Who went to school for recording? Who hometaught themselves?

[monkie]

How many of you in this forum actually went to school for audio recording?

Well, I went to IPR (Institute of Production and Recording) about 3 years ago. I dropped cause I didn't think it was worth paying that much money to learn recording when you could get it for free from online forums like these. With that much money I could've got me some real nice gears for my studio.

What's your story?

 

[Seafroggys]

I took a year long curriculum for Music Technology at a local community college. I covered a lot of things but I took three classes in Audio Engineering and three classes in Electronic Music, where I learned alot.

I've self taught the rest.

 

[Spdrman288]

CU-Denver

I'm currently going to University of Colorado - Denver. They have a really good setup here. They house the old Neve console that was at carbou ranch. with 4 control 24s with HD in all the rooms, mastering suite, live concert halls, 3 surround setups. I'm graduating in the spring...anybody know of anyone who needs an engineer?

 

[Chris Shaeffer]

I have respect for those learning audio at school, but not as much so for the school programs themselves. Its a good way to *start* learning audio but rarely is it enough- same as any other kind of schooling.

I'm a do-it-myself kind of idiot anyway, though, and never found any school program very fulfilling. These days the hardware and software is cheap enough and there is enough good information out here on the net to make it possible to get good results on your own with educated trial and error. For free.

Its my understanding that certification doesn't mean much in the field, anyway. The advantage of the school programs (in my mind- and in the experience of a few people I know) is really to meet people that can open doors in the industry for you and give you the opportunity to impress them. That is immensely valuable if you understand it and make the best of it in the small, expensive window of time you are at school.

 

[Spdrman288]

The other reason that I go to a school is so I can get my hands on to gear that I would never even be able to dream affording. I mean I get to sit behind a a board that Eddie Cramer has mixed on , for 4 hours a week. Also the fact of networking. I've met SO many studio owners who have given lectures, ect. just a fod for thought.

 

[monkie]

The other reason that I go to a school is so I can get my hands on to gear that I would never even be able to dream affording. I mean I get to sit behind a a board that Eddie Cramer has mixed on , for 4 hours a week. Also the fact of networking. I've met SO many studio owners who have given lectures, ect. just a fod for thought.

So what school did you went to?

 

[mshilarious]

I'm graduating in the spring...anybody know of anyone who needs an engineer?

Reading the boards at PSW, with the closures of studios like Sony NY, it seems the only career path in audio engineering is to create one yourself. At least you would need a client base, I would think. I'd start now recording whatever or whomever you can.

 

[Vagodeoz]

I recorded my band's first demo by myself. 100% trial and error. Then I studied musical production 2 years in argentina, right now I'm working on my thesis.

I think recording is 100% practice. But schools are a good shortcut. You learn in 2 years what you would have learned in 10 years by yourself.

 

[monkie]

Thanks for the suggestion of the poll, Vagodeoz. I appreciate your recommendations.

Have a nice day.

 

[Spdrman288]

So what school did you went to?

University of Colorado at Denver

 

[TexRoadkill]

You learn in 2 years what you would have learned in 10 years by yourself.

The interns I've worked with seem to know about as much as somebody who had been on the job for a month or two. Definately not 10 years.

 

[giraffe]

The interns I've worked with seem to know about as much as somebody who had been on the job for a month or two. Definately not 10 years.

i agree, and i went to a school. (conservatory of recording arts and sciences in tempe az)

nothing will do you as much good as working under someone with experience.
(read=internship)

all the most important things i learned in school can be summed up in about a week.
(signal flow, what the parameter settings on gear like compressors, eq, reverbs and delays do, what the difference between polar patterns is and other things of the like)

 

[bennychico11]

all the most important things i learned in school can be summed up in about a week.
(signal flow, what the parameter settings on gear like compressors, eq, reverbs and delays do, what the difference between polar patterns is and other things of the like)

now try to get hands on experience in the real world with a 96 channel Neve, a locker full of Neumann mics, and some of the best pres, compressors, EQs and 2" machines around. Add on to that the connections you make as well as the lessons you learn from the professors you have (most of them being very experienced engineers themselves).

Very very hard to get that on your own.

 

[Bobby Darko]

self taught all the way and some help on this forum from some great people too. started out with a 4 track, now using an 8 track in my self build studio. Trial and error all the way actually. Errors can come out really nice though!

 

[TerraMortim]

I attended an audio program for a time, but I taught myself. I found that my own pursuits ultimately taught me much more than anything in a curriculum.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Self-learned in audio engineering, though I did get schooling in electronics engineering and IT along the way, both of which are a HUGE help.

G.

 

[Kevin Deschwazi]

Self taught, and it shows.

I don't have aspirations to be a recording engineer though, I just want to get my music (and a few others) onto CD and for it to sound OK.

 

[vineband]

Great topic!

I have a music degree from Kennesaw University in Jazz Guitar, but I've learned engineering one session at a time of the course of 6 years. I bought an MBox out of curiosity, and then it was like heroin.

I would love to go to school a this point, but it's difficult trying to find classes that would start me in the middle of the curriculum. So now I learn tons of little tidbits from you tube and DVD's... not to mention forums!

I think for some folks, going to full sail or similar is the worst decision ever, because they come home with so much debt all they can afford to do is play 2nd fiddle at a hip hop studio. They get burnt out cause all they have is an MBox and a laptop in their car they never have any passion left get on it. Or at least that seems to be the story with kids in Atlanta.

Even though I never went to school for recording, "taught myself" is only half true. With almost every session I do I try to book a studio (for drums), a session player, mixer, mastering engineer that is going to teach me something about recording. I'm paying them for the task at hand, but I am also taking 3-4 pages of notes as I am watching them.

The downside for me teaching myself of is not knowing some really important things about the science of recording. School is really good for balancing students between the science and art of recording, I tend to stray towards the artsy/production side... so now I have to play catch up on the math end of it....

 

[oDD]

A good friend of mine, with whom I play and record with, went to Full Sail and completely regrets it after hearing what Ive been doing being self taught. He'll be paying off school loans for quite a while.

 

[cusebassman]

Self-taught as a hobby while getting a degree in Computer Science, and then more self-teaching while working as a software engineer, making enough money to afford nice recording equipment

At the same time, I have never aspired to work in a professional studio, from lackey and on up the ladder. I've enjoyed toying with it over the past few years, and I think I've learned a lot, especially from this site. I also think that by the time I own a house and have the time and money to do it (which may not be until my kids are out of college... if I have any, of course), I'd be ready to furnish my own small studio, say, in a basement with a control room and maybe two live rooms (one large enough for drums, and one large enough to function as an amp & vocal booth).

Just from reading on this site, I understand a lot about the gear involved, and even a bit about the construction of such rooms (between having grown up around a grandparent who was a carpenter, and the wonderful resources here on acoustic treatment and room design, Im on my way, anyway). I don't regret not having done this in school, whether I wanted to at the time or not.

Professional studios are apparently losing business, and as far as I've read, it was an extremely difficult job to get into to begin with, so why bother? I guess I am, however, relegated to weekend-warrior type recording for the rest of my life