Acquiring Hands-On Experience
Watch sound engineers work. Go to a local bar or club that has live music, or the booth at a theater during a play, and watch what the sound person does. Pay attention to the set up of cords and sound boards. Watch how they interact with people. Take note of when they adjust levels and what the result is. Lots of churches have high quality sound systems and people who run them, so this is also a great place to go for an opportunity to watch.
Ask sound engineers if you can help in any way. The music industry involves a lot of making connections and getting your foot in the door. Once you find a sound engineer, ask if there is anything you can do, even if it just means taping cables down. You can start to build these connections, which may eventually lead to more involvement. Some people may tell you no. Maybe they don’t want you in the way. You can be persistent and tell them you’ll do anything and won’t bother them. Still, there’s a time to give up and find someone else to ask. If you are at a venue and you see people setting things up, ask if you can help. They will most likely welcome another set of hands.
Take any opportunity you can get. This is an industry that takes a while to work up the ranks into top professional jobs. If you have the opportunity to carry in sound equipment, do it. Maybe sometime you will get to help set everything up. Then you may get to run a sound check. Every chance you get to learn a little more is a building block for your career. Even though it can be hard, don’t think you are too good for anything. Just swallow your pride and take the chance to help out and get some experience. If you consistently show up at the same places and you are always willing to help in any way you are asked, people will start to notice and may trust you to do more important tasks.
Intern at a recording and production company. More than helping out at gigs, an internship will help you get more consistent experience. You may have to go unpaid for a while, but if you can afford to do this, you will learn enough to make up for the lack of pay. Find out if there is a studio near you and see what types of opportunities they have available. Since there are so many different jobs that sound engineers can have, the range of internships may vary a lot. Any production company that has internships available is worth checking out, even if what they do is not exactly what you are interested in.
Getting an Education
Learn about sound equipment. Research speakers and see when to use different types. Find out which cords plug into mics and which ones go between soundboards and amps. You need to know how to set up all kinds of sound equipment. You can learn these things online through tutorial videos and also in person when you can work with sound people. Some sound equipment is the same as it was years ago, but many other technologies are continuing to evolve. Staying current on your knowledge is vital.
Master music software. You need to know how mix and edit in music software like Pro Tools and Cubase. If you can, purchase one of these programs and begin exploring what they can do and practice editing songs. Pick a song you like and import it into the software. Practice splitting the song into parts and changing pitches and volumes. Not all sound engineers mix new music tracks, but being able to do it will make you more versatile. It will take time to learn all of the things you can do, but it’s important to start building a foundation.
Research safety protocols. Because sound engineers work with so many types of electrical equipment, you will need to learn some basic electrical safety. Learn about basic electricity, such as the difference between voltage and current. You will need to know how many pieces of equipment can be plugged into a specific power strip so you don’t blow a fuse or ruin the equipment. Taking classes in physics, for example, is a good place to start. If classes are not an option, consider an electrical safety training seminar.
Get experience in high school. If you are still in school, you have access to some opportunities that others don’t. Try to get involved with the theater program, which most likely uses a sound system during plays. Productions are often mostly run by students anyway, so this is an easy way to get hands on experience in a low key setting. In college, you also have some opportunities to get involved in running sound, even if you aren’t studying it. Check in with your campus theater and see what they require for their sound people. Find out if you could start working with someone who already does it and learn from them.
Earn a degree. While you can learn on the job and get lots of experience, earning a degree shows your commitment to learning. It shows that you can work hard on something until it is complete. A degree also shows that you have been properly trained in the field. While it may not be mandatory for some jobs, it’s going to make you look better to those looking to hire quality engineers. A typical degree might be an Associate’s or Bachelor’s of Science in Audio Engineering. The degree might also be called Sound Engineering. These degrees will tend to be a mix of music, business, and technical classes which serve to give you a well-rounded education in the field.
Developing the Traits of a Sound Engineer
Hone your communication skills. Being a sound engineer entails working with people of different personalities on a consistent basis, so you need to be an effective communicator. Learn to listen well to the responses you get from people. Answer questions as clearly as possible. Learn to understand what people mean even when they don’t make much sense. Get used to as much of the technical music lingo as possible. Things like “lead guitar,” “feedback,” and “normalize.” In music jargon, some words and phrases may have different meanings than you are used to.
Be flexible and committed to getting the job done. Sound engineers often have to work long, odd hours that may revolve around someone else’s schedule. If you can only get into the studio starting at 9pm, then you need to be cool with that. If you have to redo equipment checks 5 times before a live show, don’t get frustrated. You’ll likely work long hours on some projects to get them done within a certain time. Sound engineers often work nights and weekends, because these tend to be the times that live performance events happen. Although, in some cases you may find work in radio or TV, which might afford the chance for daytime work. At least when you are first starting out, being as available as possible will be a strong asset you can offer someone looking to hire you.
Develop humility and perseverance. Sound engineers are often overlooked and are not likely to get a lot of praise for the work they do. If you are passionate about the work, it makes it easier to be okay with never being noticed. Don’t give up when the job starts getting really tough and you don’t want to keep going. Persevere through the hardship. Sound engineers rarely get the credit for an amazing concert or great mix on a hit song, so don’t expect to gain fame through this career. You should find fulfillment through the work itself and not through any accolades you might receive.
Be easy to work with. You’ll be working with lots of people, from artists in the studio, to venue owners, to tour managers. When they are demanding, do your best to go with the flow and do what they ask. Don’t get angry easily and fight with people. Keeping a level head is important in this business. If you are likeable and easy to get along with, people will want to keep working with you. If you cause drama, you are likely to be replaced. While you can actively work on this, in some ways it is more of a personality trait than an issue of effort. If you don’t like people and have a hard time working with others, this may not be the profession for you.
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