Hey everyone! I know I don't post often, but I love reading everything here. I just hope that I can get some kind of help from you guys despite the lack of participation. So I'm going to be entering my senior year as a computer science major. At this stage, I'm not certain that I want to continue in that field, but really, it's all up in the air. I may change my mind later. Who knows. Anyway, I've taken some courses here related to digital music, sound engineering, and the sort and I found them very interesting. Seeing as I'm very much into computers and music, looking into this more deeply makes sense. I was wondering if anyone knew of graduate programs that offered degrees in that area. Preferably around New York City, but anywhere else is fine since I'd like to take a look at all my options. If anyone can help me, that'd be awesome.
If you are not a face person in the entertainment industry, experience and contacts count more than anything else. I knew plenty of fellow EE students that were heavy into music with bands and performances (and one that skipped Julliard to do EE) and none of them made it into the industry. You were not very specific - is this what you mean? http://www2.ravensoft.com/getajob.htm#sound Only a few folks can compose, perform and program. Most folks can either compose and perform or program.
There are lots of acredited programs throughout the US and Canada. Here is the AES listing... http://www.aes.org/education/geoinst.cfm?GeoID=1
I was a sound engineer at the Alley Theatre for 5 years. When I was there, the Resident Sound Designer was Joe Pino. He left the Alley to go create and head the Sound Design Department at Carnegie Mellon. It's Pittsburgh, and might be more theatre related than you are looking for, but I'd put money on the fact Joe has a good program going there.
Sweet, thanks Jeff. That's along the lines of what I was looking for. As for specifics, I wasn't asking for anything TOO specific, as digital music and audio engineering are two different things, albeit in a similar area. Just wanted some pointers to things related to what I was interested in. Appreciate the link to the job descriptions. I'm still wondering what exactly you meant by the last two lines, Woofer. I've heard mixed reviews about the Full Sails school. Also, I'm not too certain I want to spend a lot of time in the Pittsburgh. But they're definitely something to look into. Most important thing is to keep all my options open. Thanks a lot, everyone!
I've worked in studios - as a session musician and engineer - for over 15 years. I can tell you that if you really want to find work as an engineer, pick a specific area and work for free. Sweep floors if you have to. Wrap cable. Haul speakers. Whatever it takes. The music industry - this goes for audio engineering as well - is a very incestuous business. People hire people they know and bring them along on jobs. Gophers become assistant engineers who become second engineers who become first engineers who become producers, etc. It is how the business works. When I say "pick a specific area," I mean choose a part of the industry to work in: Radio/TV Music Audio Recording Engineering Music Audio Live Sound Reinforcement Film Score Editing for film Sound Effects Field/On Location etc. These are all very different fields and require very different skills and equipment. It would be best to aim for a specific area and focus on that. Some skills overlap, but you'd be surprised at how dramatically different even the audio equipment is from one environment to the next. Good luck!
