Schools with good recording programs

[Shields]

I'm looking into schools, specifically schools west of the Mississippi with good recording programs. If any of you guys knew of anything, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks.

[Professor]

Visit the Audio Engineering Society at www.aes.org
Then click on the "Education" tab at the right.
Then on the "Directory Listing" link.

You'll find a list of every school in the world that teaches audio broken down by region of the world and level of degree program.

And not to burst your bubble right off the bat, but if you are thinking that just going off to a recording school, regardless of how good the program is, means that you'll graduate from the program and be snapped up by eager studios who will want you to record rock & roll for major artists and labels then I'm afraid you may not like the current job prospects in that regard.
And no, building your own studio isn't too big of an option either.
I suggest to most students who ask me about recording schools that they get a hold of copies of Pro Sound News magazine since it is among the only trade magazines that posts job listings. Then also do searches for recording jobs at places like www.Monster.com or www.hotjobs.com and other job-search sites. Also go back to the AES website and click the "Sections" tab and find your way to the local websites for the NYC, Philly, LA, San Francisco, Nashville, and other AES local sections since many of those sites have job posting boards.
Take a look at the jobs employers are posting and the requirements they have to get the jobs. That will tell you what else you'll need to learn while you're in school if you hope to work in the audio field afterwards.
You might notice that skills in marketing & sales are kinda highly prized. Also skills in programming, DSP, imbedded systems, and other digital equipment design is very highly prized. Experience with video, TV, and film synchronization, broadcast & telecommunications equipment, and networking equipment can open doors for you as well.

That's not to say that there aren't jobs for recording rock & roll at big fancy studios. There are. But they are few and far between, and there are lots of people who want them. Extra knowledge will help you stand out from the crowd, and an open mind towards the broader career possibilities in audio engineering (not just music recording) can keep you working in the field while other guys are slinging coffee at More-bucks waiting for their unpaid "inter nship" at some semi-pro local studio to somehow turn into a full-time job mixing multi-platinum albums.

Other than that - it's a great gig.

-Jeremy

[nesta]

Professor really nailed the ins and outs of this.

I might only suggest that if you pursue this as a scholastic endeavor to try and go to a school and get a degree in electrical engineering (or something else closely related) and a minor or a focus in audio.

I know you said west of the Miss. but the only schools I know like this are east, one school for example, the University of Miami has a decent recording school especially if you were to supplement it with a degree in EE or something else.

You should always be able to find work with a decent engineering degree and if you focus on digital technology and can get familiar with broadcast television technology in the process you could always supplement your audio knowledge with the potential to "fall-back" on another line of work (ie. work in a post house as either an audio engineer or as in an in house tech.) Again, refer to Professor's post above regarding the knowledge you'll have to familarize yourself with.

This is just my suggestion and should be taken with a grain of salt but I hope it helps. At any rate, good luck.

[cgarges]

for example, the University of Miami has a decent recording school especially if you were to supplement it with a degree in EE or something else.

Just so you know, UM requires calculus as a prerequisite (at least they used to) and the MUE degree is much more closely related to an EE degree than most other schools' Audio Recording degrees. There is plently of time and plenty of outlets for students to learn first hand onm the equipment there, but the primary focus of the degree is being able to trouble-shoot. They also have a seperate Music Business degree, which may be helpful to you as well. One of the more successful recording engineers I know form UM actually has his degree in Music Business.

In my opinion, it's an excellent school with a well-deserved reputation. They don't generally graduate slackers, like many other schools tend to. Some people, I'm sure, would consider me an exception, although I was a Studio Music and Jazz (performance) major, so perhaps that's to be expected.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[ChrisCo]

I think I've learned more in the past 2-3 months about recording than in the last 4-5 years that I've been attempting this. I think my recordings recently have reflected such. Much thanks to The Professor and Chris G. (amongst many others) for the insightful and thorough posts that have helped me understand a craft that I have many hopes and aspirations to improve (if not perfect). I think this board is in many ways as helpful a resource as any University recording program, though there isn't any hands-on training, there's enough information generated through a massive amount of experiences. I too wished to enroll in a recording program to fulfill an understanding of some of the less accessible equipment, however, this board has been teaching me how to use what I have in much better and more numerous ways. I think that will help me to expand to more and more techniques which will facilitate more and more types and levels of equipment.

Thank you all.

Chris

[jayro_rockola]

My favorite peice of advice I have heard to the question "I want to be a recording engineer. What do I do?" Is "Get a real estate licence."

If you are still seriously looking for an awesome audio course look at The Evergreen State College in Olympia Washington. It's kind of a hidden little program with super small class sizes and takes a very holistic compositional approach to engineering. Before you even get your hands on the old API they have you have to understand and design your own channel strip. It's pretty cool actually.
Evergreen is considered a hippy-dippy school to some because they don't have grades and well, there's alot of hippys there. But the level of instruction and equipment they have is pretty awesome.

Yes I graduated from there. I then went to work in studios NYC and now have my own place in NC. It's all about what you put into your education there.

[mjau]

If you are still seriously looking for an awesome audio course look at The Evergreen State College in Olympia Washington.

I've got a friend who is just now graduating from there (though not in audio stuff) - seems like a pretty cool place to spend a few years, that's for sure.
For what it's worth, when I went there, I was always very intrigued by the Master's in electro-acoustic music at Dartmouth College (www.dartmouth.edu). They work on some really interesting stuff, and I don't think there's many programs out there like it.