School For Engineering

Brandonson90

New member
How do you guys feel about going to school like full sail or vs just learning about it on youtube or forums. Is the school loan worth it?
 
whats good man. So the deal with the recording schools and audio engineering schools is to set you up with basic knowledge that you can read in any book or look at any video on youtube. I use to work at The Los Angeles Film School. The best parts of those programs are, getting to use the big consoles like the neves, the SSL's and command 40. When it comes to mixing, they dont really go in depth or give you enough time to really apply the techniques they teach. They tell you to High Pass Filter everything, which is kind of a bad habit. So definitely weigh on the pros and cons of attending one of those schools.
 
The main value of school is the connections you get from teachers and other students. As far as the information, you can learn almost all of it through books and videos.
 
Brandonson,

I have a four year degree in audio engineering.

In the old days, musicians needed a studio because there was just no way a lay-person could afford the gear. Studios were very expensive to use, and audio engineering wasn't a job that the public was aware of. But everybody recorded in studios because record labels poured major money into scouting new, unheard-of talent and paying for their studio time.

Today ... things are different. Most people don't think they need a studio. Quality studio gear sounds fantastic, but cheap gear can still sound pretty good if used right. Most amateurs don't realize that what they're missing is the engineer's invaluable expertise. But since they don't know, they buy two-channel USB interfaces and record in their basements. Studio rates continue to drop, which is extraordinary if you adjust for inflation. And record labels are no longer willing to gamble on new talent like they used to - largely because major record labels haven't figured out how to make as much money from downloaded singles as they did from full albums sold as physical media from brick-and-mortar stores.

So ... the public doesn't think they need studios ... and record labels aren't paying to put new talent into studios to see what happens. Demand is way, way down. Engineers with 20 years of experience are having a hard time keeping engineering their full-time gig.


We've got a few more problems, however. First, there's now a public fascination (through clever marketing) for living the glamorous life of working in a studio with a cool vibe, surrounded by awesome music, working with rock stars. More people than ever are interested in becoming engineers, though studios everywhere are closing like never before. You can thank the recording schools for this misleading marketing.

Second, the schools actually seem to promote the concept that the moment your final semester is finished, studios will be lining up to hire you. This could not be further from the truth.

And third, audio engineering is such a subjective thing. In my classes, more than half of my classmates were handing in projects that were simply awful. They just couldn't hear, had no musical common sense, and had no idea what they were doing. But they still scored well on the multiple-choice tests.

This is a true story: I had a classmate that finished the classes Pro Tools I and Pro Tools II, had two levels of certification direct from Avid, yet truly wasn't capable of opening up Pro Tools, creating a blank session, adding an audio track, and pressing record. My professor shared that with me in a moment of exasperation. There is simply no way to mentor and the provide one-on-one feedback required to help out someone who just doesn't get it when you're presenting in class-room format.

And ... thanks to the truly oppressive number of students in audio programs, apprenticeships are dead and gone, and internships are largely a void of mentor-ship.


This all sounds very negative because it is.



But if you really want to learn:

1) There is no substitute for experience. Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice. You can't be a legend on the guitar after reading eleven books on it, right? Similarly with audio, you have to practice. Make audio your instrument, and practice literally every day as if it were an instrument. You will get better.

2) A mentor will help speed things up considerably. Someone who is experienced, kind to you, and who isn't trying to sell you anything.

3) Read books. Watch YouTube videos. Listen to podcasts. Absorb.

4) Practice active listening. You don't just recognize the popular song playing at the clothing store and bob your head. You appreciate the richness of the drums; you notice the mid-bass bloat in the store's speaker system; you mentally isolate each instrument and listen to it soloed in your mind; you observe tuning artifacts on the vocal; you hear over-compression on the piano. Active listening is paying attention to what's in the song. Make this your habit whenever you hear music. And your skills improve.
 
If you can do anything else instead of being a studio engineer, do that. But if audio truly is for you, then know it is a struggle to make it work.

It was three years after I graduated that a studio owner finally leveled with me: he told me that I was never going to get hired by a studio, never be on salary, never live the expectation that most audio students expect. He said the business model is different now: an engineer attends battle of the bands and small concerts, hangs around till afterward, then sucks up to all the bands that played whether they were good or not. You attend crappy performances on your own time to market yourself and hand out your business card, to convince crappy musicians that they need you. Then, you find a studio the band can afford. Say you rent it for $40: charge the band $80 an hour and pocket the rest. But developing your craft and marketing yourself are unpaid time.

I talked to a guy from my graduating class that was doing it. But ... his car had 180,000 miles on it, he almost never eats out at restaurants, and he's only surviving because, in his words, his wife "has a real job".

That's quite the reality-check.
 
If you can do anything else instead of being a studio engineer, do that. But if audio truly is for you, then know it is a struggle to make it work.

It was three years after I graduated that a studio owner finally leveled with me: he told me that I was never going to get hired by a studio, never be on salary, never live the expectation that most audio students expect. He said the business model is different now: an engineer attends battle of the bands and small concerts, hangs around till afterward, then sucks up to all the bands that played whether they were good or not. You attend crappy performances on your own time to market yourself and hand out your business card, to convince crappy musicians that they need you. Then, you find a studio the band can afford. Say you rent it for $40: charge the band $80 an hour and pocket the rest. But developing your craft and marketing yourself are unpaid time.

I talked to a guy from my graduating class that was doing it. But ... his car had 180,000 miles on it, he almost never eats out at restaurants, and he's only surviving because, in his words, his wife "has a real job".

That's quite the reality-check.

Believe in yourself, man! Don't let the naysayers get into your head. Yes, success only comes to few. But be one of those few.
 
Last edited:
Personal computers with virtual "studios" really put a slow down for physical brick n' mortar studios though, yes.
 
Last edited:
Epsilon,

Recording unskilled musicians was a chore. Polishing turds is no fun. And I felt wistful recording really talented musicians, because I either wanted to jam with them or to be them.

I wasn't willing to live in a ghetto apartment and live off of beans to be an audio engineer. It didn't seem worth it to me. I'd miss too many comforts.

But... I am willing to do that for music. And I just realized this recently. A eureka moment for me.

And so that's just what I'm going to do. I'm selling my house and half the stuff I own, moving to a cheap apartment, and I'm going to try making music full time. A realtor is coming over tomorrow morning.


And that's why I joined FutureProducers. I want to connect with people sacrificing lifestyles to follow their hearts. So I'm not alone on this journey.
 
I went with Point Blank in London (DipHE) and they were superb! I learnt from top artists and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I'm currently finishing off the last year of my degree at another University, as Point Blank don't offer a degree course. However, the teachers at the University seem rather intimidated because I went to Point Blank. I was told they always wanted to go there. It's a bit annoying, as everytime they talk to me they keep trying to impose their intellectual prowess over me (they don't do it to anyone else). For example, they keep citing the latin names and complex maths and equations to me, when outlining the course materials?? Everyone else, they go to the far end to help! I know they my be insecure but really....
 
I went with Point Blank in London (DipHE) and they were superb! I learnt from top artists and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I'm currently finishing off the last year of my degree at another University, as Point Blank don't offer a degree course. However, the teachers at the University seem rather intimidated because I went to Point Blank. I was told they always wanted to go there. It's a bit annoying, as everytime they talk to me they keep trying to impose their intellectual prowess over me (they don't do it to anyone else). For example, they keep citing the latin names and complex maths and equations to me, when outlining the course materials?? Everyone else, they go to the far end to help! I know they my be insecure but really....
Did it ever occur to you that the reason they are treating you like that is because they have higher expectations of you than the other students based on your level of education? If you don't want to be annoyed by intellectual prowess, you could always....I dunno....play dumb, but then again, only the truly dumb would do that at a university level. Suck it up.
 
It's all opportunity. College is what you make of it. Youtube is what you make it. An internship is what you make of it.

Also...Don't take out student loans for an audio degree :)
 
Back
Top