uni courses?

[Abstraction]

anyone know which universities do good music production/technology degrees?

ive just started the second year of my two year foundation degree so i need to find a uni to top it up to a full degree.

any info would be gratefully appreciated :bananada:

 

[Sturdy Pete]

i'm doing a music tech / electronics degree at york.. quite good but a bit heavy on the maths etc. also far too much emphasis on recording a band rather than totally electronic music

possible options (though i have no idea how good they are) that i know of include APU and salford..

in fact, i think leeds might do something along the right lines as well...

 

[soliptic]

imho the best uni courses for learning music production/music tech are any arts subjects - you know english, history, politics, etc.

that'll give you a couple of hours of optional lectures per week, leaving the rest for smoking draw and making beats. and you end up learning a lot more than sat in a classroom with 6 PCs running MicroLogic Fun, being told about MIDI being invented in 1984.

but thats just me

 

[Reconstructed]

I'm with soliptic on this one...

I major in Environmental Science and have just started taking a couple of recording classes. Surprises me how little many of the recording majors actually know about recording. I learned a hell of a lot more building my own studio from scratch in my room with no instruction because I had to learn it all myself. That way you really understand what is happening, instead of just reading and memorizing gain structures and whatnot.

On the flip side though, they do know who invented the Gramophone Disc!

 

[soliptic]

Considering he's half way through this isnt what he wants to hear

I was only saying it to live up to my usual good-natured half-trolling nature

 

[Abstraction]

cheers guys :P

i did a couple of years of self tuition before i started this course, and tbh i did learn a lot more back then than i have at college, but the things i have learnt from this course, i could never have taught myself. also im not doing purely for the tuition, it will also give me the chance to use equipment i wouldnt otherwise be able to afford to use, and meet people i wouldnt otherwise have met (one guy in my class is in a band and he wants me to do some synth work for some of their songs)

 

[Abstraction]

sturdy pete: ive heard about salford, ill check out APU thanks

 

[soliptic]

my dad works at APU :o

i'll ask him what the music tech dept is like

 

[soliptic]

and now i come to thikn of it i actually worked in there myself for a day... just moving filing cabinets and shit, but my eyes were on the gear obviously. unfortunately i cant really remember anything specific other the fact they had a korg prophecy.

 

[morganism]

I agree with soliptic...

I am/was/still maybe studying Music systems engineering at UWE Bristol,

The course is good but not for me, It's pretty much an electrical engineering degree with a few more interesting modules related to recording, music, etc.
Good if you want to make a living repairing nice bits of kit, not if you want to be creative with them.

I've learned more bunking off lectures, smoking pot, and making music in front of my PC at every oportunity. With hindsight I would have done Philosphy (or something) and continued to teach myself. The plus side of starting a music tech course is that you'll be thrust into a situation where there are going to be loads of like minded individuals. It's meeting these people and sharing knowledge between students rather than going to lectures that I think has helped me on my chosen path.

The studio at uni is nice, Amazing monitors, Makie D8B, varous other nice bits of kit, but we were never really taught how to use it. Instead in your first year there is a module which basically is allocated time in the studio to "play" with the hope that you "might" learn something. If i had thought about it more I would have used the studio to mix and master all my stuff (there's still a chance, I may return next year to finish my degree).

My advice would be find i course that will teach you things you want to learn, Make sure there is a creative element (possible look for BAs rather than BEng or BSc courses, mine was a Bsc and it shows in the subjects covered)

I'm thinking about trying to transfer module credits to another course at another uni, Electronic music is more what I was looking for. It's a shame i decided against going to my local uni (HERTS) just because I wanted to be further away from home, cause there Electronic Music (BA i think) course is mostly about warping and twisting sounds. I heard i final year project which was in the style of Aphex's Bucephalus Bouncing Ball made entirely out of sounds recorded from a box of matches.

Quite a long post, but this has been in my head for a while, having just decided to take a year off from uni to decide what I really want to do.

Morgan

 

[morganism]

Oh! and does anyone know of courses for Modern film scoring, or sound design or something, I don't know what its called, but I want to write the music and atmospheric noises for films.

Any suggestions?

Morgan

 

[Abstraction]

It's a shame i decided against going to my local uni (HERTS)

thats where opia is at the moment, doing that very course i believe.

the only problem with going for a BA instead of a BSc is they all want you to be able to play an instrument, and usually to a high standard. i cant play any instruments at all. i dont know if you play any instruments morgan but if you dont then ur unlikely to find a course based on composing that will take you on.

sound design is something im looking into as well so if i find anything ill post it here.

 

[morganism]

I applied to HERTS and got excepted (yep they did want some musicality in the classic sense, Music A level always helps)

I decided not to go cause its 15mins from where I grew up (St. Albans) Which is a very nice place but too near to the meddling parent for my liking, I wouldn't go back and do anything differently though cause Bristol is a great place to be and I probably wouldn't have met the people I have and for one I wouldn't have got so into PSY, probably would be making Gabber and jungle-techno (although it's very possible to do that in Bristol as I'm sure many people know)

Keep us posted on any info you get, + i'd be interested on what Opia has to say about the course at HERTS. + if there is a Psytrance scene there (I would love to go back home and put on a party )

 

[soliptic]

APU.... i heard it , erm, on the grapevine, :unsure: that

Hmmm, honestly....well, we do have a genuinely excellent Music dept of some renown. The music technology is somewhere better than middling, but not in
Salford's class. They have got some pretty impressive kit though, and the
elctronics side is quite strong

 

[Pocket Fluff]

I think that I'm in the same boat as you Helix. I'm currently doing the b-tech in music tech at college and although i have learned far more by making tunes at home I really enjoy college and what it has to offer me in terms of equipment and advice from people who know what they're talking about (Eric Orpheus 2 is my tutor). There are lots of people on the course who manage to pass all the assignments but haven't got a grip on the idea of production techniques, mastering or recording. I find that from making my own music I have the advantage of being able to use the shit hot studio to master my tunes as well as use their equipment for my stuff at home ie. samplers, compresser mics, rack unit etc.
When I finish I think I'm going to have a year out and then do the old production bit at brighton, simply because I have friends there, it's got a stong music dept and it's generally a good place for all types of music. It would also be nice to get away from canterbury, it's wicked at the moment but the scene is slowly dieing and the majority are getting into techno.

Well that's my rant over someone else's turn..... :goodthre:

Dawson

 

[morganism]

Psilocybo, what course were you thinking of doing in brighton? I would be interested, I know of one course there which is very composition based and may try and finish my degree there. If you have any info i'd appreciate it.

Morgan

 

[your mum]

I did the audio tech course in APU. I am warning you tho, should you decide to study there, be prepared to do a lot of maths, electronics and acoustics. I loved that aspect of college coz it made the whole coutrse that bit more scientific and more interesting + since you are going to spend 3 years of your life on studying, you might as well learn something more than using plugs and drawing automation curves...etc. That stuff you can learn at home and save time and cash.
APU does not have state of the art equipment, but has fast PCs and G5 Macs running Logic, SX, Pro Tools, they have analog desks (Allen & Heath G3000, 32 Macie 8 buss, Soundcraft Studio 8 and some smaller VLZ mackies) and a digital 02R in the Pro Tools room.
They got real analog synths (EMS VCS3, Doepfer modular, Sh-101, Juno 60) and digital synths like the Supernova 2, Prophecy and some others I do not remember.
Outboard from TLaudio to Behringer and a nice range of mics with their TLM 103 Neumanns being the best.
When I went in college I did not know how to even use a small analog desk and by my 3rd year I was building little 2 VCO FM synths based on intesil chips in the electronics labs, that I used later on in tunes that got pressed.

But it all comes down to you and how much time you are willing to spend on your own in the studios learning new things.
You get to meet people that you might end up collaborating later on in life. First day in class I met with the guy I make tunes with today, that get played on BBC Radio 1, Kiss FM...etc.
Cambridge is a nice place too, lots of people into music, particularly breakbeat (Streetwise is based here), psy-trance parties happening every now and then, and nice tech house parties + I think it is a beautifull and inspiring city.
There are also venues were you can get some work, likethe Junction and the Corn Exchange + other small venues. I worked at the Junction for 3 years, learned lots of things, did FOH and monitor work + learning how to manage a P.A. in general.

Peace out.

 

[opia]

I applied to HERTS and got excepted (yep they did want some musicality in the classic sense, Music A level always helps)

I decided not to go cause its 15mins from where I grew up (St. Albans) Which is a very nice place but too near to the meddling parent for my liking, I wouldn't go back and do anything differently though cause Bristol is a great place to be and I probably wouldn't have met the people I have and for one I wouldn't have got so into PSY, probably would be making Gabber and jungle-techno (although it's very possible to do that in Bristol as I'm sure many people know)

Keep us posted on any info you get, + i'd be interested on what Opia has to say about the course at HERTS. + if there is a Psytrance scene there (I would love to go back home and put on a party )

the course here is really good (music tech) and herts is one of the best places to study music tech / sound design / electronic music in terms of teaching/results ranking. on the downside the whole place is a bit bling but hey, we make our own fun

think you should get your arse over here ross, we need manpower for organising some psy stuff

 

[Abstraction]

think you should get your arse over here ross, we need manpower for organising some psy stuff

sounds like a plan, herts is in need of a psy night :dancey:

Found this:http://www.hull.ac.uk/courses/ug/2004UGpamphlets/Music&CMT UGpam 05.1.pdf

Creative Music Technology at Hull. Sounds really good, a kind of equally mix of composition, perfomance and studio production and you can specialise in whichever area you want.

 

[forgotten]

ross mate come to a bristol unis...... i dont know if there music course is any good though but my flat mates doing a degree in music technology at bath spa ill ask him how good it is.......



ill see you at the weekend

rob