Audition Guidelines

Your prepared piece must be:

• performed live (it cannot be pre-recorded—you must be able to demonstrate live performance skills);
• three to five minutes in length; and
• performed on your primary instrument (the instrument you select when you submit the application form).

If you change the instrument you wish to audition with after submitting your application form, please email your enrollment officer at eo@berklee.edu.

Berklee embraces and values all musical styles, so you should perform a piece that you are comfortable with and that displays your strengths as a musician. Select a piece that highlights what you feel represents your best abilities rather than a piece you think the audition team wants to hear.

Some examples that may help with your selection include the following:

• A tune from a well-known artist or band (any style)
• A standard or jazz tune (which may include blues and rhythm changes) with your own improvisation
• A composition from the instrumental/voice repertoire or a movement, sonata, concerto, or etude
• A transcription of a well-known artist's solo

Producers and Electronic Musicians 

If you create music digitally using a computer, software, and hardware, you may qualify for the electronic digital instrument (EDI) program. Learn more about the EDI program on this page.

Composers and Songwriters

If composing or songwriting is your primary focus, you may choose to perform an original piece on your primary instrument that showcases your individual style. Your original piece should be no longer than three minutes, and you should also prepare a second piece from the above listing (no longer than three minutes).

If you are a singer-songwriter, please note that you must choose one principal instrument for the audition. For example, if you play guitar and sing, you must choose to be assessed on either guitar or voice (not both).

You will improvise over a short instrumental progression or drum beat. You should be prepared to play or sing over a standard I-IV-V blues progression. During the online audition, the faculty adjudicators will share a backing track file with you, which gives you the chance to improvise in-time. 

Explore practice exercises for improvisation and blues.

You will be asked to read a written notation example and play it on your instrument with the correct pitches and note durations. The examples range from basic to complex in order for the audition team to gauge your reading ability. To receive sheet music in Braille for this portion of the audition, contact the auditions team at auditions@berklee.edu.

You will be asked to participate in exercises such as the following:

• Call and response: playing, clapping, or singing back short rhythms and melodies
• Identifying intervals and chord qualities

• Pitch matching: singing or playing back a series of pitches