Audio Engineering

Develop an ear for audio excellence through SFCM's audio engineering classes. Learn how to record and mix music, how to use professional audio recording equipment, and state-of-the-art software including the latest versions of Pro Tools, Logic, and Ableton, standards in most professional studios, all working under the close instruction of Grammy-award winning engineers.

These skills will allow you to record, design, manipulate, and mix sound effects, music, and dialog in post-production, all in our unsurpassed studio facilities, which support listening and mixing in every format from mono to full Dolby Atmos. Courses include Advanced Recording Workshop, Audio Synthesis, and Advanced Production Techniques.

Learn to engineer complex sessions on TAC’s professional digital and analog boards. Hone your microphone skills by choosing and placing the right mics in the right locations to capture pristine sound, in sessions recording your own music or with conservatory-quality players.

Professional opportunities from these classes prepare students for a career inside the studio, on the stage, or even on tour.

TAC's new studios in the Bowes Center, inaugurated in late 2021, are home to digital Avid S6 and analog API 1608-II consoles, as well as a Meyer Sound 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos monitoring system, making them the perfect place for audio recording, post-production, and spatial audio experimentation.

Award-winning film composer Michael Abels met one-on-one with TAC students during a campus visit.

Each semester visiting artists from Sony Interactive Entertainment work with SFCM’s TAC students to compose individual scores for a fictional video game.

Students work with industry professionals in Studio G, the TAC program's technology hall, to adjust the variable acoustic and truss system in preparation for recording.

TAC Executive Director Taurin Barrera works with students in Studio A, a space designed for large-scale and advanced recording projects as well as clinics and master classes with visiting artists and professionals.

Bay Area's NPR affiliate KQED said, "One could call TAC the perfect marriage of technology, classical musicianship, and experimentation."

Each January, SFCM students participate in Winter Term, a dedicated period of exploration outside one's primary focus area. During Winter Term, TAC students have participated in projects such as building hardware synthesizers, projection mapping in Hume Concert Hall, and performing modular synths in a genre-bending public concert.

TAC plays host to SFCM's "Future is Female" concert in honor of International Women's Day.

Technology and Applied Composition

SFCM’s TAC program offers students a direct path to careers in film, television and media scoring, sound design, and audio engineering. More than 90% of alumni are employed in the field of their choice—one of the highest job placement rates anywhere.

TAC Department

Studios

SFCM’s TAC studios are the best around. They feature the latest versions of all major digital audio workstations on the market, as well as top-of-the-line hardware to suit your every recording and mixing need.

Studios

Financial Aid and Affordability

At SFCM, we understand that college is a substantial investment. We're here to help, and we're committed to working with you to achieve the education you desire. 99% of our students receive financial aid at an average rate of 57% tuition discount.

Life on Campus

Learn about safe and secure, all-suite on-campus housing, where 24/7 practice rooms are just the beginning.

Performances

We put on more than 500 performances a year, including student recitals, masterclasses, and side-by-sides with exciting guest artists—most of them free to the public. Check out one today.

Newsroom

Get the inside scoop on everything going on at SFCM with stories of SFCM's students, alumni, faculty and leadership.

Alliances

SFCM leads an alliance across the music industry consisting of artist management companies Opus 3 Artists and Askonas Holt and recording label Pentatone. Together, their work creates opportunities for students, artists, presenters, and audiences to develop and experience new ideas.