Recording Schools

[Kedron Porter]

There's the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences in Tempe Az. and they are (as far as I know) the only school to certify in Pro Tools and the only school with an internship to major studios in LA, New York or Nashville. I checked out the facility myself and I am enrolled for the July of 2003 semester. The studio rooms are unbelievable and they have major heavy weights working and pulling strings there. One I know for sure is the Live Sound class with Robert Scoville. He does Rush, Tom Petty and Match Box 20 and he also did Def Leppard in their hey day. Check them out online and see for yourself, I was pretty impressed.

[Wade]

Hey everyone,

I have a few questions for you. Ok, I really love making music and recording it, and I would really like to do it for a living. I was just wondering if anyone on here knows of any good recording schools. If anyone could give me some info on them and where they are located, it would be much appreciated. Also, do you think one of those pro tools courses is worthwhile? Thanks Alot Guys. Oh yeah, I am in Atlanta, and I would like to stay close, but I will consider going away. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[deerock]

Don't waste your time. Get an internship with any studio and you will learn a lot more a lot faster. You will still have to intern after school anyway. Most studios look for good workers with great attitudes, not students from these schools. Being certified on Pro Tools means that you took a course from a teacher that didn't make it in the real studio world, why waste his time and yours? Get on a system at a studio and spend some time with them...if you show interest, they will show you how to work it and you will learn much faster. This is how I have seen many, many great mixers become great!
Good luck to you.
Derek Sample [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Guy Staley]

Well, I recommend a short-term immersion type school. You can still go and intern, but having the experience of working in a real studio, on real sessions, with real musicians can only be of benefit!

And, it's not always a case where the instructors are nobodies. If your talking Art Institute, well yes, but there are many other options.

In the end, school is a win-win situation (for you, and your potential employer). If you have the means, school is a viable path.

OTOH, any way you look at it, it's a crap shoot! You gotta really want it to succeed in this business!!!

Good luck!

p.s. - I attended the Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, OH and it was one of the times in my life. I learned gained invaluable insight and experience working with talented engineers and musicians in world class facilities. Skills that would have taken considerably longer to aquire had I not attended school. I was able to step into a paying position one year after finishing the course, a job opportunity that WOULDN'T have existed if I haden't attended school.

Of course, as always, YMMV!

[Wade]

Thanks alot for all the advice guys. It seems I have quite a bit of researching to do. I really appreciate it. I think I am going to go to school, it seems that alot of the recording schools have good placement rates. We'll see. Thanks Again,

[Sargam]

I have been attending Omega Studios, near Washington, DC. It is a recording studio that also offers audio courses. They do have a module on digital production with a large dose of Pro Tools.

You can check their web site at http://www.omegastudios.com/

Good luck.

[thelovejoint]

If you go a mile down the road from the Conservatory you'll find Mesa Community College, which offers Pro Tools classes that use the same course outline as the Conservatory for a very small fraction of the price, Scottsdale Community College is not a bad option. I would recommend a short-immersion in school as well but you got to pave your own way, unless you got a lot cash to spend on school, like a lot of cash.

[AE]

Hey, Wade:

Have you studied music formally, or are you self-taught? Would you consider an undergraduate degree/diploma program, or are you looking for a short course?

If you'd like to pursue an in-depth, long-term course of study in music and recording (four years, though less if you do summer semesters or if you have prior college experience), I highly recommend Berklee College of Music in Boston. Our graduates are everywhere in the industry, and they're pretty solid with both new as well as traditional technologies. We have dozens of Pro Tools systems, used round the clock. It's an amazing environment for making music...

[brainwaves997]

AE...

do you go to Berklee, teacher there...? I am wrestling with the same type of decision here. I've taken some engineering and pro tools courses to atleast make engineering and producing a hobby. But lately I am thinking I may want get more in depth with it, and also learn more about music to. Do you have any suggestions. (I live just north of Boston)

[AE]

Was a student there in the late 70's; have taught since then.

The key to studying production and engineering at Berklee is that we're a music school, first and foremost, so you have to be up for a full-fledged music education. This is not to say thay you have to be a monster player, singer, writer, arranger, or whatever -- but you'd take more music courses than anything else, especially in the first year. This is a great foundation for learning production and engineering, but it's not the only way to do it. There are certainly skilled people in the industry who don't know much about music; you could also go for more technical training, or continue your current direction. There's no "best" way, so it really comes down to what you personally find most appealing, how much time you're willing to invest, and of course the whole issue of cost...

I will say that there are strong advantages to a full four-year college education. It provides an opportunity to become more well-rounded in general; it gives you time to go deeper into the field; it helps you learn how to learn -- which is perhaps the most important skill you need in this ever-changing world of technology. When I started teaching, there weren't many programs out there and most pro studios wanted to train incoming staff their own way. These days, there's so much more to know that a formal educational background is generally considered desireable.

I went to one of the "Platinum Producers" panels at AES last fall. Of the five panelists, two had been students of mine years ago, and two others had been at Berklee this past year doing guest artist presentations. It sure seems that college has become mainstream in the recording industry...