Just in time for the new semester starting September 26, Berklee Online is offering four brand new courses that will appeal to singers and pianists alike. Whether you’re looking for career guidance, fundamental music theory knowledge, a survey of music history and culture, or to learn essential piano skills, these courses are for you! Enroll now to be one of the first students to enjoy these new courses that were years in the making.

Music Career Essentials for the Professional Singer

It’s one thing to have the amazing pipes that make you a professional singer, and another to have the knowledge that will allow you to make a sustainable living off of your craft. Taught by Ashlee Varner, associate professor of voice at Berklee College of Music, this course is designed to give you all the tools you’ll need to build a career as a professional vocalist. You’ll learn how to make the most of every working opportunity, with skills like how to build a home studio, write a lead sheet, run a band rehearsal, book a gig, write a business plan, and much more. This course is ideal for someone who wants to learn how to take advantage of all the revenue streams the music industry has to offer today’s professional singer. 

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Music Theory and Sight-Singing for Vocalists

Many vocalists can get by without formal training in music theory or sight-singing, but you’re going to be way better off learning the shared systems that will deepen your musicianship and make you a more collaborative player. This is a basic- to intermediate-level course that is going to help you develop a strong fundamental knowledge base of music theory and sight-singing. You’ll learn everything from how to identify the staff, note names, rhythms, and time signatures, all while establishing simple sight-singing techniques. This course is authored by Andrea Capozzoli and Elena Koleva, who are both instructors in the Voice department at Berklee College of Music.

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Vocal Styles from Around the World

In this course, you’ll have the rare opportunity to travel the world without leaving your seat. While it’s impossible to learn about the music in every region of the globe, Vocal Styles from Around the World is going to cover many of them. This course will be instrumental in helping you recognize, appreciate, and execute basic vocal techniques and vocabularies from a wide array of traditions. Some of the areas that will be discussed include India, Polynesia, East Asia, the Caucasus, Scandinavia, the Levant, Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Balkans, East Europe, the Mediterranean, Latin America, Portugal, Spain, and many more. Author and instructor Christiane Karam has taught and performed worldwide, sharing her love for different musical traditions.

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Piano Scales 101

You’ve heard it time and time again about the importance of learning your piano scales—and there’s a reason for that! Scales are the basis of effective, efficient, and artful playing and composing on the piano. Authored and taught by Suzanna Sifter, who has been a piano instructor at Berklee College of Music for 30 years, students will discover a new world of sound by studying scales and their modes. This course is designed for piano and keyboard players with prior playing experience, who want to further their technical, theoretical, and performance skills. From major to minor scales, and blues to jazz, you’ll emerge from this course as a better pianist with a toolkit of sounds to write and play the music you want.

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Earn your bachelor’s degree in Voice or Piano Performance at Berklee Online!

 Published August 24, 2022

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