Please help if you can: Looking for somewhere to start...

[Handle_This]

Hey, anyone here live in the NYC area? My name is Jacki, I'm 15, and I have a complete obsession with music. I play bass and I'm starting a band (I used to have one a while ago but we broke up so I have to start over) and I want to major in the music industry (producing, recording, performing...I dont know yet) when I go to college. However, I need experience. Last Friday I got the chance to see Sum 41 and Ludacris record a song and I honestly appreciated it so much! I am such a huge Sum 41 fan and too see them inside the recording studio with Ludacris was the best and most ultimate experience I ever had. But, I want and need some real experience inside a studio so that I have more than just a "somewhat general idea". I am very serious when it comes to music, I have been since I was much younger, and I my dad told me that I should look into getting a part-time/afetrschool job at a recording studio somewhere to get some sort of experience under my belt. I thought it was an awesome idea, except, I have no idea where to look. Could anyone help me? Do they know any programs or any place where I can get a job, even if it isn't so "hands on" inside the studio, I just need something to start with at this point.

thank you so much!!!! I may be amature at this, but I know it's where my heart is...it is what I've always had an attraction to my whole life! I'll appreciate any information, help, and/or support you have to give.

-Jacki

[I'm Painting Again]

Hi Jacki..anyone even a monkey can learn to use recording equipment..that will come to you in time and with experience..

First you need to be a fan which it seems you have covered..spend an even more enourmous amout of time listening to music..the best piece of gear to start out with is a quality hi-fi stereo system and a vast record collection..this way you can really hear the nuances of your favorite records..listening critically to records on a hi-fi system in a room that doesnt alter the sound so much will train your ear and prove to be one of the most valuable things you can do when starting out..listen to those records and notice how each layer of sound sits..what the volumes of things are..how they are situated in the stereo field (left, right, up, down, background, in your face)..listen to CD's and vinyl..

set short term and long term goals for your self education..it takes a long time to master any craft..I think your dad has a good idea to try and get an internship with a studio it will teach you a lot..but it has to be the right one..make sure you wil be learning what you need when you interview for these positions..you may end up doing crappy office work but that ok as long as you have the chance to learn something..

above all have a vision..like i said a monkey can turn knobs..but knowing what sound you want and exactly how to get it in two seconds is what you need to aim for..

then start out with a cassette 4track or a computer system and microphone(s) that will allow you to learn and experement on..the best way of learning is doing imho..

there are tons of studios in NYC and tons in Brooklyn alone..this forum is an excellent place to ask questions and learn about things..its why we all come here..well that and to talk about lasers, peanut butter, wangs, and boobs..

here are some links that you can read that might help your journey :
http://www.prosoundweb.com/studio/tapeop/
http://www.vandenhul.com/artpap/wiring.htm
http://www.tvhandbook.com/support/pdf_f ... ter6_3.pdf
http://www.scopeboy.com/leads4.html
http://gearslutz.com/board/
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php
http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php
http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/
http://www.tonmeister.ca/main/textbook/index.html
http://www.playlikeapro.com/lesson9.htm
http://chordfind.com/
http://www.soundonsound.com/forum
http://www.recordingeq.com/EQ/req0900/primer.htm
http://emusician.com/ar/emusic_bottom_fishing/
http://www.thelisteningsessions.com/home.htm

a couple of good textbooks are the "Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook" and "Modern Recording Techniques"..

[LittleDogAudio]

Oh man Jacki, you warm my heart.

I remember 21 years ago feeling the same way as you.

The industry needs hungry young peeps like you to keep at least the chance of making great music alive.

Go Get Em"

Chris

[syrupcore]

..and The Official Syrupcore Nice Guy of the Week Award goes to.....


BOB!

Jacki, some excellent advice there.

I'd suggest getting the tape op book as well. Not as much technical advice but lots of inpiration to do it anyway you can. If you learn 1/4 of the Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook, you'll be better off than most of us.

will

[kayagum]

Get any recording setup (4 track, Garageband) and hit record for anyone you can.

You can try to get internships, but I'd venture to say that the vast majority of the people on this board started with a humble 4 track or a freeware computer setup.

Read through this site- there's more useful information here than anywhere else.

[Handle_This]

hey guys thanks so much for all your advice and support!!! I really appreciate it!

[Nathan Eldred]

Jackie,

My advice to you is to try not to over specialize. I love punk, indie, HC, etc, but it's not all I record, because as an engineer (and this is just my opinion) it is my job to love the craft above and beyond the music that I'm recording. Getting the sounds, choosing the mics, blending the instruments during mix, getting as clear a representation of the band as I can get, and if the band or producer (which is sometimes myself) call for it, to help the music sound larger than 'real life'. If you want to grow as an engineer, you'll try and record types of music that you would never normally buy or have in the CD player. Country, Latin, Jazz, classic rock, blues, classical, etc. By being proficient at all these types of music as an engineer, you'll eventually differentiate yourself from others around you. You'll get called to the job by the client first. Unless of course, you just want to be a producer....

[soundguy]

jacki-

whatever you do, DO NOT go to school for anything related to the music industry. Ever notice how you cant major in say, cement industry or something like that? ITs all just business, its all the same rules, it all revolves around economics yet with the amount of people dying to work in the music and film industries, real college offer these vocational programs just to make money and its the biggest scam ever. IF you are interested in going to college study business and learn how it works, get a real education and if you intern in studios and learn all this stuff on your own you will be able to BREEZE by all the people that suckered up to go to college to get nothing more than a vocational school's worth of experience at 10 times the price. There is NOTHING about a studio or the music biz which you will not learn on the job and do better (if you have the skill) than someone that went to one of those schools, total waste of money. Go to college to get a real education and then go kick ass in the music industry, you'll be glad you did it like that, you might actually make some money.

dave

[Zeppelin4Life]

Jacki-im 16 (almost 17)

this is literally my life (well one of them..I kindof have too many hobbies)..

when i started I was 13. I had a cheap fostex X-12 cassette deck sony walkman headphones, and a shure PG48 mic. Man, some of my most SOULFUL recordings were on thoes cassettes! Recording is not really a science, it's more of an art. You can study how the human eye sees colors and study how to mix oils and paints..but if you have no artistic skills, it doesnt matter. You play bass, so you know practicing is a lot of work. recording is not unlike a musical instrument. If anything, it requires more patience than any instrument. To take many signals and blend them into one is a SKILL THAT REQUIRES PRACTICE! so, dont get frusterated. you will, you will, you will. but keep going. trust me. I can honestly say without sounding like a jackass that my hardwork has paid off. Im 16 now and my recordings are rivaling pro sounding recording. My gear has improved considerably but really my ears have improved the most. when you record you gain a 6th sense in the music that nobody else really has. That is the sense of 'the band as a whole'. kindof like when the conductor of an orchestra has them play a peice and then walks off into the auditorium..u know..the thing as a WHOLE.

I could probably write volumes of books on things ive learned, but I cant do that. you have to take the time to practice recording!
www.homerecording.com and this site will help you. Recording can be very overwhelming, but it can be very fun if you do it right. But patience and practice are key.

Remember most of all that experience is the most important part of recording, not gear or anything else. If a guitar doesnt sound right and you try 908 friggen different mic possitions and they all sound shitty but one, well now you know 907 possitions that wont work. its a filter that takes time.

Now, you being 15, its probably hard enough to get a real job, I doubt you could find an 'internship' (so it soudns like) at a studio. but hell, try anyway. I would do it over at a local studio, but they dont really expect us to be in high school. recording is a pretty advanced thing....

I have had friends who ive taught everything too and their mixes still suck. and some of their mixes are rockin! Patience...

have fun my friend. PM me sometime

[Everybody's X]

subscribe to TapeOP
record EVERYTHING
read the tips above 3 times
record some more
LOVE IT OR DON'T BOTHER

WELCOME!

[junkstar]

Hey Jacki, when I was you, I did this...
I bought a 4-track, I bought a mic, I bought a synth and a drum machine. I just fooled around with them and slowly figured some stuff out on my own.

Next, I started buying books (use the search engine on this site for some cool recommendations) and I took a few intern jobs assisting engineers. It all blossomed from there.

Just keep your passion, keep plugging away, and you will get great creative returns from it.

[psychicoctopus]

like somebody already said, it's an art. it's about finding your path through all the options.

listen when people when tell you the 'right' way to do record, and don't hesitate to break those rules.

you don't have to study recording in college to make great recordings!

[syrupcore]

its a filter that takes time.

wise 16 year olds make me feel shitty about myself.

[Zeppelin4Life]

its a filter that takes time.

wise 16 year olds make me feel shitty about myself.

do you really live in Hi? that fuckin rocks

[Mark Alan Miller]

All good advice above, all I can do is really agree and reinforce what's been said.
-Record as much as you can, as often as you can, with whatever equipment you can use.
-Don't become a 'niche recordist' that is only good at the flavor-of-the-month.
-If you must go to a school for recording, go to a 4-year college that features audio but requires a stardard 4-year, rounded curriculum. UMass Lowell, for example.
-Record as much as you can... (oh, yeah, that bears repeating.)
-Read everything you can get your hands on, even if some of it doesn't make sense, it will as you learn incrementally, and things will start to click with context, over time.
-Intern/shovel snow/sweep out/get coffee/empty trash/just quietly observe at any place that will have you.
-Record as much as you can... (offer to record your friends...)

I'm sure there's more. But that's what my pre-caffeine brain is spilling.
Good luck! I was more than just like you at 15.