Music Production Student Advice For Starting A New Course

If you're just embarking on your journey as a music production student, you might have a clear idea of what to expect, but even if you do, university can really change your life for the better and open up a huge new palette of opportunities and areas of self discovery which may not have crossed your mind initially.

As a former music production student who is now a teacher of the subject, I wanted to share my experience with you and offer you some music production student advice for starting a new course.

If you're interested in studying music production, we offer a foundation degree in Creative Music Production And Business here at CM. We also offer a level 3 teaching and education qualification focused on teaching music related subjects. This is a great way to get into teaching or running your own music related workshops. Check out our course page for more information.

When I first started as a music production student, I saw it as a great opportunity to learn more about my passion. What I didn't realise is how much of a crucial role it would play in my future career development as well.

You will almost definitely start meeting people there, in the form of guest speakers, teaching staff and other students, who will have a positive impact on you. Everyone feeds off each other's creativity and passion for the subject of music and the production of music.

If you're anything like me you'll discover yourself more whilst studying and start to form a solid idea of what you want to do in the future.

I know how tempting it can be to blow most of your student loan straight away, on things that you really want, but if you can use it to invest in things that you will need for your course and potentially your future career in music production, this would be more wise.

Things like monitor headphones for mixing and a portable hard drive are a good place to start but if your budget allows, try to start building your music production arsenal as soon as you can.

Be savvy as well, as you can get a lot of student discounts from some shops such as Apple and lots of plugin companies also offer student discounts.

If you are presented with an opportunity to do any sort of music related work or experience, take it! Make the most of these offers as you never know where they might lead in the future! This could be anything from an offer of work experience to collaborating with an artist, producer or even a student filmmaker. 

Definitely try and collaborate with your fellow production students as well! Even if you ask one of the others if you can have a go at mixing one of their tracks. This is all great experience and will improve your skills in production as well as working with others.

Really, try your hardest to put 100% into everything you do, as people tend to take notice of this and it will be more likely that they’ll want to work with you again or offer you a job. I was lucky enough to do a live sound engineering apprenticeship and music teacher training during my studies and I still do this sort of work now, which has shaped my career path hugely.

Lastly, try and have fun and enjoy the experience! It may be stressful at times, but for me personally, being a music production student was one of the best times of my life and really helped me grow as a person, as well develop my skills. Don’t get me wrong, there were times that I got stressed and worried about stuff, but I just kept at it! Also, if you are really struggling, try and remember that help is always available in the form of student support.

For me, my time as a music production student was probably the best part of my life so far! It really had a massive impact on me and my current career, so even if you aren't sure about your new course at first, try to persevere and really make the most of the experience!