Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister) BSc (Hons) - 2024/5

Awarding body

University of Surrey

Teaching institute

University of Surrey

Framework

FHEQ Level 6

Final award and programme/pathway title

BSc (Hons) Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister)

Subsidiary award(s)

Award Title
Ord Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister)
DipHE Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister)
CertHE Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister)

Modes of study

Route code Credits and ECTS Credits
Full-time with PTY URB10002 480 credits and 240 ECTS credits

QAA Subject benchmark statement (if applicable)

Communication, Media, Film and Cultural Studies, Engineering (Bachelor), Music

Other internal and / or external reference points

N/A

Faculty and Department / School

Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Sciences - Music & Media

Programme Leader

MASON Russell (Music & Med)

Date of production/revision of spec

14/10/2024

Educational aims of the programme

  • 5) To develop your commitment to professional engineering and production values, creating opportunities for demonstrating a personal commitment to professional standards, and to social and political citizenship, recognising obligations to society and a professional awareness of the dynamics (cultural, economic, ethical, legal, political, social, affective, or global challenges) which shape working environments in the audio production industries.
  • 6) To cultivate an appropriate balance between creativity and discipline in your approach to music, sound recording, and audio engineering.
  • 3) To develop your skills for project planning and management together with responsibility for leading and developing others.
  • 4) To enable you to develop effective interpersonal skills in communicating technical matters with your colleagues from both engineering and artistic backgrounds.
  • 2) To equip you to apply your knowledge and intellectual skills to design and deliver engineering systems and creative projects or services using contemporary technologies and methods. This will require you to apply research skills, and your knowledge and understanding of engineering and music combined with your innovation and imagination.
  • 1) To equip you for employment in the audio and allied industries by providing the necessary theoretical and technical knowledge of engineering principles and practice, along with the creative, innovative and imaginative skills of music.
  • 7) To provide academic skills of research, experimentation, analysis, presentation and self-learning required for postgraduate study.

Programme learning outcomes

Attributes Developed Awards Ref.
Demonstrate understanding of the underlying concepts and principles associated with audio engineering, and demonstrate an ability to evaluate and interpret these within the context of audio practice KCPT CertHE, DipHE, Ord, BSc (Hons)
Present, evaluate and interpret qualitative and quantitative data, in order to develop lines of argument and make sound judgements in accordance with basic theories and concepts of audio engineering CPT CertHE, DipHE, Ord, BSc (Hons)
Demonstrate an ability to evaluate the appropriateness of different approaches to solving problems related to audio engineering and music CPT CertHE, DipHE, Ord, BSc (Hons)
Communicate the results of your study/work accurately and reliably, and with structured and coherent arguments PT CertHE, DipHE, Ord, BSc (Hons)
Act as a useful team member to contribute to the success of practical and creative projects PT CertHE, DipHE, Ord, BSc (Hons)
Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between theory and practice in music CPT CertHE, DipHE, Ord, BSc (Hons)
Demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of the well-established principles of audio engineering, and the way in which those principles have developed KCP DipHE, Ord, BSc (Hons)
Demonstrate an ability to apply underlying concepts and principles outside the context in which they were first studied CPT DipHE, Ord, BSc (Hons)
Demonstrate knowledge of the main methods of enquiry in audio engineering relevant to audio production, and an ability to critically evaluate the appropriateness of different approaches to solving problems KCPT DipHE, Ord, BSc (Hons)
Demonstrate an understanding of the limits of your knowledge, and how this influences analysis and interpretation based on that knowledge KC DipHE, Ord, BSc (Hons)
Manage a small team to successfully undertake practical and creative projects PT DipHE, Ord, BSc (Hons)
Demonstrate a systematic understanding of key aspects of audio engineering, including acquisition of coherent and detailed knowledge, at least some of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of the discipline KCPT Ord, BSc (Hons)
Demonstrate an ability to accurately deploy established techniques of analysis and enquiry within the discipline CPT Ord, BSc (Hons)
Demonstrate a conceptual understanding that enables you: to devise and sustain arguments, and/or to solve problems, using ideas and techniques, some of which are at the forefront of a discipline; and to describe and comment upon particular aspects of current research, or equivalent advanced scholarship, in the discipline KCPT BSc (Hons)
Demonstrate an appreciation of the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge CPT BSc (Hons)
Manage your own learning, and to make use of scholarly reviews and primary sources (for example, refereed research articles and/or original materials appropriate to the discipline) PT BSc (Hons)
Demonstrate musical principles, performance skills and academic knowledge relevant to a degree in sound recording KCP Ord, BSc (Hons)
Demonstrate an awareness of the ethical/rights issues likely to arise in the conduct of professional practice and an ability to formulate solutions through dialogue with peers, clients, mentors and the wider community PT DipHE, Ord, BSc (Hons)
Demonstrate competence in laboratory and studio operational practice P DipHE, Ord, BSc (Hons)
Demonstrate familiarity with general and audio-specific IT and computing tools PT CertHE, DipHE, Ord, BSc (Hons)
Plan, manage and execute recording sessions and audio postproduction to professional standards P BSc (Hons)
Apply effective project management skills, including management of facilities, time, and people. PT DipHE, Ord, BSc (Hons)
Show effective oral and written communication skills T CertHE, DipHE, Ord, BSc (Hons)

Attributes Developed

C - Cognitive/analytical

K - Subject knowledge

T - Transferable skills

P - Professional/Practical skills

Programme structure

Full-time with PTY

This Bachelor's Degree (Honours) programme is studied full-time over four academic years, consisting of 480 credits (120 credits at FHEQ levels 4, 5, 6 and the professional training year). All modules are semester based and worth 15 credits with the exception of project, practice based and dissertation modules.
Possible exit awards include:
- Bachelor's Degree (Ordinary) (300 credits)
- Diploma of Higher Education (240 credits)
- Certificate of Higher Education (120 credits)

Programme Adjustments (if applicable)

N/A

Modules

Year 3 (with PTY) - FHEQ Level 6

Module Selection for Year 3 (with PTY) - FHEQ Level 6

Choose two optional modules, either: a) one from Semester 1 and one from Semester 2; or b) one year-long module and one from either Semester; or c) two year-long modules.

Professional Training Year (PTY) - Professional Training Year

Opportunities for placements / work related learning / collaborative activity

Associate Tutor(s) / Guest Speakers / Visiting Academics Y
Professional Training Year (PTY) Y
Placement(s) (study or work that are not part of PTY) N
Clinical Placement(s) (that are not part of the PTY scheme) N
Study exchange (Level 5) N
Dual degree N

Other information

The Department of Music and Media is committed to developing graduates with attributes encompassing employability, digital skills, global and culture awareness, sustainability as it relates to music, audio engineering and production, and resourcefulness and resilience in these fields.

Digital Capabilities

Digital technology now underpins a great deal of audio engineering, music, and audio production. As part of the programme, you will learn the fundamentals of digital technology, including methods for conversion, signal processing, computational modelling, and analysis and synthesis of signals. You will also learn the fundamentals of the architecture and operation of digital devices, and methods of communicating digital data over specific data buses and computer-based networks, as well as developing your software programming skills for both text-based and graphical programming languages.

As part of your musical, engineering, and sound production assignments, you will develop your digital capabilities by making extensive use of generic and application-specific software tools.

Global and Cultural Capabilities

The recording and musical components of the programme will expose you to diverse cultural influences, using a wide range of recorded and musical material from around the globe. You will also be encouraged to engage with, and learn from, diverse perspectives through interaction and teamwork.

Employability

This degree programme will prepare you for real job roles in the audio and music industries. The combination of music, engineering, and sound recording means that you will be able to enter one of a wide range of roles, and our graduates work in every area of the audio and music industries, spanning the wide range of these topics.

The topics studied and the assessment methods used have been developed over many years to meet the current and future demands of the audio and music industries. We have close links with graduates and with employers in our professional training placement scheme, as well as many visiting workshop tutors and industry seminar speakers that help us to ensure that the curriculum matches industry needs. The equipment that you will use as part of this programme has been selected based on its similarity to that used by potential employers, and you will be expected to strive for the highest possible professional standards in all areas of the programme.

Sustainability

The programme will encourage you to reflect on environmental sustainability, and the requirements of a sustainable career in the audio and music industries. Examples of this include consideration of the efficiency of electronic designs and programming algorithms, and the importance of backwards compatibility in many areas of audio engineering technology and broadcast.

Resourcefulness and resilience

The programme will develop your resourcefulness and resilience primarily by exposing you to practical problem-solving challenges. You will develop your ability to reason and solve new and unseen problems, involving engineering challenges such as electronic circuits, programming, and computer-based networks, and creative challenges in music and television studios. In the final year project-based modules, you undertake major pieces of work that will challenge and stretch you, and encourage you to develop your skills in long-term planning and time management. The timing of these assessments is designed to give you ample time to develop your skills, undertake multiple stages of practical work (giving an opportunity to learn from failures), benefit from formative feedback, and apply this learning to the final submitted work.

Quality assurance

The Regulations and Codes of Practice for taught programmes can be found at:

https://www.surrey.ac.uk/quality-enhancement-standards

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2024/5 academic year.