# Mike Verta’s Masterclasses



## boxheadboy50 (Nov 23, 2018)

Hey gang!
So Mike Verta’s Masterclasses are currently 40% off with coupon and I’d definitely like to try them out!
BUT, what order should I take them in??

A little about my background, if it matters: I have a 4-year music degree in Theory & Composition. I’ve studied orchestration, developing themes, taken composition lessons, making complete pieces, etc. I mention this because I don’t know if it would be a waste of my time to start with Theory I, for example, when I have 4 years of theory under my belt already.

Any help would be much appreciated!
Thanks!


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## brek (Nov 23, 2018)

He has a very different approach to teaching than you're likely used to. These truly are "Masterclasses" - there's stuff in it for everyone, and it's not really a "methodical" approach. I recall a comment somewhere from him that the Theory course is very rudimentary - so probably skip that one.
Otherwise, you can pretty much take them in any order you want.


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## Farkle (Nov 23, 2018)

boxheadboy50 said:


> Hey gang!
> So Mike Verta’s Masterclasses are currently 40% off with coupon and I’d definitely like to try them out!
> BUT, what order should I take them in??
> 
> ...



My opinion? Don't do Theory. You're already overqualified for that class. 

Mike's classes are a blend of philosophy and earthy, "grab a shovel and start working" style of teaching. He has practical takeaways, and nuggets of compositional drills/structures to use immediately. I would recommend taking his classes with that spirit.

Classes that (for me) were a lot of fun. Composition 1,2. Orchestration 1,2,3. Putting it All Together. Scoring 1. How to Score a Film in 7 days. But, that was fun for me. Others may differ.

Mike


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## Sami (Nov 23, 2018)

Classes that (for me) were a lot of fun (despite having a university degree in music):

all of them.


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## ed buller (Nov 24, 2018)

I have most of them and watch them all the time. 

best

ed


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## R. Soul (Nov 24, 2018)

What does everyone think of Theminator? 
I did a search but couldn't find much.

I've done 4 classes now, but as someone who doesn't write for orchestra I find the classes only have a limited appeal.


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## Paul T McGraw (Nov 24, 2018)

boxheadboy50 said:


> Hey gang!
> So Mike Verta’s Masterclasses are currently 40% off with coupon and I’d definitely like to try them out!
> BUT, what order should I take them in??
> 
> ...



@boxheadboy50 we have a similar background. I find Mike interesting and he often has some great advice. He is a skilled keyboard artist, and much of his way of approaching music comes from that perspective. His videos do tend to ramble, but there are always a few nuggets of great advice, or tips in every video. Some of the videos are better organized than others. I highly recommend Orchestration 3. Also the Brass Master Class which includes the scores to the pieces performed by the brass group.


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## brek (Nov 24, 2018)

Action Scenes has been one of my favorites. It was really not what I expected - in a good way. Much more about finding and focusing on the drama in a scene than specifically "action."

I just started Theminator. It's good, in the way you'd expect a Mike Verta masterclass to be good. So far it's not too dissimilar from how many people would teach writing melodies (i.e., building on motives and patterns). 

I don't necessarily think you have to write for orchestra to find them useful, but they are definitely _geared _toward that style of writing so I can see how they may be limited in appeal.

One of the cons to his classes is that his language can be a bit alienating at times, which makes them harder to personally recommend to my students.


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## BenG (Nov 24, 2018)

As others have mentioned, any of them are great and really different from any university course. Given your background though, I would skip the Theory course for now. I actually have the same degree as you and opted to start with...

The Theminator
Here's Johnny
The Race
Jazz

But honestly, they are all great and offer a ton of fanatastic advice/tips!


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## boxheadboy50 (Nov 24, 2018)

Some great advice here! Thanks, all!!


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## ed buller (Nov 24, 2018)

perhaps the best to start with I think ( most bang for the buck ) is Orchestration 3 Templates.....so much useful info. 

best

ed


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## Christian Thon (Nov 24, 2018)

I'm about to buy some of the masterclasses myself, but there's a few similar classes I can't find the difference of. Does anyone know the main differences between "Orchestration 3 - Presets" and "Kickstarters"? And what about "Needful Things" vs "Secret Weapons"? I'm not meaning to hijack the thread.


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## ed buller (Nov 24, 2018)

where's the code ?

e


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## Christian Thon (Nov 24, 2018)

ed buller said:


> where's the code ?
> 
> e


The code is "levelup".


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## ed buller (Nov 24, 2018)

nice !

e


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## JeffvR (Nov 25, 2018)

Christian Thon said:


> I'm about to buy some of the masterclasses myself, but there's a few similar classes I can't find the difference of. Does anyone know the main differences between "Orchestration 3 - Presets" and "Kickstarters"? And what about "Needful Things" vs "Secret Weapons"? I'm not meaning to hijack the thread.



I can only comment on Secret Weapons. I find that there's a lot of stuff covered in the other classes (I must admit, I bought 20 of his other classes), so for me there was not a lot of new info. It's a good place to start though. 

I bought the class about live symphonic brass and so far it's really helpful. I wish he'd do more like that about strings and woodwinds.

As an owner of almost all of them I can really recommend Scoring 1 and How to score a film in 7 days. Tons of useful tips in those 2 about film scoring. Rhythm and Percussion was surprisingly useful, just as Orchestration 3, a lot of practical tips and examples about orchestration. The Business is also very good, as it covers a topic not much discussed.


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## Dewdman42 (Nov 25, 2018)

coupon doesn't seem to work anymore, guess it was only for friday

_EDIT: Scratch that, OS X Safari was using spell check and changing levelup to "level". That happened last time i tried to order something from Mike's site too._


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## Morning Coffee (Nov 25, 2018)

Coupon 'levelup' still works for me.

I really wish we could see a preview of each video though, might be tempted to buy more if that was the case.


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## Consona (Nov 25, 2018)

R. Soul said:


> What does everyone think of Theminator?



One of the best classes. I'll repeat myself, but IMO, the top ones are Structure, Theminator, Mod Squad and Rhytm & Perc.


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## PeterN (Dec 22, 2018)

Template Balancing. Yes, pure gold.

Havent heard so much feedback on this particular class (template balancing), but cant recommend it high enough. Learning the right room/mic positions and distances of the instruments, their relatiions to each others, even with eq to assist. Fu*k after this class the harp will not be plicking around in close mic anymore - so if theres anything to blame here, there will be a lot of reorganising to do on my template now!

Thanks so much for this class.


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