Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Latin Music Legend Talks Songcraft in a New Berklee Course

30/01/2023

Latin Music Legend Talks Songcraft in a New Berklee Course In Latin Songwriting, visiting artist Claudia Brant will focus on the value of collaboration, working across genres, and how to approach lyric translations.

By

Bryan Parys

January 30, 2023

Image courtesy of the artist

When songwriting legend Claudia Brant says that she wants to help students become pro songwriters, you can be sure she knows what shes talking about. The Argentina native, who now resides in L.A., is a multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy winner and has earned top accolades such as Latina Songwriter of the Year from both SESAC and ASCAP, and her song No Me Doy por Vencido, cowritten with Luis Fonsi, is the longest-leading No. 1 song ever on Billboard's Latin Pop Airplay chart, with 30 weeks in the top spot.

Brant was named the 2023 Herb Alpert Visiting Artist for Berklees Songwriting Department, and in the spring semester she will teach the course Latin Songwriting, which will cover song form and structure, lyrical concepts, melodic structure and development, effective lyric translations from English to Spanish, and more. While Brant is one of the most lauded songwriters in the Latin music world, her expertise stretches across many genres, languages, and collaborators. Her songs have been recorded by artists such as Camila Cabello, John Legend, Carlos Santana, Barbra Streisand, and Demi Lovato, to name a few, and she's worked with an equally long list of other writers and producers, from Bruno Mars and Dianne Warren to Armando vila and Danny Elfman.

In the following interview, edited for length and clarity, Brant gives an overview of the kinds of topics and skills she'll cover this semester, including the value of collaboration and humility, what it takes to stay musically versatile, and the joys and challenges of lyric translation.

Congratulations on being named the Herb Alpert Visiting Scholar. Could you talk a little about the course you'll be teaching? Basically Im going to go over all the details of writing a song-you know, the rules, the rhymes, the topliners, the tracks, the splits, the construction of a song, chorus, verse, bridge, all the basics that probably most of the people that are going to be with me already know, but its good to confirm those ideas and have them ask me any questions.

And for me, one of the most important things in writing a song is collaboration. I think that collaboration is the key. So, collaboration, meaning from writing a song and sharing it with your peers to see what their reaction is and what they think should be changed or should stay [to] getting together a group of three people who write a song from scratch. Put them together in different groups, give them different genres, give them different titles, give them different concepts, or even have them pick them and then have all of us criticize and give an opinion on what we are were hearing.

What's the key to being a good collaborator, particularly in terms of receiving feedback on a new song? I think that the word is humbleness. And I learned humbleness when I was a starting songwriter, and I was put in sessions with people that had been doing it forever to listen to them, and [Id] hear them say, Thats not right. That title doesnt work. The concept is not clear. The rhyming is not perfect. A lot of things that I would hear, and I would have to say, wait a minute, hes right. He has it together.

I write all kind of genres-I write from pop to salsa to bolero to rock to alternative-and I try this humbleness. Whenever I sit down with a guy that writes mostly regional Mexican [music], for example I can grasp from them that they have a certain way of using certain subjects certain words that me, coming from Argentina, I have to learn.

We are learning all the time. Learn from a regional Mexican guy and learn from a salsa guy. And I let them take the lead. So when they say, This word; we would never use this word, I have to shut up and listen, and use the word that they suggest they would say. So, I think that collaboration and humbleness go together.

What do you think students will get from this course that they can't get anywhere else? I think there are a zillion tricks that I can teach to them, and I think that the ultimate goal is to get them to be pros. And to get them to be pros, they need the collaboration, they need the tools, they need to be able to hear the feedback of their companions and all of that.

I cannot tell you youre going to become a pro after writing 20 songs . But Im willing to stimulate these kids so that they write every day, because writing every day is what gets you where I am.

Could you talk about your experience working across so many genres and languages? I think theres been more of that on the production side, like songs that Ive written that were originally ballads, and then were they turned into salsa, or they were turned into urban.

So, its more of that, more than me changing the genre in the middle. I remember I had two experiences, two trips where I, learned a lot from scratch with two teams, two different trips in Medell n, Colombia, where I ended up doing a lot of reggaeton. And then another trip I did to Rio de Janeiro where I ended up collaborating with a bunch of Brazilian artists, Brazilian writers, and that opened my mind. I think I learned a lot from that. Thats why I keep saying that the collaboration is key.

[Regarding translation] I think that when I do Spanish versions-I do a lot of them-its a very complicated job. Its not something easy to do. Im probably going to give the [students] a couple of samples, and Im going to ask them to deliver [translations] for next class. Its a matter of being strict to the rhythm and being loyal to the meaning, and being very strict with the vowels. The vowels should fall in the same spot as they do in English
LINK: https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/latin-music-legend-talks-song...
See more stories from berklee

More from Berklee

11/07/2025

Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...

03/07/2025

Berklee's Gospel Performance Program Welcomes Jonathan Nelson as the Herb Alpert Visiting Artist

Berklee's Gospel Performance Program Welcomes Jonathan Nelson as the Herb Al...

02/07/2025

Boston Conservatory and the Sphinx Organization Join Forces to Make Classical Education Accessible

Boston Conservatory and the Sphinx Organization Join Forces to Make Classical Ed...

30/06/2025

Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics to Host 40th Anniversary Concert

Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics to Host 40th Anniversary Concert The celebration will be held on July 10 in Perugia, Italy. By Colette Greenstein June 30, 202...

27/06/2025

How Two Berklee Alumni Landed Songs in the Oscar-Winning Film Anora

How Two Berklee Alumni Landed Songs in the Oscar-Winning Film Anora Joseph Capalbo BM '12 and Lyusi Simon BM '16 share how their collaboration spanned...

26/06/2025

Berklee in Puerto Rico 30th Anniversary Celebration Culminates in Awarding $3.74 Million in Financial Aid

Berklee in Puerto Rico 30th Anniversary Celebration Culminates in Awarding $3.74...

25/06/2025

Study Reveals Stark Gender Gap in Jazz Education

Study Reveals Stark Gender Gap in Jazz Education A new report from the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice and researcher Lara Pellegrinelli finds th...

25/06/2025

Jazz at the Fort Returns, Featuring Yoron Israel and High Standards

Jazz at the Fort Returns, Featuring Yoron Israel and High Standards The performance is part of Berklee's Summer in the City concert series. By Kelly Won...

19/06/2025

Chelsey Green Makes History as Recording Academy Board Chair

Chelsey Green Makes History as Recording Academy Board Chair The violinist, violist, vocalist, and Berklee professor is the first Black woman and youngest per...

18/06/2025

Bostons Dear Summer Mixtape Vol. 3 Features Berklee Artists, DJs, and Producers

Bostons Dear Summer Mixtape Vol. 3 Features Berklee Artists, DJs, and Producers Created by Mayor Michelle Wu and the Office of Tourism, Sports, and Entertainm...

13/06/2025

Berklee's Music Business/Management Department Recognized by the Music Biz Association

Berklee's Music Business/Management Department Recognized by the Music Biz A...

13/06/2025

On Chick Coreas Birthday, a Newly Uncovered Archival Release

On Chick Coreas Birthday, a Newly Uncovered Archival Release The Visitors, composed by Corea and performed by vibraphonist Gary Burton and pianist Kirill Gers...

11/06/2025

Boston Conservatory Heads to Tanglewood This Summer

Boston Conservatory Heads to Tanglewood This Summer Student dancers and musicians from Boston Conservatory at Berklee will debut a new work by choreographer K...

10/06/2025

Berklee Professor Regie Gibson Named First Poet Laureate of Massachusetts

Berklee Professor Regie Gibson Named First Poet Laureate of Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey honored Gibson as the inaugural Poet Laureate for the state in...

10/06/2025

Summer Songwriting Programs: Boston or LA? Berklee Lets You Choose Your Coast

Summer Songwriting Programs: Boston or LA? Berklee Lets You Choose Your Coast Whether you head east or west, Berklee offers aspiring songwriters the chance to...

07/06/2025

Berklee Professor's Fulbright Project Addresses Suicide Loss Through Art

Berklee Professor's Fulbright Project Addresses Suicide Loss Through Art Ray Seol's cross-cultural production Another Season draws from personal grief...

05/06/2025

Bob Clearmountain to Receive Honorary Doctorate at Berklee NYC Graduate Commencement

Bob Clearmountain to Receive Honorary Doctorate at Berklee NYC Graduate Commence...

04/06/2025

Betsie Becker Named Executive Director of Berklee NYC

Betsie Becker Named Executive Director of Berklee NYC A veteran arts and education leader, Becker brings a strategic vision for academic innovation and commun...

03/06/2025

Antonio Snchez '97 to Deliver Keynote at Berklee College of Music's Graduate Commencement

Antonio S nchez '97 to Deliver Keynote at Berklee College of Music's Gra...

03/06/2025

Alf Clausen, Composer for The Simpsons, Dies at 84

Alf Clausen, Composer for The Simpsons, Dies at 84 Alf Clausen '66 won two Emmys during his 26-year career on the iconic animated series. By Tara Bellu...

30/05/2025

How Musicians Can (and Should) Use AI-According to Berklee Experts

How Musicians Can (and Should) Use AI-According to Berklee Experts At Berklee's first AI and Music Innovation event, artists and educators explored how ar...

30/05/2025

The Most Underrated Hip-Hop Producers, According to J. Rawls

The Most Underrated Hip-Hop Producers, According to J. Rawls The producer whos worked with Mos Def, Talib Kweli, the Roots, and Common, joined a panel on camp...

23/05/2025

Berklee Global and Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Host Emerging Talent Intensive Program in Mexico City

Berklee Global and Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Host Emerging Talent Intensi...

23/05/2025

Berklees 2025 Commencement, Through the Lens of a Graduate

Berklees 2025 Commencement, Through the Lens of a Graduate Photographer Matthew Ryu shares a look at Berklees 2025 commencement from a graduates POV. By Ma...

22/05/2025

Berklee Online Holds Annual Berklee Onsite Music Conference May 30-31

Berklee Online Holds Annual Berklee Onsite Music Conference May 30-31 Kamilah Marshall, a backing vocalist for Taylor Swift, will give the keynote presentatio...

22/05/2025

Music Marketing: 5 Practical Strategies for Independent Artists

Music Marketing: 5 Practical Strategies for Independent Artists Five ways help you build visibility, engage your audience, and grow your fanbase-including one...

20/05/2025

From Death Becomes Her to Dead Outlaw, Boston Conservatory Actors Are Killing It This Awards Season

From Death Becomes Her to Dead Outlaw, Boston Conservatory Actors Are Killing It...

19/05/2025

Berklee's Summer in the City Returns with Free Concerts Throughout the Boston Area

Berklee's Summer in the City Returns with Free Concerts Throughout the Bosto...

16/05/2025

Berklee Announces Jonathan Mahoney as the New Dean for Pre-College, Online, and Professional Programs

Berklee Announces Jonathan Mahoney as the New Dean for Pre-College, Online, and ...

15/05/2025

Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Tania Len and Kelli O'Hara at Commencement Ceremony

Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Tania Le n and Kelli O'Hara at Commenc...

15/05/2025

John Yao Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship for Interactive Jazz Project

John Yao Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship for Interactive Jazz Project The Berklee professor and trombonist will debut Let's Make Some Noise, an immersive bi...

13/05/2025

Berklee Artists Take Center Stage at Top Music Festivals

Berklee Artists Take Center Stage at Top Music Festivals Thanks to the Berklee Popular Music Institute, students will perform at Lollapalooza, Governors Ball,...

12/05/2025

Building a Home Recording Studio? Here's What You Need.

Building a Home Recording Studio? Here's What You Need. Experts break down the home studio setup and share tips to create a pro-level recording space on a...

11/05/2025

Berklee Honors Andr 3000 and Sara Bareilles at 2025 Commencement

Berklee Honors Andr 3000 and Sara Bareilles at 2025 Commencement This years honorary doctorate recipients were recognized for their profound influence as art...

10/05/2025

Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2025

Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2025 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next. ...

09/05/2025

Berklee Online Signs Transfer Articulation with Conservatorio Nacional de Msica

Berklee Online Signs Transfer Articulation with Conservatorio Nacional de M sica The new agreement allows CNM students in the Dominican Republic to transfer i...

09/05/2025

Berklee Popular Music Institute Announces UK Festival Debut and Tour Dates

Berklee Popular Music Institute Announces UK Festival Debut and Tour Dates For the first time, BPMI will bring Berklee-affiliated artists and students to the ...

08/05/2025

Student Spotlight: Grigori Balasanyan

Student Spotlight: Grigori Balasanyan The Armenian composer, who was named Boston Conservatory at Berklees 2025 student commencement speaker, talks about his ...

02/05/2025

Students, Alumni, and Faculty Represent Berklee at International Computer Music Conference

Students, Alumni, and Faculty Represent Berklee at International Computer Music ...

02/05/2025

Four Boston Conservatory Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards

Four Boston Conservatory Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards Fifteen alumni from Boston Conservatory at Berklee and Berklee College of Music contributed to nomin...

30/04/2025

Tania Len and Kelli O'Hara to be Honored at Boston Conservatory at Berklee's Commencement Ceremony

Tania Le n and Kelli O'Hara to be Honored at Boston Conservatory at Berklee&...

30/04/2025

Andr 3000 and Sara Bareilles to Receive Honorary Doctorates at Berklee College of Music 2025 Commencement

Andr 3000 and Sara Bareilles to Receive Honorary Doctorates at Berklee College ...

25/04/2025

Listen to Kim Perlak and Francisco Mela's New Album, Recorded in a Single Afternoon

Listen to Kim Perlak and Francisco Mela's New Album, Recorded in a Single Af...

24/04/2025

Berklee in Puerto Rico Program to Host 30th Anniversary Concert

Berklee in Puerto Rico Program to Host 30th Anniversary Concert The event will feature Grammy- and Latin Grammy-winning artist Miguel Zen n BM '98, cuatro...

24/04/2025

Detach Yourself from the Herd': Fito Pez Inspires at Berklee

Detach Yourself from the Herd': Fito P ez Inspires at Berklee In a session hosted by the Mediterranean Music Institute, the influential Argentine musician...

23/04/2025

Berklee Abu Dhabi's Jazz Night Kicks off Global Celebration of Music and Culture

Berklee Abu Dhabi's Jazz Night Kicks off Global Celebration of Music and Cul...

19/04/2025

Berklee NYC and NYC Media Launch Season 3 of Inside Power Station @BerkleeNYC

Berklee NYC and NYC Media Launch Season 3 of Inside Power Station @BerkleeNYC This season features faculty member Arun Pandian as the new host and interviews ...

18/04/2025

Berklee Student Yukai Yang Named 2025 Yamaha Young Performing Artist

Berklee Student Yukai Yang Named 2025 Yamaha Young Performing Artist The drummer secured a spot among the elite winners in this years competition. By Maddie...

18/04/2025

Boston Conservatory Alums Bring Real Women Have Curves to Broadway

Boston Conservatory Alums Bring Real Women Have Curves to Broadway The Latin American immigrant community takes center stage in a new musical featuring Tatian...

17/04/2025

In Return to Berklee, Lucius Looks Back and Moves Forward

In Return to Berklee, Lucius Looks Back and Moves Forward From mood boards to live demos, the alumni band gave students an exclusive look at the process behin...