Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister)
Entry requirements
A level
Overall: AAA Required subjects: Mathematics, Music, and Physics. 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. Applicants taking an A level science subject with the Science Practical Endorsement are required to pass the practical element. We do not include General Studies or Critical Thinking in our offers.
Access to HE Diploma
Overall: QAA recognised Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits at Distinction. Required subjects: Please contact us to discuss suitability.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSE English Language at Grade C(4) and Mathematics at Grade C (4) (or equivalent).
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Overall: 35. Required subjects: Maths Analysis and Approaches HL6/SL7 or Maths Applications and Interpretation HL6. GCSE or Equivalent: English, HL4/SL4 (including MYP). Maths, HL4/SL4 (including MYP). Maths Studies, SL4.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Overall: D*DD Required subjects: Please contact us to discuss suitability.
Scottish Advanced Higher
Overall: AAA Required subjects: Mathematics, Music, and Physics. Music Technology A level together with ABRSM Music Theory grade 5 is acceptable in place of Music. Musical performance proficiency equivalent to ABRSM Grade 7 is desirable.
Scottish Higher
Overall: AAAAB Required subjects: Mathematics, Music and Physics. Music Technology Higher (or Advanced Higher) together with ABRSM Music Theory grade 5 is acceptable in place of Music. Musical performance proficiency equivalent to ABRSM Grade 7 is desirable.
Overall: Pass overall with AAA from a combination of the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate and two A levels. Applicants taking an A level science subject with the Science Practical Endorsement are required to pass the practical element. Required subjects: Please contact us to discuss suitability. We do not include General Studies or Critical Thinking in our offers.
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About this course
**Why choose this course**
Our prestigious course is unique in the UK. We blend rigorous musical study, advanced investigation of audio engineering and mastery of sound-recording operation and practice.
Our BMus/BSc Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister®) course is aimed at exceptional students who are primarily interested in engineering and music. You’ll gain a breadth of experience, numerous practical skills, and invaluable initiative and adaptability that will prepare you for a career in any area of the professional audio industry.
Our graduates have gone on to amazing careers; from equipment design to film composition; from computer game programming to writing and producing hit songs; from designing broadcast studios to mixing the broadcast sound from Glastonbury.
We are ranked 5th in the UK for music by the Guardian University Guide 2023. This course received an overall satisfaction score of 100% in the National Student Survey 2022.
Our award-winning Professional Training placements prepare students for roles in industry.
We were shortlisted for University of the Year in The Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023.
**What you will study**
Our course is made up of three areas of study:
-Technical understanding of audio
-Practical experience of recording
-Musical theory and practice.
The technical aspects of our course cover the engineering components that contribute to modern sound recording and reproduction. This includes acoustics, electroacoustics, electronics, computer audio systems, sound synthesis and signal processing.
The practical elements of your studies will provide you with tuition in recording techniques and critical listening. You’ll also apply technical theory by recording a wide range of music.
The musical components of the course will develop your analytical skills and provide the opportunity for detailed study of creative disciplines such as performance and composition.
Modules
To see the full range of modules for this course please visit our website – the link is under the Course contact details. You will also find full details of the programme, including programme structure, assessment methods, contact hours and Graduate prospects.
Extra funding
The University of Surrey offers a range of scholarships and bursaries to support our students, please visit https://www.surrey.ac.uk/fees-and-funding/scholarships-and-bursaries for more details.
The Uni
Stag Hill
FASS - Department of Music and Media
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
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Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
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Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Cinematics and photography
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Others in technology
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
Cinematics and photography
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Others in technology
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£32k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
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While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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