Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister) BMus (Hons) - 2025/6
Awarding body
University of Surrey
Teaching institute
University of Surrey
Framework
FHEQ Level 6
Final award and programme/pathway title
BMus (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 | URB14009 | 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
NA
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
18/12/2024
Educational aims of the programme
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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, BMus (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, BMus (Hons) | |
| Demonstrate an ability to evaluate the appropriateness of different approaches to solving problems related to audio engineering and music | CPT | CertHE, DipHE, Ord, BMus (Hons) | |
| Communicate the results of your study/work accurately and reliably, and with structured and coherent arguments | PT | CertHE, DipHE, Ord, BMus (Hons) | |
| Act as a useful team member to contribute to the success of practical and creative projects | PT | CertHE, DipHE, Ord, BMus (Hons) | |
| Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between theory and practice in music | CPT | CertHE, DipHE, Ord, BMus (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, BMus (Hons) | |
| Demonstrate an ability to apply underlying concepts and principles outside the context in which they were first studied | CPT | DipHE, Ord, BMus (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, BMus (Hons) | |
| Demonstrate an understanding of the limits of your knowledge, and how this influences analysis and interpretation based on that knowledge | KC | DipHE, Ord, BMus (Hons) | |
| Manage a small team to successfully undertake practical and creative projects | PT | DipHE, Ord, BMus (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, BMus (Hons) | |
| Demonstrate an ability to accurately deploy established techniques of analysis and enquiry within the discipline | CPT | Ord, BMus (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 | BMus (Hons) | |
| Demonstrate an appreciation of the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge | CPT | BMus (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 | BMus (Hons) | |
| Demonstrate musical principles, performance skills and academic knowledge relevant to a degree in sound recording | KCP | Ord, BMus (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, BMus (Hons) | |
| Demonstrate competence in laboratory and studio operational practice | P | DipHE, Ord, BMus (Hons) | |
| Demonstrate familiarity with general and audio-specific IT and computing tools | PT | CertHE, DipHE, Ord, BMus (Hons) | |
| Plan, manage and execute recording sessions and audio postproduction to professional standards | P | BMus (Hons) | |
| Apply effective project management skills, including management of facilities, time, and people. | PT | DipHE, Ord, BMus (Hons) | |
| Show effective oral and written communication skills | T | CertHE, DipHE, Ord, BMus (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 1 (with PTY) - FHEQ Level 4
Module Selection for Year 1 (with PTY) - FHEQ Level 4
Choose one optional module in Semester 2
Year 2 (with PTY) - FHEQ Level 5
Module Selection for Year 2 (with PTY) - FHEQ Level 5
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.
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
| Module code | Module title | Status | Credits | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TONP017 | PROFESSIONAL TRAINING YEAR MODULE (FULL-YEAR WORK) | Core | 120 | Year-long |
| TONP018 | PROFESSIONAL TRAINING YEAR MODULE (FULL-YEAR STUDY) | Core | 120 | Year-long |
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:
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 2025/6 academic year.