Top 5 Places to Sing in Berkeley

April 12, 2022

Enjoy singing in the shower and want to upgrade your singing experience? One of my favorite pastimes is finding places on campus that are great for singing, whether it be with your favorite a cappella group or just on your own for fun. After some extensive research and surveying, I’ve compiled a list of the top five places to sing on Berkeley’s campus. Go bears and happy music making!

5: Under Sather Gate

Coming in at number 5 is the beautiful Sather Gate. This is every a cappella group’s home once a week, where performances happen for the public eye. While I love that this is a nice public space for groups to perform and it’s in the heart of student happenings, I’m not a huge fan of the outdoorsy acoustics. If you’re looking for a place to showcase your talents to an audience, this is the spot for you. However, if your goal is to make a cool musical cover with nice sound quality, I’d recommend going indoors. 

4: Morrison Practice Rooms

This may be low-hanging fruit, but the Morrison Practice Rooms are a go-to place for belting some tunes. Located at the bottom floor of Morrison Hall and equipped with a piano in each room, the practice rooms serve as a haven for musicians with roommates. You’ll hear the floor bustling with piano concertos, gorgeous operatic singing, and other instruments alike. Music majors get access to the rooms for free, and others can pay around $20 a semester to enjoy the luxury of the practice rooms. I will admit that they’re not the greatest place for larger groups, since the rooms aren’t the largest. That being said, it’s a great spot if you want to keep anonymity while doing some karaoke.

3: Fifth floor of Dwinelle Hall

Crazy concept, I know. Dwinelle Hall has a lot of floors with a lot of classrooms, but a great place to sing (and have that nice reverb and echo) is actually on the fifth floor of Dwinelle. I’ve personally had a great time dancing and singing there with my a cappella group, and I would highly recommend it so long as you’re not disturbing any students in the other classrooms (or potential midterm-takers).

2: Tunnel Outside of the Social Sciences Building

While not my top choice, the tunnel right outside of the Social Sciences Building really takes the cake in terms of sound quality. If you’re singing a slow song, you’ll really be able to hear your voice echo off the walls. Even though the tunnel is outdoors, the sound is still super tight and is great for group or solo performances. I’d recommend bringing a jacket in chilly weather, though!

1: Kroeber Hall

This brings us down to our final destination: Kroeber Hall. The staircase inside Kroeber has the perfect amount of reverb and echo to replicate the TikTok microphone filter (but in real life). This hall definitely holds a special place in my heart, since it’s a place that my a cappella group goes to sing at when we want to remind ourselves of the reason we put in work every week: to make music together. I would definitely recommend coming here if you want your voice to feel ethereal. 

Beyond just music, I hope exploring these different parts of campus reminds you of the beauty and wonders that Berkeley has to offer!