Who went to school for recording? Who hometaught themselves?

[thexflamesxburn]

i went to five towns college on long island, ny for one year. its regular undergrad institution with an audio focus (they also have video production).

their facilities are absolutely outstanding. they had everything from multiple 24-track 2" analog machines, to a large pro tools tdm setup i've ever seen in my life. the rooms were fully soundproofed from every wall and floor. it was amazing, best audio learning experience i ever had.

i dropped out and transfered to a different school because i dont want to do audio as a profession, but as a hobby.

however, the knowledge i got from five towns is worth its weight in gold. i agree you can teach yourself, but formalizing the basics of audio theory, analog machines, techniques, etc. gave me the best foundation to continue my learning. i am SO GLAD i went through with it.

 

[guido #2]

Recording Arts Program in Cleveland

For anyone interested, we have a great 2 year degree program in Cleveland at Cuyahoga Community College. $80 a credit hour. We are in our 7th or 8th year.
New building going up as I type. Classes in recording, live sound, music business, electronics, location recording and more.
It's called the Recording Arts and Technology program (RAT)
Feel free to hit me up if you want more info

 

[jeremyball]

"I went to Full Sail and graduated in September of '06. I absolutely loved it. Sure it was expensive and all that and I'll be in debt for pretty much forever but I really loved my time there. You really get what you put in to it."

I'm a student at Full Sail now... 4 months from graduating. I love it.

I also taught myself before coming to Full Sail, and so have most of the people in class with me. I started recording back in 1992 on a 4-track, and built my way up from there. However, I have learned way more than I thought possible at Full Sail. If you are self-taught, it will reinforce your existing knowledge, but there is so much that I've learned at Full Sail, and a lot of "blanks" have been filled in as well.

Somebody mentioned their soldering/electronics course. It was probably my favorite course so far. Learned a TON in there. Especially for someone who didn't have a huge knowledge of electronics.

The hands-on experience is invaluable, as well. Working on 96-channel Neve consoles, SSLs, the best outboard gear there is, and my favorite... 2-inch analog tape machines. Even though tape is being phased out, there are still studios out there who use it.

Even for people like myself who are self-taught, my experience at Full Sail (IMO) makes me better more rounded. It has enhanced my techniques, helped my with networking, and taught (literally) the science behind all aspects of recording.

It does cost an arm and a leg, though! I'll be in debt forever, but wouldn't trade it.

Cheers,
Jeremy

 

[doulos24]

The poll is flawed--most engineers that I've worked with are not self-taught and did not attend any of those recording schools. Those engineers came up by apprenticing at commercial recording studios, by working as assistants to older recording engineers. In my opinion, this is the best way to learn the art of recording and mixing.

i totally agree

I got a friend in school now 5 years in school from having to transfer switch majors and retake corses etc. or something about entertainment managment and he takes recording and audio classes.

I'm self taught bought my gear from recording bands and working 2 full time jobs for a few years. I have more gear more knowledge and more time to record then my friend who's still in college and get this we even had the exact internship oprotunities cause an engineer happened to hear my work from a local band that had a decent buzz around them infact he offered me a very low paid but paid position instead of an internship.the drive was to much for me though so i kept doin my own thing my friends offer 3 months just his credit hrs and thats it lol

 

[didgijimmy]

Since this thread has been resurrected I just got accepted to the Music Technology program at IUPUI where I will study not only audio engineering but also many different technology aspects of music including software writing. Hopefully I can find an intership at a local studio to get my recording experience at the same time. That way I can use my Music tech degree for a slightly different field and have a fallback if Recording doesn't work out, or end up with two sources of income!

 

[tddrummer]

The only problem is that if you ask for a job in a studio (by my experience) they tell you to go to college. What are you supposed to do..bring em floweres..kiss up. I'm a senior going to school next year to waste thousands of dollars.

 

[didgijimmy]

The only problem is that if you ask for a job in a studio (by my experience) they tell you to go to college. What are you supposed to do..bring em floweres..kiss up. I'm a senior going to school next year to waste thousands of dollars.

You're not being fair to yourself. Don't look at it as wasting money, yes maybe you could get the same experience and training interning, but would it be as thorough, look as good, and be as comprehensive as a quick 2 to 4 year course at school.....perhaps. But at the same time you get education in other areas that a studio can't offer. Something to fall back on or a way to expand your expertise and perhaps generate more income. Consider minoring in something completely different. Or what I'm doing is getting a Music Technology degree, as long as I like it, which is more broad and opens up alot of different doors for me in recording, software design, songwriting, etc. and while im doing that I'm going to try to get an internship to get the specific engineering training in a studio. Also, I would suggest applying for scholarships even if you doubt you will get any. I didn't think I would but now I'm going almost tuition free! Saying your school is pointless is just being ignorant and shortsighted. And with that attitude you'll never finish. good luck.
James

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

The only problem is that if you ask for a job in a studio (by my experience) they tell you to go to college. What are you supposed to do..bring em floweres..kiss up. I'm a senior going to school next year to waste thousands of dollars.

The days of walking into a commercial studio and asking for an internship or hanging out at the back door and waiting to be asked to run for coffee and doughnuts for Carl Perkins are dying fast and almost over. The majority of commercial studios actually offering or looking for internships - I mean real internships, not janitors - have already been contacted by and contracted with the big schools which grab all the sweetest internship slots for their students.

On the other side of that coin, going to a big school is no guarantee - by a long shot - of winding up in a studio recording popular music. For every opening like that there are probably twenty or thirty students wanting that kind of job. Supply does not meet demand. Be prepared to accept an internship or a job placement in any one of a variety of related fields, whether it be editing audio for video, commercial production, corporate A/V production, broadcasting, live audio, etc.

Don't expect to be a rock n' roller, or even to hang out with them, necessarily; whether you educate yourself or pay someone else to educate you, the chances of that happening are about as slim as the chances of the average college basketball player winding up as a player in the NBA.

G.

 

[nate_dennis]

So going back to the discussion about electronics/soldering/etc. What topics should I look for as far as self education. I want to learn these things but what topics are the most practical? If you know of any books off the top of your head about the electronics end of it, that would be helpful too. Thanks.

 

[bassbrad]

I am an other, I started out many years ago as a session bassist and really caught the recording bug. Along the way I did a lot of go fer and asstant stuff to just stay around the studios and absorb as much knowledge and experience as I could. I also read a lot of magazines and books on the subject and collected bits and pieces along the way. About 4 years ago I started putting together my home studio and am still building.

 

[dodgeaspen]

I'd love to go to a good recording school, but since I live in (Ohio) their are no large recording studio for jobs in the market I want to target. I'd have to move to NY or CA and can't do that right now.

 

[kcearl]

Im shocked with the results on a homerecording site

 

[steveneudaly]

I'm currently going to school at Missouri State University for audio production.

However, I must say, most of my recording abilities were self obtained.

The real value I'm getting from school is the opportunity to collaborate with others.

 

[Dougdlux]

Self taught. I am starting next year a Valencia Community College in Orlando though. It is cheap and I have only heard great things about the courses. As in better than Full Sail and a fraction of the cost. Then again, I have heard some Full Sail kids work, and the ones I have heard were completely terrible. Anyways, I think going to a school for Audio Engineering is DEF going to help in some way. Whether you think you know everything or not. I want to take a Music theory class while I am there as well (not sure if it is part of the curriculum). I know a good bit from self experience, and the internet, but I still believe that the hands on time you get in the school with an instructor their to directly answer any questions you have and teach you more in depth on why certain things are the way are, or why you do a certain thing to get it to sound a certain way, etc.

 

[Todzilla]

I can't consider that I "learned" recording techniques, as that verb is past tense.

The more I learn, the more I realize I have yet to learn.

I've been recording since the mid 1960s and I think I'm about 5% of the way to total mastery. By the time I die, I think I'll make it to 6%

 

[gethypedmusic]

Lol Tod... What's funny is that there is so much to music that someone actually MASTERING it I would think is generally impossible. Even if you started at like 5 years old. You can master an area... but mastering ALL of music... Hmmmm.

 

[Todzilla]

Lol Tod... What's funny is that there is so much to music that someone actually MASTERING it I would think is generally impossible. Even if you started at like 5 years old. You can master an area... but mastering ALL of music... Hmmmm.

I interpretted the question as it related to recording, not music in general.

 

[westgate]

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?

jim guercio donated quite a bit of gear to the school after the ranch fire.
a shame that the studio burned but good for the school.

re topic at hand; i studied music theory and electrical engineering at worcester polytech for one year, '70-71; then quit for a year, then got drafted.
then learned most recording skills on my own.
of course, as with everything, you come to realize that the more you know, the more you know you don't know.

edit-learned a few things from reading mix, modern recording and music, and a few other mags from back in the late '70s to about '91, then quit the biz.

 

[darrin_h2000]

I did 3 years at DeVry and a program at KCK Community College on recording.

I got a studio internship through my uncle Lee and learned alot there.

 

[Dr. Varney]

I am completely self taught - so far... With a lot of help from the guys here.

Now thinking seriously about night school for this. I desperately need music lessons of some kind, too. I basically hit notes that sound good and shift them around on a piano roll. If it wasn't for computer technology, I wouldn't be making music at all.

Dr. V