Orchestration for Film and TV
$11,200
Complete certificate tuition
(Plus Registration Fee $175)
The field of songwriting and orchestrating for film and television has grown exponentially over the past few years, providing a promotional launching pad for new careers, as well as creating a lucrative new income stream for artists and songwriters. This extensive certificate program will arm you with the necessary skills to write and orchestrate songs to perfectly complement visuals, provide you with valuable placement techniques for your compositions, and offer you the most up-to-date tools and information to make you a more marketable songwriter and composer.
You’ll start by learning the basics. In Arranging 1: Rhythm Section, you'll learn how to write for the rhythm section (drums, bass, guitar, and keyboards) and create killer arrangements that really groove. This course directs you on everything you'll need to create an effective arrangement—including rhythm section notation, adaptation of the melody and chords, intro's and endings, articulations and dynamics, and how to create an emotional contour throughout the arrangement.
Next, you’ll explore the techniques of writing music that will appeal specifically to music supervisors, editors, directors, and producers across any number of different genres in our Songwriting for Film and TV course. Throughout this course, you will write several short songs—each of which provide an opportunity to master specific techniques needed to succeed as a songwriter for visual media. The course will also explore important business considerations, including negotiation, payment, and rights.
From there, you’ll gain an in-depth background in orchestration in our Orchestration 1 and Orchestration 2 courses. Orchestration 1 begins by covering the technological considerations required to create modern day orchestral sounds: sample libraries, sequencing techniques, and different types of hardware set-ups. From there, you’ll learn the characteristics and idiomatic writing techniques for each orchestral instrument family: strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion, as well as approaches for writing for full orchestra. You’ll build on these techniques in Orchestration 2 by learning advanced strategies and approaches to writing for full orchestra. You’ll take an in-depth look at orchestrating from single layer material such as solos and homophonic statements, to complex textures of four or more layers—music that is too complex to fit into a traditional melody/countermelody/harmony format.
The final required course in the program is Film Scoring 101. In this course, you’ll focus on the aesthetics, terminology, procedures, and technical aspects of film scoring, and learn to apply these skills towards your class project of scoring a short film. By using a broad range of techniques including click tracks, spotting, scoring under dialogue, free timing, and the creative use of overlap cues, you'll learn how to develop a dramatic concept for your score and how to synchronize it seamlessly to visual events.
By the end of this certificate program, you will have a firm handle on writing and arranging (from basic to advanced) for visuals, a thorough background on what it takes to write specifically for film and television, and the ability to score visual sequences across any given content. You will also have the freedom to focus your studies in any number of different ways with our elective options.
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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Arranging 1: Rhythm Section
Suzanne Dean (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Essential learning for anyone interested in arranging music for a band, Arranging 1: Rhythm Section explores all aspects of writing and arranging for the rhythm section.
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Songwriting for Film and TV
Brad Hatfield (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Explore the techniques of writing music that will appeal specifically to music supervisors, editors, directors, and producers across any number of different genres.
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Orchestration 1
Ben Newhouse (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Learn to write and apply traditional orchestration techniques to both sampled performances and live orchestral performances.
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Orchestration 2: Writing Techniques for Full Orchestra
Ben Newhouse (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Learn advanced orchestration strategies and approaches to writing for full orchestra, including both a live orchestra and sampled MIDI mockups.
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Film Scoring 101
Donald Wilkins (12 Weeks, 3 credits)
Create original music to accompany a visual medium by learning fundamental to more advanced film scoring techniques.
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+ 3 Elective Courses ↓
Recommended Electives
Please contact our Continuing Education Registrar to request elective substitutions.
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Arranging: Contemporary Styles
Dan Moretti (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Learn to create your own original grooves by analyzing, writing, sequencing and recording the rhythms and styles that have influenced western contemporary music.
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Arranging: Woodwinds and Strings
Jerry Gates (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Gain a practical, real-world understanding of the sound and personality of woodwind and string instruments, and learn how to properly apply them to songs, arrangements, and compositions.
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Arranging: Small Ensemble and Horns
Jerry Gates (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Develop your writing and arranging skills for smaller bands and larger ensembles and learn techniques that can be applied to both live instrumentation or sequenced/sampled sounds.
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Arranging: Advanced Horn Writing
Jerry Gates (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Take your arranging abilities to the next level of development by studying more advanced techniques for voicing chords, orchestration, articulations, and background lines.
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Music Notation Using Finale
Jonathan Feist (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Create great-looking music quickly and easily with the powerful Finale music notation software, and learn techniques to maximize speed, control, and accuracy.
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Music Notation Using Sibelius
Tom Rudolph (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Learn to create lead sheets, choral and instrumental scores, drum maps and guitar notation, and explore many other ways to use Sibelius for your own personal and professional needs.
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Music Composition for Film and TV
Ben Newhouse (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Learn to write music in the style of big budget Hollywood films and TV programs. Analyze melody, harmony, counterpoint, tempo, rhythm, and orchestration in a variety of genres to gain a complete “recipe book” for writing for film and TV.
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Introduction to Game Audio
Jeanine Cowen (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Gain a solid foundation of sound production and engineering skills that will prepare you to work at a game development company or as a freelance game audio professional.
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Berklee College of Music is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)
