Music production is a highly in-demand career now, and professional music production engineers are not only earning but, but the job also gives a lot of fame and satisfaction. However, many people who have got talent in music and also desirous to get into the industry, don’t have enough information about how to achieve this. There are many music production schools and courses now, but one should be very specific about which specialty to choose and which school to study in order to fulfill your career goals.
One thing people tend to get confused when it comes to music production is various job titles and the responsibilities of each. Today, we will discuss the distinct roles of a sound engineer vs. audio technician. Even though the skills, responsibilities, and knowledge requirements of both titles overlap at many places, there are some basic differences between these.
You can find the audio technicians and sound engineers are separately listed in movie credits etc. This distinction is primarily related to the function of each and their role in music production projects. Let’s discuss in detail.
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Role of Sound Engineer
In a music production project, sounds engineers usually take care of the creative aspects of the project. Often time, working along with the sound production, professional sounder engineers use their creative, excellent and technological expertise to make the best quality recordings and also do proper mixing of audio.
In this aspect, sound engineers actually gain their skills through music production courses and moving up slowly from the level of an audio technician. They may have several years of experience working as an assistant engineer in the recording studios and fine-tuned their skilled under the mentoring of experienced sound engineers. No doubt that sound engineers earn better than audio technicians for their advanced skills and level of experience.
Role of Audio Technician
Audio technicians act as the nuts and bolts in capturing music or sounds for the recording. They also take care of various aspects of broadcasting the voice and also managing the live music applications. Prior to the recording or rehearsal sessions, audio technicians need to connect all the microphones, speakers, and amplifiers, and track down any issues with the audio systems.
Even though sharing many of the physical duties with the sound engineer, audio technicians need to be close in touch with the mid-level sound workers. Over a few years of experience and expertise gained through handling different projects, sound technicians further grow to the sound engineer role over time.
To become an audio technician and further a sound engineer, the path is the same. One needs to gain essential technical skills for these jobs. There are many associate degrees and diploma programs in sound production, which will help make an aspiring sound engineering to gain practical skills and knowledge.
The vocational training programs in music production may take from a few months to a couple of years to complete based on the curriculum. The entry level courses in sound recording engineering require good aptitude, a passion towards the sound, and music, and also a high school diploma.
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John is a Business Tech Analyst. He is very responsible towards the job. He loves to share his knowledge and experience with his friends and colleagues.