text frames with one another, etc.), but once you get to know “how things are done in Finale” it is really deep and pretty powerful.
The class not only went over how to use Finale but also spent a good amount of time on the do’s and don’ts of general music notation. Some of the topics we covered were: the Finale Interface, Clefs, Key/Time Signatures, Special Notation, creating and working with Lead Sheets, Lyrics, Expression Markings, Repeats & Roadmaps, Instrument Specific Notation & Fingerings, Drum Notation, Ensemble Score & Part Preparation, Page Layout, Publishing Standards and Templates.
It was a lot to cover in twelve weeks, but I’d say that we went through most of the “main path functionalities” of Finale and by the end of the class I was feeling pretty comfortable using the app. Is it my favorite software that I’ve ever used? No, but I know how to work with it now and it does what I need it to do.
All that being said, I still feel that notating by hand is the way to go when I first have an idea. This allows me to quickly sketch out and map musical concepts, so as to get a sense of form and structure. Once all that is in place I use notation software to create fuller versions for presentation/distribution.
Here is a score that I put together for one of our weekly assignments.
Another class that I took during the Fall Quarter of 2019 was the “Berklee Keyboard Method”. While I have “played keyboards” for years, what I was able to do was all self taught and rather limited. I knew just enough to bring my ideas for songs to fruition. This was my first formal training for the keyboard and I’m really happy that I took the class.
A lot of ground was covered in just twelve weeks. We went over: reading parts in the treble clef/bass clef/grand staff, different hand positions, walking bass lines, melodies that moved between clefs, accidentals, hand independence, major and minor triads and their inversions, harmonizing melodies, voice leading, various chord progressions, left and right hand chords as the other hand played melodies or bass parts, left hand chord shells (Root + 3rd or 7th), seventh chords using just 3rds & 7ths, as well as some extended chords (9ths & 13ths).
Each week typically had two performance assignments to be submitted where you performed a keyboard part live via video recording. No editing, no quantizing, just the real thing. At times this was really challenging for me as I didn’t have much experience reading from the grand staff and was still developing my hand independence.
The approach that ended up working for me was to start early in the week learning the pieces at _super_ slow tempos, like 40 bpm. This gave me enough time to interpret the grand staff, get my hands in the right place and play the parts correctly. Once some muscle memory was established I could start moving the tempo up. Towards the latter part of the course I was able to increase the tempo to performance speed within the same day. Wasn’t perfect but once I had accomplished this I knew that I could refine it over the next couple of days.
Now I still don’t consider myself a keyboard player but I have a better understanding of and facility with the instrument which is something that I wanted for a long time.
As mentioned in my previous blog entry, one of the classes I took during my first term with Berklee Online was “Basic Ear Training 1”. While I had done some ear training previously this was my first “full dose” and I’m glad I took it.
We did a bunch of exercises conducting while singing in various time signatures, as well as learning to read and sing notation via Solfege, with a lot of work focused on hearing & identifying interval relationships/chord types/chord progressions/song forms and towards the latter part of the course we did a fair amount of transcription.
For me the most exciting area of development was transcribing via solfege. Not too long ago this seemed like a fantasy to me. Being able to write music free of an instrument for reference seemed like something that only someone like Quincy Jones could do. It truly was a really great moment for me in my musical life when I realized that I was doing it without trying. Granted, I wasn’t super fast with it and the melodies were rather simple, just the same I was doing it.
I still have a ways to go for all of this to be second nature but I’m happy to know that I can do it. Looking forward to the next ear training class that I’ll be taking in the upcoming term: “Harmonic Ear Training”.
Here is the daily exercise that I came up with as part of my final assignments.
Last July I was accepted to the Music Composition for Film, TV and Games Degree Program at Berklee Online and December 22nd marked the end of my first term of classes. I have one word to describe my experience so far: wow. This was perhaps the most intense three months of my adult life. Pretty much all I did was study, take care of family stuff and sleep. 7 days and nights a week for 3 months. Often I would work through the night not going to sleep until 10:30am or later just to get through the coursework and assignments.
For this term I went full time and took four classes: “Basic Ear Training 1”, “Berklee Keyboard Method”, “Music Notation and Score Preparation Using Finale” and “Music Theory & Composition 1”. Each was challenging, interesting and covered a lot of ground in just twelve weeks. I also received prior learning credits for two additional classes (“Music Production 101” and “Producing Music with Logic”) for what I had learned on my own over the years. One key thing that I discovered through all of this is that I won’t be taking four classes in a term ever again. It was just too much. Glad I did it, but once was enough.
All that being said, the teachers were subject matter experts, the learning environment was professionally designed & implemented and the content was extensive and very well thought out. I’m super impressed and happy to be associated with the program.
I’ll go over the specifics of each class in separate blog entries.
The one recurring thought I had throughout this term was how I wished that I had been able to do this a whole lot sooner. A number of things that were a bit of a mystery to me for years are much clearer now (e.g. songwriting with modal interchange, transcription via solfege, do’s and don’ts of notation, voice leading keyboard parts, etc.) and I think my musical life would have taken a much different trajectory. I’m really looking forward to the next term and seeing who I become through all this.
“Enchantment” is the first song from the upcoming “Equinox” album. It is also the first symphonic piece that I’ve done in a long time.
Video footage taken while visiting Mt Tamalpais (Marin County, CA), Municipal Rose Garden (San Jose, CA) and the Pulgas Water Temple (Redwood City, CA).
Here’s the backstory…
I had been wanting to do an orchestral/symphonic piece for many years now. Fortunately some of the tools available nowadays makes it possible to create something that sounds pretty compelling in terms of authenticity.
This song started as a simple chord progression with me humming the melody. Here’s the original sketch:
Once I had decided that I was going to work on this song idea for the concert, I made a full chart with lead melody and chord progressions:
While working on pre-production of the song I watched two very helpful video courses on Groove3:
