Sound Recording (Tonmeister) Degree 2013
The Sound Recording (Tonmeister) degree programme aims to equip you with the breadth of knowledge required for a successful career in any area of professional audio. By balancing a rigorous study of music and the technical and scientific aspects of sound recording with the operational and practical aspects of each, we have formed a blend of music and sound recording which, we believe, makes the Tonmeister programme unique in the UK university system.
Degree programme
Entry requirements
Minimum entry requirements
- A-level grades AAA
We do not include General Studies or Critical Thinking in our offers.
Conditional offers from Surrey will be made in grades or marks, and not listed in points from the UCAS tariff.
Required subjects
GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade C or above (or equivalent).
Mathematics, Music and Physics to A-level or equivalent are required.
This may be evidenced by gaining appropriate qualifications or by passing written tests at interview. Music Technology A-level together with ABRSM Music Theory Grade 5 is acceptable in place of Music A-level. Musical performance proficiency equivalent to ABRSM Grade 7 is desirable.
English language requirements
Non-native speakers of English will normally be required to have IELTS 6.5 or above, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component (or equivalent).
Please note that the University of Surrey offers English language programmes and is also an IELTS Test Centre.
Other suitable qualifications
Cambridge Pre-U
D3, D3, M1
European Baccalaureate
76%
International Baccalaureate
37 points
In addition, we accept a wide range of qualifications, including other Level 3 QCF Level 3 qualifications, Scottish qualifications, the Irish Leaving Certificate, Access Diplomas and foundation courses. Other qualifications will be considered on an individual basis.
It is important to check whether the qualifications you are taking are suitable for your chosen degree. If you are uncertain whether your qualification meets our entry requirements, please contact us.
If you are an international student and you don’t meet the entry requirements to this degree, we offer the International Foundation Year.
Selection process
Offers are made in terms of grades. Potentially suitable applicants will be interviewed before offers are made. During the visit to the University, the candidate can find out more about the programme and meet staff and students.
Tuition fees
UK/EU students
Tuition fees are currently set at £9,000 per year for UK/EU undergraduates starting in 2012.
The tuition charge will be accompanied by a generous financial support package, underlining our continued commitment to widening access for those students who come from low income households.
Overseas students
The fee for students classed as overseas for fees purposes is £12,130.
The University will assess your fee status. If you are unsure whether you are likely to be considered a home, EU or overseas student for fees purposes, the UKCISA website offers more information.
Professional Training Year Fees
Programmes marked with an asterisk (*) in the table above include a professional training year.
Currently fees of £1,050 (based on an inflation assumption of 2.5%) are charged for the Professional Training Year. Fees will not have to be paid up front for those students who decide to take up the Government’s loan for higher education fees. The Professional Training year is a key factor in the high employability rates achieved by students with Surrey degrees.
Our Degree
A combination of the broad knowledge base provided by the programme, the professional nature of the teaching and facilities, and the reputation of the programme within the industry means that employment prospects for graduates are excellent.
The Sound Recording (Tonmeister) programme is well established and highly regarded in the industry. It is aimed at those who are primarily interested in the theory and practice of sound recording and audio engineering.
The programme comprises three areas of study: technical understanding of audio, practical experience of recording, and musical theory and practice. We believe that all of these components are essential for an audio engineer to be able to cope with the wide variety of tasks that the role entails.
The technical aspects of the programme cover the components that contribute to modern sound recording and reproduction, such as acoustics, electroacoustics, electronics, computer audio systems, sound synthesis and signal processing. The practical elements of the programme provide you with tuition in recording techniques and critical listening, as well as allowing you to apply the technical theory to making recordings of a wide range of music. The musical components of the programme will develop your analytical skills and provide the opportunity for detailed study of creative disciplines such as performance and composition.
The Tonmeister programme will prepare you for a career in the professional audio industry. However, your career choice is not restricted to being a recording engineer. The breadth of experience gained in the programme equips graduates with numerous practical skills and an invaluable initiative and adaptability.
Programme content
Programme overview
Year 1 of the Tonmeister programme will provide you with a foundation in technical and musical skills. The technical modules cover the fundamentals of how audio equipment operates, so that you can understand how sound is generated, captured, stored, modified and reproduced. The musical modules cover a range of topics, including the thorough grounding necessary for you to act as a producer in musical recording sessions.
The technical modules in year 2 will provide you with a more detailed understanding of audio engineering processes and allow your knowledge to be applied to practical recording. In addition the video engineering module will provide you with an understanding of the video technology used in film and television, including issues such as synchronisation of audio and video. A wide range of recording experience is included and you will be required to make and submit several recordings in a range of styles. There is a broad range of music modules to choose from, so you can specialise in your area of interest, such as performance, composition, pop music, jazz, film music, music history and analysis.
The main components of year 3 are the technical project and the portfolio of recordings. Each of these allows you to specialise in whichever areas of audio and recording you consider the most interesting or useful. The music options in this final year cover a similar range of topics to year 2.
Programme structure
Year 1 (FHEQ Level 4)
Topics include:
- Acoustics
- Audio Signal Processing
- Audio Engineering
- Recording Techniques
- Electronics
- Computer Audio Systems
- Sound Synthesis Techniques
- Harmony
- Score Studies
- Plus one optional music module
Year 2 (FHEQ Level 5)
Topics include:
- Audio Engineering
- Audio Laboratory
- Electroacoustics
- Recording Techniques
- Video Engineering
- Plus two optional music modules
Professional Training year
- Professional Training year
Year 3 (FHEQ Level 6)
Topics include:
- Audio Research Seminars
- Portfolio of Recordings
- Technical Project
- Recording Techniques Seminars
- Plus up to two optional technical or music modules
Professional training
The integrated Professional Training year will provide you with first-hand experience of working in professional audio and will help you to make important contacts in the industry. You will gain valuable experience by working for a year in a commercial company, such as a recording studio, a broadcasting company, an audio consultancy, an audio manufacturer, a computer games developer or a post-production facility.
We will maintain contact with you through formal visits by Professional Training tutors and other informal means. In recent years students have obtained placements in top London studios such as Abbey Road, Strongroom and Air Lyndhurst; classical recording companies such as Chandos and Floating Earth; and audio equipment manufacturers such as Harman- Becker, Dolby, and Bang and Olufsen.
You can expect to be employed in a variety of responsible tasks, often as part of a relatively small team, tackling work ranging from music recording and editing through technical maintenance to product support.
Career opportunities
Graduate prospects
Recent graduates entered employment in roles such as:
- Abbey Road Studios – Assistant Engineer
- Air Lyndhurst Studios – Assistant Engineer
- AudioSoft – Computing and Research
- Boneyard Studio – Sound Design
- EMI – Musician
- Environ Audio Ltd – Design Technician
- Films @ 59 – Audio Assistant
- Focusrite – Media Co-ordinator
- Hot House Music – Production Assistant
- Strongroom Studios – Technical Engineer
Career opportunities
The broad range of subjects covered in the Tonmeister programme will prepare you for work in any area of the audio industry, from musical roles through practical audio engineering to development of new audio technologies. Our graduates have gone on to a wide range of careers, including:
- Audio engineering for pop music, classical music, film, post-production, mastering and broadcast
- Audio editing for film, television, radio, classical music and pop music
- Specification, installation, operation or maintenance of live sound systems for music and theatre
- Technical support for the recording industry – undertaking studio maintenance, equipment rental and technical installations
- Manufacture of all types of professional and consumer audio equipment – research and development, technical support, product management, marketing and sales
- Creative music roles, such as composition for film and television, freelance performing or sound design for computer games
In fact, given the large number of students that have graduated from the programme, each sector of the audio industry that you can think of probably employs at least one of our graduates.
Additional information
Teaching
The teaching methods that we use encompass a mixture of lectures, seminars, in-depth projects and practical work. In years 2 and 3, you will spend a significant part of your time managing your own recording sessions, and in year 1 you will learn by assisting other students.
We encourage all of our students to participate in the many practical opportunities that are afforded by the Department. These include a wide range of ensembles, recording sessions and performance/composition workshops. Your final-year project gives you the chance to specialise in an area that is either of interest or of use in your chosen career; you will be supervised individually by a member of the academic staff.
Facilities
The Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister) programme benefits from a range of facilities that are of the highest professional standards and are unmatched in the UK university sector. The majority of the facilities are housed in the Performing Arts and Technology Studios (PATS) building, which was built to stringent acoustical specifications and fitted with equipment to match the best professional studios.
As a student on the Tonmeister programme, you will have access to three recording studios. Studio 1 has a live area large enough to record a full orchestra and choir, a control room containing a 48-channel Sony digital console, a Pyramix multi-channel recording and editing system and a range of analogue and digital recorders. Studio 2 has a smaller live area which is less reverberant and a control room containing a 56-channel SSL 9000K series console, a 24-track 2” analogue multi-track tape, Apple Logic, a 48-channel Pro Tools HD 2 system and a 48-track hard disk-based recorder. Studio 3 has a small overdub booth and a control room containing a 96-channel Sony OXF-R3 digital console, a 24-track 2” analogue multi-track tape machine, 48-channel Apple Logic system and surround sound monitoring.
You will also have access to three edit suites, containing a range of analogue and digital recorders and digital audio workstations, including Pro Tools HD, Apple Logic Pro, Pyramix and SADiE.
In addition to these facilities, you will be able to use our extensive range of over 100 microphones, our ITU BS-1116 standard listening room, 16 Apple Mac Pro workstations, mobile recording vans and an assortment of measurement and test equipment.
More information about our facilities can be found at:
Assessment
Degree results are based on examinations during years 2 and 3, continuous assessment of coursework and credits awarded during the Professional Training year. Year 1 results will not count towards your degree classification. They provide the foundation of knowledge on which the remainder of the programme is built and will determine whether you are able to proceed to year 2.
Your year 3 technical project (a substantial piece of written work, including a practical investigation of a topic chosen by you, subject to departmental approval) and your portfolio of recordings (a selection of recordings which you have made during your undergraduate career) together will account for over 50 per cent of the year 3 mark.
Why Surrey?
Sound Recording (Tonmeister) degree 2013 at Surrey
- The Complete University Guide 2013 ranks Surrey thirteenth nationally for its music programmes. The Guardian University Guide 2013 and The Times Good University Guide 2013 also rank us in the top twenty
- World-leading programme and facilities – unmatched in UK universities
- A unique combination of music, engineering and practice
- A limited intake of students, allowing ample studio time and providing a strong sense of community
- An excellent reputation in the industry
- Our Professional Training year is an ideal opportunity to experience the audio workplace and make essential contacts
- Excellent employment prospects across the whole of the audio industry
The main advantage of doing a Professional Training year is that you learn to transfer your knowledge and understanding into practical application in the workplace...
David Sendall
BMus (Tonmeister) Music and Sound Recording
The uniqueness of the Tonmeister course was the initial reason for me choosing to study at the University of Surrey. Its combination of music, alongside theoretical and practical elements of sound recording, was the perfect mix. The programme also boasted the opportunity of a placement in an internationally recognised area of the music and film industries and this was also really appealing.
A great feature of the course is that you can choose subjects and research questions to suit your specific areas of interest within the audio field. The practical element of the programme is also really enjoyable and I’ve made recordings of a wide variety of music, from bands through to large-scale orchestras.
I worked for Anvil Post Production for my Professional Training year. Anvil specialise in creating the soundtracks for both television shows and feature films and as a sound assistant, I helped the re-recording mixers with various stages of film soundtracks. I assisted in recording sound effects and mixing foreign version animated trailers for productions such as ‘Shrek’ and ‘How To Train Your Dragon’, and I also worked on the final mix of both ‘Midsomer Murders’ and ‘Lewis’.
The main advantage of doing a Professional Training year is that you learn to transfer your knowledge and understanding into practical application in the workplace, which is an invaluable experience. You also make contacts in the industry which will be useful upon graduation.
Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister) has an incredible reputation within the audio industry and as testament to that, there are a vast number of Tonmesiter graduates who are enjoying successful careers in the field.
It has an excellent balance of theoretical and hands-on training and a Professional Training year that integrates well with time spent at the University.
Robert Yorke
BMus Music and Sound Recording
The Tonmeister programme alone was enough to make me want to come to Surrey. It has an excellent balance of theoretical and hands-on training and a Professional Training year that integrates well with time spent at the University. Much of the practical training is done yourself by running recording sessions; first-year students learn by assisting second and finalyear students on such projects.
All the studios, editing suites and audio equipment are of industry standard. The lecturing is second to none and aimed at professional audio systems, so that a Tonmeister learns ‘why’ as well as ‘how’.
The Professional Training year offers you the opportunity to gain experience within the real world of pro-audio. I worked as a technical engineer for Strongroom Studios in London, employed to maintain their six studios and give support to clients and other staff. With this responsibility I was expected to know every wire, plug and socket in the building – something I never had to worry about at Surrey since the studios are all maintained for you.
Although studying music only makes up part of the course, it was one of the attractions for me. As a Tonmeister you will get a lot of choice between music modules and can choose those that suit you.
Sound Recording students on placement
University of Surrey Sound Recording students on their placement year at Anvil Film Post Production.
