FAQs

We are very different. Other schools put you in a crowded classroom where you will fight for attention from an overwhelmed instructor and compete with other students for lab time and time with the gear and equipment.
These traditional diploma mills can charge you between $25 and $50,000 for education in audio or music-related careers.
We don’t play that game.
Cleveland School of Audio Recording puts you in a real recording studio where you learn in a small group of 2-6 and privately in a working professional recording studio. With us, your classroom is where records are made!
Our mission is to keep you out of massive amounts of student loan debt and get you connected to employment and creative opportunities intended to help change your life for the better.
Our methods are well known, tried and true, unique and, most importantly, it works!

Great question. Learning from inside the actual environment where music gets made professionally is a proven way to acquire industry skills, experience, and connections. When it comes to getting a career in the music business, it’s smart to start out from inside the business. It’s what we’ve been doing for years and it works!
The value of interacting with professional audio engineers, music producers, and their clients from within a real recording studio environment cannot be overstated. You must learn within the environment in which you want to work. It’s all about being able to grow usable skills and showcase your abilities and determination to the very same people who do the hiring.

For starters, we teach our curriculum and program in one location. We don’t outsource to other studios and rely on them to run students through the program like cattle. The curriculum was designed and is taught by the industry professionals that have all worked for Lava Room Recording for over 10+ years including its founder who has 25 years experience in the music business.

The amount you can make in the music business varies greatly and that largely depends on you. Like other careers in arts and entertainment, you’re going to have to pay your dues which can mean earning a lower wage while you’re starting out. The duration, cost, and setup of our unique approach enables our students to incur less in student loan debt (vs. traditional 4 year college and university programs) and get themselves in, right where they need to be to gain skills, get connected, and get on with building a career in music—without drowning in debt. If your goal is to get paid for doing what you love and music is it, then training with CSAR allows you to learn inside a real recording studio, what a way start.

We are guaranteeing only access, education and real world training via our blended education model, but make no mistake: such access can be an essential part of your success. We put you in the door, guarantee you an education inside a real studio and part of the education is interning in the studio with real live recording sessions where you will gain real world skills to prepare you for what’s next. Doesn’t it make sense to learn the music industry from inside it?

Like many other creative industries, the music business does not run on degrees. The studio owners, music executives, artists and producers who are hiring generally don’t ask for degrees. Knowing what you’re doing is generally what they’re after. Having experience and connections matters because they’re markers of someone who is trustworthy, hardworking, and dependable.

Yes. You will receive a certificate of completion, certifying that you have completed the workshop or graduated the program in which you were enrolled.
Graduates of the audio engineering program will receive a certificate of completion which signifies to the music recording industry that you have enough experience to hold a position as an Assistant Audio Engineer or Audio Engineer. Upon completion, they will be an CSAR Certified Audio Engineer. Graduates from our programs will have accumulated at least 6 months of real life studio experience which is something studio owners often look for when hiring.