Person practicing orchestration by writing on sheet music with piano in the background

Orchestration: How to Write for an Orchestra

“It is assumed that, if you can write for orchestra, you can write for anything.” An agent once told me that, and I took it to heart so much that I wrote two courses to help you get where you need to be with orchestration. Here is an excerpt.

A woman writing melody on guitar

What is Melody in a Song?

Learn the basics of writing melody with the help of Jack Perricone’s book Melody in Songwriting: Tools and Techniques for Writing Hit Songs.

The countdown before a film begins shows a 5, which illustrates this article about 5 important tips for film scoring.

Film Scoring Concepts You Need to Know

When scoring a film, there are five fundamental rules that you need to follow. Berklee Online course author Sean McMahon shares what he’s learned from personal experience, scoring and orchestrating Hollywood films.

Guitar Pedals, Rated by Berklee Guitar Instructors!

Best Guitar Pedals—According to Berklee Online Faculty

If you could only use one pedal for the rest of your guitar-playing life, what would it be, and why? That is precisely what we asked a number of the course authors in the Berklee Guitar department. Their answers may surprise you!

two mixing engineers in a music studio

Mixing Music: What is Sound Mixing?

Sound mixing is a combination of art and technology with the end goal of creating a new sonic reality. Learn the basics of mixing music, including its history, sound mixing techniques, and the various responsibilities of a mixing engineer.

Person writing a song in a notebook

How to Choose a Song Title

As a songwriter, finding a song title is the big question, and the hard one, because a title is only as good as your imagination—your ability to do something interesting with it. Pat Pattison shares how you can make your song titles more interesting.

Person strumming an acoustic guitar

Guitar Techniques: Hammer-ons, Pull-offs, and Slides

Kim Perlak, chair of the Guitar department at Berklee College of Music, shares some key techniques that will add interest to your melodic improvisation on guitar.

Harry Gregson-Williams

Harry Gregson-Williams Shares His Film Composition Tips

In this exclusive video series, Harry Gregson-Williams reflects on his career and shares his advice for establishing your own career as a film composer.

A photo of a music supervisor working with an editor at a computer.

Music Supervision: What Does a Music Supervisor Do?

You never know when a music supervision opportunity might present itself, which is why adding music supervision to your skill sets could set you up to be a valuable member of a production team.

musician working at their computer and keyboard on a music composition

Music Composition Techniques and Resources

Learn various music composition techniques and resources that will help you get started as you write your own piece of music.