NMC is first to get new recording system and virtual mixing board TRAVERSE CITY – Northwestern Michigan College’s Audio Tech program is full of firsts. Big-time firsts.
Like being the first educational institution – heck, the first studio of any sort – to install the new Raven MTX virtual mixing board. That comes on the heels of last year being the first to receive and use the RedNet recording system by Focusrite.
Quite a coup for a little community college.
NMC offers several classes in music recording and computer-based technology. Steve Quick, the head of the Audio Tech program, says the program offers performance-based classes as well as those dealing with recording or engineering.
“The focus is to have them become entrepreneurs,” said Quick. “We are training students for jobs that don’t exist yet.”
The program has 40 full-time students and another 10 to 15 part-time students. Quick says more than 70 students have enrolled in at least one class offered through the audio tech program. Among them is Taj Robles, who has taken several music classes at NMC.
Robles says he enjoys the fact the programs are interdisciplinary and offer hands-on experience.
“You’ve got to do the work yourself, but everyone is really helpful,” he said. “There’s incredible gear here. I took an audio tech class in high school and NMC classes in recording technique and MIDI sequencing.”
That gear includes the college’s new Raven MTX mixer. It’s a full-size touch-screen mixer that boasts multi-touch faders and a surround system, giving students hands-on access to state-of-the-art equipment to learn on.
“Nobody had made a multi-touch screen” before this, Quick said. “You can move two or three or more faders at a time if you want to.”
The purchase and installation of the system follows last year’s acquisition of the RedNet system. The RedNet allows users to record music through computers or microphones into a system without the need for dedicated wiring. Instead, users can run the signals through computer Ethernet cables. It’s much simpler than rewiring a room, or an entire building.
“You can plug mics in in a room that connects to CAT 6 wiring that’s already present. The boxes are relatively expensive, but it’s a huge, huge cost savings (over rewiring),” said Quick.
“Anyplace we go can be a recording studio – Milliken Auditorium, elsewhere on campus, anywhere,” he added. “It’s state of the art.”
In addition, there’s a complete music computer lab, which features a dozen computer systems integrated with a music keyboard for hands-on teaching and learning. All told, these groundbreaking accomplishments are quite a coup for a program that has existed for less than two years in its current state.
The technology isn’t cheap. For example, the RedNet units run from $2,000 to $3,000 apiece, depending on what they're designed to do. NMC has about $15,000 invested in the RedNet system, but Quick says the investment is well worth it.
“We could have easily spent double to triple that for traditional wiring and interfaces, and if we move, the wiring could not move with us,” he said.
Tech driven
Moreover, he points to NMC’s record of investing in programs that produce results.
“The college invests in technology-driven training programs, trying to anticipate growth in career opportunities,” Quick said, pointing to such areas as culinary studies, aeronautics, water studies, robotics and the maritime program. “The track record is pretty good, and we hope to add to those successes.”
Quick comes to the program with both a music background and a technical approach. He’s studied saxophone and voice since elementary school and played in a variety of ensembles, from country to jazz to classical. He subsequently gained experience at the Recording Institute of Detroit, and has worked in sound engineering, film and related areas.
The program includes other instructors who, like Quick, boast experience in both technology and performance: Mike Hunter (who also directs the college’s jazz performance groups), Phil Tarczon, his brother Roger Tarczon, Jack Conners, Randy Marsh, David Chown, and Pat Niemisto. Mike Davis, who teaches Music Appreciation and Jazz Appreciation, also helps out with the Audio Tech students.
Quick says that dual background gives NMC students a leg up, as they get both technical and real world experience from working professionals.
Quick and Hunter worked closely with the Focusrite staff, meeting with the head of the company’s American branch.
“I had sent a couple of emails describing what the program meant to us and our students,” Quick said. “Our emails got kicked upstairs to the president of Focusrite America. They shipped directly to us and sent a factory rep from California to oversee the installation. We got the first production models in the world.”
At the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show last January in Anaheim, Quick and Hunter met with heads of the company from both the U.S. and U.K.
“We were treated well by Focusrite. They said, ‘Oh, you’re the guys from Traverse City,’” Quick said with a smile.
Students in the audio tech program can pursue an associate’s degree in applied science in audio technology. Quick says the college offers what he calls a “two-prong approach.”
“There’s recording technology, computer recording. That’s my side. Mike has a strong background in that as well.
“The other is using the computer for composing and arranging. Mike deals with MIDI, virtual instruments and the like.”
Hunter says programs like the popular Garage Band on Macintosh computers offer users an entry-level product which can familiarize them with the basics. The NMC program goes beyond that to give student users experience with a number of tools and programs that will benefit them as they move forward.
“Garage Band is a great place to start,” said Hunter. “We get more into software like Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Studio One.”
Quick and Hunter have trained with Apple in Cupertino, Calif., and NMC is an Apple Certified Training Center (another first). That means the students are getting instruction from certified pros.
“We are approved by Apple to teach their pro applications,” said Quick. That includes not just Logic Pro, but also Aperture, a photo application, and Final Cut Pro, Apple’s video and film program.
The students work with the instructors in classrooms, learning the ins and outs of the recording process as well receiving instruction in keyboards, drums and guitar.
“What’s cool is our students are music majors,” Quick stated. Students study areas such as music theory and sight singing for ear training.
In addition to their classes, they gain practical experience, including working at the mixing boards during shows at NMC. “We’re moving more students into live sound at Milliken Auditorium,” Quick added.
It’s that hands-on experience that Robles says is the best part of his experience.
“Practical experience in learning mastering – I really like mixing and making my own beats.”
Quick’s assertion regarding how the program is preparing students for a constantly changing marketplace is a match for Robles. He admits he’s unsure about his future direction but hopes it will involve music and technology.
“I’m not sure what I want to do,” Robles said, “but I’m interested in electronic engineering.”
To learn more about the program, call 231-995-1000 or visit www.nmc.edu.
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