Here are the EXACT steps I took to prepare for my Berklee Audition that got me a partial scholarship - Enjoy! Add me on instagram: xc.sim
WHO AM I?
My name is Jun and I'm a vocalist/musician enrolling in Berklee. I've created this channel to share music covers, experiences/insights into improving your singing and support your growth as a musician.
LET'S CONNECT
Instagram - / xc.sim
Interested in vocal lessons or commissions? Email me at junsimmusic@gmail.com.
Step 1: Pick your instrument
This step might be easy for some of you because you only play one instrument but if youre a dumbass like me, I play multiple instruments. I even have grade 8 certification in 2 of em. And what it boiled down to FOR ME was the fact that I enjoyed singing way more than I enjoyed playing the guitar. Does it matter that I’m better at guitar than I am at singing? Maybe, but I’ve made my choice and you’re going to have to weigh the possible disparity between your ability and passion for the instruments that you know. Good luck!
Step 2: Pick your Audition Piece
1. Pick a song that you already know how to play OR a song that you are very intimately familiar with
2. Make list of 3-5 songs that fit that criteria
3. Pick the one that shows your best qualities as a musician, not the one that is the most technically demanding.
Step 3: Pick your resources
1. Ear Training/Sight Reading
a. For ear training, they tested me on intervals and chords and for sight reading, they gave me multiple scores with gradually increasing difficulty.
b. I used teoria.com
c. They have exercises on the website that have different difficulty levels for both ear training and sight reading so pick a difficulty you’re comfortable with and gradually increase it as you get better.
2. Improvisation
a. Spend time actively listening to your favourite artists (not just mindlessly going ehehe music sounds good) but actually LISTEN and keep the sound in your head. If you want to take it one step further you can transcribe these melodies along with the harmony and analyse how they interact but just doing the first step is quite effective.
b. Practise on the backing tracks that berklee provides. I’ll leave all of the relevant links in the description.
c. Be willing to experiment, no one started out as improv gods. They made mistakes and learned from them. Believe in yourself.
Step 4: Practice
1. Every musician knows that practise is very important. I’ve found that using a routine structure has helped keep me disciplined. Here’s my personal practice routine for when I was preparing for Berklee
2. 10 minute vocal warmup
3. 20 minute focused practice on prepared piece
4. 10 minutes on ear training
5. 10 minutes on sight reading
6. 10 minutes on improvisation
The crucial thing you have to remember is that you have to be consistent! Dont be a pussy, you want to get better at your instrument? then commit time to it instead of playing another game of league of legends. Getting into Berklee isn’t that hard, getting a good scholarship is. So you’re gonna have to put in the hard work especially when you don’t feel like it because consistency is key to growth and I wish nothing but success in your growth as a musician. We’re all gonna make it brahs.
Credits
Video Editing by Shane Li Pillay
/ shanelipillay
0:00 Intro
0:25 KZread Berklee Audition Rabbit Hole
1:29 Pick Your Instrument
2:30 Prepared Piece
3:52 Practise Materials/Resources
4:00 Ear Training/Sight Reading
4:58 Improvisation
6:03 My Practise Routine
#berklee #berkleeaudition #scholarship