Going to college for music

[sylcmyk+]

Well in the Fall of this year I'll be enrolling into college for the first time (freshmeat). I plan on going for music and art. For music I wanna work in those studios with all those nifty equipment to make music for myself and also for some people too. From what I gathered from the schools course it says :

32100: Synthesis and Sound Design I
Review of acoustics. Principles of voltage control systems. Subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis, matrix modulation, and sample playback synthesizers. Examination of both software and hardware synthesizers. Students create original sounds and music for synthesis and sound design projects throughout the semester. Students are assigned individual studio time. Prereq: Music 21800 or permission of the department. 3 hrs./wk.; 3 cr.



something like that would help me get out of the 8-bit universe. Any suggestions?

[DJ SymBiotiX]

Originally Posted by Paranoivm

Well in the Fall of this year I'll be enrolling into college for the first time (freshmeat). I plan on going for music and art. For music I wanna work in those studios with all those nifty equipment to make music for myself and also for some people too. From what I gathered from the schools course it says :

32100: Synthesis and Sound Design I
Review of acoustics. Principles of voltage control systems. Subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis, matrix modulation, and sample playback synthesizers. Examination of both software and hardware synthesizers. Students create original sounds and music for synthesis and sound design projects throughout the semester. Students are assigned individual studio time. Prereq: Music 21800 or permission of the department. 3 hrs./wk.; 3 cr.



something like that would help me get out of the 8-bit universe. Any suggestions?

ok... I think I just came like a billion times.... <_< I wish I could go there.

[noisy doll☆]

Take music theory and piano! I'm also majoring in music in college (percussion) and the general classes they've been making me take are helping so much already. Even if you don't choose to stick to the style of music that they have you learn about in theory, it's better to know the rules first before you branch out and break them. And piano will help a lot too because it's one of the faster ways to express a musical thought. Familiarity with the keyboard and some good muscle memory of scales and chords will help you put down your ideas on paper and let other people hear them quickly so you can discuss them.

Good luck! XD

[aether]

I'm going to play the devil's advocate here, but ...

What do you want from this? Where do you see yourself in five years?

If you see yourself composing as a professional, and you're willing to take the long, and painful trek up there, then by all means, go for it.

While I have every faith that your passion will take you great lengths, there's always that more general foundation and breadth of skills that can be applied in more ways than once. For me, that came in the form of marketing and business school.

Right now, I have an industry project with a local orchestra doing a marketing plan, and a practicum with a website similar to Soundclick or Acidplanet, called Project Opus (http://www.projectopus.com).

My dream is also to compose, but the stuff I've learnt, the people I've met, and the networks I've opened up ... I don't know if I could have done that at a music school.

If anything, I encourage you to take a business planning course and attend a networking seminar. I'm not sure how your instructors will be, but if they're anything like mine, they'll teach you how to critical think things though (understand the ins and outs of how businesses work, including music) and how to jump around and start talking to people.

Sorry if that's long-winded, and not what you were looking for, but I used to be in your position and now I'm very glad I was convinced otherwise. But it may work differently for you.

[noisy doll☆]

As much as I don't want to admit it, since I also feel pretty strongly about my career choice, you do need to learn other things besides music, and not just so you can have a "just in case" job. I'm double-majoring in music and East Asian Studies (should have mentioned this last time x_x), and could easily get a job as a translator or an English teacher abroad, but having the general education requirements from the main university instead of just attending the music conservatory helped me a lot, I think.

At the acting program, they often advocate the "I'm an actor and ____" route, so I'm guessing that goes for music as well.

[DJ SymBiotiX]

yea I kinda agree actually.

Right now I am in a Computer Science Honors program. Once I graduate, I am planning on getting a sound engineering degree. Personally I think that will help me get in to gaming which is what I want to do. I can program, I can sound engineer.. 2 things is better than one!

[aether]

Haha, but don't let what we have to say discourage you.

Think about it this way: it's not a 'backup plan'. Think of it as another way to get to music.

Study JUST music and you'll be out digging around for gigs, and scrounging for cash ... and you're stuck with the same resources for God knows how long.

Have something else as a profession, and you can make killer cash, buy whatever you want, but at the sacrifice for music time.

Or you can do something where you can tackle a different aspect of music, make killer cash, and then do more music later on. That's sort of where I want to go.

Hmm ..

Review of acoustics. Principles of voltage control systems. Subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis, matrix modulation, and sample playback synthesizers. Examination of both software and hardware synthesizers. Students create original sounds and music for synthesis and sound design projects throughout the semester.

Haha, not trying to scare you, but that sounds like FruityLoops to me .. you know? I think a recording or production education might be more useful to you ... more music theory, and stuff along that path. But creating sounds is what we do .. ^^;;

[DjMeas]

Think about it this way: it's not a 'backup plan'. Think of it as another way to get to music.

Study JUST music and you'll be out digging around for gigs, and scrounging for cash ... and you're stuck with the same resources for God knows how long.

Have something else as a profession, and you can make killer cash, buy whatever you want, but at the sacrifice for music time.

That's what i plan to do as well. Try to become a Registered Nurse and then work on music in my spare time.

Finding something else to go along with your musical studies is a fantastic idea.

[sylcmyk+]

Originally Posted by etherstyle

Haha, but don't let what we have to say discourage you.

Think about it this way: it's not a 'backup plan'. Think of it as another way to get to music.

Study JUST music and you'll be out digging around for gigs, and scrounging for cash ... and you're stuck with the same resources for God knows how long.

Have something else as a profession, and you can make killer cash, buy whatever you want, but at the sacrifice for music time.

Or you can do something where you can tackle a different aspect of music, make killer cash, and then do more music later on. That's sort of where I want to go.

Hmm ..



Haha, not trying to scare you, but that sounds like FruityLoops to me .. you know? I think a recording or production education might be more useful to you ... more music theory, and stuff along that path. But creating sounds is what we do .. ^^;;

oh i see... so I would this be more like a recording or production education?

32701: Multi-Track Production Techniques I
Ancillary class to Music 32700. Advanced concepts and application of dynamic processing. Patch bay construction and configurations. Recording session procedures and documentation. Setting up talkback and headphone mixes for a recording session. Prereq: Music 32600. Coreq: Music 32700. 3 hrs./wk.; 3 cr.

and im not really good with Fruityloops (at all), but thanks for help so far guys :3

[jihnsius]

If melodic music is your thing, music theory will help a lot.

Although the studio does look really "fancy," I don't think it's anything to drool over. They have two big mixers, two keyboards (possibly synthesizers, but I doubt it), a few beat machines, a few compressors, a few amps, and a few receivers. All of these things can be accomplished with your average studio software, but there is the advantage of having a hardware compressor, which are generally more powerful than software compressors. It looks like a big recording studio, not a production studio.