From A Star Is Born to The Greatest Showman, Grammy-winner Julia Michels has helped shape some of Hollywood’s biggest musical moments. Now she brings that experience to Berklee Online as the author of From Script to Screen: Storytelling through Music. In this wide-ranging interview, she discusses finding the right song, working with filmmakers and artists, and why the best music supervision starts with feeling.

From psychedelic guitars and hard-panned drums to vocals that collapse from stereo to mono, Berklee Online instructors share standout songs that make creative use of the stereo field—and reveal how producers have spent six decades messing with the space between your ears.

What can singing with grandmothers in remote villages teach you about making music? For Christiane Karam, quite a lot. The creator of the Vocal Styles from Around the World course shares lessons gathered from musical traditions, unexpected mentors, and lived experience.

From an F7 barre chord at age 12 to becoming a Berklee Online instructor, Amanda Monaco’s musical education has taken some unexpected turns, including a Mafia christening and a Chili’s commercial. She reflects on the experiences that shaped her playing and why hard work matters more than talent.

After a vocal injury forced Mike Jerel to leave Tower of Power, he wondered whether his career was over. He enrolled in a Berklee Online graduate program to figure out what came next, only to receive an unexpected invitation to rejoin the band in an entirely different role.

Jonathan Wyner has mastered recordings by Nirvana, and remastered classics by David Bowie and Frank Zappa. In this Q&A, he reflects on decades of technological change, unforgettable artists, and the curiosity that continues to drive his work as a mastering engineer and Berklee Online instructor.

From backing an unknown Lyle Lovett in Luxembourg to producing Grammy-winning records with Willie Nelson, and playing on “Despacito,” Matt Rollings has seen it all. In this extensive Q&A, the veteran session musician, producer, and author of Piano and Keyboard Techniques for Session Musicians reflects on four decades in the studio, unexpected career turns, and why reading the room matters.

We asked Berklee Online instructors to share the live albums they live for. Some chose legendary recordings, like Coltrane, the Dead, Aretha, and the Allmans, but others went for deeply personal picks tied to specific rooms, moments, and memories.

Sean Slade helped shape the sound of ’90s alt-rock, from Boston’s Fort Apache studio to Radiohead’s breakout hit “Creep.” In this Q&A, he shares the stories, instincts, and creative risks behind those sessions, along with the lessons that continue to guide his work as a producer and educator, teaching in Berklee Online’s Music Production grad program.