A colorful illustration shows modulation through the concept of changing keys.

Modulation 101: Berklee Online Instructors on How to Leap into a Key Change

Modulation can inject a song with a jolt of interest, but it takes skill to make a key change work. Be advised, songwriters: Use modulation in moderation. And learn from these Berklee Online instructors, sharing their favorite songs to feature key changes.

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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.

musician working at their computer and keyboard on a music composition
Woman scoring music for video games.
A violinist playing a music arrangement in an orchestra.

Melodic Shapes in Music Arranging

Music arranger Jerry Gates explains how to create music arrangements for linear, circular, and square melodic shapes in this excerpt from his course “Arranging: Woodwinds and Strings.”

Jon Kull on Orchestrating Some of Hollywood’s Biggest Blockbuster Movies

You know who Jon Kull is, even if you don’t know that you know who he is. You’ve heard his orchestrations in films like all of the “Hunger Games” movies, “King Kong,” “Avatar,” “Black Panther,” “Mary Poppins Returns,” and so many more.

Modal Harmony in Jazz Composition

The modes have provided fertile musical soil for jazz composers since the late 1950s. In effect, modes can be viewed as displacements of the major scale.

Arranging for Horns with Jerry Gates

Jerry Gates’s work as an arranger, orchestrator, composer, and producer have been featured worldwide, on the concert stage and for TV shows and commercials.