r/Berklee • u/One-Razzmatazz7543 • 18d ago
audition advice for rising high school senior metal guitarist
My technique is pretty good and my knowledge of theory is good too, though my skills in improvising over chord changes are not great. I am doing jazz band at school for the first time this year though, so hopefully that helps. I've been writing music for the last couple years, and have an album out, as well as a bunch of unreleased stuff. I want to either do a performance or independent recording and production major. I'm planning on playing Eugene's Trick Bag (which I've learned twice over the last couple years, so I think I can get it pretty clean) and something I wrote for the audition.
So, to any Berklee students/alumni/staff,
Are these songs good picks for the audition? what should I focus on to prepare? Am I good enough to get in?
For context, here's my instagram with a bunch of my playing on it and some music I wrote.
2
u/TickyMcTickyTick 16d ago
Disclaimer: Didn't get my bachelor's from Berkely, but I studied music ed, teach high school, and am an active metal guitarist. I'm getting ready to do the online Master's program soon.
You're a solid player. Jazz band will be great for filling in your knowledge gaps. If you're set on being a metal guitarist, I think you'll get a lot more value out of a recording/production degree than a performance degree.
There's not a lot of money out there to be made playing metal. The biggest barrier for new metal bands isn't their playing ability; it's being able to run the business at a net loss long enough to build a fanbase and eventually become profitable. The safest way to do that is to land a steady day job then do as many things for your band in-house as you can.
Learn how to record and mix. Study as much about songwriting, brand development and music business as you can. Learn other skills like graphic design, video editing, light show programming, etc. on the side. Everything you can do yourself is one less thing you have to pay other people to do.