On this page, you can find the Culminating Experience (CE) Projects for all graduate students from the Berklee College of Music master’s program Music Production, Technology, and Innovation (MPTI) from 2015 – present. Click on any title for more information and access to the full paper and other deliverables (if available).
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Emo-DS: A Max/MSP based synthesizer with an emotion approach to sound design
Alonso Arancibia Herrera
2024The Emotion Driven Synthesizer, or Emo-DS for short, is a Max/MSP based audiovisual synthesizer that creates sounds and visuals based on emotional parameters. Based on both the Punset universe of emotions as well as the valence-arousal graph, the synthesizer uses emotion-label knobs to modify various timbre-related parameters at once. The relationship between timbre parameters and different emotions are based on studies made on classical instruments and their timbrical-emotional (TE) response, translating these studies to the world of synthesis. To make the emotion more clear to the user and the audience, the synthesizer creates a visual representation of the sound it is generating, based on the relationships between emotions and colors. The goal of the project is to create an instrument with a purpose, an intuitive interface, and add creative value for both music creators, sound designers and live performers alike.
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Music for Meditation: How Art Integrates With Mindfulness
Mehmet Burhan Aydin
2024According to numerous studies as well as the practices which were done, music has an impact on the average consumer of any kind. However, the content and the quality of the music determines what kind of effects cause on the individuals. As argued in this thesis, the author talks about the way which music can be consciously produced for the wellbeing, predominantly mental health in this case, of the general public. For instance, music used as a supporting tool for meditations while being played in the background. And as there is a surge in mental health crisis due to phone addiction of the wider populace, there are industries to tackle this issue by producing meditation products, which include music to contribute to the calm nature of meditating. In this reflection paper, the author presents his ideas regarding this subject with the help of his research.
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What We All Feel
Oscar Barbaza
2024There is a feedback loop that has existed for thousands of years between the development of our hearing, our emotional indexes of responses to stimuli in our environment, our growing ability to craft our own worlds through this medium via music, and the technology we use to do so. This album is an homage to that process as a response to the current limitations of popular music, the boundaries of genre and the growing polarizations of the cultural contributors to each genre, and the Author’s own experience of being stuck in between many of those polarizations. In order to achieve an authentic result, the Author has re-structured their traditional process of making music, allowing the songs to grow organically.
Each song of this 6-track EP is inspired by a conversation between two or more students from different countries of origin. After this conversation, the Author organized and recorded jam sessions, then took the recordings and arranged them into a song based on the structure of both the song’s concept and the surrounding discussion. Lyrics were added that connected these overarching themes to the Author’s personal journey. The songs were then mixed, divided by interludes of snippets from those original conversations. In this way, authenticity to the concept was ensured throughout each step of the music-making process.
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Here, Underwater
Tijana Bekcic
2024This project is intended to explore the origins and roots, as well as the depths and limitations of the author’s creativity. The process of making it (which included gathering inspiration and developing the idea, composing, arranging, gathering and recording the material, then producing the EP and doing the post-production) was aimed to help the author find out more about themselves, while the end goal of creating it was an EP consisting of 5 songs whose intertwined narrative makes them inseparable. The idea behind the EP Here, Underwater came from the need to tell a story from the inside perspective, using harmony, sound design and experimentation as the main techniques for achieving that. Its importance is reflected in the catharsis that an artist can achieve after finishing such a deeply personal journey of exploration and translation of experiences and emotions into music. It uses the element of water as the main source of inspiration because of its importance throughout the author’s life. It is intended that this EP could inspire the audience and fellow artists to go on a journey of trying to figure out how their creativity is built and limited.
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Ikigai: A Recording and Mixing Portfolio
John Chesebrough
2024The portfolio, titled "Ikigai," showcases 55 songs recorded, mixed, or both, by the author. The project's objective was to learn the art of recording and mixing while leveraging Berklee's exceptional facilities and community of talented artists, producers, and engineers. This endeavor resulted in a diverse body of work spanning multiple genres and languages, reflecting deep collaboration and trust between the author and his collaborators. The projects varied in complexity, from simple duos to full albums featuring multiple vocalists, string ensembles, and rhythm sections. Achieving success in this project required meticulous planning, frequent studio sessions, and an adaptive mindset. Prior to attending Berklee, the author had no formal studio experience. Consequently, the author developed essential skills on the job, including recording techniques, mixing techniques, Pro Tools operation, and session management. Each session was an opportunity to learn and apply new lessons, fostering continuous growth. This project is part of seven other culminating experiences, highlighting its significance. Its impact lies in the author's contribution to helping other artists realize their visions and in establishing a foundation for a career in audio engineering. In completing this work, the author found an instance of "Ikigai"—the convergence of passion, mission, vocation, and profession. The work embodied what the author wanted to do, what needed to be done, and the essential lessons to be learned, all in one place.
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Electronic Music Performance of an Ep
Luis Esteban Delgado Vasquez
2024This project consisted of three live video performances of the author's original Neo-soul and hip-hop EP. Utilizing Ableton Live, external controllers, real instruments, and vocals, the goal was to produce a commercially viable project for touring and promotion. The performances, recorded for the project's final presentation, showcased the methodologies and techniques of electronic live performance. The main challenge was effectively using Ableton Live to manage tasks such as controllerism, live playing, singing, and audience interaction. The author addressed this innovatively by leveraging current technologies and developing new performance methodologies throughout the project.
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Rama_An exploration through Ecuadorian Soundscapes, Contemporary Music and Literature
Jose Duran
2024This project presents a conceptual album featuring original compositions by the author, including six instrumental pieces and four experimental narrated tracks. The album explores Ecuadorian cultural identity, blending traditional musical elements with experimental sounds to reflect the author's heritage. It incorporates harmonic progressions, melodic structures, time signatures, textures, and instrumentation from Ecuadorian folk genres such as Albazo, Yaraví, Pasillo, Bomba, and San Juanito. These are fused with contemporary music and spoken word sections to enhance the artistic concept. Collaborating with Ecuadorian writer David Padrón, the author aims to examine Ecuadorian society through a literary and musical lens, merging cultural sounds with diverse influences. The goal is to bridge past and future, creating a thoughtful artistic and personal experience for both the audience and the artists. “This paper was written with the assistance from generative artificial intelligence. Additional information in Appendix II.”
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A Humanistic Approach to Music: Composing, Recording, and Mixing an EP
Jose Esteban Esquivel
2024This project aims to compose, perform and record a six-song Extended Play (EP) that explores themes of sustainability, climate change, affection, attachment, sexuality, and peace over violence. Drawing inspiration from genres such as Nueva Canción, Rock, Folk, Latin American music, Andino-Latin rhythms, Blues, Funk, and Nu Jazz. The project seeks to create music that not only entertains but also carries a conscious message and the intention to provoke reflection on critical issues. At the same time an experimental process regarding recording engineering is conducted through the use of the studios (AKSS and STAD) and gear available at Berklee Valencia to achieve a desired sound for the EP.
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NO JUICE RECORDS: PARTNERSHIP STRATEGIES
Jeremy Feng
2024In a world where innovative marketing strategies benefit both businesses and musical artists, it is becoming more and more common for businesses and artists to collaborate. Such collaborations offer mutually beneficial relationships through which audiences of each individual party are exposed to the services or products of the other party. These marketing collaborations have existed in forms of celebrity endorsements, clothing collections, fast food deals, and other product lines. The current project explores similar marketing strategies scaled to a local level. In this project, the author represents the music and media collective No Juice Records and explores the world of brand partnerships with the ultimate goal of preparing No Juice Records for their first brand partnership. The author studies successful industry partnerships, identifies No Juice Records brand values and potential target partners, identifies No Juice Records key audiences, develops an overarching marketing plan, and prepares a partnership pitch deck template. Ultimately, the project documents the journey and process through which the author sets up No Juice Records for their first brand collaboration.
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Origins
Emilia Gasparini
2024This concept album, developed in collaboration with a former Berklee student and an cover art illustrator, is based on the theme of the eternal question of human existence and the idea of other beings existing somewhere in the universe. The primary goal is to enhance audience engagement and comprehension by utilising Dolby Atmos technology, creating a 360-degree auditory immersive experience. This project harmoniously blends sound design with classical music, reflecting the author’s diverse background, and additionally, the production strives to incorporate and record instruments deriving from various traditions, including those less conventional, further enriching the project’s sonic tapestry. Throughout the project, various methodologies are employed to weave a narrative through music and visuals, aiming to captivate and immerse the audience. This work made use of tools such as creative production, hybrid recording, and mixing techniques. This album features achievements throughout the application of new techniques and involves collaboration with artists from different countries. The project’s conclusion highlights the acquisition of new skills, unexpected challenges, and its contribution to the fusion of storytelling, music, and technology, paving the way for an exciting future prospects in the world of audio storytelling.
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Taste and See: Expanding the Musical Palette Within Christian Genres
Kyler Hamilton
2024Gospel music doesn’t only have to resemble Hillsong praise and worship or Aretha Franklin at a Baptist church. In fact, the diversity of genres in Gospel music has steadily expanded into Hip Hop, Afrobeats, Urban Gospel and other areas in recent years. The author draws inspiration from these genres and a myriad of others namely: Classical, Electronic, Rock, Jazz, Funk and Alternative. This project presents an LP titled, Taste and See, that comprises seven songs written, produced, recorded, and mixed by the author. Taste and See showcases the above mentioned genres with a Gospel lens by using specific lyrical content and harmonic progressions. The primary objectives of this project were twofold: firstly, to engage new and young Christian audiences with Gospel music that allows them to stay pure and focused on God while enjoying a diverse range of music, and secondly, to broaden the musical palette of the targeted audience by presenting multiple genres within a single project where all songs transition seamlessly from start to finish.
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Mixing Mastery - A Journey in Search of The Truth
Hong Gu Kwon
2024In the rapidly changing music industry, the importance of the mixing engineer is significant, mixing is known to be a crucial part in the stage of music production. As such, the basic concept of this project is to focus on the author’s mixing portfolio as a medium that explores the special role of the profession and how the different skills are important in building a unique sound as a mixer. The portfolio includes 12 songs in different genres including, Hip Hop/ Indie Soul, Funk/Fusion, Live Piano, Jazz and Experimental Jazz, highlighting the consistency of the work quality while showcasing the author’s unique mixing style. By the process of making the author’s mixing portfolio, this project reveals the change in the authors endeavor and focuses on the importance not only the technical aspects but also personal growth. In conclusion, this project highlights the importance of developing the fundamental technical skills while the true innovation in becoming a successful mixing engineer comes from confidence and self-belief.
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Atlas: A Dual Journey in Music Production and 360 Degree Space Visualization
Chi-Hsi Liu
2024This project culminates in producing an extended play (EP) for the musician Synnx alongside a single track integrated into a Dolby Atmos format with an accompanying 360-degree video. This fusion creates a multidimensional artistic experience. The "Atlas" EP features complex orchestral arrangements and elements reminiscent of an epic cinematic soundtrack, conveying profound emotional depth and exploring complex themes. The endeavor required significant effort in both audio and visual dimensions, resulting in a thoroughly immersive space scene.
Several challenges arose throughout the project's development, including time constraints, technical difficulties, and communication issues with collaborating musicians. These obstacles were successfully overcome, creating a unique combination of music and visual art. This achievement underscores the creator's proficiency in music production and visual artistry. Chi-Hsi intends to experiment further with innovative methods of integrating visual elements with musical experiences in the future.
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Immersive Music Portfolio: Exploring Hybrid Studio Music Production with Dolby Atmos and Object-Based Audio Techniques
Shutong Lou
2024This project presents a portfolio of immersive music mixes created using Dolby Atmos, a cutting-edge audio format that allows for three-dimensional sound placement. The project showcases five tracks, originally produced and mixed in stereo, which were adapted to Dolby Atmos to explore the creative and technical possibilities offered by this advanced format. The innovative aspects of this project include the integration of creative movement within the sound field and the application of musicality-related spatial dynamics, both of which enhance the emotional and artistic impact of the music. Additionally, the project addresses the challenges of managing complex signal paths and balancing artistic innovation with established audio quality standards. The outcomes demonstrate the potential of Dolby Atmos as a future standard for music production, with implications for both the music industry and multi-media art forms. This project also opens avenues for further research into spatial audio technology and its application in creating immersive and emotionally engaging audio experiences.
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Exploring Liveness: Creating a Live Performance Combining Electronic Music and 4 Vocals
Hazal Odabasi
2024This project is a live show that seamlessly blends electronic elements with four distinct vocal styles. The primary challenge involved consolidating numerous tracks into a more manageable number. This required the creation of numerous new audio effect racks and synthesizer sounds to replace the original audio files used in the earlier stages of development. The goal was to achieve a highly dynamic live performance, where many elements heard during the show necessitate real-time triggering and modulation. This approach was deliberately chosen to ensure the music feels fragile and alive, capturing the essence of the moment. The intricate process of building the sessions was essential to maintaining this sense of immediacy and spontaneity, allowing for a unique and engaging auditory experience each time the show is performed.
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A Spiritual Journey Through Nonlinear EDM Music
Dylan Ornelas
2024The project explores the author's transition from DJ to produced artist, proficient in live EDM performance with live instruments and music production. The primary objective is to deliver a forty-minute live performance integrating live instruments, showcasing genres such as Drum and Bass, Tech House, and Deep House, alongside two other performers. This endeavor represents a pivotal moment in the author's career, contributing significantly to the live performance EDM genre. The author incorporated live artists, drum machines, and DJ turntablism into the live set. Outcomes include the live performances, seven remixes of non-original content, and three original songs, demonstrating the author's new capabilities. The most challenging aspect was applying music theory to the remixes and original songs while performing and rehearsing with live performers, and ensuring all technologies and MIDI devices were played correctly during the performance. The author acquired essential skills in music production, arrangement, live performance, DJ turntablism, and developed new industry relationships, resulting in a more well-rounded producer and performer. This project marks a significant milestone for the author and enhances the live performance aspect of EDM.
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Cosmic Quiet
Indigo Passariello
2024Cosmic Quiet is a virtual comic book prototyped and scored by the author. The narrative spans the Black diaspora, analyzing Black music in relation to American blackness and its role in global marginalization and cultural identity.
Participating in any artistic lineage requires study and respect for those in the field that have come before. The author’s educational background is in jazz studies, so researching afrofuturism and visual art was an important part of this endeavor. The biggest challenge faced by the author was prototyping in Unity. Eventually, the author transitioned from focusing on the interactive prototype to focusing on Midjourney renderings, the script, and the soundtrack.
Hopefully there is a future for this project in terms of possibly developing a series of interactive comics and different iterations of the concept in different mediums such as interactive exhibits, physical comic books, and a film series.
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Sandbox Sessions
Tahir Patwala
2024Sandbox Sessions, a collaborative effort with Alex Schindler, is an aspirational offering of natural scenery complimenting After Effects visual mastery all over major social channels. The great outdoors and natural elements will present audiences with the metamorphosis of the natural environment into a visual arts canvas, ultimately directed by these profound, yet graduated, effects. These effects in turn respond to elements that ground and center the music, elements like actually laying down on the ground and lovingly capturing the dance of sunlight on leaves, or the intricate patterns of flowing water. An innovative response to one of the big challenges we face, and a marvelous reminder of the interrelation between art, technology, and the natural world, and the power of social media to reach ours.
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"Electric Guitar and Beyond: An EP Exploring Six Genres with Analog and Digital Techniques"
Antonio Roccatagliata
2024In this master's project, the author explores the electric guitar's versatility across six distinct genres: pop/trap, techno, cinematic, psychedelic rock, and synth wave. By experimenting with analog pedals, amplifiers, and digital plugins, the author crafts unique soundscapes, pushing the boundaries of emotional and sonic expression. Each track showcases the electric guitar's transformative capabilities, blending traditional and modern production techniques. This EP highlights the author's creative journey in reshaping music production, using the guitar in innovative ways to generate original sounds. The project transcends conventional genre limitations, demonstrating the limitless possibilities of sound design and technological experimentation. Ultimately, it offers listeners a captivating glimpse into the future of musical exploration and the boundless potential of the electric guitar in contemporary music.
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RINGING: A Perspective of Art and the Artist
Lionel Rodriguez
2024This project encompasses the writing, directing, shooting, scoring, editing, acting, sound designing, and both stereo and Dolby Atmos mixing of a 17-minute experimental short film titled Ringing which narrates the story of a musician experiencing hearing loss. Drawing its visual style from films such as Metropolis, Nosferatu, and other German expressionist works, this project seeks to offer an innovative approach to independent audiovisual storytelling. During the creation of this film, significant challenges included developing a malleable storyline that could be restructured without chronological order to create new narratives. Additionally, the project faced the difficulty of honoring its inspirational sources while advancing newer methods of storytelling. The use of monochrome visuals, combined with experimental sounds from synthesizers, was crucial in achieving a cohesive aesthetic. With no dialogue, this film aims to transcend language barriers, allowing audiences from diverse cultures to appreciate it equally. The project strives to inspire the breaking of conventional rules in independent artistic endeavors.
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Sandbox Sessions
Alexander Schindler
2024As more forms of content move into the digital world, there remains a void in the world of live music performance. Platforms such as NPR’s Tiny Desk have succeeded in presenting high-quality video and audio by recording in an intimate indoor space. However, what if that same level of quality could be achieved while recording performances in lush scenes of nature? Sandbox Sessions aims to deliver this new medium of music video consumption by recording live performances with 4K video and professionally mixed audio. Through implementing various effects via After Effects, Sandbox Sessions will also feature subtle psychedelic visuals layered on top of the scenic background landscapes. The goals of this collaborative project between the author and his colleague, Tahir Patwala, include learning the nuances of live and post production for audio and video, delivering a professional and innovative product that is easily digestible for any viewer, and building a unique brand.
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Fractals
Vedant Shankar
2024This paper presents Fractals, an exploratory music project by the author, which aims to uniquely blend various genres across multiple sections. The distinctiveness of this project lies in the author’s experience as a versatile musician, with experience ranging from rock bands and big bands to chamber orchestras, coupled with proficiency as a producer/DJ. This background of musical experience allows the author to approach the blend of genres with a unique perspective. The collection of songs serves as a precursor for four separate EPs: The project is not just a musical amalgamation but also an academic inquiry into the evolution of these genres, including an analysis of influential works and a reflection on the potential for innovative soundscapes in electronic music. Through this project, the author endeavors to leave a personal stamp on the electronic music scene, showcasing a synthesis of diverse musical influences and creative experimentation. This endeavor aims to contribute a distinctive auditory experience to the electronic music landscape, underlined by the author's unique musical journey. This paper was written with the assistance from generative artificial intelligence. Additional information in Appendix II.
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Vocal production
Beti Strgar
2024Vocal production – a research and development of an original approach to vocal production
This project aimed to enhance the author’s approach to vocal production through a combination of research on vocal production and practical experiences gained from both producing vocals for others and being vocally produced by others. It involved a comprehensive exploration of the various stages of vocal production. Starting from the preproduction phase, which involves refining melody lines and lyrics and getting ready for a session, to the engineering and tracking vocals where the author selects the appropriate microphone for the singer and manages Pro Tools sessions, to leading and overseeing a vocal session, and finally the mixing stage where the author developed a vocal processing chain.
Additionally, the study delved into the experiences of singers and focused on their needs to deliver the best vocal performances in the studio. The primary objective of this research was to deepen the author’s understanding of vocal production processes and refine methods for his future work as a vocal producer.
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Tightrope's The Way: The Production of a Concept Album
Ari Troper
2024The basis of this project is to record, produce, and mix 7 songs selected from a catalog of 53 demos written by the author’s band Tightrope for a long play (LP) titled The Way that blends genres and tells a story. The genres represented in this album consist of psychedelic rock, blues, funk, jazz, and pop, and are influenced by artists such as The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Crumb, and Tame Impala. The LP tells the story of a character who feels directionless as he embarks on his journey to find “the way.” Throughout the process of recording the album, arrangements were re-written, new parts were composed and recorded, and creative production techniques were applied. Perhaps the biggest challenge during this process was battling “demoitis,” the notion that one becomes attached to the sound and elements of the demos. In the future, the author intends to master the songs and market them. This project emphasizes the art of production, and how the author fused demos that were previously loosely connected to create one cohesive and compelling work of art.
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Life of a Yellow Kid: an audiovisual electro-pop LP
Luis Valdez
2024The basis of this project is to compose, record, produce and mix an eleven song album (LP) with a visualizer, logo and design for each track. The author designed all of the artworks for the songs and LP and produced videos and content for said LP. Also, the author combined all of his influences from electronic music and other genres to create something new to expand the limits of electronic music. This album was influenced by works of artists like Madeon, Porter Robinson, Louis The Child, Urboi, Medasin, Fred Again.. and The Weeknd. Song-writing, recording, sound design, creative production techniques, mixing, graphic design and audiovisual production were the skills and tools necessary for the completion of this LP. The main focus of the LP was to combine different genres of music, like Electro-pop, UK Garage, Pop, House and Drum and Bass. Also this album is about personal experiences of the author and it covers different feelings throughout the LP, creating a sunset literally and figuratively within the album.
This paper was written without any assistance from generative artificial intelligence.