SG Member Malle Kaas has returned to school. She is currently enrolled in the 12 week production training program at Britannia Row. She will be sharing with us her experiences and training.
In July I met up with Karrie Keyes, one of the co-founders for SG, when she was on tour in Europe. Karrie and I go way back from the time where I was working for Rat Sound more than 14 years ago. When we met, we talked about SoundGirls.org, the industry in general, and talked about the fact that I’m working on getting back in the industry after being away for about ten years. I am 40, give or take, a woman, and have not been working in the industry for ten years. Why go back now?
First let me start with my background: I was 24 when I attended a two week course at a sound company in Copenhagen, Denmark where I’m from. I had never had a lesson in physics, never passed a mathematics examination. I was not a musician – and I was a girl! Therefore, I felt I was very wrong for this industry. But I had a passion – a passion for music – and for the technical aspect!
When my two week course ended the sound company asked if I wanted to work some gig’s for them. Absolutely! I spent almost ten years working in the industry for different companies in Denmark, the States and Germany. I loved it! The experiences, the colleagues, the whole environment. Nevertheless, I was also just a scared young woman, who constantly felt she was at the wrong place. I was at an early stage scared off from the mixing. Instead, I had over the years found my “corner” as a stage technician. However, I was always admiring those, (in my eyes back then), big, tough guys, who were mixing.
Well, I left the industry after almost ten years – Why? When I loved it so much? Well, I’ll get to that next week and why I’m returning to the industry.
Now I’m going to introduce you to my first week at Britannia Row Production Training. Britannia Row is a company that provides sound systems internationally. They are based in London and I have always been a huge fan of the company. Brit Row started in the 70’s with Pink Floyd. It was therefore a pleasure for me, when I had my first day of school a week ago. In my class, there are eleven students from all over the world – all at different levels and with different experiences.
The first day was an introduction to the industry, and the keywords are (as we have also seen on SoundGirls.Org) “Reputation, Recommendation, Familiarity will give you the jobs”. “Dedication, Focus, Technical Competence & Good Communication Skills will allow you to keep the jobs”. And what will make you successful? Understanding sound & physics, acoustics & electrical, knowledge of equipment. Understanding the difference between technical and creative skills. Critical listening skills.
Classroom
The following days we discussed what is sound abd what is a sound engineer/-technician. On the third day we started out with the physics of sound. Starting with neutron, proton, electrons and then just building it up from there with the speed of sound – literally! We really got into all the aspects behind the physics of sound – and it was explained to us in a very creative way by Tori Amos’s monitor engineer Marcel van Limbekk. We then moved onto something very fundamental: Voltage – Current – Power – The law of Ohm’s. All very confusing, and at the same time very interesting.
So far I would say that Brit Row really understands how to convey basic knowledge in an understandable way and provide us a strong foundation.
By: Malle Kaas