Music Production at Berklee??

[Evo 911]

Hi
Guys I am planning to enter the world of Music Production and Engineering. Right now I dont know much about the audio engineering and how to mix/master the tracks etc., but I have been noodling with the stuff for a while, and have found it quite interesting.

I am planning to eventually go to Berklee in a couple of years, but not yet because right now I dont think I am good enough to take full advantage of the place. Lots to learn, and lots to practice.

Initially my idea was to go for a major in performance and arrangement, but now I am leaning more and more towards MP&E. And I need the help of more experienced ppl here to guide me to the right path.

I have read almost all the threads on TB (and elsewhere) that include the word Berklee (!), and basically know whats it like out there, and whats it like after Berklee and stuff. But I couldnt find much information about MP&E other than that its extremely tough to get in and stay in.

So, in order to get ready for that, I am planning to take some Berkleemusic.com lessons. Now I am kind of split between three courses that they are offering:

1- Desktop Music Production for PC:
http://www.berkleemusic.com/school/c...ion&usca%5fp=t

2- Recording and Producing in Home Studio:
http://www.berkleemusic.com/school/c...sic_production

3- Producing Music with Cubase:
http://www.berkleemusic.com/school/c...sic_production

Now I understand that I am at a beginner's level, and option 1 is the best bet for me right now, but the trouble is that I can afford only one course. I cant do one and then do the next. Real tight on funds here. So I want to get the most out of it. With that in mind, I think I should go for option 3. Was wondering if I am making the right choice, or if not, why do u think so? Please discuss. Thanks!

[onlyclave]

Community college. It's a cheaper alternative to see if that's what really really want to do. If not you haven't gone into a huge amount of debt.

Lane Community College in Eugene, OR. has a great program. And the Music Theory profs are excellent.

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by Evo 911

3- Producing Music with Cubase:
http://www.berkleemusic.com/school/c...sic_production

I strongly advocate skipping any course that is centered on a single software application.

What you want from an audio education -- regardless of whether it's a college education or a School Of Hard Knocks learned-in-the-trenches education -- is the intuitive grasp of the overlying concepts that a software paradigm (and hence any similar application) is based on. That way 20 years from now when Cubase is long since discontinued, you'll be able to walk in to any recording studio and regardless of whether their DAW du jour is ProTools, Logic, Digital Performer, Steamy Buttwarmer 3.0, or whatever other software app comes along, you'll know how to operate it.

I'm sure Berklee offers an appropriate overview that takes this approach. Seek that class rather than the Cubase class. Just my 2¢.

[Evo 911]

@onlyclave: Dude check my location. I dont ill be coming halfway across the world for a community college, and we dont get any music colleges here.

Hoover: Dude u got a point here. I do understand that different sequencers have different tools and utilities built-in, but they are essentially the same thing give n take a few things. This way if I get a good handle on one software, I can pretty much work out almost any sequencer like Nuendo, SONAR, ProTools, etc. with little noodling.

As for your seggestion for an overview class, please check out option 1. Do you think its a good course to take up? Especially given that I can only take ONE course in this 5 years window?

[projectMalamute]

I looked at the syllabus. That class is a tremendous waste of time and money, you would be spending 1000 bucks for some handholding. If you want to learn about engineering in a general sense look at the free online classes available from MIT, if you want to learn how to do what that class is going to teach you just read the manuals.

[onlyclave]

Originally Posted by Evo 911

@onlyclave: Dude check my location. I dont ill be coming halfway across the world for a community college, and we dont get any music colleges here.

Dude, I don't know where Lahore is nor do I really care.

I guess in our post 9/11 paranoia here we won't be accepting any more foreign students at any community college and only Berklee will do for a MP&E program.

Hope you can pass the ear training courses. $$$

[Evo 911]

^^ :S Well for those who DO care, its in Pakistan. And given the post 9/11 paranoia u mentioned, I think its LEAST likely that someone from Pakistan would be admitted to a community college. Thanks for your support!

@Others: Well I suppose I ws a bit too modest up there. Thing is, I have been working on the MPE side for well over a year now, albeit on Audacity mainly, and am proficient enough on it to score a job at a major mobile multimedia content company here. But now I want to speed things up. Working things out on ur own takes wayy too much time, and I am kinda hitting dead ends here n there. I need professional help now. Would you please suggest a solution to that? Especially given my future goals and current job?

[projectMalamute]

Originally Posted by Evo 911

^^ :S Well for those who DO care, its in Pakistan. And given the post 9/11 paranoia u mentioned, I think its LEAST likely that someone from Pakistan would be admitted to a community college. Thanks for your support!

@Others: Well I suppose I ws a bit too modest up there. Thing is, I have been working on the MPE side for well over a year now, albeit on Audacity mainly, and am proficient enough on it to score a job at a major mobile multimedia content company here. But now I want to speed things up. Working things out on ur own takes wayy too much time, and I am kinda hitting dead ends here n there. I need professional help now. Would you please suggest a solution to that? Especially given my future goals and current job?

I would advise you to study engineering. Not one of these goofy how-to-operate-protools type classes but actual engineering. If you understand stuff like the sampling theorem, the Z transform, digital filter design, the wave equation, etc, etc, etc. it becomes clear that the material taught in the kind of classes you linked to is trivial.

Some good places to start:

for generic math, physics and electrical engineering look at the (free) online courses offered by MIT. These are the actual course lectures videotaped and made available for free.

for information on digital audio theory look in to some of the online materials available at Stanford University's CCRMA. Julius Orion Smith is a professor there who makes a wealth of information available on his homepage.

for information on techniques of digital synthesis look up Miller Puckette, he has a free online book called Theory and Techniques of Electronic Music. Great free information on the subject from one of the guys who wrote Max/MSP. I want to say he has a homepage at U Cal San Diego.

for practical information on the subject of recording techniques I'd start by lurking at some forums, you can learn a lot at the TapeOp and Electrical Audio messageboards, as well as at Gearslutz.

good luck

[Evo 911]

^^Now THATs what im asking for!! Thnx a lot man, u rule!!

Plz keep more suggestions coming in.

[Evo 911]

Some good links wont hurt either!