This is a guest post from Geoffrey Granka of Fresh Produce Productions. Find him online at www.freshaudio.ca and @gmgranka on twitter.
Are recording schools worth going to? They can be. The reason most high school graduates go to college/university is not the main motivator for most audio engineering school entrants. The parental mantra of work hard/go to a good school/get a good job simply cannot apply to recording schools. Although it’s a general life lesson, it applies ten fold in the entertainment industry; nothing is guaranteed.
I applied in early 2006 to an Ontario recording college, having already completed a 4 month high school co-op placement at a local studio in Hamilton, Ontario. I had found something that interested me, that I could do for hours without realizing, something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I had also found out there was a lot more to it than I had ever imagined, things my high school communications teacher couldn’t teach me.
What followed were 12 hyper-compressed months of hyperventilation and forced insomnia. And although we were too busy for American pie-styled college parties, friendships were forged and good times were had. Instead we had tales of 8pm until 8am sessions, and sleeping in cars to catch the 8:30 lecture.
The faculty was much the same as any other school, with your modest, experienced engineers balanced with your pompous blowhards. A ton of information is thrown at you, and you’re expected to remember most of it. You’ll learn about digital audio, DAW editing, sunset clauses, and the psychoacoustic effects of sticking a PZM in a wall to substitute for a kick sample. But if you’re in the back of the room playing video games on your laptop, you may aswell not be there.
My class started about 100 strong and about a quarter graduated. Almost half dropped out by second term. This isn’t a diploma you can pursue just to satisfy your parents, or so you can learn to DJ your buddies gigs. There are too may wannabes and not enough job positions to fuck around. Being an engineer or producer isn’t a substitute for being a musician, it’s a separate discipline. The jobs don’t throw themselves at you, and more often than not, you’ll find yourself having to work around the clock to create a job for yourself. And as far as pay goes, if money is what you’re after, Entertainment Law is a fantastic field.
If you go in, unfocused, with a dream of being a rockstar, you’ll come out broke, still unfocused, having only learned that time isn’t for wasting. A valuable lesson, but one not worth the steep tuition many colleges carry. However, if you have a realistic idea of what an engineer does, and your dreams are equally balanced with a plan and an end goal, college is the perfect thing for you. Get to know people, learn their career paths, be sincere and not a kiss-ass, and learn what that thing with all the knobs does. It’s fun, and all of your friends will think you’ve totally lost it.
Audio engineering is one of those fields you can never really know enough about, and no matter what you took in High School, you don’t know the half of it. Recording schools are an excellerated path in an industry that’s all about speed, and it’s a big decision. But if you really want to be an engineer or a producer, it’s practically a necessity. If you’re sure it’s what you want to do, you won’t regret it.
Geoffrey Granka
Fresh Produce Productions
www.freshaudio.ca
@gmgranka
good article, as an engineer that started mixing for a church at 15, and now 12 years later still does, but gets paid for it. I can’t agree more that classes, wither at the local junior college, 4 year university, or a technical school, are a good place to learn.
And yes, learning should never stop.
This is a great article/opinion, but was hoping to hear if Recording Schools were worth going to. As opposed to self learning? University vs. a private school like Full Sail for audio training? Price comparison? Gear comparison? Success rate ratio for landing a gig?
I’ll try to twist Geoff’s arm and get him to go deeper into those topics.
It’s funny that this article came up because I am a graduate of Florida Atlantic University and am in the process of applying to the University of Miami. And I was kind of wary about spending the exorbitant amount of money required for grad school. Even though I’ve already spent four years learning the craft, this article eased my nerves about doing another two years. The previous four were worth it, so the next step will be too. I love learning.
I enjoyed the part about talking with your friends about crazy sessions and sleeping in cars, because it definitely hit close to home. I actually slept in the studio for 2 hours before turning in a mix at 8am. Good times.
Psh. Who is this guy anyways?