<p>I am new to this site and this is my first time posting! I am currently finishing my basics at a community college in north texas and am interested in being a recording engineer. I have a deep passion for music and am extremely interested in the recording process. I have sat at barnes and noble for hours reading recording engineering books about different mic placement techniques haha. I began researching about how to become a recording engineer and have ran into some problems. I am a bedroom guitarist who loves to experiment with sounds but do not know much about music theory. I have taken a guitar class at my community college which dabbled in music theory but other than that i am limited. I was looking into UNT because i know they have a really good music program at their school. I was reading about having to give an audition, must be knowledgeable in music theory, and have experience in performing. Ive never had to give an audition musically in my life! As far as performing goes it is also very limited. Just when i have thought that i found out what i want to do with my life it seems like a hopeless dream. I was wondering how can i make this happen? I can see that UNT is very selective school as far as their music program goes and am a bit concerned about my ability to get it. It seems like the only way to get it was if i am a musical prodigy or have been studying music my whole life. I am very dedicated and have a strong will to learn. I was hoping to get some feedback from someone who has gone through this program or a program similar or anyone who has any advice for me!</p>
<p>Well at least you know what the high bar is for a music recording engineer major. Are you limited to go to college in your current area? If not, use the college search tools available on this website and others to look for other programs, and consider UNT a reach school since you sound like you don’t have the experience in playing to easily pass an audition. There is a big difference between a bedroom musician and one that can impress at an audition, but at least you know that. Hard work is a huge part of the equation, so perhaps you can apply your hard work to another college that will allow you to build those skills (music theory, ensemble experience, etc.). Good luck!</p>
<p>Recording engineers majors have to audition for music school??? I had no idea! My S auditioned at UNT (serious stuff there) and 3 other schools. At Belmont we heard a lot about the recording studio that they own that famous singers and groups use regularly. It’s a trek from you though (Nashville). I still don’t understand why you would have to audition and take theory…</p>
<p>I think the OP may be confused, I took at look at UNT’s website and as far as I can tell, they don’t offer recording engineering at all. I think the OP saw the requirements for the school of music (which for performance you would have to audition and so forth) and thought that would apply (if UNT even offered recording engineering, they don’t seem to). </p>
<p>I just did a brief whirlwind tour of music tech programs and such, and for example NYU’s music technology program requires an audition to show someone has basic musical ability, and it makes sense (and it looks like they continue lessons on an instrument or voice once admitted).Recording engineering programs like this are not like the trade schools that teach audio recording, it is a full discipline…among other things, I would guess programs like this are not to create techs sitting behind the board, but people who actually do things like lay out recording studios and help define/refine recording practices and such. </p>
<p>I can understand why you need things like music theory and solfege training to understand why things sound the way they do, and being able to play an instrument or sing means understanding what music is about from that end…without that, someone might be able to be a recording technician, but these programs are more then that from what I can tell.</p>
<p>@hawkrn: There are some recording programs that require auditions and others which do not. The Audio Engineering Society at aes.org offers a list of various programs. As musicprnt points out, there are differences in program focus and philosophy which may create different requirements. At the University of Hartford, for example, there are multiple Audio and Acoustics related majors, some of which are offered through the music school (Hartt) and which require an audition; others are offered through the Engineering School and do not require an audition.</p>