How to get started working in Recording Studio?
- Thread starter setsuna83
- Start date
if you have no experience, you got to start bottom up. maybe as an office assistant? someone who look after the phone, get stuff printed, make coffee ...
really, there's no other way.
you can try to work in related fields to gain experience too. live sound (someone just posted a job in the musician wanted section). or you can prep yourself by getting a small setup to do some recordings. read loads of Sound on Sound, MIX ...
which course are you doing? does it cover audio stuff?
really, there's no other way.
you can try to work in related fields to gain experience too. live sound (someone just posted a job in the musician wanted section). or you can prep yourself by getting a small setup to do some recordings. read loads of Sound on Sound, MIX ...
which course are you doing? does it cover audio stuff?
blueprintstudios
New member
most of the insecurities of studios would be generated on 3 (of which I can think of) factors.
1) you go work for em. you learn from em. you leave em. and you compete with em. (and even stole their client contacts list etc)
2) you go work with em. they teach you. you freak out on what's involved (money/time/drive). you chicken out. they waste their time. you waste yours, but you save yourself from wasting anymore.
3) you're just learning recording to selfishly record your own band than spread on / encourage the art of it. and stop from there on. which is pretty much pointless. cos you spend the money on gears and time to learn to record, you could have just let someone who's familiar with it to save you the trouble.
so james is right. you're screwed till lady luck smiles on you. your best shot would either be working/learning under someone who's willing / go study a diploma of audio engineering (FSV/SAE) / or start out at home+on the internet.
60¢ worth.
1) you go work for em. you learn from em. you leave em. and you compete with em. (and even stole their client contacts list etc)
2) you go work with em. they teach you. you freak out on what's involved (money/time/drive). you chicken out. they waste their time. you waste yours, but you save yourself from wasting anymore.
3) you're just learning recording to selfishly record your own band than spread on / encourage the art of it. and stop from there on. which is pretty much pointless. cos you spend the money on gears and time to learn to record, you could have just let someone who's familiar with it to save you the trouble.
so james is right. you're screwed till lady luck smiles on you. your best shot would either be working/learning under someone who's willing / go study a diploma of audio engineering (FSV/SAE) / or start out at home+on the internet.
60¢ worth.
No No. SAE don't provide any attachments. And paying $9k-$10k for a diploma which completes at 9mths -1years, do you think you can learn as much things and experience as those going thru a proper 3 year course? Dun forget 3year course you pay lesser, and they do provide attachments.
To me, I would say SAE is a very good n internationally recogonised media college, but ermm...the branch is Sg is abit...well...you know...(No offence to SAE students
So I would recommend Overseas SAE than local SAE. Thou locally, they just bought new SSL console, G5, and digidesign control 24, but I heard their studio don't look like a studio at all, and their acoustics is not so well done too. Their old campus studio looks much more better and sound-proofing wise are much more better than now in the new location. Only diff is that, new campus look more new, that's really all.
But i would say, being in a pte sch is as if you pay that big sum of money so as to give you a chance to get to touch some of the expensive state-of-art equipments where not every engineers in sg hav a chance to use them in their life(if they stuck in sg forever).
Conclusion, either you pay $6k to go NP for FSV, or SP for their new audio diploma, or with the $9k that you willing to pay, save them and wait till the new Lasallse-SIA campus is opened, than go there for their music technology dip. All are 3 years, with attachments(not sure lasallse-SIA). But one last thing is that, it's best you don't only major in Audio, coz audio industry in sg still abit not so...you know...but as for puture wise, nobody know what's going to happen in the future...good luck to you
To me, I would say SAE is a very good n internationally recogonised media college, but ermm...the branch is Sg is abit...well...you know...(No offence to SAE students
So I would recommend Overseas SAE than local SAE. Thou locally, they just bought new SSL console, G5, and digidesign control 24, but I heard their studio don't look like a studio at all, and their acoustics is not so well done too. Their old campus studio looks much more better and sound-proofing wise are much more better than now in the new location. Only diff is that, new campus look more new, that's really all.But i would say, being in a pte sch is as if you pay that big sum of money so as to give you a chance to get to touch some of the expensive state-of-art equipments where not every engineers in sg hav a chance to use them in their life(if they stuck in sg forever).
Conclusion, either you pay $6k to go NP for FSV, or SP for their new audio diploma, or with the $9k that you willing to pay, save them and wait till the new Lasallse-SIA campus is opened, than go there for their music technology dip. All are 3 years, with attachments(not sure lasallse-SIA). But one last thing is that, it's best you don't only major in Audio, coz audio industry in sg still abit not so...you know...but as for puture wise, nobody know what's going to happen in the future...good luck to you
yeah i consider all those facts thts why i took up another multimedia course instead my course do cover audio stuff but think its more of a touch and go thing rather than in depth like those schs tht specialise totally in it. I was considering to take up the capstones program in future. has anyone here gone thru the program b4?
To my experience, if you wanna specialise only in audio in SG, I wun really encourage that, coz SG audio industry in still very small. And you can nv find one ad in classified looking for audio enginners employment. Pple here dun look at wat audio cert you got, but rather wat experiences, and port-folio you got. And getting employment in audio industry is noramlly thru your frens who is already in the industry. And its quite true that you will start off from coffee boy. Alternate way, which alot of pple are doing, is to start from free-lance, get lots of experiences and build up your port-folio n contacts, after you r famous in that industry, lots of pple will come to you.
Skills learning wise, I would say, going to a sch only teaches you the operation n purposes of each equipments. And also some sound theory. All these can be learnt by yourself by building a home studio with the sum of money you paying for all those useless cert. You can start frm simple equipments first. All rest of AUDIO is just simply your EARS. And sch dun teach your ears. A golden ears comes with many ears of experiences n trainings. This is why I rather you gain more experiences than cert. And having a home studio have many advantages over this. YOu can train your ears at home even after your working hours. You can start picking up small free-lance projs to train yourself to get more experiences. You can earn xtra cash if you currently hav some others employments. You can still earn some money even when you are jobless, coz at least you got the equipments.
Alot of those audio sch normally ahve a certain limit to which how much studio hours per student can book per week. And besides that, you r not the only studio in there, therefore, studio time are quite difficult to get, plus the fact that how many studio they only hav to share with so many pple cum for lecturer use while conducting lessons. THus, how much time can you spend on those gears? The advantage of owning some gears also helps you to hav the chance to hav more hands-on. Hav fun man.
Skills learning wise, I would say, going to a sch only teaches you the operation n purposes of each equipments. And also some sound theory. All these can be learnt by yourself by building a home studio with the sum of money you paying for all those useless cert. You can start frm simple equipments first. All rest of AUDIO is just simply your EARS. And sch dun teach your ears. A golden ears comes with many ears of experiences n trainings. This is why I rather you gain more experiences than cert. And having a home studio have many advantages over this. YOu can train your ears at home even after your working hours. You can start picking up small free-lance projs to train yourself to get more experiences. You can earn xtra cash if you currently hav some others employments. You can still earn some money even when you are jobless, coz at least you got the equipments.
Alot of those audio sch normally ahve a certain limit to which how much studio hours per student can book per week. And besides that, you r not the only studio in there, therefore, studio time are quite difficult to get, plus the fact that how many studio they only hav to share with so many pple cum for lecturer use while conducting lessons. THus, how much time can you spend on those gears? The advantage of owning some gears also helps you to hav the chance to hav more hands-on. Hav fun man.
DoubleDecker
New member
I would suggest getting out of SG, and I myself is planning towards that too. I have not done much detailed research but I have always been looking at Hollywood, California or Los Angeles when it comes to media training. This is what I lack in. So likewise, understand what you need to know, what you need to possess to be able to have a foot in the industry.
The SAE I am looking at will be SAE Hollywood, their new campus. 25 studios of all sizes and usage, can anyone actually beat that? This is just a numerical figure though, having more studios does not mean it's a better school. There are much other factors you can look at.
For example, SAE Hollywood works with several other industry leaders in audio/visual technology. At least according to their website - Apple, Focusrite, Blue Sky etc. (For students who wish to continue to pursue a degree after diploma, Apple and Digidesign will provide each student with their own laptop computer with complete Pro Tools recording setup and built-in wireless networking.)
If you've some experiences with sound/stage mgmt, be it for school projects, or commercially managed projects, you could even take down free lance projects in the course of your studies. Like what most of us believe in, it's really small here in SG. This may be a good chance and opportunity for you to do small projects out of SG, chalk up your portfolio, bring the experiences and knowledge back to SG, then work hard to shine. It's a long path, and keep your expectations simple and achievable. Don't expect to reap in big bucks like some music critics or audio engineers do, they have gone through shit (and loads of it) and come a long way.
A school - like many would have told you - does not teach you anything and everything. Most of the syllabus are general and applies to the mass in various expertise. It's also dependant on your practice and exposure. Similarly, using SG as an example, talent is something borne in you. It isn't something you can teach. You can only explore and discover what talent you possess, and cultivate it.
Key is - think far. And in a bigger picture. Not just for now out of interest.
Regards,
DD
The SAE I am looking at will be SAE Hollywood, their new campus. 25 studios of all sizes and usage, can anyone actually beat that? This is just a numerical figure though, having more studios does not mean it's a better school. There are much other factors you can look at.
For example, SAE Hollywood works with several other industry leaders in audio/visual technology. At least according to their website - Apple, Focusrite, Blue Sky etc. (For students who wish to continue to pursue a degree after diploma, Apple and Digidesign will provide each student with their own laptop computer with complete Pro Tools recording setup and built-in wireless networking.)
If you've some experiences with sound/stage mgmt, be it for school projects, or commercially managed projects, you could even take down free lance projects in the course of your studies. Like what most of us believe in, it's really small here in SG. This may be a good chance and opportunity for you to do small projects out of SG, chalk up your portfolio, bring the experiences and knowledge back to SG, then work hard to shine. It's a long path, and keep your expectations simple and achievable. Don't expect to reap in big bucks like some music critics or audio engineers do, they have gone through shit (and loads of it) and come a long way.
A school - like many would have told you - does not teach you anything and everything. Most of the syllabus are general and applies to the mass in various expertise. It's also dependant on your practice and exposure. Similarly, using SG as an example, talent is something borne in you. It isn't something you can teach. You can only explore and discover what talent you possess, and cultivate it.
Key is - think far. And in a bigger picture. Not just for now out of interest.
Regards,
DD
well i'm currently in Perth recording bands and i'd say the music scene in perth is stronger , therefore more bands to record.
I don't think it's so much the media training that singapore lacks , but more so what are u going to do with ur diploma or training when some 2bit hack uses cracked software and wants to record his own stuff to save money ( such is the singaporean kiasu mentality )
I don't think it's so much the media training that singapore lacks , but more so what are u going to do with ur diploma or training when some 2bit hack uses cracked software and wants to record his own stuff to save money ( such is the singaporean kiasu mentality )
DoubleDecker
New member
Hi,
To what I know of, SAE is the only school in Singapore to specialize in that. We may have seen polytechnics with Mass Comms course, but I have to add that polytechnics is an touch and go affair. To what I know of too, MDIS branch at Aljunied/Paya Lebar also uses SAE studio in the past. (Pardon if I got the area wrong, it's in the east side but can't recall offhand exactly.)
I'm a Mass Comms student in the past, and it's just like studying other subjects like Marketing and Journalism within Mass Comms. You are not trained specifically in any area, specialization falls mainly in Degree level and above. In a nutshell, you are given brief introduction and handling skills, that's all to it.
There are audio production companies and event management companies that provide Audio course. (I work in Events industry) For me personally, I do not carry much faith in these. I assume such syllabus are more profit-driven than anything else. How do you actually learn something by paying $500 over 8 lessons and come out qualified to pick up a studio job? Especially so for an Events company, it's even more profit driven. Rather than let the eqpt sit around in the store awaiting bookings, use it for lessons.
In music industry, the only theory I forsee that I need is Instruction Manuals on how to go about using the eqpts. The rest, even troubleshooting, relies majorly on technical exposure and research. HANDS-ON!!! Not reading off some papers.
Cheerz,
DD
To what I know of, SAE is the only school in Singapore to specialize in that. We may have seen polytechnics with Mass Comms course, but I have to add that polytechnics is an touch and go affair. To what I know of too, MDIS branch at Aljunied/Paya Lebar also uses SAE studio in the past. (Pardon if I got the area wrong, it's in the east side but can't recall offhand exactly.)
I'm a Mass Comms student in the past, and it's just like studying other subjects like Marketing and Journalism within Mass Comms. You are not trained specifically in any area, specialization falls mainly in Degree level and above. In a nutshell, you are given brief introduction and handling skills, that's all to it.
There are audio production companies and event management companies that provide Audio course. (I work in Events industry) For me personally, I do not carry much faith in these. I assume such syllabus are more profit-driven than anything else. How do you actually learn something by paying $500 over 8 lessons and come out qualified to pick up a studio job? Especially so for an Events company, it's even more profit driven. Rather than let the eqpt sit around in the store awaiting bookings, use it for lessons.
In music industry, the only theory I forsee that I need is Instruction Manuals on how to go about using the eqpts. The rest, even troubleshooting, relies majorly on technical exposure and research. HANDS-ON!!! Not reading off some papers.
Cheerz,
DD
teraslasch
New member
singapore poly offers DMAT (diploma in music and audio technology ). basically u learn both music and audio. theres la-selle's music tech course too. but all thse contains music elements too, not only audio.
no in singapore poly the people there are focus more on music technology (audio) rather than music ( in fact from what i hear almost no music at all ) , i went there for an audition once and thats whats they told me wheras in lasalle you learn both music and music technology. i guess i opt for lasalle thats bcos without creative and only technology you might not be able to do well after all.
however i think all this is irrelevant to his question. what he meant to ask was how could we enter to the recording industry, you don find pple looking such recording talents in singapore.
i mean like after the music technologies student graduate WHERE DO WE GO?! where do we go to look for jobs, and how do we get basic job prastice first before we enter this industry.
By right a course in the poly, lasalle, or SAE they will run with you the things you need to know gives you the knowledge but what about hands on prastices in real life situation. i dono if any of this schools offer attachment. i am in year 1 which means i complete my foundation in lasalle but have yet to recieve any attachment. i guess all that we can prastice on is to record our own band. read thru websites and more websites. PRASTICE PRASTICE RECORDING FOR A BAND STILL. until we are familiarise den we should source for a vacancy out there.
although we all agreed that there will more oppuritiues overseas, but would anyone with a diploma with no cash in his wallet and non experience risk going to hollywood and be sure you will definately get a job there?!
For me i read up alot in the web to find out about EQing to Mix to MAster play with softwares here and there but yet there are still loads of question in my mind. if only stuff could be simplify
lets all work hard guys
however i think all this is irrelevant to his question. what he meant to ask was how could we enter to the recording industry, you don find pple looking such recording talents in singapore.
i mean like after the music technologies student graduate WHERE DO WE GO?! where do we go to look for jobs, and how do we get basic job prastice first before we enter this industry.
By right a course in the poly, lasalle, or SAE they will run with you the things you need to know gives you the knowledge but what about hands on prastices in real life situation. i dono if any of this schools offer attachment. i am in year 1 which means i complete my foundation in lasalle but have yet to recieve any attachment. i guess all that we can prastice on is to record our own band. read thru websites and more websites. PRASTICE PRASTICE RECORDING FOR A BAND STILL. until we are familiarise den we should source for a vacancy out there.
although we all agreed that there will more oppuritiues overseas, but would anyone with a diploma with no cash in his wallet and non experience risk going to hollywood and be sure you will definately get a job there?!
For me i read up alot in the web to find out about EQing to Mix to MAster play with softwares here and there but yet there are still loads of question in my mind. if only stuff could be simplify
lets all work hard guys
tat cool man!!
i cant even have the determination to read read read.. .
I think juz not so cut from understandin from books ..and web..
but juz now i saw soft web banner there is this school call soma?
anyone heard b4? i went to their web the teacher is a berklee grad man..
and they have this comin workshop on recording and production....
hmmm....wonderin should i go..? coz the price is cheap too..
i cant even have the determination to read read read.. .
I think juz not so cut from understandin from books ..and web..
but juz now i saw soft web banner there is this school call soma?
anyone heard b4? i went to their web the teacher is a berklee grad man..
and they have this comin workshop on recording and production....
hmmm....wonderin should i go..? coz the price is cheap too..
teraslasch
New member
sp not much of music?.. hmm.. i don really like la-selle in the sense that u have to go through a foundation year if u go directly from Os, although some may be able to skip it. and also, i went to la-selle's open house and i wasnt exactly impressed with it.
btw, reading up on audio is one of the best ways to get started... self-learning is always one of the ways where u really learn something, instead of going into a lecture where after a few hours, u walk out confused :lol:
i believe singapore does not have the market to support solely audio engineers alone as in the US, engineers really have specific jobs. e.g mastering engineer, recording engineer , live engineer, etc. however in sg, its like u have to know ALL,, typical kiasu singaporean kind of way.
Anyway, im not into audio alone , im more into composing,arranging, producing, some engineering that will aid greatly in whatever i do. A musician still has to know his technical stuff, and thats why audio knowledge comes in!
btw, reading up on audio is one of the best ways to get started... self-learning is always one of the ways where u really learn something, instead of going into a lecture where after a few hours, u walk out confused :lol:
i believe singapore does not have the market to support solely audio engineers alone as in the US, engineers really have specific jobs. e.g mastering engineer, recording engineer , live engineer, etc. however in sg, its like u have to know ALL,, typical kiasu singaporean kind of way.
Anyway, im not into audio alone , im more into composing,arranging, producing, some engineering that will aid greatly in whatever i do. A musician still has to know his technical stuff, and thats why audio knowledge comes in!
DoubleDecker
New member
teraslasch said:
That is why my points are very much towards in how much and what you are going to learn. The courses here in Singapore are very general. Moreover, some of these courses are started only in recent years while some other schools offers a great deal of specialisation and probably triple the experience of our local schools here.
DD
blueprintstudios
New member
mainly down here.. you gotta have your niche.
like how some recording/composers are capable of electronics side / fixing their own equipment after the 1 year warranty date. and cable soldering etc.
some have their own contacts to the market (PR-skills). so it's easy for them to get their work heard.
10¢ worth.
like how some recording/composers are capable of electronics side / fixing their own equipment after the 1 year warranty date. and cable soldering etc.
some have their own contacts to the market (PR-skills). so it's easy for them to get their work heard.
10¢ worth.
parablue74
New member
Sorry man!! I hate to tell you straight in your face...
To be a sound engineer, you really have to read read read and DIY much!!! It is a very independent job to start with, you really have to do your own research be it being under a company or being freelance. It's part of the aspects of the job!!!
If you can't do that, you are not cut out for it!!! If you want more practical and less reading, then you are better off just being a musician or performer...
