Recording School?

[RAK]

thanks RAK, i was thinking of you in my post

so do they pay well at shure???
what do you do? theres so much out there and i'm running short on time... my guidance conselor is on everyones ass about college apps, but i dont want to apply until i have some sort of direction somewhere.

i love music. music, as well as the business, the production, besides the creativity. i'm also completing a technology sequence, with focus on technical drawing/ drafting, CAD, etc, so i guess i'm deciding between the two...

it's down to wheres the money at, and where are the positions availible for me... tech or music... architect or sound engineer.. it's a hard choice, but i figure i've put so much into music, (money and effort) that it would be impossible to not bring it anywhere.

I would say Shure is a great company. I've enjoyed being here so far. I work in Product Development, and it's a lot of fun. Before I started here I was working as the house audio engineer for a performing arts center, as well as helping out at a post production studio, a recording studio, substitute teaching in music, and doing my own recording. Now I'm pretty much on the day job schedule, but still do some studio work when I can. The funny thing is my program was heavily studio oriented and I ended up working full time in live sound. I'll say this though, everyone should put some time into a professional live sound situation for a little bit, it does wonders for your trouble shooting chops.

If you do think about any kind of music program, think about this:
If you're not going to be a performance major (music business/audio) do they still require an audition/how great are the general music requirements/and is that what you want? I wanted to go to a serious music program even though I knew I wasn't going to be a performance major.

Also if you're going for an audio type degree, how much physics is or isn't involved/what's the mix of academics/"real world" experience, where is the focus (studio/live/audio for video/even mix of everything).

Then there is all the rest to consider like: size of program, professor, cost, location, all the usual college stuff.

 

[churchie]

honestly, thats a good idea. not that the degree means shit in this business, i'd rather have some guy record my stuff, who's been doing it for 40 years and started out by cutting 2" tape, rather than the guy with a degree and all sorts of certification from Berkley or where ever..

true story here- we have a local studio in my town, who my store happens to be associated with etc etc etc. he's got a massive studio, PT HD3 system, (this guy is a real jerk, he always rants about all of the expensive stuff he has, always knocking everything else that people have..). he has his brother in law (or whatever) engineering and producing in the studio for him. he's always yapping about his degrees from Five Towns (a private music university, not too far from my area).. well, one of the guitar teachers from my store won a 10 hr block of recording time at a battle of the bands for his studio. the teacher is actually a member of this forum and has a nice recording setup at home.

anyways, he gets his studio time and goes with his band to do it.. turns out that they walked out of the place and told them to keep it.

the certified engineer didnt know how to punch in?? hello??! somethings wrong there.

then he decides to go nuts and starts changing things in the middle of the process, changes the singer's mic, changes the guitar amp, trys to get my friend to go DI on guitar THROUGH A POD XT!! what is this?!

so, my point is, the degree doesnt mean nearly as much as some real skills.

oh, and the control room/mixing room is 6 ft deep! what is that for a pro studio??

I think things like this need to be put into perspective. Just because you have been to School XYZ and studied recording doesn't mean much, it all depends on how hard you work etc. There are obviously people who do go to these places and become excellent at what they do, as well as those who are not so good (as in the above story).

It's like any course really. Some people study law or medicine and become not particularly good lawyers or doctors, whereas others are excellent.

Just my thoughts

 

[churchie]

honestly, thats a good idea. not that the degree means shit in this business, i'd rather have some guy record my stuff, who's been doing it for 40 years and started out by cutting 2" tape, rather than the guy with a degree and all sorts of certification from Berkley or where ever..

true story here- we have a local studio in my town, who my store happens to be associated with etc etc etc. he's got a massive studio, PT HD3 system, (this guy is a real jerk, he always rants about all of the expensive stuff he has, always knocking everything else that people have..). he has his brother in law (or whatever) engineering and producing in the studio for him. he's always yapping about his degrees from Five Towns (a private music university, not too far from my area).. well, one of the guitar teachers from my store won a 10 hr block of recording time at a battle of the bands for his studio. the teacher is actually a member of this forum and has a nice recording setup at home.

anyways, he gets his studio time and goes with his band to do it.. turns out that they walked out of the place and told them to keep it.

the certified engineer didnt know how to punch in?? hello??! somethings wrong there.

then he decides to go nuts and starts changing things in the middle of the process, changes the singer's mic, changes the guitar amp, trys to get my friend to go DI on guitar THROUGH A POD XT!! what is this?!

so, my point is, the degree doesnt mean nearly as much as some real skills.

oh, and the control room/mixing room is 6 ft deep! what is that for a pro studio??

I think things like this need to be put into perspective. Just because you have been to School XYZ and studied recording doesn't mean much, it all depends on how hard you work etc. There are obviously people who do go to these places and become excellent at what they do, as well as those who are not so good (as in the above story).

It's like any course really. Some people study law or medicine and become not particularly good lawyers or doctors, whereas others are excellent.

Just my thoughts

 

[Nick_Black]

Thanks everybody for all of your input and taking the time to write such detailed opinions on this subject ...I am actually from Canada and was considering some schools here...Has anyone ever heard of OIART (Ontario Institute of Audio Recording and Technology)... I hear it is a very credible school... People have even called it the Harvard of Audio Schools...whatever that means...Anyways, anybody ever go there?

Thanks again...

hey, i myself am in the last year of highschool and am thinking of taking an audio engineering cource, and i've heard that fanshawe collage in london Ont. has a good rep. for it, infact i recorded my band with someone who recorded there and the sound we ot from him was quite impressive (considering we sucked as a band back then) and I've seen thier studio and they seem to have some pretty neat stuff there (though when i went there I wasn't much into recording yet).

 

[crazyjman]

Fanshawe College was my first choice when I graduated high school. I applied there but didn't get in. Apparently it's kinda hard to get into (or my demos really blew) so I took a year of electronics engineering (also a good program at Fanshawe) then graduated from nursing.....ya that's right..go figure. But I have heard positive things about the recording program.. nursing didn't help my recording at all though

 

[marshall409]

Fanshawe College was my first choice when I graduated high school. I applied there but didn't get in. Apparently it's kinda hard to get into (or my demos really blew) so I took a year of electronics engineering (also a good program at Fanshawe) then graduated from nursing.....ya that's right..go figure. But I have heard positive things about the recording program.. nursing didn't help my recording at all though

Demos? like samples of your recordings? I've been thinking about this way too much for a 15 year old who hasnt spent a dime on gear yet but i have been looking into fanshawe. what exactly did they require for the audio engineering course?

Adam

 

[bigwillz24]

Well I'm attending a community college now for a Assosiates Degree in Audio Engineering. I'm one semester from finishing the program and to be perfectly honest. I've probably learned more from tinkering with my own equipment and general conversations here. BUT and this is a big one. I've had more oppotunities to network with people at school than I than I would have ever gotten on my own without school. That alone to me is worth tuition to me, maybe not full sail tuition but community college tuution.

 

[marshall409]

bump

id like to here some more opinions and discussions about recording school vs. learning yourself

Adam

 

[lminor7]

Going Back to School...

I don't know anything about those "Learn to be a real live recording engineer!" type schools and frankly they don't fill me with confidence.

I've been playing for longer than many of you have been alive. After a ten year hiatus I realized that I can do most of what I did in an expensive recording studio at home with the proper software.

If your question is about recording your own music and you are unfamiliar with home recording studio technology then I feel taking a class in which you learn to use that technology will be extremely helpful. That's what I am doing at The New School in NYC, in fact my first class is tomorrow evening.

It's not very expensive. It seems worth it for me, experienced only in analog recording, to pay around $500.00 for seven weekly two-and-a-half hour sessions in a small class taught by a pro at home recording techniques.

If you are computer savvy enough to read and understand how to use all that marvellous software then more power to you, if not, this seems like a reasonable alternative. Wish me luck!

Lminor7

 

[danico4not]

I tell you this much, a recording school doesn''t guarantee a job in the music industry. Even with "job placement". You need to know people to get where you want to be. When I was at a local community college a professor of mine told me about how being a janitor at a record company is the best job, cuz you got all the keys. Theory is theory, but if you love doing something- you'll figure out how to sustain yourself sooner or later.

 

[danico4not]

plus there's all these good music books out there.

 

[Mindset]

I think it really depends on where you want to go. IF your just an aspiring artist who wants to record etc.... Go and study and do it at home. If you want to actually enter the recording industry, go to school. You'll have a better chance. I could do all the recording in the world in my corner at the house, but where is that going to lead me? Probably no where... Whare are YOU wanting to be down the road in music?? That really depends on you. School isn't the only thing though to put your foot in the door (IF THATS what you want to do for a living). School DOES allow you to learn what books & home recording doesn't teach you, along with other information. Also you get valuable connections, which could lead you some where else etc. I do know that MOST studios that are top notch won't hire unless you have some degree or certificate, just like a lot of other jobs out there... Home recording IS some what different than professional recording. Not saying that nobody has succeeded without schools, but a lot don't.