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An audio engineer, who is a buddy of mine made me a proposal that no aspiring musician can say no to.. “Come to my recording studio and make a record,” he said. “We’ll tackle on it until you’re satisfied with it. You can take all the time you need to create the record.” As a thankful gesture we agreed on a sales cut after I get the record printed. This incredible gift was partly due to friendship, and partly because he wanted to gather some experience in the studio he’d built.

So for a couple of days at a time, every month or so, I’d drive two hours to his studio, sleep there nights in a bed he’d set up, and record during the day. In fact, I ended up composing most of the record in the course of off times in the studio. During those recording periods, I’d watch how he set up the microphones, how he would try different things, and switch gears if they didn’t work. I observed him during the mixing procedure, and I watched him resolve problems on the fly. My friend would describe what he was doing, and why, and would constantly answer my queries.

The record by itself actually did not go anywhere. Nonetheless, the lessons I have learned from that experience I was able to apply it in my line of work. At times when a sound technician isn’t available, I no longer worry because I know I can handle the equipment personally and get the results that I want. Additionally, my ear was prepared during that experience to hear when a set of recorded tracks is not blended well, and even more significantly, what I can do about it. Rather than just realizing something is wrong with an audio mix, I can hear more distinctly what is incorrect with it.

Wanting to be a sound engineer is the last thing on my mind and I have no desire to become one. The essential point, though, is that what I learned in the recording studio was learned by doing – through a combination of mentorship and experience. The reason lies on the facts that in order to learn and comprehend audio engineering you need someone who will show and clarify to you the whole process along with practice and experience.

My friend would have learned it from somebody despite that fact that he went to school and studied the recording studio craft. Nevertheless, I find it interesting that even after obtaining that education, my friend was compelled to offer me unlimited free studio time so he could gain experience running his own studio – even after going to school for it. He benefited from his scholastic experience, but he didn’t trust it enough to carry him after; he wanted more.

The results are more important regardless of where you got your education. That is what I learned from my encounter in the recording studio.