Along with Challenges, Remote Semester Brings Unexpected Rewards

As we approach the middle of Berklee's first remote semester, a handful of upper-semester Berklee students recently reflected on their time off campus, taking stock of how their relationship to their music has changed while learning remotely.

Almost all of the students interviewed said that adapting to their new circumstances has required flexibility, and that they miss performing with their classmates, but that there have been marked upsides to studying remotely, especially when it comes to developing new skills. This semester has pushed them to improve their recording and production skills, which they feel will be valuable in a post-pandemic world. But the isolation also brought about an unexpected benefit; it slowed them down and gave them space to go deeper into their art. Below is an edited version of those observations.

Andres Guerra Major: Performance (guitar) and film scoring, seventh semester

Hometown: Caracas, Venezuela; currently studying from Boston

What projects have you been working on this semester? I guess the good thing about being a classical guitarist is that most of my work is solo. So with all this time at home, I've been able to just experiment, even record. I'm doing a couple of projects with a singer; I'm producing these tracks just overdubbing guitar tracks. I was very interested in expanding what classical guitar is supposed to fit into.

How has the experience of studying remotely been for you? It's helped me refocus on what I would like to eventually do after graduating. At this point, I've been studying so many different things and I have so many different interests that sometimes it's a bit too all over the place.

The circumstances just pushed me to look for ways to create, but also I'm not as contaminated. If I were on campus, with everything that's going on...I just had so much to do. But now it's like I'm forced to look for both creative ways to motivate myself and to make music. So in the end, I feel like that also makes my real aspirations come through.

Looking at a class on a screen is never going to be the same as being there. I got to start to question why I'm doing the work. There should be something that should inspire me. So it makes me dig deep within myself and start to think about that right now [I'm] doing this for school, but this is also [my] life, and [I'm] trying to go out there and have a career.

What about learning remotely has surprised you? It's a lot better than the spring, because, of course, it was an impromptu thing that happened and everyone was adapting to change very quickly. But this semester, in general I feel like most [teachers] have found a way to make it work.

Camila Cortina Bello Major: Performance (piano) and jazz composition with a minor in music production, seventh semester

Hometown: Havana, Cuba; currently studying from Boston

What projects have you been working on this semester? I started this semester in the Berklee Global Jazz Institute and it's been really fun, very enlightening. Right now I have 14 classes. I have a video on the Monterey Jazz Festival coming out; I was playing for that and I was a composer. It was one of those online collaborations. Also, on November 18 we have a collaboration with Paquito D'Rivera, a very important saxophonist from Cuba.

After that, the Berklee Jazz Orchestra is recording one of my charts for big band. It's already fully recorded; now we are in postproduction [to premiere December 7]. That has been very challenging because it's a 17-piece ensemble, all online. But it's amazing how much effort everybody is making and how much energy is put into recording music and to keep things flowing regardless of the circumstances.

How has the experience of studying remotely been for you? It's very intense. Because I wanted to progress to my master's as fast as I could...I've been taking a lot of classes. This semester, even the classes that normally won't leave you any homework, those are leaving assignments. There are weeks I end up with five recordings. In a recording, if you mess up, everybody knows about it. You can come back to it, so you have to make sure your performance is 100 percent there.

What about learning remotely has surprised you? It is surprising to me how much can be done if there is a will from students and teachers. In my case, remote learning has been very positive. The classes are recorded and one can go back to them any time to revise the material. The downside is the practice of playing in an ensemble. However, the fact that we are recording all the time has given us an opportunity to master other areas of our musical knowledge (the tech side) and is helping us to be more accurate with our playing.

Ella-Jane Sharpe Major: Performance (voice), sixth semester

Hometown: Sydney, Australia; currently studying from Boston

What projects have you been working on this semester? My most recent project has been the filming of my first professionally shot music video in Brooklyn [in] October. I created a crowdfunding campaign that raised over $3,000 towards the making of the video. It was absolutely incredible to see the creative people of New York City coming together with almost no payment just to be a part of this experience. The video will be released early next year with my next original song, The Truth.

My #BerkleeAnywhere concert [featured] a mix of covers and original songs. I filmed it last week. These sorts of opportunities are what keep me going throughout these times.

How has the experience of studying remotely been for you? It was without a doubt an adjustment, and one that I found difficult to comprehend for the first month or so, primarily because my Berklee experience consisted of many extracurricular activities.

Throughout the quarantine peri

LINK:	https://www.berklee.edu/news/student-experiences-remote-learning?ss=21...
	See more stories from berklee

Most recent headlines