Is It Worth Going to School for Music Production or Audio Engineering?

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2infamouz

New member
I'm working on a piece about considering a formal education in recording arts from the perspective of someone who's contemplating it and from the perspective of someone who's taken courses or graduated, but i think one of the most essential parts of this piece is going to be what people that Have taken courses in some type of audio field have to contribute. So if you don't mind helping out, i'd like to hear your takes (whether you have taken courses or not) and your permission to use them in the article:

Is it worth going to school for music production, audio engineering, or other recording arts and audio fields?
Do you feel that attending an audio engineering school is a requirement in this field? Can one achieve success in audio or mix engineering without having a formal education background? Is the price tag attached to "recording arts" courses justified? Curious to hear what everything thinks. Also if you don't mind i'd like to use some of the replies in an article I'm writing, please let me know if you don't want your reply included. Thanks
Ayron Thelen

Here's the article, it's finished just want to add more input from other people's perspectives:
Is It Worth Going To School For Music Production or Audio Engineering?
 
Not being one of those 'elaborating' type of posters here; I will say that in my experience, it really comes down to how naturally talented you are, and how much you devote yourself to any type of audio engineering.

Some personal thought/opinions/experiences. They are just my take, and not an argument...

Live Sound:

Most live sound engineers I have known, got into live sound, by being a friend who was designated by a band, to make sure their levels worked through small PA systems. Some found a way to make it 'what they do' at night. I know a guy who went to school, that has had very limited success in the field. Another, who did the same, and makes a decent living as a stage manager, and soundman. Another good friend, who has worked FOH with artists such as The Eagles, Beyonce, and many other top billing artists, has built his career from the ground up. I actually never asked if he had any formal education, but he stuck with it, was really good at what he does, and achieved a level that was obtained by his consistency, and skill level.

Recording Engineer:

As far as pursuing a career in it, I would suggest a whole lot of finding whether it is right for an individual, by a bunch of 'doing'. Start recording on your own, and find out if it is something you are good at. If it interests you, then go for some schooling, if you feel you need it. Some people just don't have a natural ability. I am not sure I would consider a degree, when deciding on a recording engineer or mastering engineer. I would base it on previous results.



Again, this is just my personal feeling about it. I am not sure there is an absolute 'yes or no' to the question of schooling. Just what is right for any given dood, that wishes to get into the field.
 
As Jimmy says, there's no single way to develop your skills and there are lots of different routes into the industry (or even just hobby).

One other aspect I'd add is the quality of the course being considered. There are a lot of rip offs out there but also a few truly excellent courses that would be a benefit to anyone lucky enough to get a place.

Have a look at the University of Surrey's "TONMEISTER" course. It offers high quality, industry standard gear to learn on, highly experienced instructors, and an overlap between the musician and the engineer side. I've known several graduates and, without exception, they are amongst the most talented and knowledgeable people I've worked with.

On the downside, last I heard they had five or six times as many applicants as they have places. However if you get in you're pretty much set for life.

I'm sure the USA must have schools of equal quality--I just haven't got any personal experience of the situation there.
 
I really like how Jimmy put it.

This is my personal opinion on the matter. If you're really serious about it, you can do it either way. What I like about college (I'm just short of getting my A.A.S. degree in Audio Engineering) is that it forces you to practice audio engineering, and you get to learn from people that ARE engineers. College can also offer you a lot of help for recording engineering by providing well recorded songs to practice mixing and the like. (Just a little note, I do NOT suggest going to Full Sail... That place charges ridiculous amounts of cash, is a for profit organization, and you get almost NO hands on learning experience. All I've heard from anyone that's gone there for engineering is that it's a mistake. That's my personal opinion, take it or leave it.)

That being said, college WON'T take you the whole way. I'm currently one of the top kids in the class because I study outside of the class. I find it entertaining to purchase books about mixing and mastering and recording and live sound engineering and sit down to read them. I'll read them several times through just to see if I missed anything when I was less experienced. The thing about audio engineering is that if you want to be good at it, you need to CONSTANTLY be practicing it and studying it. If you go to college for it and you expect college to just teach you how to get to be the next Chris Lord-Alge or George Massenburg, you're doing things wrong.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that you can do it either way, but it's going to take some dedication and constant study and practice to become GOOD at it. One of the very best things you can do is intern at a studio who is putting out some quality products you like. This can be local, but if you're in a small town especially, you may actually need to pick yourself up and move to a different place. Nashville, Seattle, Portland, LA, New York... These are some of the fairly BIG places to be studying audio engineering. If you want to become the best of the best, these are great places to move and start trying to learn how to be an engineer.

Best of luck, man. Glad you're interested in further studying this. =]
 
I don't have a ton of experience in this area, but I suspect it pretty much all comes down to connections and the market.

I have a friend who's got an engineering degree and has interned at professional studios. However, he lives in Nashville where there's too many people, and he doesn't have great connections. So he shucks equipment for a hotel and mixes as a hobby (occasionally getting paid for friends' projects).

In the meantime, the guy who does sound at all the underground venues in Dubuque, IA does so because I'm pretty sure he's the only one really willing and able to run sound for any and every band that rolls through town (plus a handful of open mics a week).
 
VomitHatSteve said:
In the meantime, the guy who does sound at all the underground venues in Dubuque, IA does so because I'm pretty sure he's the only one really willing and able to run sound for any and every band that rolls through town (plus a handful of open mics a week).
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Happens all the time. Hell, I got started in TV sound because all the other "technical operators" at the small town station where I had my first job wanted to do camera. So did I--but at least with sound I could sit down!

(Then Gordon Lightfoot turned up for the afternoon chat show and was willing to "play us out". I got a chance to mix (live) some real music and I was totally hooked after that. Music only happened a couple of times per year and we only had about 2 types of mic but I still really enjoyed it! I still have a CD of my tape of the Lightfoot things somewhere.)
 
Been there, done that, got the degree. Here's my take: (use what you like)

The biggest benefit that I feel I got out of the schooling was two-fold:

1. It certainly gives you a solid background in the necessary sciences. The behaviors of acoustics, sound waves, electricity are the bedrock of being a great engineer. Having these complex concepts taught in an actual academic environment proved to be helpful.

2. It removes the "intimidation" factor. Having been a musician for about 11 years, I had actually been in several recording studios before I went to school for it. And because I was focused on the music end of things for those 11 years I really had no idea what was going on with all those freaking knobs and buttons and pieces of gear (this was before pro tools really took over). First time in a studio I thought it was like being in NASA ground control!

Going through school clearly defined signal flow, gain staging and the affect of each stop along the way starting at the mic. This essentially meant that I could walk into any studio in the world and know what I was looking at. This is a MUCH better feeling than before.

All of that being said, the true education, the real learning came from DOING. You're just not going to be able to replicate the benefit of 18-20 days working in a studio non-stop. That's where the real education comes in.

As for helping to secure employment.........ummmmmm nah.

But, I'm grateful for my time in the school as it got me through the initial learning curve associated with the sciences and basics.
 
I just joined this forum and I have a weired question. Would it be beneficial for someone with my background to reinvent myself in audio engineering? I have a MBA and I just started working on a second Master's when I got the recording bug. My wife wouldn't like me quitting school but I'm so into recording and music production right now.
 
JohnnyP702 said:
I just joined this forum and I have a weired question. Would it be beneficial for someone with my background to reinvent myself in audio engineering? I have a MBA and I just started working on a second Master's when I got the recording bug. My wife wouldn't like me quitting school but I'm so into recording and music production right now.
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How much extra money and time do you have? What is your background? Do you already have experience with recording?

I have not yet found 'it' myself, but there is something about 'it' that makes it possible to have a career in music production.
 
When he was young and still living at home with me, my Son was jonesin' to go to FullSail. Tuition was something like $50,000, and i didn't have the money. Ultimately, he attended Delgado Community College, which has a studio recording program- good instructors, good equipment. David would go on to work live sound at clubs, sound, lighting and steel for shows in New Orleans, do almost everything they would hire him for at Bonaroo a few years, and even work U2's last tour, which was a huge undertaking. He now works as main stage manager at a festival in New Orleans (sorry, i don't feel comfortable saying which one,) continues to work sound and lighting at shows, and owns and runs his own up-and-coming rehearsal and recording studio in New Orleans. I'd say both the education/training, and the experience served him well, that you need both, usually. Talent is important, too, as is the right personality type- David is perhaps mildly OCD, which serves him well when he is setting up or recording a project.

i once told him there were lots of guys who would kill to have his job/career- he told me it's not the glamor job many think it is. Still, he enjoys it for the most part, and is building his career.

There are a couple of perks, even for me: I have a standing invitation to record in his studio, and a guy i used to play music with who is from New Orleans just LOVES to drop names, although everyone he claimed to know were B-listers at best, and it was clear he was "fluffing his own duck." Occasionally, when that yahoo would start that crap, I'd just off-handidly mention one of the New Orleans A-list musicians who had dropped by my son's studio in the last week or two (although I don' think HR's own Lt. Bob has been by!) and the bore would get real quiet...
 
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