12 Weeks
Level 6
Welcome to the Capstone Course of the Master of Music in Music Production at Berklee Online—the highest achievement in our graduate program. This course is designed as the culmination of your academic and creative journey, challenging you to synthesize and demonstrate the full breadth of your skills, artistry, and vision as a record producer.
Throughout this course, you will embark on a deeply personal and rigorous creative project: the production, engineering, editing, and mixing of a four-song EP. This project is your opportunity to create music that is not only meaningful and authentic to your artistic identity as a producer, but also relevant and competitive within the current standards of your chosen genre. You are encouraged to push the boundaries of your creative expression while maintaining a clear focus on professional excellence and current-day industry relevance.
By completing your capstone, you will:
- Make a significant creative contribution to the field of music production
- Design and execute an original, artistically-driven project from concept to completion
- Produce a professional-level body of work, accompanied by critical analysis and reflection
- Evaluate your creative process and outcomes
- Analyze your artistic, professional, and personal growth throughout the experience
In this course, you will revisit and refine the project proposal developed in the Proposal Development for the Culminating Experience section of OMPRD-599: Commercial Vocal Production. You will also review the guidelines and expectations established for the capstone project. Over two consecutive terms (CE1 and CE2), you will manage your project timeline, develop advanced organizational skills, and execute your creative vision with discipline and purpose.
By the end of this 24-week course, you will have completed and delivered final mixes of your four-song EP—demonstrating the highest standards of artistry, technical skill, and professional readiness expected at the graduate level.
We invite you to approach this experience with ambition, integrity, and a commitment to excellence, knowing that your work here will help shape the next chapter of your career as a music professional. Read Less
Syllabus
Lesson 1: The Recording Project and the Course
- The Project: Recording a Four-Song Finished Master and the Theory Behind an Extended Play (EP)
- Defining the "Average Listener"
- Defining "Musical Taste"
- The Dream World of the Record
- Assignment 1: Advisor Choice and "Average Listener" Master Recording
Lesson 2: The Job of the Record Producer
- Producer Responsibility No. 1: Schedule and Budget
- Producer Responsibility No. 2: Shaping The Music
- Producer Responsibility No. 3: Supervising Performance
- Producer Responsibility No. 4: “Work vs. Play”
- Assignment 2: The Professional Record Producer Project Roles
Lesson 3: What Has Brought Us Here (Edison Cylinder to The Present)
- Recording Technology and Musical Expression
- Pop Music—The Cycle of Style/Anti-Style
- Eternal Verities: Constants in Popular Songs
- Assignment 3: Romantic and Novelty Song Aesthetic Qualities
Lesson 4: Creating a Concept for Your Project
- Choosing an Artist and "Getting the Gig"
- Genre—Rules or No Rules?
- Conceptualization Techniques
- The Concept of a Commercial Reference Disc (CRD)
- Assignment 4: Project Artist/Band and Music Exploration
Lesson 5: Exploring Genres
- All Genres Are Created Equal
- Hip-hop
- Electric Guitar/Bass/Drums Music
- The Crisis in Modern Pop
- Assignment 5: Project Genre Submission
Lesson 6: Songwriting and Song Selection
- Do You Write Songs?
- Songwriting Strategies
- Sampling (Creating Songs from Other Songs)
- Songs as Jokes
- Assignment 6: Original Song Submission
Lesson 7: Components of Collaboration
- What Is an Artist?
- Project Categories: The Singer/Songwriter, the Band, and the Self-Production
- Common Recording Session Difficulties
- Life Outside the Studio
- Assignment 7: Successful Collaboration with an Artist
Lesson 8: Demo to Master
- The History of the Demo
- Demo to Master Example: "Lady O" (The Turtles)
- Demo-to-Master Examples: “Spoonman” and “Evenflow”
- Demo to Master Example: "Thinking About You" (Radiohead)
- Assignment 8: Rough Demos Submission and Review
Lesson 9: Preproduction Part One
- "What Are You Going to Do to My Song?" Defining Preliminary Pre-production
- Song Selection/Song Analysis
- Song Structure
- Groove: “To Drum or Not To Drum?”
- Assignment 9: Rough Demos Submission and Review
Lesson 10: Preproduction Part Two
- Tempo
- Lyrics
- Melody, Prosody and Chord Changes
- Key and the Basic Arrangement
- Assignment 10: Submit Final
Demos with Lyric Sheets
Lesson 11: Supervising Performances in the Studio
- Project Organization Tips
- Creating the “Vibe” and Establishing Trust
- Identifying and Obtaining the Best Performances
- Guy Stevens
- Assignment 11: Recording Project
Studio Schedule
Lesson 12: Your Basic Session
- What is a Basic Track?
- To Play or To Program? Live Drummers vs. Loops and Samples
- Strategies For Recording and Judging Basic Tracks
- Principles of Making a Rough Mix
- Submission of Basic Sessions Rough Mixes
Requirements
Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements
Prerequisite Courses, Knowledge, and/or Skills
Completion of Architectural, Acoustic, and Audio System Design for the Modern Music Production Studio, Critical Analysis of Music Production Techniques, Creative Recording and Editing Techniques in Music Production, and Commercial Vocal Production or equivalent knowledge and experience is required.
Textbook(s)
- No textbooks required
Recording
- Students are required to produce, engineer, and mix a 4 song EP over the course of both Culminating Experience in Music Production courses. Students will focus on pre-production in CE 1, then produce and mix their EP in CE 2.
Software
- Full-featured Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), such as Pro Tools (Studio or Ultimate), Logic Pro, Cubase Pro, Ableton Live (Suite or Standard), or Reaper
Hardware
- MIDI controller
- Audio interface, with a minimum of 8 mic preamps
- One of the following combinations of 8 XLR microphones:
- Option 1:
- 4 dynamics (one of these should be appropriate for kick drum and bass, such as the Shure Beta 52A)
- 2 matched pairs of condensers (4 total)
- Option 2:
- 5 dynamics (one of these should be appropriate for kick drum and bass, such as the Shure Beta 52A)
- Matched pair of condensers (2 total)
- 1 ribbon
- Option 1:
- Professional-quality studio monitors (pair), such as Dynaudio's or Focal's, as well as necessary cables
- Professional over-ear studio headphones, such as Sennheiser HD 600, beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO, etc.
Student Deals
After enrolling, be sure to check out our Student Deals page for various offers on software, hardware, and more. Please contact support@online.berklee.edu with any questions.
General Course Requirements
Below are the minimum requirements to access the course environment and participate in Live Classes. Please make sure to also check the Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements section above, and ensure your computer meets or exceeds the minimum system requirements for all software needed for your course.
Mac Users
PC Users
All Users
- Latest version of Google Chrome
- Zoom meeting software
- Webcam
- Speakers or headphones
- External or internal microphone
- Broadband Internet connection
Instructors
Author & Instructor
Sean Slade is an associate professor in the Music Production and Engineering (MP&E) Department at Berklee College of Music. After graduating from Yale University in 1978, he moved to Boston, playing guitar and saxophone in various beat combos before co-founding Fort Apache Studios in 1985.
Slade has produced, engineered, and mixed records for Radiohead, Hole, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Warren Zevon, Lou Reed, Joe Jackson, the Dresden Dolls, and many more artists. When not teaching at Berklee, he can be found recording music at Quarry Recorders, his studio in rural Maine. Read Less
Questions?
Contact our Academic Advisors by phone at 1-866-BERKLEE (U.S.), 1-617-747-2146 (INT'L), or by email at advisors@online.berklee.edu.
