Undergraduate Degree Program
Bachelor of Arts
Guitar Performance Degree
• $75 application fee waived through November 12
Develop the skills to become a professional guitar player. Through private lessons with Berklee's renowned faculty and a rigorous program of study that spans contemporary music styles, you will develop your unique sound, improve your technique, increase your musicianship, and harness technology to create professional-sounding recordings.
The guitar program begins with your home studio and gear, teaching you how to effectively leverage these tools to deliver high-quality results. You'll also strengthen your understanding of harmony, ear training, and improvisation. From there, you'll dive into the technical challenges of professional performance, including scales, reading, chords, tone, fingerstyle technique, arranging, performing in an ensemble context, and advanced improvisational techniques.
Through elective coursework, you can choose to immerse yourself in a specific style or study several different ones, such as blues, rock, jazz, R&B, and more. Additionally, you will learn the fundamentals of how today's music industry works. Each semester, you'll work one-on-one with a Berklee professor in private guitar lessons that require the same proficiencies as the campus-based program. Your experience will culminate with a 60-minute performance and a demo reel geared toward securing professional work that aligns with a variety of career goals, including freelance musician, session player, touring musician, educator, and more.
Upon completion of the Guitar Performance major, you will be able to:
- Put your knowledge of harmony, ear training, and rhythmic concepts into practice
- Incorporate digital technology into your guitar practice routines, live performances, and recording projects
- Collaborate with other musicians remotely on recordings
- Construct and play pentatonic, blues, major and minor music modes, melodic minor, and harmonic minor scales and their modes in any key within any musical context
- Build and recognize triads, power chords, diminished triads, augmented triads, 7th chords, extended chords, and inversions
- Examine lead sheets and play chord voicings and melodies in a variety of musical styles
- Develop an extensive repertoire of techniques, including tremolo, rasgueado, harmonics, pull-offs, hammer-ons, slurs, percussion, and electronic effects
- Perform rhythm guitar with a solid rhythmic foundation as it relates to different styles and time feels, including blues, rock, funk, jazz, Latin, and other styles
- Improvise over a variety of different chord progressions and musical grooves
- Play and compose in a variety of nonstandard tunings
- Demonstrate solo guitar techniques that include passing tones, upper and lower neighbor notes, rhythmic variations, multivoiced phrases, and accompaniment
- Play with a personal touch and technological mastery that allows your unique sound to shine
- Assess the historical lineage that’s been passed along through the generations, from early blues players to the contemporary guitarists of today
- Develop a varied repertoire that includes classic as well as contemporary guitar music
- Explore the definitions of artistry as it applies to your professional work
- Describe new and evolving technological developments that are driving revenue streams and the music industry overall
Admission Requirement: Recorded Video Audition
For the Guitar major, students are required to submit a recorded video audition, in which the student performs a prepared piece (original or cover) on guitar. The performance should be an unedited take, approximately 3-5 minutes in length, in any style that demonstrates the student's instrumental proficiency and overall musicianship. The video should be uploaded to a website like YouTube, with a link provided for review by the Board of Admissions.
Curriculum
(120 Credits)
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Concentrate Courses (60 credits)
(42 Concentrate Course credits + 18 Private Lesson credits)Complete the following (30 credits):
- OGUIT-105Guitar Fundamentals
- OGUIT-110Music Technology for Guitarists
- OGUIT-120Guitar Chords 101
- OGUIT-121Guitar Scales 101
- OGUIT-222Blues Guitar or OGUIT-223Getting Your Guitar Sound
- OGUIT-320Guitar Chords 201: Chord Melody and Inversions
- OGUIT-340Solo Guitar: Performance, Accompaniment, and Arranging
- OGUIT-350Acoustic Guitar Techniques
- OGUIT-420Guitar Improvisation Techniques
- OGUIT-460Guitar Ensemble Techniques
- Complete two harmony course from the following (6 credits):
- OHARM-100Music for Beginners
- OHARM-101Music Theory 101
- OHARM-104Music Theory Fundamentals
- OHARM-105Music Application and Theory
- OHARM-110Getting Inside Harmony 1
- OHARM-201Music Theory 201: Harmony and Function
- OHARM-211Getting Inside Harmony 2
- OHARM-212Harmony 2
- OHARM-301Music Theory 301: Advanced Melody, Harmony, Rhythm
- OHARM-412Reharmonization Techniques
- OCOMP-110Music Theory and Composition 1
- OCOMP-111Music Theory and Composition 2
- OCOMP-210Music Theory and Composition 3
- OCOMP-211Music Theory and Composition 4
- Complete two ear training course from the following (6 credits):
- OEART-115Basic Ear Training
- OEART-119Ear Training 1
- OEART-120Ear Training 2
- OEART-215Ear Training for Live Performance
- OEART-320Harmonic Ear Training: Recognizing Chord Progressions
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Private Lessons (18 credits)
Complete nine semesters of private guitar lessons, each worth 2 credits (18 credits)
- OPLGT-101Private Guitar Lesson Level 1
- OPLGT-102Private Guitar Lesson Level 2
- OPLGT-201Private Guitar Lesson Level 3
- OPLGT-202Private Guitar Lesson Level 4
- OPLGT-203Private Guitar Lesson Level 5
- OPLGT-301Private Guitar Lesson Level 6
- OPLGT-302Private Guitar Lesson Level 7
- OPLGT-401Private Guitar Lesson Level 8
- OPLGT-402Private Guitar Lesson Level 9
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Elective Courses (18 Credits)
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Complete any six courses, except Liberal Arts courses coded with OLART, OLSOC, OLMSC, or OAFST in a given student's area of interest and professional development (e.g., guitar, music business, songwriting, arranging, orchestration, etc.). (18 credits)
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Liberal Arts Courses (42 Credits) +
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Complete one Composition/Writing (OLART) course from the following (3 credits):
- OLART-111 College Writing or OLART-201 Creative Writing: Literature Studies for Musicians or OLART-215 Creative Writing: Poetry or OLART-216 Creative Writing: Finding Your Voice
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Complete one History (OLART) course from the following (3 credits):
- OLART-170 Rock History or OLART-220 History of Film Music or OLART-231 Art History of the Western European Tradition or OLART-233 Music History of the Western World 1: Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque or OLART-234 Music History of the Western World 2: Classical, Romantic, and Modern
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Complete any four additional Arts/Humanities (OLART, OMPRD, OCDAN, OCTHR, OAFST) courses from the following (12 credits):
- OLART-100 Developing Your Artistry
- OMPRD-110 Music Video Production
- OAFST-110 Black Creative Expression: An Introduction to Africana Studies
- OLART-111 College Writing
- OLART-160 Digital Cinematography Fundamentals
- OLART-170 Rock History
- OLART-201 Creative Writing: Literature Studies for Musicians
- OLART-205 Game Design Principles
- OLART-215 Creative Writing: Poetry
- OLART-216 Creative Writing: Finding Your Voice
- OLART-220 History of Film Music
- OLART-231 Art History of the Western European Tradition
- OLART-233 Music History of the Western World 1: Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque
- OLART-234 Music History of the Western World 2: Classical, Romantic, and Modern
- OLART-400 Career and Job Success in the Music Industry
- OMPRD-250 Music Video Editing with Final Cut Pro
- OMPRD-251 Creative Video Editing with Adobe Premiere
- OCDAN-103 Iconic Dance and Urban Movement
- OCTHR-103 Script Analysis for Theater
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Complete four Social Sciences (OLSOC) courses from the following (12 credits):
- OLSOC-100 Wellness for Artists: Music, Movement, and Mindfulness
- OLSOC-150 The Language of Film and TV
- OLSOC-180 Project Management for Musicians
- OLSOC-200 Business Communications
- OLSOC-210 Music, Self, and Society
- OLSOC-226 New Media Economics: Music, Mobile, Gaming, and Online Markets
- OLSOC-307 Music Cognition
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Complete four Math and Physical/Natural Sciences (OLMSC, OMPRD, OMBUS) courses from the following (12 credits):
- OLMSC-101Music Production 101
- OLMSC-130Applied Mathematics for Musicians
- OLMSC-150Computer Programming Fundamentals
- OLMSC-215Acoustics
- OLMSC-250Music and Neuroscience
- OLMSC-260Sampling and Audio Production
- OMPRD-210Audio Fundamentals for Recording
- OMBUS-475Music Business Finance
How should I set up my schedule, based on the above requirements?
Check out this handy planning guide to help you understand which courses you should take during which semester.
View Sample SchedulePrivate Lessons
Guitar Performance majors in the Bachelor of Arts degree program complete nine levels of private guitar lessons. Each level of private lessons is 12 weeks in duration and involves a weekly, one-hour, live webcam session with a faculty member of your choosing. The lessons provide the opportunity to expand your musical vocabulary, improve technique, and gain valuable insight into your own strengths and areas of development.
Private lesson instructors will share their practical knowledge and coach you through lesson material at a pace individually tailored to your needs. You’ll receive one-on-one weekly feedback on your progress and get new practice instructions and guidance through each lesson.
When / How to Enroll for Your Private Lessons
When course registration opens for the semester, you will be able to register for the appropriate private lesson course level, and then select a day, time, and instructor. Private majors in the Bachelor of Arts degree will earn two credits for the successful completion of each level of private lessons, for a total of 18 credits.
How to Apply
• Get a decision within 1 week
• $75 application fee waived until Nov 12
- Fill out the online application (15 minutes)
- Create a 500-750 word essay, or a 3-5 minute video essay
- Prepare a recorded audition
- Attach your official transcripts
- Ask for two letters of recommendation
Read full undergraduate admissions requirement details here.
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65%
Online undergraduate degree tuition vs. campus tuition
Affordable Tuition
Online undergraduate degree tuition is $66,650 for 120 credits (includes associated fees). To get started, this degree program includes a non-refundable $75 application fee.
Read full tuition and associated program fee details for this, and all other undergraduate programs here.
Available Financial Aid
Ready to Return to Berklee or Transfer in Credits from Another Institution to Complete Your Degree?
Students transferring in from an accredited institution can carry over up to 60 credits, and students with previous Berklee experience may be able to transfer even more.
Learn about our different transfer options: