What school classes should I take for a career in music production?

Question by Kevin: What school classes should I take for a career in music production?
I have been researching into some of the music institutes around the US and I am wondering if Audio Engineering is the course I should be looking at for music production.

I want to produce my OWN material and not just post-master/mix other artists. What should I be looking for?

Any helpful information would be appreciated, thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by CJ
You dont need classes for that unless you plan on mixing it yourself as well. I produce music, and send it away to someone else to mix it, even though I took music production 101 and Mixing and Mastering 101 (which are the classes you are referring to). Costs me about $ 150 per song to have it mixed and mastered. It saves me alot of time and trouble so its worth it to me just to have someone else do that part, and I just do the main producing. When you’re making music, its just like an artist. You can learn how to use programs and things like that in a class, but you cant learn talent from someone else. Lets say you’re a rap producer. An artist needs a good beat to rap over. They don’t care what kind of degree you have, all they care about is how you’re beat sounds. They aren’t going to pass up on a good beat if the producer doesn’t have a degree. Majority of producers do not have degrees, they just spent alot of time locking themselves in their rooms learning how to produce. Mixing and Mastering is the more technical side of it, that is a little talent, and alot of stuff that you would learn in a class. So if you want to do that, you should take any mixing and mastering class. The type of school doesnt matter, because again, the people who will want to hire you want someone who can mix and master well, they arent looking at a degree, they are listening to your music to decide. To produce your own music, all you need is a computer and a program. I have pro tools for recording (costs about $ 2,500) and I have fl studio for producing (costs about $ 300). With these 2 things, and a good audio card and fast computer, you have everything you need. Maybe just buy some books to learn how to use them and you’re on your way.

Add your own answer in the comments!