Rate My Professor Bill Crabtree

Bill Crabtree serves as a Professor of Recording Industry in the Department of Recording Industry at Middle Tennessee State University, where he also directs the M.F.A. program in Recording Arts and Technologies. An MTSU alumnus from the class of 1990, Crabtree joined the faculty approximately 17 years ago and was honored with the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award for Achievement in Education as an MTSU faculty member, along with a True Blue Citation of Distinction. Before arriving at MTSU, he held several prominent academic positions, including Assistant Professor at Berklee College of Music, Artist in Residence at Emerson College, Assistant Chairman of Audio & Media Technology at the New England Institute of Art, and Chairman of Recording Arts at Massachusetts Communications College. Crabtree teaches hands-on courses in multi-track recording, studio production, and audio production within both the B.S. in Recording Industry and M.F.A. in Recording Arts and Technologies programs, emphasizing practical skills such as equipment operation, control room collaboration, and working with musicians during sessions.

Prior to his academic career, Crabtree spent 25 years as a freelance audio engineer handling records, live sound, and audio for video projects. He is an accomplished musician, performing on drums and percussion for numerous recordings, and has produced a wide range of studio projects encompassing music recording, sound design, and music composition for artists and corporate clients. Additionally, he has worked as a technical writer, including creating user manuals for API equipment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Crabtree pioneered a remote teaching solution by transforming four MTSU recording studio control rooms into multi-camera, high-definition virtual classrooms. This setup incorporated Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro video switchers to manage feeds from three iPhone SEs routed through a Mac Pro, with Zoom integration and ListenTo software for high-resolution audio streaming separate from Zoom's standard audio. This innovation supported real-time demonstrations, small-group hands-on practice with graduate assistants, and maintained high student performance on exams, proficiency tests, and near-perfect attendance in fall 2020. Crabtree has also contributed to student experiences through study abroad trips and professional engagements such as curating AES Inside Track events.