Hi all,

Having just turned 30 I've come to realize that my passion lies in music. Up until now I've been a fairly successful TV Editor and Producer (BBC/IMG/Sky etc) but I want to turn my hand in audio.

My question is - what's the best course our there to develop my training as an audio engineer or mixer?

I have a keen interest in music and over the years have developed a decent home studio from scratch all from learning on forums like this and reading SOS.

I'm based in Surrey but am willing to travel so does anyone reccommend a college or course I could undertake to better my audio skills?

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
James

Stick with your current job, and let it pay for your music addiction as a hobby.

That way you'll hopefully enjoy the music making, and still afford to eat!

As for courses, well, there are quite a few out there, but in these forums and in SOS magazine there's loads of expert advice.

Have fun.

EDIT: Do you know that "soundcloud" is spelt wrong in your profile?

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Cubase, guitars.

Edited by Kwackman (06/03/13 03:36 PM)

James, there are people in this forum alone who has "come to realise that their passion lies in music" when they turned 15, not 30, and still can't make a living out of it!

I can easily predict 95% of the posts here will advise you to keep your day job and enjoy music as a serious hobby.
5% will call the rest "spoilsports", cynical, losers, and, essentially, 'sad old farts'.

I am solidly placing myself in the former camp.

Good luck, anyhow.

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www.bugiolacchi.com
Songwriter/guitarist

Quote Kwackman:

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EDIT: Do you know that "soundcloud" is spelt wrong in your profile?

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My bad, thanks for pointing that out!

Ok, I understand that it's a tricky industry and I appreciate the comments. In the long term I think I will be staying in TV but I want to 'expand' my limited knowledge of music!

I love making music at home I just want to be better at doing it. Anyway, I'll search the forum and see what other people have been discussing regarding this. I just wondered off hand whether anyone had any current reccommendations for part-time courses specialising in this field.

Quote jamest748:

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Hi all,

Having just turned 30 I've come to realize that my passion lies in music. Up until now I've been a fairly successful TV Editor and Producer (BBC/IMG/Sky etc) but I want to turn my hand in audio.

My question is - what's the best course our there to develop my training as an audio engineer or mixer?

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Always good to expand skills but that would be jumping from a career where you're employable into one where there are absolutely zero jobs. Careful what you wish for, stay where you are and build yourself an awesome studio. I'm a full time mixer and the state of play is this - the moneys halved in 5 years and there is about as third as much work around as ten years ago. What that means is long hours and thats with a huge track record.

Quote bugiolacchi:

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James, there are people in this forum alone who has "come to realise that their passion lies in music" when they turned 15, not 30, and still can't make a living out of it!

I can easily predict 95% of the posts here will advise you to keep your day job and enjoy music as a serious hobby.
5% will call the rest "spoilsports", cynical, losers, and, essentially, 'sad old farts'.

I am solidly placing myself in the former camp.

Good luck, anyhow.

---

+1

... and in your occupation, you're probably better placed than most to pick up some music "homers".

Your day job really is your biggest advantage when it comes to music James. It's worth sticking with it for that alone.

And I think you are approaching it from the wrong direction by asking what courses are any good, instead think about what areas you think are your weaknesses. And then once you have identified the areas that would most benefit from training/help/support we might be able to help you out here, or point you towards training or resources elsewhere.

And whatever you decide, good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions here and share your experience and opinions too.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

If you want to get more hands-on shouldn't you be aiming towards directing TV, where you'll be in charge of video AND audio? There's little employment prospect in just "mucking around in recording studios".

Thanks everyone, some very interesting perspectives. I had a totally blind perception of how bad the music industry was!

I think what I should have said in my initial post was - I'm sticking with the day job but I want to enhance my hobby of making music! I want to know more. I want to know what piece of equipment to use for vocals and why, what EQ to cut and boost etc. I just want to have a wider knowledge of music production.

I'm still very keen to learn more about Pro Tools and mixing so will do some research into a school or course that could help me...but not for work in audio!

> I want to know what piece of equipment to use for vocals

It's called a 'microphone'.

THIS is very good if you don't already have it or something similar...

My suggestion would be that it may be much better to employ a tutor than take a course. More efficient, quicker, more effective, not necessarily more expensive and sometimes actually cheaper. I used to run courses a long time ago and thought this at the time. It may be even more true now. But I suppose each method has its advantages and disadvantages.

Quote Mike Stranks:

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It's called a 'microphone'

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Ha, very good!

Hadn't thought about a personal tutor...but now you mention it, that's a great idea.

Edited by jamest748 (07/03/13 01:37 PM)

Quote Mike Stranks:

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very good if you don't already have it or something similar...

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Will look into that, thanks.

+1 for tutoring. With a course you may find that you have to go through a lot of stuff you don't want or need but don't get enough attention on the things you really wanted. A tutor working one to one will be able to concentrate on the areas you need and pick up questions that arise from that.

There are a few forum members who offer 1 to 1 tuition, and have had positive feedback from those who have taken advantage of their services. So once you have a project where you need help, post in the Production forum with a request for help and they will PM you with an offer (they are nice chaps and very good at staying within the forum rules on promotion).

The SOS website is also an archive for the magazine going back for well over a decade, so don't forget the excellent technical articles that Hugh and others have contributed over the years. Definitely worth study, and with some tuition under your belt you will find they make a lot more sense.

The Mix Rescue articles are all available to study too, many with before/after examples for you to compare. And going a stage further, Mike Senior has spent a lot of time creating a library of multi-track recordings that are freely available for you to download and practice your mixing skills. You can find out more in this sticky thread in the Production forum, you will see that the projects include the Mix Rescue tracks that the owners have generously made available so you can study those Mix Rescue articles in even greater depth.

Does that help?

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Quote jamest748:

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Quote Mike Stranks:

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It's called a 'microphone'

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Ha, very good!

Hadn't thought about a personal tutor...but now you mention it, that's a great idea.

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PM sent...

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Quote jamest748:

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Quote Mike Stranks:

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It's called a 'microphone'

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Ha, very good!

Hadn't thought about a personal tutor...but now you mention it, that's a great idea.

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Errmm... just like to point out that you've put Scramble's words in my mouth...

I'm glad that terrible joke has now been passed off onto someone else!

Quote zenguitar:

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Does that help? Andy

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Yes, Andy, yes it does! Thanks for all the info. This is a very appealing route to go down and loads of prcatical work is extremely productive.

hi james
i offer tuition in and around london and would be happy to help you; please see my website for more information.

kind regards
tom

musictechtuition.co.uk