#u39

I first became interested in Music Technology while working as a Dj. After working as a Nightclub Dj for Two years, I wanted to start producing my own music to play in my sets, rather than playing tracks made by somebody else. Playing in mostly commercial music based nightclubs i met lots of Dj who had never produced. Therefore I wanted to produce all types of music so i could get it played by other Djs. I felt by producing music to play i would stand out as a Dj. I also have an interest in live sound.

I chose to do the National Diploma Course in Music Technology as it covered everything i was interested in. The course included both Music Production and Sound engineering. I also knew that it would help towards the next step of my career by preparing me for the music industry. 

As a music technician so far, I have learned the basics of Logic pro. This Daw software has allowed me to learn how to produce tracks, podcasts and make film soundtracks. Also I worked on the production “Mixology.” A show where the main aim was for there to be continuous music when even the bands were changing over. My main role was to mix in transition tracks between performers. To do this we had to use a Dj set up which I helped rig up to the live mixing desk. My other role was to be one of the live sound engineers. This consisted of mixing the show. Where I had past experience watching over sound engineers I was able to use these techniques to make the show sound better. This made me get a good feel for how a live sound engineer works. 

 I recently had the chance to go and watch several live sound engineers in action, working for artists such as Labrinth, Example and Rizzle kicks. Also I got shown the basics of being a PA technician at the Royal Albert hall, I.e rigging of pro Audio systems and positioning them in the right place in a room so the sound is the best it can be. I was allowed to walk around the Royal Albert hall and tune the system with a tablet device so the sound is good in every position. I also work as a Dj for the Luminar group, who own 55 nightclubs across the United kingdom which I am permitted to work in. This job allows me to make contacts throughout the music industry. 

Music has, i must confess, not always been a big part of my life.  I didn't start listening to music of my own accord until my early adolescence, and only started looking into taking music more seriously around four years ago. Music has, however, managed to take over my life and for better or worse I can't get enough of it. Whether I'm listening to some prog rock or post-punk while I'm washing up or recording my own compositions; music is hugely important to me.

It was for this reason that I decided to enroll on the National Diploma course in Music Technology. Music Performance was an option which I considered; however I felt at the time (and indeed still do) that as I enjoy production work as much as composition and playing the Technology option suited me better. Having spent three years recording my own music prior to starting the course, I already had a usable level of knowledge with regards to effects plugins and production techniques, but the additional expertise which i have already gained and hope to continue to has proved invaluable. Access to more modern recording software has been hugely advantageous to me, as the better visualisation of things such as EQ and the more detailed compression effects has helped me enormously to further my understanding of how they work and thus improve the quality of my mixes. During the rest of the course I aim to, among other things, delve deeper into the subtleties and nuances of Logic's MIDI instruments and effects plugins and experiment more in my music.

I was very young when I realised that I wanted to be a musician or maybe have a career in music an that was when I listened to my first rock compilation album in 2002. I was only 6 years old but my family say that it was the only album I ever talked about and I remember the day I first heard it.

As I got older I listened to a lot of different types of music but it didn't matter what it was, I would always think about how it was made and how it was put on cd's and iPods and such, so I decided to do some research and I found out about music producers, engineers and all sorts of people and I knew i'd found what I wanted to do. I didn't really know how to go about getting a job like that until I heard about NWK college and its Music Tech course. I felt that this course would be right for me because if I stayed in school, I would be wasting my time on 2/3 a levels that I wouldn't need when I can be focusing all of my attention on Music Tech and gaining experience using the equipment instead.

I think it was a great decision for me because since I have joined the college I have learned so much more about how the equipment works including mixers, interfaces and also more about the software and how to use more of it when I create and record music. I haven't worked on any productions yet in a technical way although outside of college I have done mixing and such for a few bands and I hope that I can improve after this year since I hope to learn how to use the equipment and software to its full potential and record and master music to a professional standard.

My interest in music was sparked from a very young age, due to the enthusiasm my parents showed while collecting a large and diverse library of music. Through this, I was introduced to many different sounds. This huge influx of music upon my life made me realise the subtle differences, but most importantly, the similarities there are between most genres. I grew to appreciate all types of music; however, one I feel that has remained a constant love throughout my life is rock music. It has energy, feel, and beautiful melodies whilst still being tremendously simple. It instantly grabbed my imagination and from that moment on I was obsessed with music.

I began trumpet and tenor horn lessons shortly after joining my second primary school. This was my first real experience at making and playing music. I was told by various music tutors that I had a certain knack for playing brass, however, I did not feel that I wanted to pursue a future in that particular musical path.

3 years later, I started my secondary education at Bexley Grammar School. The music facilities were, the best I had seen, and that, in turn, inspired me to start learning guitar. I must hasten to add, however that this was rather short lived, as two years later; I got into the technical side of music production rather than live performance. A few of my friends at school produced music, and it interested me greatly. I started educating myself in many different styles of electronic music and it was through this that I found FL Studio. It was at this point where my musical knowledge really blossomed and grew. I started teaching myself the ins and outs of basic music production. It became a full on obsession, I wouldn't sleep purely because id stay up all night producing. When I became a bit more competent with production and I thought that I was producing semi-professional sounding songs, I decided to create a soundcloud account so I could share my music with my friends and other producers. With this, I went on a self motivated musical adventure, to discover my own personal library of music that spoke to me in a particular way and tapped into my emotions. I honed and developed my music production skills over 2 years, and decided that it was the one thing that I was truly passionate about and that I wanted to pursue in my life. So, I decided to undertake a BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Music Technology and Sound Engineering at North West Kent College.

Over the last 2 years, I have managed to become a competent music producer, demonstrating my skills in a wide range of genres. I also have worked on and off as an assistant DJ. This has enabled me to get a first hand view at working in the music industry and hopefully it will benefit me greatly over the next 4 years. Apart from music, my interests are reading, skateboarding, playing cricket and cooking. I’m a hard-working, reliable and enthusiastic individual who is keen on self progression.

For a growing number of years now, music has played an increasingly large part in my life and as much as i enjoyed finding new music, i found it equally enjoyable finding band's studio diaries and spending countless hours researching in to sound engineering, this sparked my interest for music technology.

I personally felt that the National Diploma Course would give me the oppertunity to take my hobby to the next level and it would give me the qualifications to either advance on to university or start thinking about a career.

So far as a technician, i've gained the ability to be able to use most of logic's functions (equalisers, compressors, noise gates) or those of similar software, i have learned recording techniques such as the positioning of a mic when recording acoustic guitar or from a cabinet, and speaking more generally, i am now comfortable when using larger recording studio's and even using a mixing desk for live sound. On top of improving the skills i already have, i would like to learn more about outboard equipment, and i would like to develop my mixing techniques.

Before i started the course, i arranged to visit a local recording studio to gain some insight in to what it was like to be a freelance engineer and whether i could get any tips on improving myself as an engineer.

Part of having a strong musical interest means that i often go to live shows/gigs, where naturally i get a feel for live sound and acoustics. Also i have been in various bands meaning i have experience in a studio from the point of view of an artist, i have also picked up some techniques whilst recording such as 'Reamping' which has given me valuable knowledge which i can eventually put in to practice.