Berklee College of Music Songwriting Certification Awarded to Composer Panagiotis Karousos

 

A significant milestone in his musical journey has been achieved by composer Panagiotis Karousos, who successfully completed the specialized program "Songwriting: Writing the Music" from the prestigious Berklee College of Music, offered through the Coursera platform, earning an outstanding final grade of 97%.

The program, spanning approximately 12 hours of intensive study under the guidance of acclaimed professor Scarlet Keys, focuses on advanced composition techniques and crafting music that connects deeply and directly with listeners. Throughout the course, Panagiotis Karousos specialized in critical areas of music creation, including melody development, structural organization, and using harmony to build emotional tension.

Musical Analysis and Score of "The Perfect Lie"

As part of the final coursework, composer Panagiotis Karousos authored an original piece titled "The Perfect Lie" for voice and piano, written in the key of B Minor. The composition achieved a perfect score (Rubric 7/7, 100%), receiving glowing feedback from the Berklee academic team.

Sheet music for "The Perfect Lie" composed by Panagiotis Karousos

Sheet music for "The Perfect Lie" composed by Panagiotis Karousos

The official evaluation highlights the piece's compositional maturity and structure:

Excerpt from the Official Berklee Evaluation (100%):
"Your work shows a strong grasp of the assignment goals, and you clearly went beyond the minimum requirements. You use repetition very effectively in the chorus with phrases like “RUN RUN RUN RUN” and “TIME TIME TIME TIME,” and you balance that with stepwise motion and wider leaps such as the minor sixth on “WAS A PERFECT LIE,” which really functions as a memorable hook.

Both your verse and chorus are longer than 8 measures, and the change from the flowing arpeggiated accompaniment in the verse to the more driving, rhythmic feel in the chorus creates convincing contrast. You also make good use of stable chord tones and passing or neighbor tones to create tension and release."

The successful completion of this rigorous course equips the creator with modern songwriting tools destined to enrich his upcoming musical productions and compositions.

Official verification of the credential from Berklee and Coursera is available at the following link: https://coursera.org/verify/HYR5GBCCPN9T

Official Coursera verification showing the final grade of 97%.

🎵 Song Lyrics Included in the Post:

The Perfect Lie

By Panagiotis Karousos

Verse 1

We met on the corner of the street

I run home at night and you ask me for the time

I didn’t have, I didn't have a watch

Refrain

And RUN, RUN, RUN, RUN!

Back to the place

The TIME, TIME, TIME, TIME

Frozen inside

The place where we used, used to hide

Was a perfect lie...

Verse 2

We’re back on the corner of the street

Back to that night, night

To remember that moment, to catch the sparks

Ask me again for the time

Berklee College of Music Certificate awarded to Panagiotis Karousos.