CLASSICAL MUSIC APPRECIATION FOR ENGINEERS: AN INTRODUCTION BY AN ENGINEERING EDUCATOR Kai Fong Lee Dean Emeritus, School of Engineering, Professor Emeritus, Electrical Engineering, University of Mississippi and Professor Emeritus, Electrical Engineering University of Missouri, Columbia October 20, 2015 1 OUTLINE I. What has music to do with engineering education? II. What is classical music? III. Is classical music boring? IV. My first serious encounter with classical music V. Various types of compositions VI. Brief comments on some major composers VII. Examples of various human emotions evoked in classical music VIII.A note on operas IX.Suggestions for beginners X.Concluding remarks and homework assignments XI. Reference materials for further exploration 2 I. What has music to do with engineering education? • All ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accredited engineering degrees are required to include a “General Education” component. • At MIT, part of this component is the HASS requirement, where HASS stands for “Humanity, Arts, and Social Sciences”. Eight semester courses are required, with some rules for selecting the courses to ensure a balance between breath and depth. Naturally, one favorite art subject is music, and MIT has a strong music department offering many courses in music. 3 . I. What has music to do with engineering education? (continued) • Among the 33 music courses offered at MIT are: M.030 Introduction to World Music M.011 Introduction to Western Music M.051 Fundamentals of Music M.235 Monteverdi to Mozart: 1600-1800 M.250 Beethoven to Mahler M. 250 Schubert to Debussy M.262 Modern Music: 1900-1960 M.271 Symphony and Concerto M.294 Popular Musics of the World M.351 Music Composition M.355 Musical Improvisation 4 . I. What has music to do with engineering education? (continued) • At Caltech, a recent survey of the student body revealed that nearly 25 percent of undergrads and graduate students are involved in the study or performance of music. Music plays a significant role in the lives of a large number of students. • Among the 13 music courses offered at Caltech are: Mu 21 Understanding Music Mu 24 Introduction to Opera Mu 25 History of Chamber Music Mu 26 Jazz History Mu 122 Life and Music of Mozart Mu 123 Life and Music of Beethoven 5 . I. What has music to do with engineering education? (continued) • Engineering at City University of Hong Kong Distributional Requirements: Area 1: Arts and Humanities Area 2: Study of Societies, Social and Business Organizations Area 3: Science and Technology 12 credit units from 3 areas (minimum 3 credit units from each area) There is opportunity to take music courses. However, the music courses offered at City U seem rather limited. 6 . I.What has music to do with engineering education? • The only music courses offered at City University of Hong Kong (as shown on the website) are : GE1105 Chinese Music Appreciation GE1117 Music and Human Values: Philosophical Investigations SM5317 Digital Sound and Computer Music EN2832 Popular Music and Social Life SM2709 Building Interfaces for Ubiquitous Musical Expression SM1210 Contemporary Sonic and Musical Practices 7 . II. What is classical music? • There is not a clear definition of classical music, but you know it when you hear it. Instead of a definition, Professor Craig Wright of Yale University offers the following comparison between classical and popular music. “• Classical music relies on acoustic instruments (whose sounds are not electronically altered), such as the trumpet, violin, piano etc. Popular music often uses mechanically enhanced sounds such as those produced by electrically amplified guitars and basses, electronic synthesizers, and computers. • Classical music relies greatly on preset written music, or musical notation, and so the work (a symphony, for example) is to some extent a ‘fixed entity,’ which will always be performed more or less the same way. Popular music relies more on oral and aural transmission, and the work can change greatly from one performer to the next, never do we see performers reading from written music at a pop concert. 8 . • In classical music the rhythmic “beat” often rests beneath the surface. Popular music foregrounds a recurring, heavy beat. • Classical music is primarily, but by no means exclusively, instrumental, with meaning communicated abstractly through sound. Almost all popular music is vocal and makes use of a text, called the lyrics, from which the listener extracts the meaning of the music. • Classical music offers the listener a chance to escape from the everyday world into a realm of abstract beauty. Popular music exists in the real world, its lyrics embracing such issues of contemporary life as love and rejection, racism and social inequality.” II. What is classical music? (Continued) • For the purpose of this talk, I would take classical music as the music in Europe and America in the time span 1600-1950, by a certain group of composers, the representatives of which are listed below. Within this era, it can be divided into the following periods: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern. 10 .