Music Production

People usually associate music production with massive, high-tech studios, but this isn’t always the case. Large studios employ lots of staff in many roles, but small facilities run by just a couple of people area also great places to learn the ropes.

When entering this field, you often start out as a runner or an assistant engineer, but with a little experience many positions open up. An assistant engineer has a vast array of responsibilities, often becoming the “go-to” guy: running cables, plugging in mics, setting up consoles, loading tape machines and preparing digital workstations. You’ll also learn everything there is to know about your studio, meaning producers and engineers will often ask for your ideas to get the sounds they want.

Engineer, programmer and producer roles can often be filled by one person. Even when they aren’t, their responsibilities frequently overlap. Programmers sequence samples and synthesized sounds with a computer, and engineers operate the equipment with input from the producer, who is responsible for the overall sound of the final product. In the final stage of recording, a mixer combines and balances the tracks. Once the mixer has finished, the recording is ready to be released on CD, DVD, MP3, film or broadcast TV.

Every one of these roles is exciting — you’re working with artists (maybe even famous ones), making music, and putting a part yourself into the production.