An illustration shows the side profile of a woman's head, and inside her mind we see that she is thinking of how she plays her oboe.

Mental Practice Techniques: A Comprehensive Guide for Musicians

As a musician, not all of your practice will be on your instrument. Some of it will be in your head, and some of it may even be on objects that just look like your instrument. We call this mental practice, and in this excerpt from Barbara LaFitte’s Practicing Techniques for Musicians course, the principal oboist in the Boston Ballet Orchestra shares tips on how to practice your instrument when you just aren’t able to actually play your instrument.

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Berklee Online course author and instructor Ben Camp stands against a red brick wall, wearing a black and white studded leather jacket.

AI for Songwriters: How Ben Camp is Helping Songwriters Get Creative with Artificial Intelligence

Explore how Berklee Online instructor Ben Camp is helping songwriters harness the creative potential of AI. Also, discover a unique approach to structuring prompts, and insights into the ethical debates surrounding AI-generated music.

Elvis Presley, pictured here in uniform, was assigned to the 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 32nd Armored Regiment, 3rd Armored Division in Friedberg, West Germany.

Beyond Elvis: 15 Musicians Who Served in the Military

Explore the surprising military backgrounds of some of music’s biggest stars. From Elvis to Jimi to Sturgill, we take you through the journeys of legends who swapped their stage clothes for uniforms—like Shaggy in the Marine Corps and Johnny Cash decoding Soviet messages—before (and sometimes while) making their marks on the music world.

The late music critic Steve Morse is pictured in this undated photo.

Remembering Steve Morse

Steve Morse was a legendary music journalist, having served as the senior rock critic for the Boston Globe for three decades, and on the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was also a Berklee Online instructor, who put all of his heart into his Rock History course. He passed away after a brief illness in October of 2024.

An image of BOB, the Berklee Online Bot, who is an animated red eighth note against a yellow background.

BOB’s Got Your Back: How Berklee Online’s New Chatbot is Changing Music Education

Music education and technology are constantly evolving together, and Berklee Online’s newest development, a chatbot named BOB, is a testament to that. And before you ask, BOB stands for Berklee Online Bot.

Vocalist singing at a piano trying to find their vocal range

How to Find Your Vocal Range for Singing Pop and R&B

The key of a sound recording may not always work for you; It may be too high or too low. This doesn’t mean that you can’t sing the song. In this excerpt from Berklee Online’s Improvisation Techniques for Singing Pop and R&B course, Gabrielle Goodman teaches you how to find your vocal range so you can pick a key that will make your voice shine.

Register for the Next Berklee Online Live Q&A

Have a question? Register for the next Berklee Online live Q&A, and meet the folks who advise, teach, and lead at the world’s largest online music college.

A person hugs a bass player.

Hug-a-Bassist Day: Embrace the Teachings of Berklee Online’s Bass Instructors

October 12 is Hug-a-Bassist Day, a little-known but much-needed celebration that honors those who lay down the low end. Celebrate by hugging a bassist, obviously, but also by getting to know Berklee Online’s four bass instructors—each as essential as the four strings on a standard bass guitar.

Berklee Online student and composer Chris LaRosa is pictured in this undated portrait.

Berklee Online Student Chris LaRosa Places Top 5 in European Recording Orchestra Contest

After Chris LaRosa heard a live orchestra performing one of the scores he wrote for an assignment in the Composing the Orchestral Film Score course, he decided to enter the composition in the European Recording Orchestra’s Call for Scores Contest. He placed as one of the top five finalists.

Timberline lodge from the moving "The Shining"

Horror Music from ‘The Shining’ Main Title Explained

In many ways, the idea of using twentieth-century concert music to elicit fear and suspense in film was pioneered by The Shining. In this excerpt from Ben Newhouse’s Music Composition for Film and TV 1 course, you’ll examine melody, tone color, tempo and rhythm, harmony, and time associations from the main title sequence of the movie.