I heard about Trebas Institute through a friend of mine and after doing some research on the internet I was confident it was the place I wanted to go. My goal was to learn the recording arts so I could not only record my own music but also make a career out of it. Some of the other schools I looked into were more focused on the management/business side, where I was interested strictly in the production side of the industry.
I was actually able to sit down with a previous alumni to talk about how the program worked.
I live just outside Toronto and was able to visit the Toronto campus prior to enrolling to take a tour. I was actually able to sit down with a previous alumni to talk about how the program worked and some of the skills that I would take away.
The Program Structure
Basically there were three terms, which lasted four months each, so the length of the entire program was one year; something that was very appealing when looking through the different schools to go to. In the first term we learned a lot of the basics that we would need to take forward into terms two and three such as terminology. So there was a lot of classroom time spent in term one, with some MIDI and basic recording mixed in with a basic overview lab in a studio.
In term two we spent more time in the studio working with programs like Pro Tools and Cubase. In term two we also started learning the ideas and concepts that go into building a high quality recording studio as well as effective low cost ideas we could implement within our own environments.
By term three we were expected to know the terminology and concepts going forward and put them to use within our final assignments, the biggest of which was putting together a professional recording studio, budget, floor plan, calculations, materials and all.
Career Development
When you graduate, you will have a start on a demo reel with a few of the projects in the end of the course. I finished with two videos, one of which I wrote the music for and the other we used a library of sound effects to sinc with the video. I also came away with the session recordings from our final project in the studio labs.
There was plenty of opportunities to work within the genre of music that I was interested in, mainly rock music.
We mainly focused on recording techniques and discussed the different applications you could use for different types of music. There was plenty of opportunities to work within the genre of music that I was interested in, mainly rock music, as well as other genres to broaden my musical horizons.
In the end of the course within our careers class, we had a speed interview day where a number of industry professionals were brought in. We had five minutes to sit down and be interviewed by each of them to see what kinds of questions we could expect in the entertainment industry which was a very cool opportunity. From then on I received e-mails regarding entertainment industry job opportunities and available internships from the school career advisor.
The Facilities
When I started at Trebas, the school was in an old building in downtown Toronto, which was okay. It was easy for me to get to, and the studios were within walking distance. After my first term they relocated outside of the downtown area, more like northwest Toronto. It was still accessible by subway, but was a much farther commute from my initial route, both to school and the studio locations. The plan was to build an on-site studio so students wouldn’t have to leave the facilities. Unfortunately, this was not completed while I was still attending and I don’t know if it’s finished yet.
Aside from the location, the only other complaint I have about the new facility was that they didn’t properly soundproof all of the classrooms. It was possible for one class to hear the one next to it, which was pretty annoying if you were writing a test or doing presentations.
Faculty
The instructors were great for the most part, very knowledgeable and professional. However there were a couple that were a little too casual for the price you pay to attend, canceling classes at the last minute and then not re-scheduling, being late all the time, etc.. Nevertheless the good ones made up for it with how much information they would share and help they would be, even with things that weren’t class/school related.
Although the course was very expensive, I feel like I would do it again.
The Verdict
My overall experience was great. I took knowledge away that I would never have had otherwise. I just graduated last year, and at this point, I am not currently working in the industry. I am however in the process of putting together a studio of my own. Although the course was very expensive, I feel like I would do it again and would definitely recommend it to someone looking to learn the recording arts.
If you would like to check out some work I have done, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCnN99CXHxw
(5 votes, average: 2.40 out of 5)
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