I want to take a music technology course in college? Urgent

[aimandshoot12]

Hiiii, I really want to take music technology (audio engineering) and I feel like it's a fun course and I enjoy music and it's the only one I want to take but do I have to know how to play instruments or are there any requirements to take the course or anything I should know. Is it as fun as I think it is? Have any advice? Please? :D I really want to take the course but people seem to make fun of it and I have no idea why. It would be so much help. Thank yoou! :D
Any help and all help is appreciated! :D

[aimandshoot12]

Pleaseeee reply, anyone? :/

[MrMikeEsq]

Have you tried asking your college...

[aimandshoot12]

Originally Posted by MrMikeEsq

Have you tried asking your college...

Like, weeks ago but they never replied.

[Mazrak]

Originally Posted by aimandshoot12

Like, weeks ago but they never replied.

You should go down to the office and ask personally. Colleges are notoriously unresponsive to emails and phone calls, in my experience. You have to get down there in person and sometimes even get obstinate to get the information you need.

[Fezzle]

Dont listen to people makin fun, they shouldnt do that. Now there is of course a reason they do that and thats because there are a lot of bad courses, and more to the point they churn out lots of people with good marks etc but there just isnt as much work available as the that amount of people.
Having said all that, the good courses can be worth it for sure. I believe there is two ways of looking at this depending on what you want.

If you want to be an audio engineer and that is what you want to be first and foremost...don't go on a college course. At least I wouldnt, I would get in there somewhere that gets good work as an intern, you will learn far quicker on a professional and practical level, and may even get to get paid and stick around if your lucky and positive and likable etc. Most importantly you are meeting people who cut it for a living and will get good advice and make good contacts on your way.
If on the other hand you want to get an all round/broad knowledge of music production, recording techniques, theory, management/label stuff... a course could be just the ticket.. This way too you learn alot, will meet like minded folk some of whom will be valuable contacts, and ultimately have flexibility, freedom and time to get your own ideas off the ground. If you want to keep options open and learn it is a good idea!
I did a university course in music tech years back because I was interested in it as a DJ and wanted to learn how to 'produce' records, because of which joined a band by meeting people around college, played small parties at peoples houses, a year and a half later was regularly playing to at least 500 people around the UK, sometimes a few thousand. Now through that Ive earned wicked contacts, am writing for artists, and love a bit of recording when I can! Thats thanks to the freedom and flexibility the course gave me.. (And the parties) which are completely worth it as long as you keep your head screwed on with yer work!
Its a good idea depending on what you want, it wont guarantee you a well paid job in a studio, on the flip side, who knows what could happen, I do know one thing, you should enjoy yourself and get stuck in no matter what ye do!!

p.s I advise you not to come this site much too. Youll learn far more meeting people and using your ears and intuition. This place is a critique bubblebath where theres as much ego driven and petty arguements as there is sincerity in sharing

[aimandshoot12]

Originally Posted by Fezzle

Dont listen to people makin fun, they shouldnt do that. Now there is of course a reason they do that and thats because there are a lot of bad courses, and more to the point they churn out lots of people with good marks etc but there just isnt as much work available as the that amount of people.
Having said all that, the good courses can be worth it for sure. I believe there is two ways of looking at this depending on what you want.

If you want to be an audio engineer and that is what you want to be first and foremost...don't go on a college course. At least I wouldnt, I would get in there somewhere that gets good work as an intern, you will learn far quicker on a professional and practical level, and may even get to get paid and stick around if your lucky and positive and likable etc. Most importantly you are meeting people who cut it for a living and will get good advice and make good contacts on your way.
If on the other hand you want to get an all round/broad knowledge of music production, recording techniques, theory, management/label stuff... a course could be just the ticket.. This way too you learn alot, will meet like minded folk some of whom will be valuable contacts, and ultimately have flexibility, freedom and time to get your own ideas off the ground. If you want to keep options open and learn it is a good idea!
I did a university course in music tech years back because I was interested in it as a DJ and wanted to learn how to 'produce' records, because of which joined a band by meeting people around college, played small parties at peoples houses, a year and a half later was regularly playing to at least 500 people around the UK, sometimes a few thousand. Now through that Ive earned wicked contacts, am writing for artists, and love a bit of recording when I can! Thats thanks to the freedom and flexibility the course gave me.. (And the parties) which are completely worth it as long as you keep your head screwed on with yer work!
Its a good idea depending on what you want, it wont guarantee you a well paid job in a studio, on the flip side, who knows what could happen, I do know one thing, you should enjoy yourself and get stuck in no matter what ye do!!

p.s I advise you not to come this site much too. Youll learn far more meeting people and using your ears and intuition. This place is a critique bubblebath where theres as much ego driven and petty arguements as there is sincerity in sharing

I love you. I pray that you are showered with more blessings for your kindness and help. Thank you so much. I will surely keep everything you said in mind. Thank you. <3

[Mazrak]

Fezzle and aimandshoot12 sittin' in a tree...

[aimandshoot12]

Originally Posted by Mazrak

Fezzle and aimandshoot12 sittin' in a tree...

Very funny, Mazrak. -.- :P

[Sean Sullivan]

If there is a course at your university you can take as an elective that teaches you signal flows and digital audio workstations and other basics, I would think it would be worth your time. Especially if it gets you in a studio working on a console

[taherbert]

If I'm reading correctly, you're asking about a single course and not going to one of the 2 year audio engineering programs (SAE, Full Sail, etc.). I took an electronic music course in college, and that's what got me started recording. I learned the basics of audio routing, MIDI, got acquainted DAWs, synths, mixers, and ADATs (it was a long time ago). It was also great because it was a small school, and once I had taken the course, I could sign up to use the campus recording studio whenever after that. I spent the next couple of years working on my own projects.

That being said, your school's course is probably different than mine. I'd talk to the professor about the course, I assume they have office hours?

[paul101]

Hi, what country do you live in?

Also to be honest, if a college cant answer such basic questions I would look elsewhere.

[ido1957]

Definitely take the course. You should be able to without being able to play anything. You're engineering - not playing.

[audiogeek]

Originally Posted by paul101

Hi, what country do you live in?

Also to be honest, if a college cant answer such basic questions I would look elsewhere.

Not to be rude, but if you can't find the answer to such a basic question for yourself, perhaps you should revisit the whole concept of college.

Hint: every school has a course catalog, containing descriptions of every class, prerequisites, enrollment info, etc.

[outUVphaze]

I really don't know anything about the program but Berkley offers stuff online.

Have a look at their website.

Cheers,

John

[Beat Poet]

I'd say don't go if you think getting a qualification will give you a leg up, it probably won't, certainly not in music. Do go if you want to get your hands on a load of equipment you can't afford yourself, if you want to learn some of the absolute basics and most importantly, the production processes.

When I was at music college ten years ago and then at Uni a couple of years back doing New Media Production, I could never understand what production process was. Why do we always have to write essays featuring a "conclusion" and all the rest of it. Upon getting Drum Tracks Direct up and running, I finally realised what production process was. The best thing you can take from these courses is to arm yourself with an analytical approach, which'll help you see the big picture when you take on mammoth tasks and you'll do things in the correct order, step by step.

[audiogeek]

Originally Posted by Beat Poet

I'd say don't go if you think getting a qualification will give you a leg up, it probably won't, certainly not in music. Do go if you want to get your hands on a load of equipment you can't afford yourself, if you want to learn some of the absolute basics and most importantly, the production processes.
....

Why is 'getting a leg up' mutually exclusive to 'getting your hands on a load of equipment you can't afford, learning recording basics, and production processes'?

I would say that all of those things that you just listed as a benefit of music tech courses are tantamount to 'getting a leg up'. I went to a recording school, specifically for all of those things. I went right into an internship at a large-ish studio, and I can only imagine it's because I could list that experience on my resume (there wasn't much else to it!)

At school I worked on Neves and SSL's and Studers, etc etc etc, things I wouldn't ever have gotten a whiff of on my own. The studio ONLY took on interns that had either completed or were currently participating in recording technology programs.

That's a pretty big 'let up' if you ask me.

[Aniol1349]

I'm doing a sound engineering course and in edinburgh and is the best thing could happen to me..the place is well equipped and tutors are awesome..but if you really want to get something from that course you have to be serious about it, like with everything anyway

[Skur]

Hi, all i can say is make sure you enquire about what exactly the course offers in terms of modules etc. Try to get references from people who have actually been to the collage/uni too.

I am about to finish my three year music technology course and still feel that i got more hands on learning from my 2 year collage course when it comes to working in the studio. When we have had time in the studio its been "get on with it" as opposed to tutors helping us understand the pretty overwhelming array of equipment. Also all the audio recording/mixing techniques which i have have learned have been through this forum and magazines.

I don't have a clue why people would take the piss out of the idea of studying music technology. Its a very broad and complicated subject and certainly offers more job prospects than music performance or art. Good luck mate!

[fastlanestoner]

Talk to a counselor man, we don't work for your school district!

[Speedskater]

It looks like the thread starter has not come back yet.

[Beat Poet]

Originally Posted by audiogeek

Why is 'getting a leg up' mutually exclusive to 'getting your hands on a load of equipment you can't afford, learning recording basics, and production processes'?

Well we're obviously looking at it from different directions. I'm mainly referring to the types of audio courses I see advertised at colleges and Unis (in the UK) which don't specialise in audio - they just have an audio department. Alot of Mickey Mouse courses have been invented in this country, to get as many people through Uni as possible. They're the types of courses I'm referring to.