Considering to take 1 year diploma course in Music production through SOMA.....

[BijuSharman]

Hi,

I am considering to take 1 year part time diploma course in Music production and engineering through SOMA. Any comments/advice? Usually they say such institutes teach out dated stuff etc. What is your opinion? How is it compared to SAE? Any body in the forum who is already doing any course there? Your feedback will be highly appreciated.

 

[Butterfly]

I was considering a music production too at one period, but decided against it. I was asking people, and even after graduating SAE people were unable to find a job. The thing is, what they teach mainly is audio engineering and it is nearly dead industry -- I mean, almost no one records their stuff in studios these days, and there is no need in personnel therefore. In a year you could easily learn no less about music on your own, just be persistent. There is a lot of info on forums, not to mention a plenty of tutorials on youtube. And one of the fastest ways to get yourself acquainted with software is reading manuals.

 

[kongwee]

It is not a dead industry, but an industry has no growth at the moment. However, live sound or event production seem to be good.

 

[blueprintstudios]

Butterfly : I like to think of the industry as growing , but sidewards. like "fat".
more people are in it, but nothing contributive as it should be in terms of true strength growth when you head into the gym to get some muscle.

 

[JO.]

My 2cents-worth: Grab a software self learn it... nothing beats experience. no classroom or lecture beats hands-on sound-mixing experience on your comp

 

[squarehero]

I disagree with the notion that institutes teach outdated stuff. It may not be stuff that is used on a day to day basis while recording or mixing a record but it is audio engineering knowledge such as gain staging, phase coherence and room acoustics that will be helpful to any budding engineer down the line.

Solid scientific understanding of the tools we use for subjective aesthetics is never a bad thing.

Also on the contrary, the industry is far from dead as some studios are booked all the way till June of next year. And these are big studios.

However, the need for new engineers may be lacking as most studios already have established personnel running them. If you want a job working in audio, I suggest you get friendly with people who are actually doing work you are interested in. You can learn a lot by just watching.

 

[kongwee]

I would say just take it. SOMA course is very short and compact. The last time I find out is once a week for part-time. 2hour or so if I'm not wrong. I almost wanna sign until I learn music arrangement in a commercial studio then I drop that idea. Mix around the people in the field is very important. I have friend study in Soma. Later on, he was employed by a religion organization. He was throw to a empty music/rehearsal room. Slowly, built up live and recording system that are donated. He also end up doing stage/event management. So just a course when you have the ability, later on some thing good happen along the way.

 

[blueprintstudios]

BijuSharman : I would recommend considering taking it.. 10 years later.

10 years ago I planned to study but because I only had PSLE, so I decided instead of spending the $10K+ and time in the library on the net and achieved the level I am today. I still am thinking of taking up a diploma etc though, but only if a dream job requires it. Currently I'm much happier mixing/videography/online biz at home in nothing but a towel being my own boss heh.

 

[RolandLim]

Hi Biju

I'm currently lecturing part time at SOMA for the mixing and advanced music production modules outside of my normal duties running my own music production house . What I'll say is that I teach everything that is extremely useful/practical and relevant to music production and I share a lot of my trade secrets that I've picked up doing this for over 8 years , stuff that you can't find on the internet.

I have done albums for Major labels such as Roadrunner Records , Warner Music , Universal Music Group , a host of independent labels from around Asia and Australia + over 100 bands and artists which mean that I can provide a wealth of knowledge and experience that you can tap from ( in fact my biggest gripe is that students don't ask me enough questions or aren't pro active enough to show me their work and ask for feedback because they are too shy )

My students seem to enjoy my lessons/sharingmypain and many of them have approached me for internships after the classes.

Regards

Roland Lim
Producer|Mixer