Verband Deutscher Tonmeister

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The logo of the German Tonmeisters' Association (Verband Deutscher Tonmeister) VDT-Logo.jpg
The logo of the German Tonmeisters' Association (Verband Deutscher Tonmeister)

The Verband Deutscher Tonmeister e.V. (VDT) is a registered association for audio industry professionals. [1] [2] The VDT has evolved from the Deutsche Filmtonmeister-Vereinigung (which focused on film sound professionals) that was founded in Munich in 1950. [3]

There are currently more than 1900 members [4] in the VDT that are either freelancers or employed in various institutions; e.g. in the film business, radio broadcasting, television, recording studios, record labels, theaters and performance venues, the audio equipment producing industry, research and development, multimedia education and other audio related areas of occupation. Students preparing for a job in the audio industry are also members of the VDT, making up roughly 10%. [5]

Even though the designation of Tonmeister is a fixed part of the name of the association its members carry many other job titles like audio engineer, sound director, music director, sound designer, producer, record producer and music supervisor. The occupational title Tonmeister, although created in the 1930s, is not protected in Germany and does not describe a clearly defined occupation. Thematically the goals and activities of the VDT are related to those of the Audio Engineering Society (AES), even if there is no formal connection.

Tonmeister is most often found as a job description in the music and recording industries. It describes a person who is a sound master : a person who creates recordings or broadcasts of music who is both deeply musically trained and also who has a detailed theoretical and practical knowledge of virtually all aspects of sound recording, music mixing and mastering. Both competencies have equal importance in a tonmeister's work.

Audio engineer engineer who operates recording, mixing, sound reproduction equipment

An audio engineer helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, and reinforcement of sound. Audio engineers work on the "...technical aspect of recording—the placing of microphones, pre-amp knobs, the setting of levels. The physical recording of any project is done by an engineer ... the nuts and bolts." It's a creative hobby and profession where musical instruments and technology are used to produce sound for film, radio, television, music, and video games. Audio engineers also set up, sound check and do live sound mixing using a mixing console and a sound reinforcement system for music concerts, theatre, sports games and corporate events.

A music director, musical director, or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization, for example the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the director of music of a film, the director of music at a radio station, the person in charge of musical activities or the head of the music department in a school, the coordinator of the musical ensembles in a university, college, or institution, the head bandmaster of a military band, the head organist and choirmaster of a church, or an organist and master of the choristers.

The biennial Tonmeistertagung [6] (VDT International convention) combines an international scientific conference and workshop program with a trade fair, focusing on applied research and technical excellence. [7] It has been in existence since 1949. [8] Similarly the International Tonmeister Symposium, dedicated to one thematic complex, is analogous to the AES-conferences. The Tonmeister Academy as initiated by the VDT offers educational classes and advanced training sessions.

The VDT award Golden Bobby [9] is awarded in seven categories for outstanding performance in sound recording and mixing. Since 2002 the VDT also bestows a medal of honour [10] on members who have rendered outstanding services to the profession of sound engineers and the audio industry. Prominent recipients are Peter K. Burkowitz [11] (developer of the REDD mixing console at EMI's Abbey Road Studios; writer of the technical part of Recording the Beatles), David Griesinger (of Lexicon) and Eberhard Sengpiel.

EMI REDD

The EMI REDD .17, .37 and .51 were vacuum tube based mixing consoles designed by EMI for their Abbey Road Studios. They were used to mix several influential albums, including most of the Beatles' albums and the first two Pink Floyd albums.

Abbey Road Studios recording studio in London, England

Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, which owned it until Universal Music took control of part of EMI in 2013.

<i>Recording the Beatles</i> book by Brian Kehew

Recording The Beatles (ISBN 0-9785200-0-9) is a book by Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew, published by Curvebender Publishing in September 2006.

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Record producer Individual who oversees and manages the recording of an artists music

A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performer's music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has many, varying roles during the recording process. They may gather musical ideas for the project, collaborate with the artists to select cover tunes or original songs by the artist/group, work with artists and help them to improve their songs, lyrics or arrangements.

Eberhard Sengpiel was a multiple Grammy award-winning sound engineer. He was also a musician in his own right and a lecturer at the Berlin University of the Arts, UdK-Berlin.

Ray Dolby American engineer and inventor of the noise reduction system

Ray Milton Dolby was an American engineer and inventor of the noise reduction system known as Dolby NR. He helped develop the video tape recorder while at Ampex and was the founder of Dolby Laboratories.

Established in 1948, the Audio Engineering Society (AES) draws its membership from engineers, scientists, other individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. The membership largely comprises engineers developing devices or products for audio, and persons working in audio content production. It also includes acousticians, audiologists, academics, and those in other disciplines related to audio. The AES is the only worldwide professional society devoted exclusively to audio technology.

Kees Schouhamer Immink Dutch electrical engineer

Kornelis Antonie "Kees" Schouhamer Immink is a Dutch scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur, who pioneered and advanced the era of digital audio, video, and data recording, including popular digital media such as Compact Disc, DVD and Blu-ray Disc. He has been a prolific and influential engineer, who holds more than 1100 U.S. and international patents. A large portion of the commonly used audio and video playback and recording devices use technologies based on his work. His contributions to coding systems assisted the digital video and audio revolution, by enabling reliable data storage at information densities previously unattainable.

Bob Ludwig American audio mastering engineer

Robert C. Ludwig is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Queen, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Ocean, Bryan Ferry, Paul McCartney, Nirvana, Bruce Springsteen and Daft Punk resulting in over 3,000 credits. He is the recipient of numerous Grammy and TEC Awards.

The Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and study of sound recordings. Established in 1966, members include record collectors, discographers, and audio engineers, together with librarians, curators, archivists, and researchers.

John Kenneth Hilliard American engineer

John Kenneth Hilliard was an American acoustical and electrical engineer who pioneered a number of important loudspeaker concepts and designs. He helped develop the practical use of recording sound for film, and won an Academy Award in 1935. He designed movie theater sound systems, and he worked on radar as well as submarine detection equipment during World War II. Hilliard collaborated with James B. "Jim" Lansing in creating the long-lived Altec Voice of the Theatre speaker system. Hilliard researched high-intensity acoustics, vibration, miniaturization and long-line communications for NASA and the Air Force. Near the end of his career, he standardized noise-control criteria for home construction in California, a pattern since applied to new homes throughout the U.S.

Jim Anderson is an internationally recognized recording engineer and producer for acoustic music in the recording, radio, television, and film industries.

Volker Straus was one of the foremost Tonmeisters of the twentieth century. He sound-engineered some 590 albums – the vast majority uncredited – during his remarkable career, for many of the great artists. His last recording before his retirement was of soprano Jessye Norman performing the opening song at the 1996 Olympics.

Gerhard Steinke is a German sound engineer.

John G. Frayne was a physicist and sound engineer.

Howard A. Chinn American audio engineer

Howard Allen Chinn was an American broadcasting engineer who pioneered techniques of analog audio recording as well as radio and television broadcasting practices. Chinn served as chief audio engineer at Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) beginning in the 1940s, and authored many magazine articles and books on the technical aspects of audio engineering and broadcasting.

Ben-Zion "Ben" Glatzer is an Australian sound engineer and producer. He worked on Ammonia's debut album, Mint 400 (1995), The Chevelles' At Second Glance (1995), Cartman's debut Go! (2002), The Stems' Mushroom Soup: The Citadel Years (2003), and The Sleepy Jackson's debut Lovers (2003). From 1994 to 2002 Glatzer won a total of eight West Australian Music Industry Awards for his work.

Emily B. Lazar is an American Grammy-winning mastering engineer. She is the founder, president, and chief mastering engineer of The Lodge, an audio mastering facility that has operated in New York City's Greenwich Village since 1997.


Kevin R. Cleary is an American-born audio specialist who founded Cleary Sound in 1997.

Leo De Gar Kulka was a Czech-born American record producer, recording engineer and educator. Starting in Los Angeles at Autumn Records in the 1960s, he later founded the San Francisco studio Golden State Recorders, trade school College for Recording Arts and audiophile record label Sonic Arts. Kulka is considered a pioneer in the modern recording industry.

References

  1. Common register portal of the German federal states
  2. Freely accessible association register
  3. Association list on eventmanager.de
  4. VDT website
  5. VDT website
  6. VDT Tonmeistertagung
  7. WDR activity report
  8. TMT 1949
  9. Goldener Bobby
  10. VDT Medal of Honour
  11. Peter Karl Burkowitz 1920-2012 Obituary by the AES