Two musicians standing on stage with a written setlist at their feet

How to Prepare a Setlist

Setlists are essential for organizing and structuring a performance, ensuring that your music flows smoothly from one song to another, and energizes the audience. In this excerpt from the Berklee Online course Jazz Singing 201, authored by Patrice Williamson, you’ll learn how to prepare a successful setlist with her tried-and-true practices that will take your audience where you want them to go.

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A drum set is pictured before a concert, and the microphones that are picking up the drummer's sound are showcased in the photo.

Drum Mics: How to Place Microphones Around Your Kit for a Live Concert

Choosing the correct microphone for the job is key to achieving excellent mix results. Nowhere is this more apparent than when you’re miking a drum kit for a live show. In this course excerpt from the Microphone Techniques for Live Sound Production course, you’ll learn the right way (and some of the wrong ways) to mic a drum kit.

A young music listener puts on his headphones and prepares an intense session of ear training, which we can surmise from his huge cup of coffee.

Ear Training Exercises to Help You Become a Better Musician

In these ear training videos, we uncover key exercises to help you develop your inner hearing: conducting in 6/8, singing the root, and identifying chords.

A woman sings into the microphone.

10 Berklee Online Courses to Get Back to Basics

As a musician, learning is a lifelong journey, and if you are looking to acquire new musical skills, there is no better place to start than with these 10 Berklee Online intro courses.

A muscular man plays a Fender Telecaster guitar, presumably delivering some hot country music licks.

Country Music Guitar Essentials: Chicken Pickin’, String Bending, and More

Mastering country music on guitar includes learning some of the same licks, tricks, and scales as other styles of guitar playing, but you also need to learn other phrases in the language of country music. Here is a quick primer.

A man with a plaid shirt sits at a mic in a recording studio, presumably to record a guitar part for a song he is hoping to one day land a sync licensing deal with.

Sync Licensing Success for Songwriters

Music for advertising is much like other types of custom songwriting: if you want to win the game, you must know the rules of that game. Once I figured out what game I was actually playing, I started to have success with sync licensing.

The tragedy and comedy masks with a red curtain backdrop.

Musical Theater: A Brief History

In this excerpt from David Valdes’ Script Analysis for Theater course, learn a brief history of musical theater as well as common structure and themes in musicals.

A professional video camera filming a concert

Cinematography Basics: Live Concerts, Music Videos, and Film

In this excerpt from Tal Lazar’s Berklee Online course Introduction to Digital Cinematography, learn about cinematography as it relates to live concerts, music videos, and film.

A man plays common chord progression on an acoustic guitar.

Common Chord Progressions and How to Make Them Your Own

Songwriting is an art form that requires creativity, imagination, and an understanding of music theory, but if we’re being honest, there’s also a degree of “fake it ‘til you make it.” And with that approach in mind, one technique you could try is to utilize classic chord progressions to write your own.

A woman plays a video game.

Video Game Design and the Playcentric Approach

In video game design, the playcentric approach puts the player experience at the center of the design process. Read why this matters in this course excerpt from Lori Landay’s Game Design Principles course.