I have heard optimists say, "Where a door closes a window opens." Sounds good on the surface, right? However, here the inevitable assumption is made that windows are equal to doors in their accessibility. In reality, this is not so; in reality, windows are usually only frequented by cat burglars and hungry students who no longer hold the keys to their parents house. As a prospective student, know your doors from your windows.
Before We Start – A Little Bit About My Bias
I walked into Harris Institute’s Producing/Engineering Program (PEP) as an amateur beatmaker (seriously?) in November 2008, not really knowing what to expect; I left with a completely different frame of mind regarding music, the music business, and the audio industry. For that I am truly grateful. While I was there, I applied myself as much as possible, in and out of school, and graduated with honours, at which point I went on to complete a successful internship at a major recording studio. Now, five months after graduating, the amount of (paid) work I do in the actual industry is honestly not even enough to be considered part-time. Ouch. It’s almost part-time though. Regardless, that should give you an idea of where my bias lies in writing this review. With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the program.
The Course At Harris
Most importantly, your volunteer opportunities (doors), of which there is no short supply, start in the first term.
Term 1 – Huh?
During the first four months (which is all theory, by the way), you will get an introduction to the music industry, recording and software basics, and an exhaustive (in every sense of the word) knowledge of music/computer/recording/film/marketing/Canadian history. You may find that such factoids will certainly impress the ladies if you are ever, say, locked in a heated cocktail-party-debate over why the abacus is still relevant; however, it is more likely that you will wish you were learning practical skills that would put you in demand. On that note, the music industry courses are eye-opening (ohh – windows! I get it) and the music theory program that starts here would impress a Humber student. Most importantly, your volunteer opportunities (doors), of which there is no short supply, start in the first term. These will be your opportunities to get real experience in the industry. My advice, cut class and get out there volunteering.
Term 2 – Finally
From here on, the education gets better: hands-on in the studio, hands-on live PA systems, and a lot of Apple’s Logic Pro. The in-school studio has a sweet board (SSL AWS 900 – look it up) running into ProTools HD (this is the industry-standard recording software – very important). Unfortunately, however, you will not so much as see (never mind touch) an in-line console, which happens to be the centerpiece of almost all serious studios. Also, the amount of time you get to use a PA system is limited, but the opportunities to help real live sound engineers outside of class make up for it. Conversely, there is a large amount of class time spent on Logic Pro, in which you learn enough to make you a master of this phenomenal music production software. Having said that, Logic is not the industry standard and rarely found in a recording studio. Of the industry-standard software, ProTools, you will learn the basics but probably not feel at home in it just yet. Back to the theory: you will also learn about copyright and music industry contracts, which is, although pretty dry, very useful. The music theory gets advanced quickly (great for impressing band members). And finally, of course, you will continue to learn painfully useless information such as Steven Tyler’s vegetarian habits, just less of it.
The demo project consists of finding a band, signing them to contracts, recording them in the studio, and mixing and mastering the project.
Term 3 – The Reason I Chose Harris Institute
The last four months revolve around two final projects: recording a demo, and making a business plan. To start off the term, the demo project consists of finding a band, signing them to contracts, recording them in the studio, and mixing and mastering the project. For this project, the studio is open to students 24/7. For me (and others), this meant many 5 a.m. naps on the studio couch, in order to make it to the 10 a.m. class on time. The entire project was an extraordinary experience and led to my first paid studio-related engineer gig (yay!). The latter part of the term is spent working on a business plan and presentation. It is time-consuming and challenging, but actually not as in-depth as it deserves to be. Similarly, the live sound program culminates in a co-op that does offer job placement with a PA company; however, those who haven’t taken advantage of the volunteer opportunities in the live sound field will not have adequate knowledge of/experience in live sound. Other aspects of the program include designing a web portfolio in Adobe Flash (very useful), a Reason crash course (Brendan like beats!) and your standard audio-post practices with ProTools. Having said that, some practical instruction/experience in recording on set would be nice.
Pros and Cons of the Harris Experience
Pros:
- Countless volunteer opportunities
- Studio always accessible to students
- Co-op with possible job placement
- Project-based curriculum (hello portfolio!)
- Comprehensive approach
Cons:
- Too much history!
- Broad content base means less depth
Life After School
First, a note of caution for prospective students of ANY recording school: before you hand over your tuition, they may promise you a job. They may promise to make you Producer of the next Michael Jackson record. Don’t be fooled! Finding work is hard out there in a good economy, never mind this one; you can be sure your school will remind you of this as they hand you your diploma. As mentioned before, Harris includes a co-op that offers potential job placement, and the school does also provide internship opportunities, although not enough to go around. A great advantage of the curriculum is project-based work; if you work on every project as though it was paid work, you should have a sturdy portfolio by the course end. However, during my ongoing job search, I have found that the area of my expertise, recording engineering, is extremely saturated. Most job opportunities out there are either in live sound or related to the TV/film industry. Well, as an honours graduate, I have found myself to be somewhat prepared for live sound gigs, and not-very-well-at-all-thank-you-very-much-prepared for sound recordist gigs. In all, the program would benefit students by replacing the less-practical with the more-practical.
I have found that my eyes have been opened to a number of great career areas that have required further study in order to make myself competitive.
The Verdict
For a technical program, the Producing/Engineering Program (PEP) at Harris Institute puts a strong importance on teamwork, networking, and business. On the technical side of things, the equipment is adequate, and the practical time is sufficient for recording engineering and audio-post, but lacking in other fields. The quality of instruction is mostly incredible and sometimes atrocious. Some of the teachers care enough to provide countless opportunities to get experience in the industry (this is a huge plus), and the program provides a broad knowledge of the music/audio/entertainment business as a whole. The upside to this diverse education is that it will greatly help you discover what you want to do and where to find it; the downside is you may not have the depth of skill to actually impress anyone doing it. I have found that my eyes have been opened to a number of great career areas that have required further study in order to make myself competitive.
Now, I hope my wit, sharp as it is, doesn’t deter you. I had a great experience at Harris, which opened a couple of doors, and a couple of windows. Both are good. The key is knowing yourself and what you need. To summarize the education at Harris:
You may find yourself to be a jack of all trades, master of none. You may just find yourself to be a jack-ass. Or you just may find yourself.
For more info on me and my work, check out brendanmcquade.com.
(3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
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Justin
“The demo project consists of finding a band, signing them to contracts, recording them in the studio, and mixing and mastering the project.”
If it would be that easy!