Music Specialist Certificate Programs

Earning a significant income in the music business requires mastery of your craft. Among music specialists, it's songwriters, arrangers, and producers who enjoy some of the steadiest income streams. Other music specialists enjoy full-time jobs as session musicians or record producers.

Music Specialist Certificate Programs Online

A music specialist certificate program online can give seasoned music professionals the opportunity to focus on their most important artistic skills. For many music professionals, specialist certificate programs also provide external motivation to develop the kinds of habits necessary to achieve long-term success. Since most certificate programs are spread out over 18 months, students have time to sharpen their focus while cultivating their talents.

Berklee College of Music

Advance your career with certification from BerkleeMusic

Sell yourself and your talents better by getting certified from a world class provider of music education.

Arranging | Business | Guitar | Producing | Songwriting | Music Theory, Ear Training

Focus your studies with these intensive 3-course programs. The Specialist Certificate Programs provide you with an opportunity to concentrate your efforts in a specific area of study over a short 6-month period of time at a relatively inexpensive cost. Courses are offered completely online! Choose your area of study.

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Online Professional Music Certificates

Specialist Certificate in Music Arranging

Learn arranging and orchestration techniques that can be applied to both live instrumentation and sequenced/sampled sounds. With the Specialist Arranging certificate, you'll learn how to arrange for the rhythm section (bass, drums, guitar, and keyboards) by studying rhythm section notation, melody and chord adaptation, intros and endings, articulations, and dynamics. Then move on to larger ensemble arrangements including trumpet, trombone, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones.

• Arranging 1
• Arranging 2
• Arranging 3

To be completed in 3 semesters (9 credits)

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Guitar Skills

The Guitar Skills certificate program builds the foundation you'll need to advance essential concepts such as chord knowledge, fret board navigation and a command of scales, blues technique, and an understanding of basic improvisation. This program provides the knowledge necessary to develop your technique and hone your skills in any given style.

• Guitar Chords 101
• Guitar Scales 101
• Blues Guitar Workshop 1
• Basic Improvisation

To be completed in 3 semesters (8 credits)

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Recording And Production For Guitar

Advance your desktop music production skills with a concentration on guitar technique in this intensive 4-course program. You'll study the roles of the producer and engineer in the recording process, and learn mixing, mastering and editing techniques that will enable you to polish your demos and incorporate your guitar knowledge into professional sounding finished recordings.

• Desktop Music Production
• Amps, Effects and Getting Your Guitar Sound
• Recording and Producing for Guitarists
• Recording and Producing in the Home Studio

To be completed in 3 semesters (10 credits)

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Recording and Production For Guitar With Pro Tools

Study with Berklee's renowned faculty and get great guitar sounds live and in the studio, and learn how to edit and mix tracks with superior quality. You'll also gain a foundation in popular topics that include microphone placement, amp modeling software and digital editing techniques.

• Producing with Pro Tools
• Amps, Effects and Getting Your Guitar Sound
• Recording and Producing for Guitarists
• Mixing and Mastering with Pro Tools

To be completed in 3 semesters (8 credits)

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Home Recording

Turn your home or project studio into a professional music production house with this 3-course program. You'll learn how to record, mix, and produce great music with the help of Berklee's renowned faculty and their masterful production techniques.

• Recording and Producing in the Home Studio
• Producing Music with Reason
• Producing Music with Ableton Live

To be completed in 3 semesters (9 credits)

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Electronic Music Production

Set up your home studio and learn to record, mix, and create incredible electronic sounds using software, synthesizers, and samplers. With hands-on lessons and projects, you'll master concepts like digitization, signal flow, multi-tracking, equalization, signal processing, and MIDI.

• Desktop Music Production
• Sampling and Audio Production
• Sound Design for the Electronic Musician

To be completed in 3 semesters (9 credits)

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Studio Production

The Studio Production Specialist certificate will introduce you to recording concepts including studio set up and equipment optimization. You'll become proficient at recording with Pro Tools and receive technical training in sound recording, from setup to mix-down.

• Pro Tools 101
• Mixing and Mastering with Pro Tools
• Critical Listening

To be completed in 3 semesters (8 credits)

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Music Technology for Teachers

The Technology for Teachers certificate will help you build a solid base of music technology knowledge and skills. You'll learn how to record digital audio, understand and use a sequencer, mix multi-track projects, work with loops, utilize effects, and produce finished recordings as CDs or MP3s.

• Desktop Music Production
• Writing Music with Finale
• Making Music with GarageBand
• MIDI Sequencing Basics

To be completed in 3 semesters (8 credits)

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Specialist Certificate in Lyric writing

Sharpen your lyric writing skills under the expert guidance of author and teacher Pat Pattison. Discover the techniques that have helped his students win Grammy Awards and write number one songs.

• Lyric Writing: Tools and Strategies
• Lyric Writing: Writing Lyrics to Music
• Lyric Writing: Writing from the Title

To be completed in 3 semesters (9 credits)

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Specialist Certificate in Songwriting

Master Songwriter Jimmy Kachulis has helped thousands of songwriters develop and maximize their songwriting skills. His Specialist Songwriting certificate is designed to benefit musicians of all levels, from relative beginners, to professional songwriters who are looking for new ideas to enhance their work.

• Songwriting Workshop: Hit Song Forms
• Songwriting Workshop: Melody
• Songwriting Workshop: Harmony

To be completed in 3 semesters (8 credits)

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Ear Training

The Specialist Ear Training certificate begins by examining harmony and the rhythms and pulses that drive and measure music. Whether you're playing your instrument, composing, arranging, improvising, or transcribing, the ability to quickly and effectively recognize chord progressions and harmony is a necessity for any musician.

• Basic Ear Training 1
• Getting Inside Harmony 1
• Harmonic Ear Training

To be completed in 3 semesters (8 credits)

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Theory and Harmony

The Specialist Theory and Harmony certificate will help you create a solid base of musical knowledge and deepen your understanding of rhythm, scales, chord progressions, harmony, and keyboard techniques. You'll learn how to use scales, intervals, and chords; write a melody; hear and modify chord progressions; and build your knowledge of chords and lead sheets through the keyboard.

• Music Theory 101
• Getting Inside Harmony 1
• Berklee Keyboard Method

To be completed in 3 semesters (9 credits)

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Music Business

Gain an insider's point of view on the record and publishing business, and explore new ways to create, promote, and distribute music. The Specialist Music Business Program is useful for artists who wish to sign to a label or release their music themselves, and for music business professionals who are interested in starting their own label or publishing company.

• Inside the Record Industry
• Music Publishing 101
• The Future of Music and the Music Business

To be completed in 3 semesters (9 credits)

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