Recording Schools: Pros and Cons.. what was your exeriences? what school did you go

S

Strizz

New member
Im thinking about going to recording school. I know many are really expensive im just wondering if it is worth the money after you finish and have to start paying back your loans. Is it easy to find work in a studio or is it mainly freelance work?... Basically I would just like to hear your experiences with going to a recording school, what school did you go to and if you found it worth the money.... also if you know of any recording schools under $30,000 a year please list them I know of Cras in Pheonix, SAE and LA Recoding School but would like to know others
 
Savannah College of Art and Design, best decision I ever made. You'll get the post-production film side as well as exposure to music recording, though it's something you'll have to pursue separately. You'll understand sound and what you're doing and some of the professors there have recorded/engineered people like bob dylan, barbera streisand, etc etc.

Never underestimate the power of UNDERSTANDING sound, as opposed to just "tweaking till it sounds good."
 
Great if you have the money. If you don't have the money, but you have the drive and self-discipline (and you don't care about a piece of paper saying you know you're stuff), then you can do just as well without it. In our day and age, it's easy to do your own research and experiments but it takes self-discipline. The main pro of going to school is the potential networking you can do.
 
I'm not sure where you are located but if you are on the east coast, our studio has developed a great program for learning from real professionals (with real credentials including multiple Grammy Awards) in a classroom and studio environment. We have seen the results of pricey schools that pack students in and expect them to learn in the crowd of other students (they came to us afterwards looking for internships) and with limited hands on experience. We decided to do things differently. We want to equip students with the necessary knowledge to work on their own or in a working studio. I would love to tell you more about it. Our fall course starts soon. Let me know if you're interested.
 
To further what the dude above me said.... it is possible to learn everything on your own these days, but it's also extremely possible that you're learning it all the wrong way... and bad habits can be very hard to break.
 
^^^True... on that note however (no pun intended), whose to say the "right" way is the way that you'll be taught? Music is so subjective, what's "right" to one person isn't "right" to another. You will definitely learn to work like your teacher, but that's only good if your teacher is like who you wanted to be originally. Also, if the consensus of this forum plus other forums all add up to the same thing, you can generally be sure it's going to be the same in a more standardized school/classroom.
 
Just my 2 cents. I know way more guys successful at music who never sat in school for it one day. Whenever I say that on this site, I get attacked, but I don't see it being beneficial. The 1/100 guys I know who "made it" after school more than likely could be doing the same thing without their diploma.

But we're in a world of selling dreams, everyone seems to be buying.
 
Out of all the guys I know or know of who went to recording school only three have jobs.

Guy 1: His dad owned a home recording studio in the late 90's and early 2000's so he already knew a lot of the ins and outs beforehand. (His spot is the first spot I ever recorded my own material at.) Full Sail.

Guy 2: Strictly does live stuff. If there is a major show in the Bay Area he's worked it and he's constantly touring with Baby Bash (He was one of the first composers I worked with and my first rock/rap track was with him and guy 1.) Expressions.

Guy 3: His father is a friend of my brother, so I don't really know him just know of him. His uncle is a top guy at EA so he had a job waiting for him. He still had to go through the application process but he was a shoe in. Full Sail.
 
Depends on your goals...It's good if you just want education, and want to learn the technical side of music. I think it's worth it if you want to go on the engineer side of things. If you're trying to get a job at a studio...You need to make hot music and be at the studio...A LOT. Network with the people there and if the cards fall right you could be working with major artists. A piece of paper doesn't mean as much in the music industry as other fields. You need good ears and talent.
 
And just to put it out there, Berklee offers online certifications that are looked at in the same light as a music degree for a fraction of the price. That will give you documentation of your professionalism that in a field like music will hold just as much weight as going to a 4 year college. People will call B.S. because they spend way more at a college... but let's be real.
 
Strizz said:
Im thinking about going to recording school. I know many are really expensive im just wondering if it is worth the money after you finish and have to start paying back your loans. Is it easy to find work in a studio or is it mainly freelance work?... Basically I would just like to hear your experiences with going to a recording school, what school did you go to and if you found it worth the money.... also if you know of any recording schools under $30,000 a year please list them I know of Cras in Pheonix, SAE and LA Recoding School but would like to know others
Click to expand...
The benefits only out weigh the costs if you apply what you learned and utilize the full potential of your degree. You certainly won't just make it because you go to school, but it can increase your chances if you are serious about what you're doing.
 
Honestly I think it only makes a difference if you WANT it to. I currently go to Bloomsburg University in PA for audio recording and it might not be a music school, but it's capabilities are literally the same. Don't feel as you need to settle for a major recording school when you can get the same tools and experience at a regular university. The only up side for the bigger recording schools is the networking but you still need to work your ass off either way. I plan on going into prof. Songwriting after college so I'm going to use my engineering skills to help me get my foot in the door
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top