Eth Noise! Ethnomusicology

Faculty Biography
Jimmy KachulisProfessorSongwriting
B.S., Hunter College
M.A., Tufts University
Arranger and composer or conductor for Eric Gale, Stuff, George Coleman, Jon Hendricks, Frank Foster, Martha Reeves, John Lewis, Empire Brass Quintet, and String Fever
Guitarist for Eric Gale, Stuff, A Chorus Line, and Pe De Boi
Papers delivered include "Ewe Polyphony" and "Ewe Bell Improvisation" at the Society for Ethnomusicology conferences
Listed in Who's Who of American Teachers
"There are no other songwriting majors in the world. We're the only show in town. If you want to study songwriting full time, you have to come to Berklee College of Music. If anybody else teaches songwriting, they usually teach the business of songwriting, the publishing side. A couple places that I'm aware of have a songwriting course and a course in how to write lyrics. Lyrics are something that most people can relate to because a lot of them have either read or written poetry or short stories. Most of them have written some lyrics before they've come into class. So it's not that big of a leap to become a better lyric writer. But a lot of people don't really know what's going on musically in a song.
"It's been a real challenge for us to find a curriculum that works. That's why I wrote these books and online courses, which are basically very interactive exercises that I've designed. It's a fantastic resource. We've expanded the time that students can spend on a topic. Students in class only see me for two hours a week; the online students can interact with those exercises 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, anytime they feel like it.
"I wrote the books and courses to give writers the same sort of daily training that instrumentalists get. Instrumentalists practice their instrument every day; if there's a day that goes by they feel the difference. So I wrote these dozens and dozens of little exercises to give people the skills that they can practice on a daily basis."
Related Links
Study Online with Jimmy Kachulis
The Songwriter's Workshop: Melody