Tonmeister

Tonmeister is most often a job description in the music and recording industries. It describes a so-called sound master (a literal translation of the German word): a person who creates recordings or broadcasts of music who is also both musically trained (in 'classical' and non-classical genres) and has a detailed theoretical and practical knowledge of sound recording, music mixing and mastering. Both competencies have equal importance in a tonmeister's work.

A tonmeister's duties encompass both the arts and technology. They work with musicians to help them perform and interpret their work at their best; they also use or oversee the use of appropriate technology to create the most engaging listening experience possible, including sound balance, appropriate editing, and other post-production techniques. Although a Tonmeister works in the entertainment sector, he or she also employs extra techniques to create illusions and sensations for listeners and performers. One could argue that a Tonmeister would use scientific measurement techniques (microphones, digital recorders, correct amplifiers, etc.).

The word tonmeister was trademarked in 1996 for the UK by the University of Surrey. Also within the UK, the SAE Institute registered the term SAE Tonmeister. The title has been abbreviated to tonmeister in their registrations in several other countries, not including Germany, Switzerland, or Austria. Members of the VDT may call themselves Tonmeister VDT.

When describing the full four-year UK BMus degree or its equivalent in Germany, the term is applied mostly to people who have graduated at bachelor's level in music and applied physics and who have gathered, under university supervision, at least a year of appropriate industrial experience in the music or recording business. Their musical training generally encompasses a full conventional classical training including instrumental studies, conducting, composition, historic and analytical studies and performance; together with applied physics and mathematics including calculus, the Fourier transform, complex numbers, information theory and modulation techniques, acoustics, electronics and much experience in recording techniques and music technology garnered in modern studios and on many locations.

Origins
The concept of a Tonmeister dates back to 1946, when Arnold Schoenberg wrote a letter to the Chancellor of the University of Chicago suggesting a course to train "soundmen". Schoenberg wrote "soundmen will be trained in music, acoustics, physics, mechanics and related fields to a degree enabling them to control and improve the sonority of recordings, radio broadcasts and sound films". It was also in this year that the University of Music Detmold in Germany, started the first Tonmeister course.