If you’ve been keeping up with our blog posts, back in mid-February, I wrote my first post for Colorado Sound Media Labs. Five months later, I wanted to take a look back at my journey as an Intermediate Recording student and offer my insight into what any prospective student might learn from this incredible experience.
Currently, I’m only one lesson away from graduating. I’ve sat with Steve Avedis on a number of his recording and mixing sessions. I’ve sat with Tom Capek to learn about MIDI and Virtual Instrument production. As an added bonus, I’ve become one of the newest interns at the studio, which has enabled me to sit in on live video sessions and music video sessions in STUDIO W with Justin Hardman and I’ve been able to sit in on recording sessions in STUDIO A with Don Bearie (where I actually recorded a piano track for an album!).
Is this the experience that every student coming through is going to experience? Maybe, maybe not. What I can tell you for certain is the studio is getting busier with clients and students, new and old, coming through the doors ready to record in a post-pandemic world, and what that means for any prospective CSML student is that you will have an even better experience, because you’ll be living it. You’re learning by doing.
In my first weeks as a student, I was very intimidated. You’re staring at this legendary Neve 5088 Console and you’re wondering, “what the hell do all of these buttons and knobs do?” And in the progressive weeks it almost becomes second nature. Similarly, I was staring blankly at the patch bay, looking at all of these wires wondering, “what is this jungle of cords doing?” To be honest, I still struggle to wrap my head around the patch bay, but I can definitely navigate it better than when I first walked through the STUDIO A door.
As the weeks have progressed, I feel that I’ve grown significantly as a musician, producer, and engineer. When I started this course, I never would have thought of myself as an audio engineer. I want to be the guy that’s letting the song breathe it’s own life, but nudging it along the way when the song strays too far from the original vision. But, what I’ve learned from my time here is that an engineer is simultaneously: an audio technician, a vocal coach, an arranger, a producer, a marketing idea generator, a psychiatrist, and above all else, a friend.
The engineers here are more than just the person at the desk running Pro Tools, they’re friends with their clients. They reach out to see if their clients need anything, they’re at their clients live gigs, they’re offering advice when needed. When an artist comes here, rest assured, their album, song, audiobook, video production, whatever the project might be, will be in the greatest hands. And for that reason, Colorado Sound is unique in this crazy industry, and it’s the reason why anyone considering CSML Courses should dive right in. You’re not going to find a better experience.
Written by Kyle Dean