I am giving free online engineering lessons...

B

BruceAMiller

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Free Recording & Mixing Classes by Gold/Platinum/Grammy Engineer at http://BruceAMiller.us

I am offering free online engineering lessons beginning this summer. Why? Because with commercial studios rapidly closing and most records being created out of computers by individuals rather than experienced production teams my "art" is in danger of dying out. I feel it is important to pass on what I have learned from others.

Thanks,

Bruce Miller
 
How do you feel about the whole home recording boom, I know from experience that quite a few engineers have been responsible for ripping off signed and unsigned bands just to make a fast buck. I had worked in live rock 'n' roll for some years both as road crew and later as a musician and got cheesed off with crappy recording studio's charging the earth for recording time, tape hire, 10 year old dog eared issues of playboy in the corner and a clix coffee machine that only serves chicken soup, and to cap it all you come away with a sh** demo to take back to the record company. This was part of the reason why I learnt how to record as a means to saving money for the band I was playing with. Studio prices had got ridiculous that's part of the reason I went back to college to study. Plus the business is so cut throat it's untrue. I have quite a few friends who record all their own stuff, I am all for the home recording boom hopefully it will put the music back in the domain of the musician and not some record companies who've been ripping off the general public force feeding them dross for god only knows how long, quite a few artists have had a raw deal aswell.
Up the revolution
 
Online courses? How will that be different from going online and reading up on the subject as most people here do? I mean it sounds like a good idea, but I don't know how much more useful it will be than all of the information available now. Now if you were giving lessons in person.. that would be cool! =0)
 
I think the home recording boom is great and terrible at the same time.

GREAT because the process has become democratized (ANYONE can do it rather than an elite few). Also because I believe without the pressure of the "clock" musical creativity can be easier (although there is always something to be said for pressure).

Honestly, I prefer the music I mix for starving artists and low budget labels to what I do for major labels these days. The integrity is more intense and the music is more honest.

TERRIBLE because all of this great music is being badly recorded and mixed. Also because music is being made by individuals rather than "teams of diverse professionals all working toward the single goal of a stronger project for the artist". Yes, individuals can easily come up with innovative ideas...but "producing" a vocal is a very specific skill, as is "riding" a vocal. Certain production skills only come from watching others and practicing (and cannot be learned by recording yourself).

So in conclusion...I LOVE it and HATE it...but one thing is absolutely clear...there is no way that we are going back. Most of the great studios are closing, making the ones still open more difficult to book or afford.

Home recording is the present and future of the music industry...like it or not. The best hope we have is to EDUCATE those who are just going to be doing it anyway in the hopes of getting back what we are losing...such as sonic quality and proper production.

('nuff said)
 
Is this something we'll need to sign up for, or will they be public pages/files available for anybody just for the clicking?

Sign me up! :D

G.
 
Nice to see someone who cares about his art looking forward to your contributions to the revolution comrade.
 
Hey Bruce, I just read through some of the content on your site and I must say I'm pretty impressed. Are you located in NYC by any chance? I see you've worked with Lost Boyz who come out of Queens (like myself). Oddly enough, I heard a new song by them (or him now), which sounded incredible.. mix-wise. I wonder if you did that or not. I'll see if I can find the name of it online..
 
scarboro78 said:
Online courses? How will that be different from going online and reading up on the subject as most people here do? I mean it sounds like a good idea, but I don't know how much more useful it will be than all of the information available now. Now if you were giving lessons in person.. that would be cool! =0)
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I have given this quite a bit of thought. The trick is to present the right combination of (progressing) lectures and lab work, so that students learn WHY to do things rather than just WHAT to do...or at least my perspective on "why".

Many bands I have mixed for have given permission to use their material for educational purposes. I will contact those bands and try to get permission to put their RAW TRACKS online as part of the course.

I have often lectured and taught (...always had a big mouth and loved to talk about my "art") so creating the course is a fun challenge. There will be examples, labs, required reading (or watching) and even self-graded tests.

There are a few tricky aspects I am still considering.

First of all, I want the course to be accessible from my site rather than "floating around" so that everything stays in context.

Secondly, I anticipate that some people who will want feedback on their work. I intend this course to be free, but it would be impossible to give EVERYONE the time needed to personally check work and give individualized comments. While some people do book me for private lessons in studios, do I now charge for "one-on-one" virtual class time? I have not figured that whole part out yet, and am open to suggestions.

Finally, I want it to be easy enough for the home musician and comprehensive enough for pros...I want to incorporate important aspects of audio history that are still relevant rather than make a "museum" site.

It's a daunting task, but I am already deep into the material.
 
BruceAMiller said:
Free Recording & Mixing Classes by Gold/Platinum/Grammy Engineer at http://BruceAMiller.us

I am offering free online engineering lessons beginning this summer. Why? Because with commercial studios rapidly closing and most records being created out of computers by individuals rather than experienced production teams my "art" is in danger of dying out. I feel it is important to pass on what I have learned from others.

Thanks,

Bruce Miller
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Bruce, I'm here for the same damn reason. If there's anythiing I can do to help or contribute in any way, just let me know.
 
Well hey count me in!. One thing I've learned on this board is that you can never know too much.. and you can never know everything.
 
BruceAMiller said:
Thanks Harvey!

When I am up and running in July, I would greatly appreciate any corrections and additions.
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It would be my honor, Bruce. Hell, we've both done battle with Peter and Mary, so we have lots in common.
 
This is great! It would be nice if you could let us know a specific start date when you're ready, and then remind us. I'll be there.
 
mcolling said:
This is great! It would be nice if you could let us know a specific start date when you're ready, and then remind us. I'll be there.
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The course will start in JULY at http://BruceAMiller.us (there is no signup necessary). I will try to post a reminder, but check my site in late June for more information.

To begin, I strongly suggest you pick up the DVD "Tom Dowd and the Language of Music". It was while watching this DVD that I became driven to offer the course.

Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul and Mary) used to say that I reminded him of Tom Dowd. While I appreciate the comparison and strongly state that I am barely worthy to align his machines, one thing I saw on the DVD that I recognized was the passion and dedication to the MUSIC and the MUSICIANS. Tom speaks very eloquently about (and demonstrates) how and why a good engineer can work well in ANY musical style...if he is sincerely honest about his love for the music. Tom's passion comes through very strongly in the DVD.

It is the first of a series of required reading/listening/watching. Enjoy!

Bruce
 
BruceAMiller said:
The course will start in JULY at http://BruceAMiller.us To begin, I strongly suggest you pick up the DVD "Tom Dowd and the Language of Music". It was while watching this DVD that I became driven to offer the course.

Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul and Mary) used to say that I reminded him of Tom Dowd. While I appreciate the comparison and strongly state that I am barely worthy to align his machines, one thing I saw on the DVD that I recognized was the passion and dedication to the MUSIC and the MUSICIANS. Tom speaks very eloquently about (and demonstrates) how and why a good engineer can work well in ANY musical style...if he is sincerely honest about his love for the music. Tom's passion comes through very strongly in the DVD.

It is the first of a series of required reading/listening/watching. Enjoy!

Bruce
Click to expand...
Bought it the day it came out!!!
 
I really need to get in on this. Will it be tailored toward home studio type environments? I know that I for one don't own a big mixing board and a lot of the stuff that major studios have (well not yet, but I will get there).

I don't think I would need to learn how to use an Alesis if I don't have access to one, or will ever own one. You know what I mean?
 
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