By: Malle Kaas
Since I was a little girl I have had an interest in playing with music and techniques, but I never really thought I would have a future in this field. Now I do, and like everybody else who is working in live sound, I dream too of being on tour. Now I actually think that is realistic. Yet I know it will be necessary to gain experience.
My current plans are to get back into the venues in Copenhagen to gain mixing experience and to network. I will continue to look for shadowing opportunities through co-workers and get in touch with different sound companies. I am hoping that I will receive a call to take the entrance exam at the Conservatory of Music and that I will be accepted into their live sound program, which starts August 2015.
I have become very fond of London, and would like to work here, as well in Copenhagen. I don’t see any problems with working in both cities and countries. I would find it interesting to work in London, since it seems that a lot of the world music scene is based here or at least passes through. Of course, there will be some travel expense issues and some logistics regarding accommodations, but I am willing to work around that. This seems to be a key theme in this industry, that you have to be willing to be flexible. It should be noted at this point, that if you are looking for stability this is probably not the career to choose.
My network in London is not that big yet, and I know it will take a lot of dedication and work to build a network to be able to get gigs on a regular basis. I have gotten in touch with Soulsound, (you might have heard about them through SoundGirls.org, and they do offer a discount to SG members), they charge a fee but will look to place you into suitable jobs. What I find nice about this company is the fact that I won’t have to go through calling different companies/venue’s or struggling on my own to build a network.. Soulsound does it for me. The only thing I have to do is to let them know the dates I am available, keep up to date with technology and then go out and do the best job I can.
Count Down – Two Weeks to Go at Brit Row
This is the second to last week at Brit Row and it was an interesting week that included a practical test, last band day, (FOH for my part), and a trip to a gig at the Royal Albert Hall. The trip was a wonderful experience in a historic and beautiful venue. The gig was a thousand piece children’s choir from different schools with a professional backup band. The interesting thing for us was to hear how the sound would react at this venue and how different gigs are handled. I would be apprehensive at this point if I was doing FOH at the Royal Albert Hall for this event. There is a big difference between mixing at the Brit Row facilities, which is low-key and without the stress, and a real-time gig like.
Gig visit at the Royal Albert Hall
On our band day, back at the training center, Miguel and I had a great time mixing on the Midas Pro 6, which is also the console we took the final practical exam on. For the exam, we had to create a show file in advance for monitors and then on exam day, it required setting up all the speakers and patching. The show file consisted of 48 channels, side fills, 8 wedges, near fills, and three IEMs. We then ran pink noise and handheld mic through them. I was a little slow, but on purpose. I wanted to get my patching correct because in the real world that can be so time-consuming and frustrating if the patch is not correct. My patching was all correct, and now I’m waiting for my final score.
