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How does one go about immersing themselves in the music industry?
I am 19 and in college finishing my AA. I want to do something involving film music. How do I start this dream? I am thinking more of sound designer or something related to this. I am not a musician. I don't have any experience. I need to find a job to get my hands dirty but I am finding it hard to find one.
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Ranger’s Answer
Hey Auguste! I was pretty much exactly in your shoes when I was 19. I was neither a musician nor did I have any experience working with audio, but I am now 22 and I work full-time as a sound designer for video games (and I'd like to think I'm good at my job). So here's a ton of text covering the broad strokes of how I got to where I am!
I was fortunate enough to then attend a music school with an audio production program. And that's where I built most of my skills around the fundamentals of sound design, which you will need whether you're a sound designer for games, television, a musician, or a music editor. To be frank, a lot of those skills can be self-taught if you have the discipline to sift through the internet. There are plenty of good resources to be found on YouTube and in online audio forums like Airwiggles (I will link some more at the end of this). However, school provided a classroom structure, access to professional-level hardware, and easy networking opportunities between myself, my instructors, and other students--all of which were extremely helpful to me personally. So if those are things that interest you, then I would think about attending a university with an audio program. And if you're going to pay to go to a full university, go in person if you can, not online. Getting your hands on microphones and other equipment, learning recording techniques, and using consoles are invaluable experiences as a student. Much of the equipment you'd have access to is not things you can get easily outside of school. You will also have more access to your instructors, who, in my case, were all active working professionals in their fields. And I was just able to ask them questions whenever I wanted, for 6 hours a day, 3 days a week. You don't get that in the same way by attending online classes. I went to the Los Angeles Recording School; maybe check out some of their degrees or email one of the program heads. It might help you get a better idea of where you'd want to go.
University can be expensive, though! So there are cheaper options, such as short, paid online courses that focus on more niche audio subjects, like a specific area of sound design, or some that work towards a certification for a certain program. If you choose to self-educate through the internet instead of going back to school, then I would consider attending a few of those, because they will help bring the large amount of internet information into focus.
Regardless of how you go about your sound design education, something you can start now is listening more closely to the media you consume. My first class was all about identifying different genres of music based on the instruments, tempos, and rhythms. It was a little tedious sometimes (like I said, I'm not a musician). But I did get good at what's called "critical listening." It doesn't have to be music, it could be your favorite movie. You already know the plot, so start listening more intently to all the audio. The Lord of the Rings or the Dune movies are great places to start because there's plenty of information on how they created the audio & music score for those movies, so if you hear something interesting, you can try looking up how they did it! That and they're just great movies with banger sound design and music.
The second thing I'd do is download a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) and just start poking around. Learn how different plugins work, and how to route audio signal flow. I recommend Reaper if you're trying to get into post-production (TV/film) or game audio; it's free, extremely versatile, and will get you used to the basics of using a DAW. There are free Reaper tutorials online for all levels of understanding. Depending on which audio industry you pursue, different DAWs are more prevalent than others. But for the most part, it doesn't matter as long as you can do the work. The only exception would be TV/film; Pro Tools is the standard DAW in that area of sound design. It's not cheap or an easy program to learn, but it's extremely powerful, and the parent company offers guides & certification courses. If you want to work in any area of film audio, be it sound design or film composing, look into learning it. Me personally, I use Ableton for most of my work! I like the fun colors & stock plugins. If you hear any sounds or music scores you thought were interesting after doing some of that critical listening I mentioned, start trying to recreate them with your DAW. You're going to struggle at first, especially while you're getting the hang of whatever program you're using & learning the basics of manipulating sound. I've created many a bad sound effect in my quest to become a better sound designer; it's part of the process. But the easiest way to get better at sound design is to get your hands dirty and design sounds (crazy, I know). Doesn't matter if it's music or explosions, doesn't matter if you're getting paid or doing it on your own--just keep making stuff. It takes time, especially for people like us who went/are going into audio with no prior knowledge. Be patient, keep at it.
In terms of actual sound design work, yeah. It can be hard starting out. Especially if you're at the beginning of your education and don't know where to look or have a portfolio to show. My advice there would be to just start talking to more audio professionals, online or in person at audio conferences. Ask them about their jobs, about how they do them, about what it's like working where they work. Most sound designers are happy to nerd out about their jobs, especially to people who are interested in doing the same thing someday. It's a really small world, and if we do our jobs well, most people don't even know it exists. Most importantly, though, don't go into conversations looking for a job. Make friends and build connections, the work will come naturally out of that as you begin to develop your skills and those people start taking note. That's how I got my job; someone I had met a year prior saw my improvement and my desire to keep learning. They gave me a chance and now I work for them full-time. I can speak for every audio discipline in the entertainment industry when I say people like hiring people they know. You don't want to be stuck on a 5-year-long project with someone you don't feel comfortable around. So it doesn't matter if you're the best at what you do, just be earnest about the work and patient about the job opportunities.
Outside of the networking part, I can only talk job-hunting specifics when it comes to game audio. Find game jams to participate in. Start re-designing sounds from your favorite games in Reaper and post them on audio forums to get feedback. Make a demo reel of your re-designs and your game jam work to show potential employers. Try to learn the basics of game engines and audio middleware programs, most of which are free to download and play around with. No need to become an expert unless you fall in love with technical sound design. If you decide to attend more university, look for internships at game studios. Look into internships at game audio post houses; those are becoming increasingly common. For the bigger studios, their internship applications usually open around September. Don't be afraid to apply even if you don't think you're ready. They don't expect you to be at an industry level; internships are meant for learning. Eventually, just start applying to actual jobs, whether it's a LinkedIn job listing or cold emailing a studio to ask if they have any audio positions open. Even if they don't, they might know a studio that does, or they'll save your name for the future. For junior roles especially, sound leads look for people who are eager to learn and can be molded to fit their studios workflow. You don't have to be a master at your craft before you even get hired, as much as it may seem like that sometimes. There's also freelance work, sound design for hire. You might meet someone while doing a game jam who wants to pay you to work on their personal project, or who works for a small studio that needs someone to do contract work. Or you can just email an indie developer and offer your services. I'm sure there's some stuff in there you could apply to film scoring, like re-scoring your favorite scenes, making a demo reel, and emailing post-production & film scoring houses.
Here is a list of helpful links I put together a while back:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-Aazz_i_KkfKHSe9fhppSbLpK9T9RtcSTxF0cZbXhDw/edit?usp=sharing
Most of them are related to game audio, but there are some good resources for learning general sound design & some for music composition in there as well. I also linked places where you can find free sample libraries & audio plugins to play around with and manipulate. If you're committed to becoming a sound designer, you will have a blast. It's such a fun field with a very kind and open community. You're already in a great spot by having an idea of what job you want. Keep your dream job in mind while you're building up your skills, it will help you focus on what areas of sound design to learn best! Hope some of this helps, I wish you luck!
I was fortunate enough to then attend a music school with an audio production program. And that's where I built most of my skills around the fundamentals of sound design, which you will need whether you're a sound designer for games, television, a musician, or a music editor. To be frank, a lot of those skills can be self-taught if you have the discipline to sift through the internet. There are plenty of good resources to be found on YouTube and in online audio forums like Airwiggles (I will link some more at the end of this). However, school provided a classroom structure, access to professional-level hardware, and easy networking opportunities between myself, my instructors, and other students--all of which were extremely helpful to me personally. So if those are things that interest you, then I would think about attending a university with an audio program. And if you're going to pay to go to a full university, go in person if you can, not online. Getting your hands on microphones and other equipment, learning recording techniques, and using consoles are invaluable experiences as a student. Much of the equipment you'd have access to is not things you can get easily outside of school. You will also have more access to your instructors, who, in my case, were all active working professionals in their fields. And I was just able to ask them questions whenever I wanted, for 6 hours a day, 3 days a week. You don't get that in the same way by attending online classes. I went to the Los Angeles Recording School; maybe check out some of their degrees or email one of the program heads. It might help you get a better idea of where you'd want to go.
University can be expensive, though! So there are cheaper options, such as short, paid online courses that focus on more niche audio subjects, like a specific area of sound design, or some that work towards a certification for a certain program. If you choose to self-educate through the internet instead of going back to school, then I would consider attending a few of those, because they will help bring the large amount of internet information into focus.
Regardless of how you go about your sound design education, something you can start now is listening more closely to the media you consume. My first class was all about identifying different genres of music based on the instruments, tempos, and rhythms. It was a little tedious sometimes (like I said, I'm not a musician). But I did get good at what's called "critical listening." It doesn't have to be music, it could be your favorite movie. You already know the plot, so start listening more intently to all the audio. The Lord of the Rings or the Dune movies are great places to start because there's plenty of information on how they created the audio & music score for those movies, so if you hear something interesting, you can try looking up how they did it! That and they're just great movies with banger sound design and music.
The second thing I'd do is download a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) and just start poking around. Learn how different plugins work, and how to route audio signal flow. I recommend Reaper if you're trying to get into post-production (TV/film) or game audio; it's free, extremely versatile, and will get you used to the basics of using a DAW. There are free Reaper tutorials online for all levels of understanding. Depending on which audio industry you pursue, different DAWs are more prevalent than others. But for the most part, it doesn't matter as long as you can do the work. The only exception would be TV/film; Pro Tools is the standard DAW in that area of sound design. It's not cheap or an easy program to learn, but it's extremely powerful, and the parent company offers guides & certification courses. If you want to work in any area of film audio, be it sound design or film composing, look into learning it. Me personally, I use Ableton for most of my work! I like the fun colors & stock plugins. If you hear any sounds or music scores you thought were interesting after doing some of that critical listening I mentioned, start trying to recreate them with your DAW. You're going to struggle at first, especially while you're getting the hang of whatever program you're using & learning the basics of manipulating sound. I've created many a bad sound effect in my quest to become a better sound designer; it's part of the process. But the easiest way to get better at sound design is to get your hands dirty and design sounds (crazy, I know). Doesn't matter if it's music or explosions, doesn't matter if you're getting paid or doing it on your own--just keep making stuff. It takes time, especially for people like us who went/are going into audio with no prior knowledge. Be patient, keep at it.
In terms of actual sound design work, yeah. It can be hard starting out. Especially if you're at the beginning of your education and don't know where to look or have a portfolio to show. My advice there would be to just start talking to more audio professionals, online or in person at audio conferences. Ask them about their jobs, about how they do them, about what it's like working where they work. Most sound designers are happy to nerd out about their jobs, especially to people who are interested in doing the same thing someday. It's a really small world, and if we do our jobs well, most people don't even know it exists. Most importantly, though, don't go into conversations looking for a job. Make friends and build connections, the work will come naturally out of that as you begin to develop your skills and those people start taking note. That's how I got my job; someone I had met a year prior saw my improvement and my desire to keep learning. They gave me a chance and now I work for them full-time. I can speak for every audio discipline in the entertainment industry when I say people like hiring people they know. You don't want to be stuck on a 5-year-long project with someone you don't feel comfortable around. So it doesn't matter if you're the best at what you do, just be earnest about the work and patient about the job opportunities.
Outside of the networking part, I can only talk job-hunting specifics when it comes to game audio. Find game jams to participate in. Start re-designing sounds from your favorite games in Reaper and post them on audio forums to get feedback. Make a demo reel of your re-designs and your game jam work to show potential employers. Try to learn the basics of game engines and audio middleware programs, most of which are free to download and play around with. No need to become an expert unless you fall in love with technical sound design. If you decide to attend more university, look for internships at game studios. Look into internships at game audio post houses; those are becoming increasingly common. For the bigger studios, their internship applications usually open around September. Don't be afraid to apply even if you don't think you're ready. They don't expect you to be at an industry level; internships are meant for learning. Eventually, just start applying to actual jobs, whether it's a LinkedIn job listing or cold emailing a studio to ask if they have any audio positions open. Even if they don't, they might know a studio that does, or they'll save your name for the future. For junior roles especially, sound leads look for people who are eager to learn and can be molded to fit their studios workflow. You don't have to be a master at your craft before you even get hired, as much as it may seem like that sometimes. There's also freelance work, sound design for hire. You might meet someone while doing a game jam who wants to pay you to work on their personal project, or who works for a small studio that needs someone to do contract work. Or you can just email an indie developer and offer your services. I'm sure there's some stuff in there you could apply to film scoring, like re-scoring your favorite scenes, making a demo reel, and emailing post-production & film scoring houses.
Here is a list of helpful links I put together a while back:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-Aazz_i_KkfKHSe9fhppSbLpK9T9RtcSTxF0cZbXhDw/edit?usp=sharing
Most of them are related to game audio, but there are some good resources for learning general sound design & some for music composition in there as well. I also linked places where you can find free sample libraries & audio plugins to play around with and manipulate. If you're committed to becoming a sound designer, you will have a blast. It's such a fun field with a very kind and open community. You're already in a great spot by having an idea of what job you want. Keep your dream job in mind while you're building up your skills, it will help you focus on what areas of sound design to learn best! Hope some of this helps, I wish you luck!
Holy moly I can't thank you enough for your response!! This was so helpful. I soaked in every word and am already reaching out to a few people I know that are in sound advertisements. Thank you!!
Auguste
Of course! One more thing I forgot to mention that may help you specifically: Seattle is one of the West Coast hubs for video game studios, so if game audio is something you think you might be interested in, try reaching out to some of your local studios. Companies like Riot, Epic, and Nintendo all have campuses there, along with many other smaller studios. If you're on LinkedIn, you can try to find people by their job title & company and send a message via that platform; if you're lucky, you might find someone willing to let you peek behind the curtain and see how they operate. Never hurts to ask.
Ranger Norton
Thank you for pointing this out. Would have never thought of it! I'm on it. Thank you so much for all your help. I don't feel as lost anymore (:
Auguste
Updated
CHUNTING’s Answer
Hi Auguste, here are some friendly tips to gain practical experience:
- Join Local Bands or Perform Solo: Play regularly at local music spots, open mic nights, or festivals. This helps you build a name for yourself and get better at performing.
- Intern or Volunteer at Music Studios or Labels: Get hands-on experience and learn from the pros. This could also open doors to job opportunities.
- Join Local Bands or Perform Solo: Play regularly at local music spots, open mic nights, or festivals. This helps you build a name for yourself and get better at performing.
- Intern or Volunteer at Music Studios or Labels: Get hands-on experience and learn from the pros. This could also open doors to job opportunities.
Thank you so much for your response! Already got a ton of ideas (:
Auguste