Recording College!

[AntonioPetrole]

So the time in my life has come, college. I wanna go for the Recording Arts, Audio Engineering etc. I need some good colleges to go to. I am really appealed to Full Sail in Florida. I would like to go to berklee, but i dont consider myself a prodigy. I would like to go for a 2 or 4 year. Any halp?

Also what college did you guys go to for recording (if you have) and what was it like?

 

[kass]

in b4 "don't do it"

 

[HandsOfDespair]

I'm doing an audio engineering degree since 4 weeks, and it's awesome. It's nearly free though because studies in Quebec (Canada) are cheap (it's costing me approximatively 250$ for a year). Nothing beats experience, but learning tips by professionals is really cool and helps a lot.

 

[AntonioPetrole]

your paying 250$?! Like a year?! or is it 250,000$?!

 

[LydonB]

Well, most people in here will shun going to college for recording. As a recent graduate, I agree to a certain extent. I wish that I got a degree in something that would be likely to land me a day job. That way I could do audio on the side. But at the same time, I think the networking gained in school is invaluable. Not to mention the fact that if you go to a music school specifically, you will become a better musician. I think being a good musician helps in the engineering and producing aspect of the work. I don't think it is absolutely necessary to study music though to be an engineer...just helps...a lot imo.

I went to Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, VA. I had a good time there and learned a lot. It mainly focuses on jazz and classical music as most conservatories do. They just got an SSL Duality board and it kicks ass. The professors are very personable and knowledgable. There are a ton of recording opportunities there as well. You have to be willing to seek them out though. People need audition CD's made all the time. Live performances need to be recorded all the time. Catch with going to the conservatory is that you need to study music as the degree is as bachelors in music.

One of my professors attended Berklee in the 80's and another attended CRAS in the 90's. Both are totally different schools. I have never really heard great things about Berklee, but I am sure some love it. From what I understand, CRAS is a kick ass place to attend. And If you do some browsing on other forums like Gearslutz and ask about Full Sail, you will see that many people think its a bad school. It is insanely expensive for a two year certificate. I don't even think you get a degree out of it.

Anyhow, I think people get out what they put in. If you put zero effort into college, you will get zero out. My advice is do what you feel is best for you at the time. Everyone will have opinions of what to do and what not to do. Definitely consider the pros and cons of each situation (going to school for audio vs not), but ultimately do what you feel is best for you.

 

[HandsOfDespair]

your paying 250$?! Like a year?! or is it 250,000$?!

250$, not 250 000

 

[Pedro Teixeira]

I was going to Alchemea in London, but the price is a whooping 12.000£ for the whole course which is 9 months... Honestly, that isn't going to give any sort of degree, just a shitty diploma. And I don't think I'd learn more than I know there, so I decided to work, save up and ultimately build my own studio. If you know a course that actually gives you a degree, I'd say go for it! Although you do realize that outside this area you won't have much "good" jobs waiting for you

 

[johnny dove]

From what I understand, CRAS is a kick ass place to attend.
Anyhow, I think people get out what they put in. If you put zero effort into college, you will get zero out. My advice is do what you feel is best for you at the time. Everyone will have opinions of what to do and what not to do. Definitely consider the pros and cons of each situation (going to school for audio vs not), but ultimately do what you feel is best for you.

i went to CRAS and can't recommend it highly enough, it was an awesome school to go to. my head hurt when i left (literally) because of all the stuff that got crammed in there but i had such a blast.

 

[myownsilence]

I definitly agree, if anything get a degree in the related science ie physics or something broader if you must go into that area. I wish I had.

 

[egan.]

Generally I would recommend a 4 year degree if you are going to spend the money because that will leave you more options if things don't work out as an audio engineer (which it doesn't for many people) or if you decide you don't like working 80 hour weeks for mediocre money. Most of the guys I know who got music or recording degrees are doing something else 8 years later.

McGill, MTSU, NYU, Berklee and Miami have the best regarded 4 year programs but there are others as well.

If you want to go to Berklee and you can get in and pay for it go to Berklee. I've known several guys to go there and none were prodigies. They did come out with well respected degrees and an excellent alumni base to help them get employment.

It is imperative not to underestimate the value of networking. All the skills in the world don't matter if the only thing on your resume is a degree. You have to have a way to get get in the door.

Here is something else. If what you really want to be is a rockstar, focus on that. Alot of guys get into recording b/c of music without any real interest in sitting in a dark room recording someone elses stuff for 12 hours a day. You can learn how to make killer demos right here rather than spending a bunch $ on a very competitive, low pay career you don't even actually want.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Went to community college. Spent $8k on the whole thing. That 8k funded tuition, books, my mac and quite a bit of my recording gear.

I think full sail is a rip off. Besides students were scoffed at where I was interning. Studio manager was like "hey this kid is from fullsail and wants to intern", business manager was like "well, he can come clean toilets!"

Seriously, I'm gonna say fuck paying that kind of money for a music production degree. Go to a cheap school, get some recording shit and just "do it".

 

[Norris-wf]

I can't speak for any recording colleges, but I just graduated from a 4 year degree programme in electrical engineering and I have to say that you should have a very strong passion for what you do and make sure you enjoy it. I loved every bit of my course but there is still a nagging feeling that I should have gone into music instead but recording is going to be a hobby for me more so than a career and I'm looking forward to that too. I would say if you get the opportunity to take a 4 year course, and if you really like sound engineering, it'll be the best years of your life and should set you up nicely for the future.
You get what you put in so best of luck with your decision and enjoy it

 

[TRA]

Get a degree in electrical engineering. It makes you WAY more valuable to a recording studio than the thousands of guys coming out of Full Sail and the other recording schools.

Edit:

Wow...I didn't even read the comment above mine before posting this. As someone who works for a commercial studio my "in" was because I already had some experience under my belt, and because I work in other areas of the audio industry. I still want to go in to electrical engineering because a lot of the old timers that maintain analog boards and tape machines are dying off.

 

[Pedro Teixeira]

Generally I would recommend a 4 year degree if you are going to spend the money because that will leave you more options if things don't work out as an audio engineer (which it doesn't for many people) or if you decide you don't like working 80 hour weeks for mediocre money. Most of the guys I know who got music or recording degrees are doing something else 8 years later.

McGill, MTSU, NYU, Berklee and Miami have the best regarded 4 year programs but there are others as well.

If you want to go to Berklee and you can get in and pay for it go to Berklee. I've known several guys to go there and none were prodigies. They did come out with well respected degrees and an excellent alumni base to help them get employment.

It is imperative not to underestimate the value of networking. All the skills in the world don't matter if the only thing on your resume is a degree. You have to have a way to get get in the door.

Here is something else. If what you really want to be is a rockstar, focus on that. Alot of guys get into recording b/c of music without any real interest in sitting in a dark room recording someone elses stuff for 12 hours a day. You can learn how to make killer demos right here rather than spending a bunch $ on a very competitive, low pay career you don't even actually want.

Agreed 100%. I got into recording because I love this even more than playing my instrument. Everything I know it was all self-taught, which I think is what one could do best to enrich themselves, exactly by educating themselves... If it's just to have the know-how of recording a demo then yeah, no point in spending money on it, you can learn here everything you need to know.

 

[egan.]

I still want to go in to electrical engineering because a lot of the old timers that maintain analog boards and tape machines are dying off.

The flip side of that is that most of the EE's I know can design a CPU but couldn't build a preamp. It's a very different degree now than it was 30 years ago.

 

[crazykarl]

Full Sail is okay, I've worked with a lot of their video production graduates. However, the best Full Sail students in the best positions never finished their studies, they got work before they finished. Goes to show you, it's about talent and skills. Will college teach you these things or just be for show? I went to a State College for music recording, and I switched majors immediately after meeting the first graduate of the program (HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT PHASE WAS!!!!!!) Later I played a show at the college, and the 3rd year Audio students didn't even know how to work a mixing board.

If I had it to do over again, I would've put my $60,000 of college tuition into starting a real recording studio. It's really not worth it if you can get the same experience elsewhere. I've worked with community college grads as well as a graduate of SAE, and I have no formal training. They didn't know very much about advanced engineering techniques or getting a solid, commercially viable mix, they definitely had their head in the game though.

The choice is yours. Base it on what you know.

 

[Norris-wf]

The flip side of that is that most of the EE's I know can design a CPU but couldn't build a preamp. It's a very different degree now than it was 30 years ago.

This is on the money, Even after just completing my course there is so much focus on micro-electronic engineering and Digital IC design that we were told that there is such a demand for analogue designers because it is not taught as much and has certainly lost some of attractiveness in this GHz world. I guess its all down to the experience you gain

 

[ze kink]

I'm doing an audio engineering degree since 4 weeks, and it's awesome. It's nearly free though because studies in Quebec (Canada) are cheap (it's costing me approximatively 250$ for a year). Nothing beats experience, but learning tips by professionals is really cool and helps a lot.

Suck this: Free

Been in a vocational school learning music technology for about a month now. We've been through a ton of stuff already, and this thing's going to last 3 years.

I can totally understand it being a bad choice in the US, where you have to pay shitloads to get educated, when you could just build your own studio with good gear instead and learn by doing it.

 

[P-E]

your paying 250$?! Like a year?! or is it 250,000$?!

Gotta love Québec.

 

[robfromthedeep]

I'm thinking about doing a music production degree next year at ACM Guildford, same price as a standard degree in most other things though, so can't really complain