RECORDING
Kevin Herring ’ s engineering credits include a number of orchestral projects for the late Sir
George Martin at AIR Studios in London . He is a voting member of both the Recording Academy ( Producers & Engineers Wing ) and CARAS ( JUNO delegate ). He heads the Audio Engineering Program at da Vinci College in Fredericton , NB , and also runs his own remote recording service , SoundsGood Recording .
By Kevin Herring
Why Study to Be a Recording Engineer ?
Why study to be a recording engineer ? This could either be a question about career choice or about whether you need to formally enroll in study . Answering the former question is easy : because it ’ s the greatest gig on the planet !
But the more challenging question I get asked quite regularly is , “ Why should I pay all this money for school when I can find so many resources online for free ?” This raises a number of points about how our times have changed .
Quality of Information First , we used to go to a library when we sought information - information that had been peer-reviewed and published in a reputable source . Second , we now gather information from the Internet that may or may not have been subjected to rigorous review – in other words , opinions posing as facts . There is also a troubling third trend , which is , despite there being more information instantly available to us than ever before , people are becoming less and less able to discriminate between fact and opinion , between the relevant and the trivial , and in some cases , between true and false .
Quality of Instruction So , back to the question : why study to be a recording engineer ? If one can indeed find any and all relevant information on the internet , why bother to enroll in a post-secondary recording program ?
Well , you have to know what to look for , and that ’ s where experienced and qualified instructors come in handy . They know where reliable , trustworthy , and peer reviewed information can be found , and they know when information is valid as opposed to opinion emanating from someone wearing an undersized , gravy-stained t-shirt sitting in their parents ’ basement with an internet connection and mushrooms growing between their toes . Instructors also know what is expected of an engineer in real-world , professional environments and can guide the student in the right direction to a potentially prosperous career .
Quality of Understanding It is also becoming more and more important to have some prior knowledge of the signal chain , acoustics , and the proper use of microphones before applying for work in a proper recording studio . In another era , studios spent time developing in-house engineering staff over the course of a number of years . Due to a number of factors , including shrinking budgets and turnaround times , this is , by and large , no longer the case . It is expensive and time-consuming to bring someone up through the ranks over an extended period of time . After all , time is money , especially in the recording world . The faster an apprentice engineer can take on the responsibilities of running a full-blown session , which is why we pursue this career in the first place , the sooner that person can begin generating revenue for the studio – and him or herself .
Oh and yes , being a recording engineer is the greatest gig on the planet . Where else does one get paid to listen to and participate with musicians as they create their art ? Receiving proper training at an accredited school helps in getting you to that honoured place more quickly and more confidently .
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