Last Updated on October 15, 2022 by
Audio engineers play a crucial role in the music production industry. Audio engineers are experts at everything starting from mixing music, the technical aspects of every audio equipment used in the industry, capturing live sound etc. Audio engineers wear many hats and their job requires them to touch multiple aspects of the industry.
Looking to build a career in audio engineering? You need to know all the major aspects of audio engineering in order to understand if it suits your career goals and desires. There are several audio engineering schools in Toronto, making students industry-ready right at the start of the career. Read on to know what major roles audio engineers play in the music industry.
Table of Contents
5 Audio Engineer Roles
There are 5 main roles for audio engineers and each plays a very specific role within the industry and the path to each of these roles come with its own unique attributes.
Recording Engineer-
You can become a recording engineer by following three main routes. You can start working as an apprentice at a recording studio and start getting acquainted with the basic skills such as learning audio equalization, monitoring the sound levels, and understanding how to navigate the mixing boards. Learning these skills can also help you become an assistant engineer.
Mixing Engineer-
Once the initial recording is done, mixing engineers enter the scene. They create a uniform audio mix using digital workstations such as Logic, Pro Tools, or Ableton. A specialized mixing engineer is quite the same as a recording engineer and can also start their career as an apprentice in some studio. They may also require to have a certificate or a bachelor’s degree. One of the most important things is to network with the right professionals like record producers. They are constantly in need of help to navigate newer and innovative technologies. For example, drum machines or auto-tunes.
Mastering Engineer –
The career trajectory of a mastering engineer is not very different from that of a mixing engineer. The major difference in their roles is that mastering engineers come to the picture at the tail end of the entire recording process and their job is to oversee the final stage of EQ, volume balancing, and compression– every aspect required to create a finished sound recording. They do the final check on a recorded sound’s quality.
Live sound engineer-
To put your foot into the music industry as a live sound engineer, you have to start working at live music venues and learn how the sound systems in live venues function. Even if you simply start as an assistant sound technician you’ll learn how to set up microphone stands, connecting the monitors and speakers, and micing amps. The more experience you earn the better your chances of becoming a lead engineer one day for live shows.
Multimedia sound engineer-
Multimedia sound engineers oversee different varieties of sound, ranging from dialogue to music, to sound effects and diegetic sound effects. They incorporate such sound forms to produce the overall audio mix. Multimedia sound engineers work in video games, TV, movies, and live theater etc.
Now that you understand the multitude of job roles you can pursue once you learn the right skills, wait no more and enroll on a course today and be industry-ready.
Read also: What Does a DevOps Engineer Do?
