If you Can Hang, You Can Work In Recording
When you’re first starting out in the audio engineering world a lot of emphasis is placed on technical abilities. Do you know key commands? Do you know the proper way of editing things in Pro Tools? While all that is important, it’s also important to not be a jerk.
The music industry has its fair share of pretentious attitudes, though you’d probably be surprised to find upstanding, hardworking people greatly outnumber the jerks. So, if you manage to hone your drive and perfect the art of not being an idiot, you’re going to be positioning yourself well. You’ll be leaps and bounds ahead of the people who are self-centered and all talk. Being genuine and showing up to the studio ready to get your hands dirty is something that’s going to make you stand out from the crowd just because you’re mentally prepared and ready to go.
Yes, you need some talent and some education. But, with the right instruction most of that can be learned. The personal dedication you show to sharpening your skills, honing the craft, and genuinely loving music, that’s what sets you apart from the rest.
There’s also just the fact that if you’re cool (nice, open, positive), people will want to be around you. If you’re a funny, jovial person making connections and working in the studio will be much easier for you. It’s just a simple fact. It sounds like an over-simplification but it’s not. It’s just the reality of the world. If you’re easy to talk to and make friends easily, you’ll be more likely to have job security.
The fact that the music industry is all based on who you know sounds like Hollywood who-knows-who talk. That isn’t the case. It’s about relationships. Building relationships with audio professionals comes down to being well liked and being a hard worker. It’s very, very important not to have a big ego and to be willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Once the people above you know you’re not out to feed your ego, you’ll graduate to the next level, whatever that may be. That’s the way the industry works. People are just looking for easy-going, hardworking individuals to be their peers.
Recording and mixing is a fun profession. You get to work with music, bands, and amazing gear. You also get to be creative and work with other creative people. The art of recording and mixing isn’t easy to learn but once you do, it starts to become natural and the growth never, ever stops. Even the guys who work with the biggest names in the business are always learning. So, if you really love music and love sound, have a good attitude and are willing to go the distance, the only thing you have to do is get in, start learning and show them what you’re made of!
Learn more at www.recordingconnection.com.