Completion of Critical Listening 1 or equivalent knowledge and experience is required. Basic skills operating a multitrack recording system of your choice (connecting microphone inputs, adjusting recording levels, assigning inputs to recording tracks, creating monitor mixes) and bouncing mixes to WAV files or recording/importing external mixes into your computer will also be required. To meet the digital audio workstation (DAW) proficiency requirements, you may benefit from taking any of the following courses: Pro Tools 101, Pro Tools 110, Producing Music with Logic, Producing Music with Reason, Producing Music with Cubase, Ableton Live Fundamentals.

Required Textbook(s)

• None required

Software Requirements

• Basic audio software such as Audacity or GarageBand: If not using a computer-based DAW, you will need digital audio software capable of recording or importing WAV files.

Hardware Requirements

• Multitrack Recording System. You must have access to a multitrack recording system, which supports at least two microphone inputs. Any of the following are acceptable:
  • Computer-based DAW (Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Logic Pro X, Reason 6, Digital Performer, SONAR, Cubase, etc.)
  • Standalone digital or analog workstation (Roland, Yamaha, Fostex, Akai, etc.)
  • Component recording system (console, multitrack tape recorder, etc.)
• Microphones
  • The minimum requirement for the course is:
    • One unidirectional condenser microphone
    • One unidirectional dynamic (moving coil or ribbon) microphone
  • Access to other microphone types can be helpful, including an omnidirectional microphone of any type, a bidirectional microphone of any type, and a second microphone matching any of your others for drum overheads and stereo miking techniques.
    Note: The ideal hardware configuration for students who would like to experience recording a small live band is a system with 4 – 8 microphones and input channels.
• Musical InstrumentsCoursework includes frequent hands-on recording assignments. We recommend the following:
  • Vocalist (male or female; both if possible)
  • An acoustic instrument, such as a saxophone or other woodwind, acoustic guitar, piano, or violin
  • A drum kit is recommended for one assignment; an alternate option will be provided if a kit is not available
  • A small band or ensemble (three or four pieces) is recommended for the final project; an alternate option will be provided if a band is not available
    Note: it’s better to record a band or some of your friends rather than engineering and playing simultaneously
• Other Equipment
  • Stereo loudspeakers
  • At least one pair of headphones suitable for monitoring during a recording session

Instructors

Andy Edelstein

Author & Instructor

Andy Edelstein is an active educator, record producer, engineer, and multimedia developer. He is currently Associate Professor of Music Production and Engineering at Berklee, and has also served as Assistant Chair of the Music Production and Engineering Department during his thirty-seven-year tenure at the College. Andy has produced, recorded, and/or mixed numerous records from jazz and rock to folk, Celtic, and blues, including the genre-bending Wayfaring Strangers critically acclaimed Rounder releases, the SpinART debut by independent rockers Apollo Sunshine, and a live album by the longtime bluegrass band Dry Branch Fire Squad, all using his Pro Tools HD system. His recording facility Rapid Eye Music was cited in Mix Magazine’s “Class of 2015” article about the acoustical design of the year’s coolest new studios. Andy is Principal of Rapid Eye Media, specializing in multimedia production services. His design and production work is featured in a series of award-winning interactive exhibits at the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, MO and the Longyear Museum in Brookline, MA. Consulting clientele has included the GRAMMY Foundation in Santa Monica, CA. Andy holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.