If you’ve been looking to forge a career in music production and sound engineering, we’ll point you firmly in the direction of Abbey Road – yes, the Abbey Road – which made its way to Australia in 2015 in the form of the Abbey Road Institute, a new avenue for those hoping to get a leg up in a competitive industry.
Clearly our music scene caught the eye of the legendary British studio (which of course famously produced a host of iconic recordings for The Beatles, and a great many others), as they opened up a brand new educational institute in Melbourne. The course on offer is a 12-month advanced diploma in music production and sound engineering bringing with it the hefty cache of an iconic name, backed by an equally-weighty curriculum and range of facilities.
This weekend, the Melbourne campus is opening the doors of those facilities to anyone pondering their next step towards a career in music production, offering aspiring mixing board maestros a chance to learn everything they care to about the institute.
From 11am to 3:30pm, it’ll host inspiring and informative talks, performances, and tours, while also answering any questions you may have about the place. You’ll have a chance to pick the brains of staff and peers about music production and the audio industry, and get an exclusive insight into what the life of a student attending the production school is like.
Industry-leading producers will be there to discuss techniques and the current state of the music industry over a series of panels, including ARI staff member and 12-time ARIA winner Charles Fisher, who can also boast awards for his Lifetime Contribution to Australian Music, Australian Producer of the Year, and Australian Engineer of the Year – a cluttered mantlepiece that proves you’ll be in very safe hands. Meanwhile, drummer/producer Beau McCree and music industry lawyer Julian Davis will also be there to provide their experiences in a range of other fields.
The state-of-the-art recording facilities will also be open for technical demonstrations all day by technical manager Brad Toan, so if the words Avid S6, SSL or API 1608 mean anything to you, or the prospects of fiddling with microphones by Shure, Neumann and Royer hold any allure, you’ll be in for a fun time.
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Even just registering and attending the Open Day could give you a push in the right direction in the form of some nifty prizes, as you’ll be entered into a draw to win a full licence version of the industry-standard music production software Pro Tools 12, worth a fair whack at $785, and pair of Beyerdynamic DD770 headphones to boot. Other prizes will include tickets to the variety of free gigs that take place at the institute throughout the year, or a swag of Abbey Road merch.
If you can’t make it to the open day, there’s another option, ‘Study For A Day‘, which will take place on Friday November 5 from 10am to 3pm and offer insight from Abbey Road’s Lance Krive and Bradley Toan, who have worked with the likes of Michael Jackson, Stevie Nicks and Madonna – not a bad resume by anyone’s standards.
Places are limited, and Registrations are open now, with the Open Day taking place on Saturday at October 15 at the Abbey Road Institute campus at 1/135 Sturt St. Southbank, Melbourne.
