Discover 8 key skills you’ll learn studying sound engineering courses, like dBs Institute’s BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering degree.
If you love music technology and you’re aspiring to your dream job as a studio-based sound engineer, studying a course in sound engineering can help you develop the skills, knowledge, confidence and industry connections for a successful and fruitful career.
At dBs Institute, our BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering degree, as well as several of our other music production courses, are designed to help you take the next crucial step in your music industry career.
Here, we take a look at 8 of the key skills you’ll learn during your sound engineering course at dBs Institute, from developing professional mixing and mastering skills to creative recording and professional portfolio development.
Learning how to use a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) proficiently is crucial for any aspiring sound engineer. During your sound engineer course at dBs Institute, you’ll learn how to master DAWs, including Pro Tools, Ableton and Logic, with a focus on Pro Tools as the industry standard for sound engineers working in studios.
You’ll learn the fundamentals of digital music production, sound creation, composition, and the professional techniques engineers use daily within a studio context, leaving university with an advanced knowledge which can be applied directly to the workplace.
Understanding how to listen critically is essential for sound professionals and engineers. During your sound engineering course at dBs, you’ll unpack music production work from professional producers and engineers to understand exactly what is going on under the bonnet.
Developing the ability to listen analytically, recognise cultural influences, and explain the methods used in music production, you’ll get a deep understanding of the theory of music production and how that knowledge can be translated into your music, and the music of artists and producers you’ll be working with.
Using our state-of-the-art studio facilities, students on BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering will learn professional-grade mixing and mastering skills, exploring the creative and technical aspects of mixing and mastering and gaining hands-on experience with the latest technologies.
Students on our sound engineering course will also develop intelligent problem-solving skills, learn how to evaluate a mix and how it can be improved and be in an environment that encourages collaboration, giving students the ability to collaborate with artists and other engineers to turn creative ideas into professional-quality mixes.
At the core of any great album, EP, or track is a great recording. Technical mixing and production skills are essential, but a great recording session is vital to help realise the vision of artists and producers in any project. That’s why, on BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering, you’ll learn simple, advanced and creative techniques for recording audio.
In the Creative Recording Techniques module, you’ll “Unleash your creativity in the studio, experiment with classic and contemporary studio techniques, and push the boundaries with your own innovative ideas to create a unique sonic signature.”
You’ll be encouraged to take risks, experiment with new techniques and have the confidence to bring new, fresh ideas to every recording session.
The science of acoustics is an often misunderstood element of music production and studio engineering, but it’s vital knowledge for aspiring engineers. Throughout the Applied Acoustics module on the BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering course, you’ll gain a deep understanding of how sound behaves in different spaces, learn how to acoustically treat and sound-proof different spaces and apply those methods within a real-world context.
As a sound engineer working in the industry, you need to know how to achieve a desired result in every environment, and studying a sound engineering course will help ensure you are equipped with those skills when you graduate.
In the fast-moving world of music, it’s essential to stay on top of growing trends, new technologies and the latest frontier of the industry. For years now, that latest frontier has been Dolby Atmos and its increasingly widespread application for consumer music.
While immersive audio and spatial audio were previously only used in certain environments, like the cinema, they’re now found in commercially available headphones, cars and in the home. With that in mind, successful sound engineers need to learn how to master that technology, which is why we have a dedicated module on immersive audio across several of our music production courses and have invested in state-of-the-art Dolby Atmos studios in all of our campuses.
In your sound engineering degree, you will learn the creative and technical aspects of mixing for immersive audio platforms and some innovative approaches to the discipline.
Outside of the technical skills you need to master, studying a sound engineering course at a higher education institute like dBs will help you understand how to better engage with the music industry, help you develop some practical approaches to networking in the music industry and learn the vital soft skills that can help you stand out from the crowd.
As well as learning how to network and naturally connecting with other like-minded engineers on your course, our Industry Practice module is designed to “Expand your industry knowledge “by working on commercial briefs that cover key areas within the sound and music sector.
The music industry is competitive, and you need to be able to show your skills and experience in a simple way. That’s why, at dBs Institute, we dedicate a module in your final year to a professional portfolio development project where you can showcase your work and get a head start on the competition.
You’ll be conducting research relating to your area of focus, enhancing your existing practical skills, and presenting comprehensive research material to your peers for critical discussion, outlining your plans and commercial direction. This is a great way for you to crystallise what you want to do and gives you the space to make mistakes before you enter the ‘real world’.