Production and Guitar
$12,000
Complete certificate tuition
(Plus Registration Fee $175)
Gain a vast knowledge of music production and guitar in this wide-ranging certificate program. Berkleemusic’s Production and Guitar Master certificate program provides students with an extensive background in music production, and a guided study path in guitar, which focuses on scales, chords, techniques, and teaching you to use your ears, hands, and the tools of the trade (including AmpliTube 2) to play with a hi-quality, authentic and persuasive tone.
You’ll start by setting up your own studio and learning how to produce great-sounding recordings of your music at home using Reason, Logic, or SONAR in Desktop Music Production. Once you’ve got your home studio together, Critical Listening will teach you how to identify the production elements that contribute to a well balanced, artful and professional-sounding mix, including frequency range, and dynamics; how to tailor your mix to the genre of the music you’re working with; how to optimize your listening setup; how signal processors, EQ and reverb are used in different genres; how to identify different instruments, distortion types, and production tricks by sound alone; and more.
From there, you’ll learn move on to mastering guitar scale and chord fundamentals. In Guitar Scales 101, you’ll develop your technique by learning the pentatonic, blues, major, melodic minor and harmonic minor scales and their modes in most keys. You’ll apply these scales to performance-based weekly musical examples, and open up a world of possibilities within the guitar's fretboard by learning how to play these scales at different positions along the neck. In Guitar Chords 101 you’ll study Berklee’s world-renowned approach to the construction of chords, a method that focuses less on the shape, and more on the individual notes that make up the chord. You’ll gain the ability to visualize chord structures anywhere on the neck of the guitar, and learn to construct and play triads and 7th chords - the basic foundations guitarists use to write or perform in any number of different styles.
Once you have this command of scales, chords, styles and techniques down, and can see the resulting improvements in your playing, Getting Your Guitar Sound provides you with the skills to improve your guitar sound. You’ll build customized rigs using AmpliTube 2 modeling software, and recreate the exact guitar parts from a wide range of landmark recordings by artists including Buddy Guy, Kenny Burrell, Brent Mason, Neil Young, U2, Soundgarden, Pantera and more. By the end of this course, you’ll have gained the ability to best utilize your guitar, amps, effect pedals and rack gear to zero in on the tones you’ll need for the music you’ll play for years to come.
The program wraps up with Producing Music with Reason, where you’ll learn to produce grooves in Reason that provide that platform for you to play and record your new guitar sounds and skills, and learn the real-world production set-ups and techniques used by today's top producers. By the end of this program you’ll have an accomplished knowledge of studio production techniques and software applications used by the pros, as well as a solid background in guitar scales, chords, techniques, as well as the ability to recreate the guitar sounds of landmark players.
The Production and Guitar Master certificate also allows students the flexibility to direct their own studies by allowing the choice of three electives in a variety of different disciplines and software including Pro Tools, Ableton Live MIDI and more.
Substitutions may be requested for electives. Please contact our Continuing Education Registrar at registrar@berkleemusic.com or call (617) 747-2146 to see if your request suits the overall academic requirements for your chosen program.
Required Courses
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Desktop Music Production
Michael Bierylo, David Mash (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Master the tools and techniques for producing great-sounding music at home…and create high quality recordings ready for CD or MP3!
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Critical Listening 1
Dan Thompson (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Create compelling, professional-sounding songs by learning to identify the production elements that contribute to a well balanced, artful and professional-sounding mix.
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Guitar Scales 101
Larry Baione (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Organize the guitar fretboard, develop your technique, and learn to confidently navigate the instrument by gaining a firm understanding of the pentatonic, blues, major, melodic minor, and harmonic minor scales and their modes.
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Guitar Chords 101
Rick Peckham (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Add more dynamics and expression to your playing and gain a greater feel for your instrument by learning Berklee's approach to the construction of chords and chord voicings.
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Getting Your Guitar Sound
Dan Bowden (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Learn to use your ears, hands, and the tools of the trade to play jazz, rock, blues, country and other genres, with a hi-quality, authentic and persuasive guitar tone.
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Producing Music with Reason
Erik Hawkins (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Gain a firm understanding of the functionalities and capabilities of Reason software. Explore Reason's rack of virtual instruments, effects, mixers, built-in sequencer and patching system, and learn real-world production setups and techniques used by today's top producers.
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+ 3 Elective Courses ↓
Recommended Electives
Please contact our Continuing Education Registrar to request elective substitutions.
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Producing with Pro Tools
David Franz (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Whether you are a seasoned Pro Tools user or new to the home studio, our 12-week course will guide you through everything you need to know to create great-sounding home recordings using Digidesign's Pro Tools software. Learn Berklee's renowned production techniques from set-up to mix down, and get a chance to talk gear, studio configurations, philosophies of production, and even speaker placement.
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Mixing and Mastering with Pro Tools
Jeff Baust (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Gain a greater understanding of two key elements of music production by learning the Berklee approach to mixing and mastering using the Pro Tools software.
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MIDI Sequencing Intermediate
Michael Moss (12 Weeks, 3 credits)
Learn to create musical-sounding MIDI arrangements with assignments that challenge your creativity while you produce music in three divergent styles: electronic dance music, blues, and advertising scoring.
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Producing Music with Ableton Live
Kai Turnbull (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Remix and produce in any number of contemporary styles, including drum and bass, R&B, breakbeat/trance and house music using Ableton's Live audio and MIDI sequencing software, a sequencer you can play like an instrument.
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Classic Rock Guitar
Joe Musella (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Elevate your playing by learning the styles and techniques of the architects of classic rock guitar: Hendrix, Clapton, Beck, Gilmour, and Page.
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Rhythm and Groove Guitar
Bruce Bartlett (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Learn the rhythmic techniques and chord tools that are the foundation of groove-based music. Expand your chord knowledge and learn to construct original rhythm guitar grooves that you can apply to a wide variety of music styles.
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Audio Mastering Techniques
Jonathan Wyner, Marc-Dieter Einstmann (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Mastering is the final, critical, step in the post-production process. Gain a thorough understanding of what is involved in creating a final master recording ready for duplication, replication, or online distribution.
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Funk/Rock and R&B Guitar Soloing
Thaddeus Hogarth (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Learn the appropriate scales, the best use of effects, and the rhythmic and melodic timing to create an authentic funk-based solo and sound.
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Rock Guitar Soloing
Robin Stone (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Learn to play a great rock guitar solo! Rock Guitar Soloing is designed to help guitarists who may have learned the technical aspects of playing, but lack the theoretical application of the musical elements that make up a strong solo that moves the listener.
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Music Production Analysis
Stephen Webber (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Develop the skills to listen to music like a seasoned music producer. Learn to identify the elements of effective records, and gain the skills to bring these elements to your own productions.
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Art of Mixing
Alejandro Rodriguez, Richard Mendelson (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Explore the many creative and technical considerations necessary to mix in today's music production environment. Acquire the core skill set needed to mix multi-track master recordings to a stereo final mix-down suitable for release.
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Berklee College of Music is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)
