Lesson plan
Berklee method
In music performance and education, the Berklee method is the music theory, terminology, and practice taught at Berklee College of Music, the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. The "Berklee method" was founded by Lawrence Berk after study with Joseph Schillinger regarding the latter's "elaborate system of composition that employed mathematical permutation and combination process to generate rhythms, harmonies, and melodies". Later, attempting to codify jazz and popular music practice, the Berklee method often differs from common practice harmony and voice-leading rules or guidelines since the form and function of jazz and popular music differs from common practice form and function. For example, Berklee Music Theory - Book 2 recommends the following accompaniment for a given lead sheet, while this progression does not occur in common practice theory since all the chords are seventh chords and unprepared dissonant. Branford Marsalis notes how Berklee music theory may be an inadequate description of traditional jazz as well having a tendency toward prescriptivism: "Berklee has its own system of doing things, the Berklee way, the Berklee method. They basically say that when you write things that are theoretically against the Berklee method, then they're incorrect. Even if they sound great.…
Article summary
In music performance and education, the Berklee method is the music theory, terminology, and practice taught at Berklee College of Music, the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. The "Berklee method" was founded by Lawrence Berk after study with Joseph Schillinger regarding the latter's "elaborate system of composition that employed mathematical permutation and combination process to generate rhythms, harmonies, and melodies". Later, attempting to codify jazz and popular music practice, the Berklee method often differs from common practice harmony and voice-leading rules or guidelines since the form and function of jazz and popular music differs from common practice form and function. For example, Berklee Music Theory - Book 2 recommends the following accompaniment for a given lead sheet, while this progression does not occur in common practice theory since all the chords are seventh chords and unprepared dissonant. Branford Marsalis notes how Berklee music theory may be an inadequate description of traditional jazz as well having a tendency toward prescriptivism: "Berklee has its own system of doing things, the Berklee way, the Berklee method. They basically say that when you write things that are theoretically against the Berklee method, then they're incorrect. Even if they sound great.…
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.