Extremely expensive and useless
I participated in Berklee’s online course Audio Mastering Techniques, and I had high expectations for it. I imagined that if you paid a hefty sum for an online course from a well-renowned school like Berklee, you’d get a top-of-the-line course in terms of both planning and content. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. I’ve never been so disappointed with a course—or felt so completely ripped off. It was poorly planned and executed. There were no fixed class times, and the professor changed session days and times at will, making it impossible to attend live sessions. In the course information, it appeared as if the online sessions were scheduled at set days and times, but in reality, that was not the case at all. And if you complained about it, you were simply told that the sessions were recorded and that you could watch them later. But if I wanted to take an asynchronous online course, I could just buy one on Udemy or something similar—for a fraction of the price (and with far more relevant content, mind you).
I also discovered that the content of the sessions was so empty and meaningless that it hardly mattered whether you attended or not. The first fifteen minutes were wasted on pointless small talk, consisting mostly of the professor talking about his daily struggles while the students nodded along. There was absolutely nothing of professional value in the course. The course materials—videos, etc.—were of very poor image and sound quality and had clearly been recorded decades ago. The entire setup felt outdated.
I thought I would learn how to master music—but the course didn’t cover that at all. Instead, it presented methods for fixing noise and unwanted sounds in recordings. But come on—those should have been removed during the mixing process! There was nothing about how to add that final layer of sparkle or magic that gives a track its professional polish. I have never felt so cheated and ripped off. To think that I paid that much money for such a course! Even half a year later, it still makes my blood boil that I was scammed like that.
Now I’ve signed up for an intensive 6-week online course at mastering.com for a fraction of Berklee’s price, and after just the first session, I’ve already learned more than I did in the entire Berklee course. Shame on you, Berklee!