Music Engineering Technology

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Miami - Florida
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<p>Hey, I'm only a sophomore in high school, but I can't help but look at college stuff and UMiami is probably my favorite option right now. I was wondering how hard or easy it is to get into the the music engineering technology program at UMiami. Do you need to be working with music production stuff before you even get there or is just regular instrumental education fine?</p>

<p>My GPA is a 5.2 in my school, but they do the GPA weird. to compare it, an A- is a 4.3, A is 4.5, and A+ is 4.7. Add a whole point for each subject if it is honors, and another 0.2 onto that if it is honors AP.</p>

<p>I haven't taken the SAT's yet, but I have taken the PSAT's, and my scores were a 59 for critical reading, 69 for math, and 68 for writing.</p>

<p>I do cross country and indoor and outdoor track at my school, and I am varsity in all of them. I also do Boy Scouts outside of school.</p>

<p>How would I do if I applied for this program???</p>

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<p>My son recently received his acceptance into the Music Engineering Technology major at Miami. Admission is very competitive, so you are smart to start thinking about it now. I think they accept fewer than 20 freshmen a year. Your GPA looks good, since it’s over an A+. It’s also good that your highest PSAT was in math. We were told that they like to see 700+ on the math section of the SAT I. Ideally, you should have a good critical reading score too. My son had 750 math, 760 critical reading. (Miami says it doesn’t use the writing score) As far as already doing production stuff, whatever you can do within your realm of possibility to show your interest and ability would be a good idea. My son set up a garage recording studio using a laptop computer, a GuitarPort (feeds guitar directly into computer), an inexpensive usb microphone, and a Yamaha keyboard. There is some free recording software that you can download on the internet, like Audacity. As part of the application to the program you can provide a link to a public site where you upload samples of music you recorded. My son has similar extracurriculars plus orchestra. GOOD LUCK!</p>

3

<p>Oh, forgot to mention the most important part. You will have zero chance of acceptance into the Music Engineering Technology (MUE) major if you can’t pass the audition that all Frost School of Music applicants must complete. Check out the requirements for your instrument at: [School</a> of Music Admissions](<a href=“http://www.music.miami.edu/admission/audition.html]School”>http://www.music.miami.edu/admission/audition.html). For MUE, you would need to play from the non-performance major repertoire, and play it well, by January of your senior year in high school. When we visited the Frost School last August, we were advised that it is much better to audition on campus (which my son did) so that the instructors can meet you.</p>

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<p>Thank you for the information. Unfortunately, I don’t even have the money to buy any of that stuff, which I guess will be a problem, unless I can find a job relatively soon. I play trumpet, would that be bad that I can’t play guitar or piano, or does it not really matter? If I need to learn another instrument, I guess it would be best to start ASAP.</p>

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<p>I would think that the trumpet should be fine, since they show a trumpet repertoire for the audition. It would probably be better to stick with your current instrument rather than trying to get up to the level needed for the audition in the relatively short time between now and the auditions during your senior year. You can email the Frost School of Music admissions office to check (but I would wait a month or so, until they aren’t so buried with the current admissions cycle).</p>

<p>As far as not being able to buy equipment for recording, that’s OK as there are other alternatives. You just need to be able to describe in your application what you’ve done to show you are passionate about learning music technology. For example, does your school or community have drama or musical groups that put on performances? Find out who does the sound for those performances and see if you can volunteer to learn and help out. Also, lots of performances are being videotaped these days, so that’s another area where you can volunteer. I know that your academics, sports and music must take up most of your time, but if you can carve out some time to volunteer and learn music technology it would really help your chances of acceptance. </p>

<p>Visiting the college campus while you are in high school also helps to show that you are interested. When you visit, try to make appointments to talk to a professor in the music technology department - they love to show you the equipment and it will make you even more excited about the program. It also helps to meet with an admissions person. If you can’t make it to Miami, check out the website of the Audio Engineering Society. [AES</a> Sections Worldwide](<a href=“http://www.aes.org/sections/]AES”>AES Sections Worldwide)</p>

<p>If you click on the name of the region, it will show you a list of student sections by school, meaning those colleges probably have audio engineering degrees. You should also be aware that audition requirements vary by program. My son applied to 6 music industry/audio technology programs and only the Miami program required an audition. Another source of info about schools is the MEIEA site: [MEIEA</a> MEMBER INSTITUTIONS](<a href=“http://www.meiea.org/schools.html]MEIEA”>http://www.meiea.org/schools.html).</p>

<p>There are lots of opportunities & lots of alternatives!</p>

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<p>Hi SoCalMom, my son is currently a junior and is also interested in becoming a Sound/Audio Engineer. He is looking at UMiami as well as a few other schools that we have had great pains to find. Thanks for the links above. We had been working with the AES Society’s Education page but I see that more links need to be checked out…oh boy…</p>

<p>We are also in SoCal, and I was wondering if your son also received any financial incentive to attend UMiami?</p>

<p>My son has been doing sound mixing for about 4 years now at church. All of his experience has been live, not recorded. His experience is on a state of the art board, Yamaha brand, (the local recording studio that professionals use is a slightly smaller board, same version/series as the one at church). We are in the process of seeing if we can somehow get into that professional studio for more experience this summer, internship or gopher…</p>

<p>I’m not sure about that audition…my son has played piano, formal lessons for a few years, currently plays guitar (rock style and praise and worship style) which he taught himself, and has sung in a school play, but has had no formal instruction. I feel like piano is his best shot, but at the moment we only have an electronic keyboard at home. When he was a young child, he played recorder in band. The instructor urged us to get him into piano because he is blessed with perfect pitch and although he plays piano he doesn’t give lessons. We were given a piano for a few years and he took lessons then. We are in the same boat as the student above, we do not have funds to invest in a bunch of lessons on any instrument. He is enrolling in a piano lab class at school next year and I have heard wonderful things about the instructor. I hope they are true because that should help my son. So what advice would you have for my son? And what part of that audition was scariest for you all? (We will find a way to have him audition in FL.)</p>

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<p>Hi AtomicGirl:</p>

<p>We started looking at music industry/technology programs about this time last year and from starting then to getting the acceptance letters has been quite a process. Lots and lots of online research and emailing. (but it would have helped if I had known about college confidential from the start!)</p>

<p>Regarding financial incentives at Miami (UM). I don’t know about need-based aid there, since we weren’t eligible, but they are very generous with merit based scholarships! My son received the $24,000/yr University Scholarship which is described on UM’s New Freshmen scholarship page. He also received a $5,000/yr scholarship from the Frost School of Music. It appears that they are based primarily on GPA & test scores. My son has a 3.72UW/4.12W GPA and 1510 SAT for math & critical reading. (Miami says they don’t use the writing score) If you scan some of the posts for UM admissions, you can kind of estimate the scores needed for the various scholarships shown on UM’s scholarship page. Also, when we visited UM last summer and met with the Frost admissions director, my son’s math SAT was 690. We were told that they like to see the math a little higher than that for Music Engineering.</p>

<p>I think the best way to decide if your son can successfully complete the audition is to look at the repertoire on the Frost School of Music’s admissions section.[Frost</a> School of Music - University of Miami](<a href=“http://www.music.miami.edu/admissions_keyboard_a_re.html]Frost”>http://www.music.miami.edu/admissions_keyboard_a_re.html) If by next January you think he will be able to play the pieces under the “All Other Majors” section, then he should be OK for the audition. But he needs to play them well, and by memory. </p>

<p>My son wouldn’t say what part about the audition was scary, but I think for him it was probably less scary than an interview. He said he realized he had to think about playing well vs thinking “don’t mess-up”. For me, it was torture not being in the room (although I could hear through the door a little) and worrying about the disappointment if he had a bad performance (he didn’t). The professors stopped him a few minutes into his last piece and then spent the rest of the time asking him about his personal music (guitar) and academics. The absolute worst torture was waiting at home, weeks later, for word on acceptance. I kept thinking about how you could invest so much (in effort, financially & emotionally) and then still be disappointed. But then I realized that with a program like Music Engineering at UM (very selective), if you don’t put forth a lot of effort, you have little chance of succeeding. </p>

<p>My suggestion is to ask lots of questions - via email or on campus visits. Department or Music school admissions directors and professors for the recording/audio program are the best to ask. </p>

<p>Your son sounds like he has some great hands-on experience. Much more than my son. (make sure to work in the part about perfect pitch somewhere in essays/interviews) He might be a good candidate for the Recording Arts program at Indiana University Bloomington. They are very selective also and require an interview but no audition. BTW, my son wasn’t accepted into that program, I think maybe he wasn’t “outgoing” enough - their website specifically mentions “outgoing”. In So Cal, Loyola Marymount has a recording arts major within their School of Film and Television. They offered a $18,400/yr merit scholarship. USC has a technology specialization within their Music Industry program in the Thornton School of Music. My son wasn’t accepted into that program (although he was accepted into USC but offered $0 in scholarships) A number of the Cal State Universities have music industry/recording arts programs, however, with the budget crisis we steered away from them. If your son has REALLY high scores & GPA, Stanford has an audio arts program (arts supplement to Common App, no audition, no interview). But it looks to me like you need a near perfect SAT, high GPA and maybe the ability to walk on water to get in there. </p>

<p>You have probably id’s lots of schools through the AES site and the MEIEA site will also help. I would avoid any school that’s not a 4-yr university. I overheard conversations while at Indiana U that companies in the industry won’t even talk to you if don’t have a bachelor’s. (and that the trade schools are expensive and a waste of money) You might also check out the Audio Technology curriculum at American University [Audio</a> Technology Degree Programs & Information | American University, Washington, DC](<a href=“http://www.american.edu/cas/performing-arts/audio-tech.cfm]Audio”>http://www.american.edu/cas/performing-arts/audio-tech.cfm). (they also offered $29,000/yr merit scholarship)</p>

<p>If I think of other school suggestions I will post again!</p>

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<p>Thank You so much for all your ideas. I really appreciate them. </p>

<p>First off, thanks for confirming to us what we suspected - that a four year program was the way to go. We have been only pursuing that since we felt that it was the only way to show that you were truly committed. </p>

<p>Unfortunately for us financial concerns are high for us - hence my question. Hubby has been out of work for over 2 years and we have been living off what we had saved for colleges. UMiami would only be possible with very generous aid. We have been reluctant to pursue the Cal State system for the reasons you mention, but Dominguez Hills has an excellent program and is affordable for us. It’s not too far from us, albeit in a horrible area, which will make it possible for him to come home weekends. The (paid) sound guy at church has told him he will be able to put anything he’d like into practice when he’s there, but to go where he needs to.</p>

<p>Kudos to you for covering so much ground in so little time. Did you end up visiting some of these schools in the summer? I just don’t know how we will fit in visits during the school year.</p>

<p>One more question about the audition…Did they make him site read? My son felt he could, without problem, learn all of those audition pieces and memorize them, but he plays a lot by ear, which is good and bad. His piano teacher was trying to get him to be better at site-reading and rely less on “by-ear” but I don’t think they got far. Typically he got a piece of music and played poorly until he “heard” it in his head, then was fine. That of course works poorly for playing it once…</p>

<p>We did check out the audition page and they do not mention site-reading for piano but do mention it for drums.</p>

<p>Thanks so much for your time :)</p>

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<p>Anyway you look at it, college is a major investment, but sounds like it is even worse for your family right now. All I can say is to repeat what we heard at workshops on how to pay for college, and that was “Don’t eliminate a college because you think you can’t afford it.” They said that if you like a college, you should apply to it and if you get accepted, you might be surprised at what they can do for you with financial aid. Worst case, you are out the cost of the application. If you go to the fafsa.gov website, you can fill out the FAFSA and get a report on your “expected family contribution”. It is a federal gov’t service that is free. You can fill out the real FAFSA, just don’t send it to any schools. That will give you an idea of how much financial aid you might get from colleges. Most colleges use the FAFSA to calculate need-based financial aid (which is different from merit-based scholarships, for which you don’t need to show financial need). The difference between your expected family contribution and the “cost of attendance” for the college is the maximum you might get in need-based financial aid. Most colleges show their estimated cost of attendance somewhere on their website. Colleges will not necessarily offer you that full amount, but some do. Also, I think some make their own calculation and might offer you more aid than the FAFSA calculated. I don’t know how merit scholarships, such as those that Miami offers, affect need-based financial aid. That would be a good question for a financial aid office. Your son could apply to both Miami and Dominguez Hills and if he gets accepted to both, decide based on finances. In any case, because the music technology majors are so competitive, it’s a good idea to apply to half a dozen or so.</p>

<p>Last summer we visited Drexel, Carnegie Mellon, Syracuse and Miami. We also visited American, George Washington, and Georgetown over 2009 spring break. We didn’t visit any during the school year, with academics, music & sports. Many private schools track “demonstrated interest” and use that when evaluating a student’s admission app. That means, visits and other contacts such as emails, letters, and phone calls. Generally, the larger the college, the less likely they track it. Syracuse definitely tracks (they have the Bandier Program for the music industry) and I think American University (Audio Technology) and Miami also track (but maybe less formally than Syracuse). If you Google “common data set” for a college you may be able to get the info on whether they track. It’s in the matrix that shows how important individual elements are for admission evaluations. If you don’t think you can make visits because of time and money considerations, I would start emailing questions to both admissions people (overall university and school of music, if applicable) and to professors in the major. Let them know that you can’t visit but are interested in their program. </p>

<p>I think at Miami the audition requirements depend on the instrument, since the professors who will be teaching you on your instrument conduct the audition. My son says that there was no sight reading for violin. </p>

<p>Good luck on your quest! You have quite a year ahead of you. I’m happy to share what I’ve learned, seems like it would be a shame to just forget all these details without someone else getting some benefit.</p>

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<p>We haven’t crossed off any programs because of cost. We have been trying to find the best fit for my son. With my D we have a list of the best schools to work from, but we don’t have any direction for my S that way. My son has been looking at the recording studios to ascertain how current their equipment is and how much they’ve invested in their hardware to try to ascertain the “best” school. But trying to find photos of the rooms and/or equipment lists at most schools has been difficult. If we visit the colleges, he wants to be able to get into a studio or 2. I’m not sure we can do that in the summer.</p>

<p>Thank You for all your advice it’s a blessing to us :)</p>

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<p>We were able to see a lot on our summer visits, including recording studios. It’s surprising how much is going on during the summer at some campuses. We went in August, when most of the schools were not too far away from fall classes starting. I don’t know if that made a difference.</p>

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<p>I have been accepted into UM’s Music Engineering program for Fall 2010 and thought I could give some perspective on the matter.</p>

<p>Music Engineering at UM is very selective. It’s also one of the best (if not the best) programs in the country and also one of the most well known in the industry. The way UM differs from most other programs in the field is they concentrate on not only the engineering side, but the performance side as well. So you’ll need to pass the performance audition.</p>

<p>I don’t you’ll be penalized if you have no studio experience. I’m sure it’s helpful but I’m sure they wouldn’t cut you from consideration because its not listed on their site as a requirement.</p>

<p>My audition was a little different from what people would expect. I had a live audition scheduled but it was cancelled due to snow. So I ended up sending in a CD. I kept in constant contact with the viola professor and I think that helped a lot. So obviously a live audition is preferred, but not required. </p>

<p>Also when it comes to SAT scores, none of mine were over 700. My highest was reading, but I did get a 5 on the AP Calc AB exam (maybe that outweighed my not 700+ math score?)</p>

<p>Also with regards to the financial aid questions: UM helped me the most with financial assistance. All combined grants and scholarships (from the university, frost school, and the government) I was offered more than the full cost of tuition. So if you need the help, I’m sure you can find it.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the helpful hints. I’m trying to get a feel for what he will actually need to be accepted. If they truly focus on both performance and engineering then it may not be the right school for him. He is a gifted musician, but not a concert grade in any one instrument. He plays guitar, piano and a bit of drums. A jack of all trades, but master of none. He can also sing. He can learn all that is needed for the audition, it’s just if they give him a piece of music to site-read, he will be at a disadvantage. He may not shine musically in the audition, but he is very personable and outgoing. He is well liked by most that know him. He should do well in an interview and is passionate about recording.</p>

<p>This summer he will be mixing a praise band from church on CD. We hope to get that uploaded to youtube and be available to place a link on applications. They are a younger band, but he may also have the opportunity to record an older band if they can find a replacement bass player. These bands would have different styles of playing and music, so it would be cool. The older band may get the opportunity to get into a professional studio. The lead guitarist knows my son and wants to get him involved.</p>

<p>My son’s grades are not 4.0 type of thing, more 3.5. So I’m worried that the FA will not come to him. Especially for UMiami, he would need it, without it we can not possibly afford for him to go there, it’s just too expensive. He has a sister going to college 2 years later, so I can’t spend all the money on him.</p>

<p>OhJeremy, you and the son of the above poster should be in the same classes, I hope you get to meet. And if my S is lucky, he’ll join you two in a year! I’d love to hear how you decided that UMiami was for you and how you ascertained that UMiami was so well thought of in terms of its program. We have not been able to find any lists of “best programs” for Audio Engineering/Recording Arts.</p>

<p>Thanks again for your post!</p>

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<p>ohjeremy congrats on getting into MUE! Hopefully we will see you there in August (although we probably won’t know if we do see you). Great to hear someone else’s perspective.</p>

<p>AtomicGirl, you and your son should seriously look into Indiana University Bloomington’s (IU) Recording Arts program. (not that you should give up on Miami) He sounds like he would be a great candidate for their program. Not only because he has lots of technical experience, but because he is a musician AND is very outgoing. The Indiana website specifically says that they are looking for outgoing people and that they have a strong preference for musicians, but that it’s not required. You would pretty much have to go to the campus for an interview (no audition required), but it would be a great opportunity to see the school. It’s a beautiful campus and the town has a great college town atmosphere. The recording arts program is within the Jacobs School of Music, which by some accounts is one of the top ten music schools in the country. If you watch the old movie Breaking Away, it might get your son interested in the school. We were there in February, in the middle of a snowstorm and loved the campus. It was actually my son’s second choice (Miami was first), but he didn’t get accepted into the program. (he got into IU, but not the recording arts major) I’m thinking he didn’t make the cut because he isn’t outgoing enough. We went on a tour given by some Recording Arts students and they were all quite personable and outgoing. The facilities were quite impressive and apparently, the students get hands on experience from their first semester recording some of the 1,100 performances that the music school has each year. Oh yes, almost forgot, IU is a public school, so the costs are lower than a private. They are estimating total costs of about $36,000/yr out-of-state vs $55,000 for Miami. My son received a $9,000/yr merit scholarship from IU, don’t know how they are on need-based aid.</p>

15

<p>I looked on their website for that part about being outgoing and couldn’t find it :(. We would still need FA with that OOS tuition. We estimate that we can spend at most, (for tuition, room and board) 25K. We’re in that really weird gap for FA, I think. No real job - husband has been substitute teaching when he can - but we have some assets - those we saved to send kiddos to college that we are living off of. So my feeling is that we will not qualify for FA, especially if the college looks at home equity. We’ve lived in our home long enough to have equity, but with no job, no way of getting to it. We still are not crossing off any schools because of that, but the reality is we have to have some safety schools, tuitionwise. My understanding is that state schools have need based funds for in-state, not OOS. Oh well, we just keep searching…it’s not hopeless, just hard to find schools and trying to find the right fit, but we are motivated. </p>

<p>We actually found a few schools in IL and IN that are interesting that we should be able to afford. A couple of Christian colleges, one has launched a couple of big names bands and it seems you get hands on classes freshman year at one of them. I see a BIG summer vacation visiting colleges - and too much driving for my taste.</p>

<p>I’ll have to check that movie Breaking Away, I’ve never heard of it… My S thinks school in Miami would be great, weather close to what we have here. He should have thought of that when he didn’t try his hardest in some classes in high school…</p>

<p>Thanks again for your input :)</p>

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<p>Miami does not count home equity. We are in a similar situation, no real income, yet living off home equity loan. Miami gave us great FA!</p>

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<p>Not easy to find, but the part about being outgoing is in the FAQ for the Department of Recording Arts at IU: [url=<a href=“http://www.music.indiana.edu/department/audio/faq.shtml]FAQ[/url”>http://www.music.indiana.edu/department/audio/faq.shtml]FAQ[/url</a>]. Question #3, “What are you looking for in a Recording Arts applicant”, paragraph #3.</p>

<p>I can confirm that Miami doesn’t look at home equity. The only financial info that they got from us was the FAFSA and that does not ask questions about home equity.</p>

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<p>Thank You for giving me that link! It was useful in all areas.</p>

<p>And thanks both of you for letting me know that Miami doesn’t look at home equity. There is hope!</p>