Every semester, I trudge back to my roots at the Berklee College of Music. To make the experience authentic, I usually get at least one parking ticket and stop at Arirang House. I guest lecture to MB-341 – Creative Promotion in New Media. Here’s the course description:
A comprehensive study of media options available for the promotion of artists, products, and services. Includes a brief discussion of marketing plans, followed by a detailed look at both old and new media. Concepts such as integrated marketing communication are melded with creative tools for branding. Students will analyze an existing promotion plan, as well as create one of their own for a new product. The course is useful for the future entrepreneur, corporate executive, creative production person, or anyone who needs information on consumer research, business relationships, and marketing efforts.
These lectures are hugely beneficial — to me! As much wisdom as I impart to tomorrow’s music industry, I always walk away learning ten times more. There’s a fantastic sense of optimism amongst the students that makes the discussions beneficial. They haven’t been totally jaded by a quality-deficient major label system, and they’re not quite into their “starving for my art” phase. It’s a wonderful time where musical curiousity and experimentation is only limited by innate optimism. Sound too rosy? It’s not.
During my own time at Berklee, I took advantage of everything I could. As a piano player, I spent most of my time playing Hammond B3. While I didn’t plan on being the next John Medeski, I welcomed the opportunity to play an instrument I’d never own on my own. The average B3 weighs around 400 lbs, and isn’t remotely portable without a small team of people.
I audited the classes my schedule/tuition wouldn’t permit me to actually take, and I went to as many guest lectures, clinics, and master classes as I could. It was all there for the taking, and I took as much as I possibly could.
These guest lectures offer the chance to go back to that space and time where limitless possibilities and endless ideas were everyday occurences.
Hopefully the students will learn something too…
