Looking for a job in England related to research in music

Hi everyone,

I'm studying music (in the technical way : mixing, recording, setting sound systems...) and will do some training periods from April to September 2011 just before beginning to work.

The main way that my studies lead to is the work in studios, but for several reasons, that is not what I want to do later.

Last year I discovered another domain, in which I now want to work : the research in music. I live in France and will investigate this side in my country, but I'd like to travel for one of my trainings, and England is my main choice as I love its musical culture. I'm very curious to see how the research goes in this country.

So, as I think electronic music related to WATMM is often kind of linked with experimentation(s), I wonder if some of you are into the musical research circle, or know it more or less. Maybe you could tell me about some firms / organisms ?

I really don't know if a post here can help me in any way, but it would be a shame not to ask.

Thanks,

Lucas

  On 10/11/2010 at 10:59 PM, Antape said:

Hi everyone,

 

I'm studying music (in the technical way : mixing, recording, setting sound systems...) and will do some training periods from April to September 2011 just before beginning to work.

 

The main way that my studies lead to is the work in studios, but for several reasons, that is not what I want to do later.

 

Last year I discovered another domain, in which I now want to work : the research in music. I live in France and will investigate this side in my country, but I'd like to travel for one of my trainings, and England is my main choice as I love its musical culture. I'm very curious to see how the research goes in this country.

 

So, as I think electronic music related to WATMM is often kind of linked with experimentation(s), I wonder if some of you are into the musical research circle, or know it more or less. Maybe you could tell me about some firms / organisms ?

 

I really don't know if a post here can help me in any way, but it would be a shame not to ask.

 

Thanks,

Lucas

Research usually takes place in universities, you don't just wander into a research "job". Also you're very vague, what do you want to research? What can you do? Are you able to read notated music? Have you studied music history?

If electronic music is what you want to do then you should stay in france and apply to IRCAM!

last.fm is hiring.

Google was my friend, let it be yours too

(Ps... Solent uni ran at tent at Glade festival last year, everyone on the course got a slot!)

unless you blagg some uni to give you cash (they have loads over here) then i doubt you'll make a living from this

I write "job" a bit quickly and couldn't edit the post title when I realize it.

Anyway, I haven't been so clear about what I'm looking for : last year I discovered a circle that I didn't know before ; I made a training period in a research in music centre, whose aim is to receive artists (generally contemporary ones) and to help them in achieving their pieces by following them on the technical side.

These collaborations generally involve special technical sets and explore areas like interaction between the body and the music, new ways of spatialization (? i'm not sure about this word) of the sound, sound synthesis...

There are 6 centres like this one in France, plus the previously quoted IRCAM (which is a lot bigger and seems maybe a bit less open-minded that the centres I told you about, but anyway I think that one of my training periods will be there because they have a lot more people and equipment and it could be very interesting for that).

So, as I'd like to do a training period in another country, I just wonder if there are such centres in England. I'm not looking for money yet, just some experiences in a circle that I want to work in later.

A guy into it told me a few days ago that the researches are maybe more based in the universities in England, you seem to confirm it Jim ?

Also, to answer your questions : I have some knowledge in acoustics (theoretically and in practice), in hardware studio gears, in a lot of audio software programs (DAWs and sequencers especially) and of course I'm working on getting more familiar with Max MSP and other musical/sound programming tools.

I hope I've been clearer than in the previous post. Thanks if you read me !

Lucas

Well interestingly you seem to want to do exactly what they do at IRCAM. I don't know how "open-minded" it is but they have had a hand in creating some of the most groundbreaking music software ever (Max was written by an IRCAM guy). As far as I know there isn't a similar institute over here, most of my friends and colleagues involved in this sort of thing head over to paris to work there. I'm sure you might have a chance of working in a recording studio at a university or conservatoire but you would just be recording people playing beethoven and mastering it nicely. If you want to do research in this field you might as well try the best institution in the world for it which just happens to be on your doorstep.

I doubt you'll find any educational institution based around the latest technology like Max/MSP. Hi tech music stuff is a minefield as by the time you finish your course the technology has moved on and a few years down the line only the basic sound concepts will remain useful which you can learn for free about the net anyway.

Education in the UK is more about money that academic excellence these days and University are raking it in and churning post grads with no jobs and huge debts by the bucket load.

My advice would be to do a more general music course and involve you interest in experimental music from there, academics love that shit because they can rant about it at Oddbins and feel clever.

Actually I just had a thought. Huddersfield university has apparently got a very good department for music which mainly focuses on contemporary. It's got a very respected electronic/ electroacoustic course (as well as a fantastic international festival of contemporary music). That might suit you perfectly. Best of luck and all that.

http://www2.hud.ac.uk/schools/

  On 10/12/2010 at 4:12 AM, jim said:

If electronic music is what you want to do then you should stay in france and apply to IRCAM!

This.

I've always had this romantic image of IRCAM as a bunch of French guys standing around in labcoats and holding clipboards while chain smoking and rubbing their chins before a big wall of knobs.

Then again, anecdotes I hear about the place hint at a bunch of elitist avant-garde assholes who take themselves too seriously, anecdotes like Andy Moorer being kicked out because his track 'Lions are Growing' - consisting only of phase-vocoded voices reciting poetry - was deemed too poppy.

I study here http://www.sonic.mdx.ac.uk/ but unfortunately the course has gone now, but we have some excellent research fellows. This is of no help really, but they are lovely guys.

  On 10/15/2010 at 10:32 PM, Wall Bird said:

  On 10/12/2010 at 4:12 AM, jim said:

If electronic music is what you want to do then you should stay in france and apply to IRCAM!

 

This.

 

I've always had this romantic image of IRCAM as a bunch of French guys

fuck yeah