Various Recording Arts / Music Production / Audio Recording schools & colleges exist that offer courses/programs that prepare you for a career in the music industry.
Do you really need to go to a school, college or university to study music production?
The Music industry, though very competitive, has also become more organized and more importantly has become global in nature.
Electronic music production is no longer just about playing music in dance clubs, it can be used for games, video, films, ads, ringtones, etc., and every medium needs to be approached differently.
This is where various schools and colleges have felt the need to impart music production education in an organized way.
Besides teaching you the technical stuff, you are also provided with various opportunities to showcase your talent. They also discuss subjects like music business and legal issues pertaining to the music industry.
With the professional opportunities the entertainment industry has to offer, it is only natural that the universities all over the world have come up with various degree programs that have helped students launch successful careers in the world of recording arts.
Various Types of Degrees Offered
Though a recording art course is designed to include music production as well as audio engineering subjects, it will be helpful for you to know the difference between a music production and audio engineering profile.
Armed with a degree in recording arts, you can look forward to various exciting careers. You can work as a recording engineer, sound engineer, sound designer, recording technician, audio forensic technician, broadcast technician, radio operator, sound effects editor, music producer, etc..
Depending on the length and depth of the program offered, you will have programs such as Certificate, Associate, Bachelor, and Master’s degree in recording arts.
Certificate course is the shortest course, designed usually for introduction to key concepts, software or equipment used in recording business. An associate degree tries to cover course work as in a bachelor degree program but does not go as much in depth. The Certificate course is followed by Associate degree, then Bachelor’s and Master’s being the highest qualification .
Please note that some colleges may offer these programs online as well (web based), as opposed to campus learning programs.
Since the career paths in sound and audio engineering aren’t limited to just one thing, the degree programs in the recording arts prepare students for a wide variety of technological careers dealing with the recording, production and reproduction of sounds, such as music, dialogue and sound effects.
A program that prepares individuals to apply technical knowledge and skills to the production of sound recordings as finished products or as components of film/video, broadcast, live, or mixed media productions, it also includes instruction in sound equipment operation and maintenance; music, dialogue, and sound effects recording; sound track editing; dubbing and mixing; sound engineering; tape, disk, and CD production; digital recording and transmission; amplification and modulation; and working with producers, editors, directors, artists, and production managers.
Learning on your own
Joining a school can be expensive.
So, can you learn all these on your own?
You can indeed setup a music studio at home and learn from recording books, tutorials and practicing at home.
One you have a music recording setup at home, which is much cheaper to setup nowadays, or taking up some junior role in a studio and then learning the trade, most beginners through trial and error learn a lot about studio configuration, how to place speakers, microphone and mixing on their own.
Most of the guys who have learnt the ropes on their own in music production would suggest that things can be learnt on your own and networking plays an important role if you want a regular flow of work.
Related: Read more on music recording concepts
Music and video technology is becoming more affordable nowadays, and lot of people are able to setup a decent recording studio right at home. So if you are good, you will continue to make money.
However, this can take time and you may also not be able to network effectively.
A Music technology degree on the other hand will help you to make a good network, so that you can take up bigger projects or work in a bigger studio. You can even take up teaching jobs in a reputed audio music production / sound engineering school or college. I guess if you have time on your hand and can afford it, definitely go for it.
If you have money to spare, a degree will definitely help you to learn many things faster, which through experience may take more time. A degree in music production or audio engineering might also help you to get that initial break, experience, internship based on the reputation of the college or university from where you do your degree.
So if you want to save yourself time, you can enroll yourself for a music production/sound engineering course at a reputed school, college or university.
What is taught in these courses
Here are some of the important concepts and aspects of sound engineering that you can learn through an audio/music production course in a school/college:
- Learning to use popular production/recording software such as Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Logic, Sonar, Cubase, Reason
- Studio configurations, speaker and microphone placement
- Mixing and mastering techniques that can be applied to variety of music styles
- Mix strategies, compression and panning techniques, and a wide array of professional mix approaches
- Learn to use multi-track recording using MIDI, audio, loops and plug-in effects
- Production techniques from set-up to mix down
How will it help you?
Here is how learning at these audio music production schools/colleges will help you:
- Learn the foundational skills needed to understand popular production hardware/software
- Learn recording, editing, and mixing with these popular music production software
- Take your music production skills, which you may have learnt on your own, to the next level
- Learn to create, produce, and record professional-sounding music arrangements at home
- Under expert guidance and with practice, you can use your learning’s to create compelling, professional-sounding songs
- Learn to identify the production elements that contribute to a well balanced, artful and professional-sounding mix
Closing Thoughts
Though it is possible to begin learning some aspects of audio and music production right from the comfort of your home, you really need to get trained in audio music production if you wish to take up a career with one of the biggest music studios. There are so many different genres of music and there are so many other channels – videos, movies, television, short films, advertisements, documentaries for which music is required and needs to be recorded in such a way that it complements the captured video.
Even if you decide to learn on your own, it will be many many years before you get a grasp of the technology and the skills needed to do justice to all of these scenarios. A better alternative will be to join one of the top audio music production schools…or if you are also keen to take up a career as a sound engineer, then you should study at an audio sound engineering school.
Audio Music Production and Engineering is all about recording music and sound, editing, mixing and reproducing back those sounds using various recording equipment/gear. Learning the intricacies on your own can definitely take time and you may also not be able to spot the various opportunities available to you in the music industry. Though the debate will continue as to whether these courses/degree programs are worth the investments, it definitely makes sense to explore the various courses that are on offer, since these courses can be online as well as campus programs. But with so many technical aspects involved and with so many different styles of music that can be created, it does make sense to take up course/degree program from a recording arts/music production school, college or university.
KeytarHQ editorial team includes musicians who write and review products for pianists, keyboardists, guitarists & other musicians. KeytarHQ is the best online resource for information on keyboards, pianos, synths, keytars, guitars and music gear for musicians of all abilities, ages and interests.
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