You are on page 1of 3

Start working with sound equipment:

Ad
Become a Sound Engineer Step 2.jpg
2
Select a school that teaches you what you want to know. Something like LA Record
ing Workshop if you want recording, or even your local community college might h
ave a theater or music program with a concentration in sound.
If you can't go to a school, or are too young for college, go to a recording stu
dio or local theater (not a movie theater, a live action theater) and try to mak
e friends with the sound crew. Tell them you're interested in what they do, and
ask if you can hang out and watch them work.
Become a Sound Engineer Step 3.jpg
3
Pick up the Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook. Read it. Later, when you gain m
ore experience, read it again.
Become a Sound Engineer Step 4.jpg
4
Become familiar with different kinds of sound gear, do research on the internet,
check out the websites of sound companies.
Become a Sound Engineer Step 5.jpg
5
Learn to use different audio editing software, including ProTools, Cubase, Reaso
n, Digital Performer, Live, or Logic. Several of these products have free demos
available.
When you see a concert getting set up, find someone who looks like they know wha
t they are doing and ask if they need help setting up. Tell them that you are in
terested in working for them, and get their contact information
Become a Sound Engineer Step 6.jpg
6
Get familiar with lots of different types of music, and know what it should soun
d like.
Ad

We could really use your help!


Can you help us
rate articles?
YesNo
Can you tell us about
estate planning?
YesNo
Can you tell us about
reference requests?
YesNo
Can you tell us about
shoulder holsters?
YesNo
Tips
Research local sound companies and studios in your area and offer to work for fr
ee to gain practical experience
Protect your ears. Invest in a good pair of ear plugs (preferably with adjustabl
e attenuation). If you can't spring for $100 ear plugs, disposable ones will wor
k. Keep them with you at all times and never go to a concert without them.
It would certainly help to be an electrical engineer, but it's not always necess
ary.
Going to a school is the best way to get ahead in this business. It will give yo

u a solid foundation on which to build your real world experience. Make sure you
check out different schools though, and go to the one that is right for you. Do
n't be afraid to ask questions about what you'll be learning. You're paying for
your education, you should know exactly what you're going to get.
Project studio equipment is becoming ever more affordable, and better in quality
. Once it was highly unusual for anyone to have a studio at home: now it is comm
onplace. Only a few years ago, affordable equipment couldn't compete in terms of
sound quality with pro gear: now it can be every bit as good. So why is there s
till such a thing as a commercial studio, a studio that is available to everyone
for hire at an hourly or daily rate? Why doesn't everyone record in the comfort
of their own home?
Terms such as "audio technician", "sound technician", "audio engineer", "audio t
echnologist", "sound mixer" and "sound engineer" can be ambiguous; depending on
the context they may be synonymous, or they may refer to slightly different role
s in audio production. Such terms can refer to a person working in sound and mus
ic production, as well as to technicians who design professional equipment for t
hese tasks.
The second, and most important, justification for the continued existence of com
mercial studios is that they become centers of professionalism and expertise. If
a studio has good equipment and good acoustics, and every other possible factor
is favorable, then the best artists will want to record there and they will bri
ng with them the best engineers and producers. Assistant engineers employed by t
he studio will therefore learn directly from the best possible tutors and go on
to be the top engineers and producers of the future. Feedback from the studio's
clients will allow the owner or manager to fine-tune the equipment provision, an
d other facilities, to the precise requirements of their clientele. Compare this
with the enthusiastic and talented musician who sets up a home project studio w
ith equipment bought on the advice of a dealer and then learns how to record by
the slow process of trial and error. Yes, you can get amazing results this way,
and the isolation a home studio imposes can in a way encourage its own kind of c
reativity, but this kind of self-tuition can never beat an apprenticeship with t
he masters of the craft.
In this series I hope to explain how to set about becoming an engineer in a comm
ercial studio. The things you will eventually need to know include just about ev
erything you will read in Sound On Sound's Technique features, but what I would
like to do is concentrate on the bare essentials -- the knowledge that will get
you into the studio in the first place, and up and running as an effective assis
tant engineer before too long. The rest you will pick up along the way. You will
see the engineer connect the equipment in a certain manner, then when you have
some spare time you can check out your library of back issues of Sound On Sound
to learn the details. And while you are learning about the equipment, most impor
tantly, you will be learning about sound and music itself, and how to work with
producers and musicians. Not everyone, however technically capable, is cut out t
o be a recording engineer, and being able to interact effectively with the peopl
e who actually create the music is a skill that can only be learned by doing the
job.
An audio engineer is someone with experience and training in the production and
manipulation of sound through mechanical or electronic means. As a professional
title, this person is sometimes designated as a sound engineer or recording engi
neer instead. A person with one of these titles is commonly listed in the credit
s of many commercial music recordings (as well as in other productions that incl
ude sound, such as movies)
There are several answers to these questions. One might be that a project calls
for a large number of musicians and you can't fit them all into your own studio.
Or perhaps you need to use the acoustics of a large room to capture a better so
und. These are very valid reasons and difficult to argue with. But I think there
are other reasons why commercial studios, even though some might be struggling
a little during the current project studio boom, will always be a valuable resou
rce for the recording musician. The first is that a purpose-designed space is al
ways going to be a better productivity tool than a converted bedroom. There is o

nly so much equipment you can fit into a four-by-three-meter room, and even thou
gh you might install tie lines to another part of the house or flat that has bet
ter acoustics for recording acoustic instruments and vocals, you are always goin
g to have to compromise between the requirements of the studio and those of ever
yday domestic life. If the sound leaking from your studio annoys the neighbors,
you will have other worries to contend with too.
Ad

Warnings
When you're at a studio or theater, make sure you're quiet and respectful. Those
people are there doing a job, and they might get in trouble if you're doing som
ething that draws attention to yourself. Don't touch anything unless you're told
to, and wear darker clothes if you're going to be in a theater when there's a s
how.
However, if you are thinking about working as a Sound Engineer in a recording st
udio,go right ahead a go with your dreams. An audio engineer for recording makes
, at the absolute top, perhaps $60/hr, but the average will be closer to $40/hr
There are lots of jobs for recording engineers, anywhere, that pay a decent wage
.
Take the above "warning" with a grain of salt. It's true that a large chunk of t
he multimillion dollar studios are closed or struggling, but if anything there i
s more music being released to the public these days - and it's not all from bas
ement studios.
The trick for today's studios is not creating too much overhead, keeping costs m
ore competitive. Your best bet is to open your own project studio, really. It he
lps to go in on it with another person. Instead of paying for school, put that t
owards equipment. You can learn everything you need to know from books, internet
, and networking. And yes, be prepared to do plenty of free work to get experien
ce. Many studios have apprenticeship programs. If you want to do live sound, get
started in a local venue. Talk to the sound guy.
Related wikiHows
How to
Create Website Audio
How to
Record Sound Produced by Your Sound Card
How to
Become a Mechanical Engineer
How to
Become a Software Engineer
Sources and Citations
Free Audio Articles - Awesome website for free audio advice and tips.

You might also like