A singer may have the golden voice. A cellist may have dexterous fingers unlike any that have come before. A composer may create a piece of breathtaking complexity and beauty.
However…
It doesn’t matter if no one can hear it.
For that reason, the producer may be the most important part of the recording process.
The producer oversees the actual recording of a piece of music, working with both musicians and engineers to ensure that every level is correct and every instrument is in the right place in the mix.
Excellent production takes more than just talent. It takes knowledge & experience working in a studio, which makes a degree in music production so important.
Fortunately, many music schools offer not only music production degrees but also professional-level facilities for students to gain valuable, hands-on experience.
This list collects the 10 best music production schools in the state of New York. Each of the schools on this list offers bachelor’s degrees in production.
Moreover, each prepares the next generation of producers by giving them access to state-of-the-art equipment and teachers with years of real-world experience. Students in these programs work alongside both professional musicians and musicians-in-training to gain practical ability in recording music.
Here is our pick for the 10 best music production schools in the state of New York.
New York University Steinhardt School
At the New York University Steinhardt School, future producers earn a degree in Music Technology. That terminology matters, as it reveals the program’s emphasis on the tools that students will use in their studies.
The crown jewel of Steinhardt’s Music Technology program is the James Dolan Recording Studio.
Built in 2009 and regularly updated, the Dolan Studio is 7,500 sq. ft. in size and has a 25-seat control room.
Dolan boasts the first Dangerous Music 10.2 surround system in New York City, and has since improved to a 12.2 system. Other attributes include a research lab for 3D audio experimentation, a 48-channel SSL console, and multiple Genelec speakers.
Off-campus, Steinhardt students can take their learning into some of the most famous venues in the entire world.
Perhaps best of all, the music technology degree helps students gain internships with major music companies. Students have interned in places as varied as Radio City Music Hall, the Metropolitan Opera, and Sony Music.
SUNY Purchase
At SUNY Purchase, production students can choose from two different programs, each with their own emphasis.
For those who want to focus on writing music, there’s the Studio Composition program, one of the first of such programs in the world. Studio Composition students learn to treat the studio as an instrument in the creation of a recording, and many of the musicians there are singer-songwriter types who create their own music.
Those who prefer to stay on the technical side of things should opt for the Studio Production program, which focuses on recording and audio engineering.
Despite the differences in emphasis, there’s a lot of overlap between the two programs. They share the same studios and some of the same faculty. In other words, you can’t go wrong no matter which SUNY track you choose.
Ithaca College
At Ithaca College, students learn to become self-motivated lifelong learners.
Thus, Sound Recording Technology (SRT) majors begin working independently even in their freshman year, developing the creative instincts they’ll need to become great producers.
The classes in the program are designed to help students prepare for the real world of music production. They include classes in audio recording systems, microphone techniques, and even a music recording internship.
One distinguishing factor of Ithaca College’s School of Music is that all musicians – including those studying Sound Recording Technology – are required to audition for the program. If you are interested in the SRT program at Ithaca, be sure to prepare an audition on a classical or jazz instrument.
Syracuse University
Syracuse University describes its Sound Technology Degree as a multidisciplinary program, emphasizing the equal importance it gives to creativity and technical skill.
Housed in the Belfer Audio Archive of Syracuse University Libraries, the center of the Sound Technology program is the Belfer Recording Studio and Laboratory.
Its Live End/Dead End studio and control rooms were designed by Mannheim Steamroller founder Chip Davis and have been a mainstay in the music business for a quarter of a century.
For those who want to dive into their field’s history, the Belfer Audio Archive contains over 22,000 records, making it the largest physical collection of any private institution in the world.
These archives trace the history of recording music, allowing students to learn from the masters and find their place among the greats.
SUNY Fredonia
The Sound Recording Technology program at SUNY Fredonia is a Bachelor of Science degree, but make no mistake—it’s not just about the numbers.
The program treats producers as musicians and considers the studio an instrument. Thus, it limits acceptance to those who can demonstrate musical ability as well as academic promise.
In fact, applicants must audition to gain a spot in the program, just like any other musician.
That restriction might sound intimidating, but it also underscores SUNY Fredonia’s commitment to marrying creativity to technical progress. Both qualities are necessary for a successful producing career.
Students at Fredonia get to exercise that creativity in the school’s incredible recording facilities, which emphasize both digital and analog production.
With all of these options, Sound Recording Technology students have a wide berth to explore their passions and work with fellow musicians at Fredonia’s School of Music.
University of Rochester
Future producers looking at the website for the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music may feel discouraged, as Eastman doesn’t have any programs explicitly for technology or recording.
But they should take heart, as Rochester offers not one, but two degrees of interest to producers—it’s just that they are through the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences.
The Audio, Arts, and Technology degree takes a less technical approach, emphasizing looseness and creativity.
This degree urges students to think like musicians, to play with the studio and work in collaboration with performers to make something unique.
For the more left-brained among us, there’s the Audio and Music Engineering Degree. This degree focuses on hard sciences, ensuring students understand not just what sounds good, but the physics of waveforms and acoustics.
Long Island University
Anyone interested in going into popular music will feel their eyes light up when they read the name of the school where Long Island University houses its degree in Music Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Production.
The Roc Nation School of Music, Sports, and Entertainment is named such because of its association with famed recording artist Jay-Z.
That connection is just one of the many benefits to studying music production at Roc Nation. Students gain a full view of the business, taking courses in record company operations, the history of popular music, and even technical classes in ear training and arrangement.
For those who have big dreams but limited resources, Long Island University has a Hope Scholarship available to 25% of all enrolled students.
Those who receive the Hope Scholarship can study tuition-free, allowing them to set their mind to their art instead of their finances.
Mercy University
Where many programs on this list prepare students for futures in the recording industry, the Music Production and Recording Arts degree at Mercy University takes a wider view.
Mercy emphasizes transferable skills, giving its graduates a wide range of abilities that can be used in a variety of fields, including theater, gaming, and film.
When not in the classroom, Mercy students work in one of four recording studios, including the prime studio with a fully-appointed control room and state-of-the-art digital and analog processors.
Future producers can get creative with any of three music production labs, each equipped with M-Audio controllers and software such as Pro Tools and Apple Logic.
Combining theory and practice, Mercy University ensures that each of their graduates has the tools they need to follow their dreams wherever they take them.
Five Towns College
A private university located in Dix Hills, New York, Five Towns College may not have the name recognition of others on this list. But rest assured, its recording degree stands up to the best of them.
The Audio Recording Technology concentration can be added to either a Business Management, Mass Communication, or Music Performance degree, ensuring maximum flexibility.
As a concentration, students gain a foundation in their major, which they supplement with hands-on experience in Five Town’s recording studios.
Five Towns offers three studios, each with its own emphasis, from a full mixing board and to-end speakers to a MIDI/Non-Linear Lab.
Thanks to these options, students can approach recording from their preferred perspective, be it business, performance, or mass media.
New York University Clive Davis Institute
Where Steinhardt serves students interested in classical music, those who want to work in contemporary music will be better served by NYU’s other school, the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.
Named for the famed producer and executive, Clive Davis boasts not just incredible facilities but also unprecedented connections to the record industry.
Clive Davis offers a unique Music Business degree, which deals with the economics of working within the studio system.
For future producers, the Music Business degree means that they can start making connections now that will help them establish their careers.
They’ll prepare for those careers by studying under professors such as Bob Power, a Grammy-winning producer and mixer.
Power has worked on some of the greatest albums in pop music history, including those made by Erykah Badu, Ozomatli, and the Roots.
