[Harp-L] Berklee will be offering Jazz Harmonica studies with Hendrik Meurkens
Walter Joyce
someone mentioned that it is easy to get in but hard to graduate. The joke
about Berklee students years ago was that the ones who make it in the
industry are the ones who dropped out rather than completing their degree.
I must confess that even at 51 I'm thinking of looking into this program,
not for the degree, as I will probably never complete it, but to finally
learn music and jazz theory well as well as how to play the chromatic.
There is a local harp player by the name of Racky Thomas who is a Berklee
grad, if I'm not mistaken, fwiw.
http://www.therackythomasband.com/
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Ken Deifik
>The joke about Berklee students years ago was that the ones who make it in
>the industry are the ones who dropped out rather than completing their degree.
I've worked with Berklee grads of both stripes. In the end of course there
are some killer musicians emerging both ways, and of course alot of
duds. Chops and gear, too often the focus of students at the top jazz
schools, are 2% of what makes a musician great.
Two Berklee grads I've worked with:
1. Carl Verheyen, one of the top call studio guys in LA, member of
Supertramp for 20 years and touring the world with his own trio. I always
look forward to playing with him, I always learn alot. I once went in on
an overdub session where Carl came in and laid down 20 choruses of blues
without repeating himself once, without playing a single cliche, constantly
inventing and re-inventing the blues. He then got a phone call, but the
situation was so laid back that he continued playing, and WHILE TALKING ON
THE PHONE his playing went up a notch. He continued to invent and
reinvent, to startle me and the producer, who have both heard our share of
blues guitar. I asked for a copy of that and on second and third listens
over the next few days I realized that what I heard was real. He was
sitting there smiling and joking the whole time too.
Recall that Carl has also practiced for many hours every day since he was a
teenager, but it sure has paid off.
2. A guy who graduated and came out to LA to see if he could get into film
composition. My wife used to use him on commercials, and he always did a
serviceable job. We talked music a whole lot and his technical knowlege
was that of a Berklee grad - very thorough indeed. He was also quite
humble about his excellent guitar chops, as some serious monsters were in
his class. I think Steve Vai may have been one.
The problem was, there was a deadness in everything he did. I tried to
give him an insight into the notion of FIRE. He had none, and he never
broke through to it, and as technically adept as he was this wonderfully
sweet guy never really got a career which he was eminently well trained to get.
He worked hard on his composition skills, but his composition skills were
in the end highly academic.
My conclusion, and I've thought about this alot, is the boneheadedly
obvious one. I have to doubt that Berklee would kill your fire if you have
it going in, learn the full course and work hard ever after. I also think
some players who have no fire when they go will in acquire it. And some
won't. There is no predicting who will get it.
I am absolutely certain that a person without the fire can catch on
fire. I think that most people who go to Berklee and Musicians Institute
in LA would benefit from learning to identify the music that gives them a
strong feeling for reasons other than that the player has amazing chops. I
think, however, that selling the school to kids who want incredible chops
is how they keep their doors open.
I think that if one goes to music school with the idea of creating music of
great beauty and magic, one might actually learn how to do that.
Ken
David Fertig
But he ain't the first harpmeister to grace the place. I was doing it years ago, in 1971. Yup. Me. Giving instructional harmonica to huge numbers of Berklee students. In only my second year of playing!! I'm so hot!!
And oh, those generous and insightful students of Berklee. When they wanted to show me their appreciation, they went to such lengths, (excuse me, I'm choked up with emotion now).
Well, I suppose they figured any 15 year old street urchin who played harp with such zeal on afternoons outside their Back Bay dorm windows needed encouragement. And they gave it, with stuff flying out the windows whenever I played. They were so giving, and eager to learn. Oh, how many times I heard them cry, "Please! Don't! Stop!"
Good luck Dr. Meurkens! A tip: take a hard hat with you.
-Dave Fertig