Sound and Music at the University of Hartford

Transcription

1 Sound and Music at the University of Hartford Dean Alan Hadad College of Engineering Samuel I Ward College of Technology University of Hartford West Hartford, CT Abstract - In the past quarter century, the job opportunities for the classically trained musician have declined significantly due principally to the invention of the synthesizer and other related technological advances. Conversely, options for those with both technical and musical expertise have exceeded the aforementioned declines for the same reason. The University of Hartford, with separate colleges of engineering and technology, and an internationally known conservatory, the Hartt School of Music, determined that it enjoyed what appeared to be a unique situation in the United States. Accordingly, the University has evolved three different curricula, one based in each of the three schools, which take advantage of the physical, intellectual, and human resources present therein, and each of which addresses a different niche in the job market. Acoustics and Music, based in the College of Engineering, focuses upon the designing of sound systems, and leads to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.) Audio Engineering Technology, based in the Ward College of Technology, stresses the installation, testing, repair, and operation of sound systems, and leads to the degree of Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Technology, based in the Hartt School, is for the performer who needs to be able to deal with the technology beyond the realm of a black box, and leads to the degree of Bachelor of Music (B.Mus.) All three programs have distinct admission requirements, yet retain the possibility of internal transfer should a student discover following matriculation that his/her talents and/or interests lie in one of the other programs. Although the latter two majors were commenced only within the last four years, the three programs combined enjoyed an enrollment of over eighty (80) students in the Fall 1997 census. The curricula of the three programs will be presented, along with the underlying educational philosophies of the programs and their evolution. Historical Background The University of Hartford is a private, mid-size, comprehensive university founded in 1957 by the merger of three independent institutions: the Hartford Art School (itself founded in 1877 by, among others, Mrs. Mark Twain); the Hartt School of Music (founded in 190); and Hillyer College, a local commuter school. Following the merger, Hillyer College metamorphosized into several different entities: a traditional college of arts and sciences, a college of engineering, a college of education (now the college of education, nursing, and health professions), and a business school. A two-year College of Basic Studies for the "hitherto unmotivated" was added in 1966, and a two-year women's school (Hartford College for Women) was acquired in In addition, at the time of the merger, Hillyer College owned a proprietary school of electronics; this has now evolved into a baccalaureate degree granting school known as the Samuel I Ward College of Technology. According to the official figures of the University Registrar, the Fall 1997 enrollment of the University totaled 7089 students which broke down to 117 full-time undergraduates, 170 part-time undergraduates, and 170 graduate students. During its forty-year history, the University has evolved three separate and distinct programs which combine the basic sciences, engineering, technology, and the theory and practice of music. These are (in historical order of development): (1) Acoustics and Music, based in the College of Engineering, and leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.) () Audio Engineering Technology, based in the Samuel I Ward College of Technology, and leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science (B.S.) () and Technology, based in the Hartt School, and leading to the degree of Bachelor of Music (B.Mus.) It is the thesis of this author that while certainly no one of these individual programs is unique, the array of programs offered by one institution is, if not unique, certainly highly unusual and distinctive. Philosophical Parameters The aforementioned program array is based upon at least two fundamental premises: (1) that the far-flung recording industry has a need for at least three broad categories of individuals - the design engineer, the technician who can install, repair, and operate the equipment, and the performer; and () there is a significant overlap in the expertise required between and among all three job categories. Inherent in the above are at least two fundamental departures from traditional thinking in engineering and technology. The first of these involves offering degrees in such highly specialized areas at the undergraduate level. Historically, there were four or five fundamental disciplines of engineering and technology: electrical, mechanical, civil,

2 chemical, and architectural. While the Engineering Workforce Commission of the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) lists some thirty separate disciplines in engineering and technology in its annual compilation of data, the vast majority of both the enrollment and the degrees awarded remains in the five broadly based areas referenced above. [It should be noted that none of the thirty categories of the AAES will fit either of these programs on the undergraduate level.] The second basic change in philosophy is more subtle, but is perhaps of even greater significance. Technology in particular, and engineering to a somewhat lesser extent have historically developed highly specialized courses unique to a particular major early in the curriculum. This often led to situations whereby different majors needing expertise in the same area took different courses whose fundamental principles were the same, but whose applications differed. Thus, for example, mechanical, civil, and architectural majors all had a need for statics, but they were frequently given different courses and, consequently, isolated from majors in the other disciplines. [By contrast, in traditional arts and sciences, students majoring in chemistry, physics, biology, and mathematics all took the same introductory calculus course.] Aside from the limitations that this imposed when engineers and technicians with different majors had to communicate in the workplace, there were two other disadvantages. The first of these involved students who changed their minds regarding their major. All too frequently such students were forced to retake courses with similar theory but different applications. Continuing the example given above, the student wishing to change his/her major from mechanical to civil engineering or technology after having taken the statics course for mechanicals was often required to then take the statics course for civils. The second disadvantage was economic in nature. The ebb and flow of student interest is well documented (and the curse of collegiate administrators in terms of planning and allocation of resources). Administrators are often faced with the Hobson's choice of canceling low enrolled classes when there is not a "critical mass" to populate them; having highly specialized courses at the first or second year level mandates that there be a steady, uninterrupted flow of matriculants from the point of entry to the university. Given further the number of students who enter higher education undecided about the major (the largest number by far that we have enrolled on the undergraduate level at any point in time), this is an almost impossible requirement. The factors cited above mandated that the faculty of the respective colleges be willing to endorse a philosophical sea change in their thinking regarding technological curricula. It is a tribute to their willingness to experiment and innovate that they were able to do so. Evolution of Programs (1) Acoustics and Music (B.S.E.). The genesis of this program began in the 1970's as the result of the efforts of a highly creative acoustician (who was also an accomplished musician) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. By happy coincidence, one of the students of the founder went on to earn his doctorate in acoustical engineering, just in time to replace the originator when the latter retired. Although the program is based in the College of Engineering and earns an engineering degree, it requires an audition conducted by the music conservatory. The program normally has between twenty and twenty-five students enrolled at any one time, and attracts some of the best students in the University. () Audio Engineering Technology (B.S.) and Music Production and Technology (B.Mus.). These two programs are described together because they evolved as a package, though the former was launched one year earlier. For a great many years, the Hartt School of Music and the Samuel I Ward College of Technology recognized that there was a real synergy between the two schools with respect to the music and recording industries. Documentation is extant in the files dating back to a formal proposal made in 1977 to establish an audio program; the proposal failed for a variety of reasons, but most particularly because the two schools could not agree on a curriculum. The basis of the synergy rested in changes in the technology of how music is produced. For more than three decades, the number of jobs for the classically trained musician has decreased significantly, largely due to the invention of the synthesizer and other related electronic instrumentation. Conversely, the number of jobs for individuals with expertise in both music and electronics has climbed proportionately for the same reason. The University of Hartford felt that, with not just a music department but a whole conservatory, and not just a department of electronics but a college of technology (which historically had been a school of electronics) it was in an unusual position to develop a distinctive curriculum. The leadership of the two colleges was able to break the logjam by recognizing that the faculties of the two schools were essentially seeking different talents. The faculty of the music school was looking for the performer who wanted some knowledge of the technology beyond the fact that it was a black box; the faculty of the college of technology sought the technician who had at least the capability of learning a modicum of music theory. The leadership then conceived of two separate programs having a common core of electronics and music courses, but with more electronics required for the technology students and more music required for the conservatory students. Similarly, there would be different degrees awarded and different admission requirements. The B.S. program in Audio engineering Technology began in the Fall of 199 and the B.Mus. program in Music Production and Technology began in the Fall of Because both programs were able to utilize entirely existing courses, they were highly cost effective and did not require initial investment in equipment or faculty. Curricula

3 (1) Acoustics and Music. The program requires a minimum of one hundred forty credits to attain the degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.), of which forty-six are engineering courses and forty-two are in music courses, with the remainder in general education. An audition is required. () Audio Engineering Technology. The program requires one hundred twenty-seven credits to attain the degree of Bachelor of Science (B.S.), of which twenty-six are in electronics and twenty-two are in music courses. The remainder is a mix of general education and restricted electives. [The electives are restricted in that the majority of them must be taken in either technology or music, but they offer nevertheless offer a degree of freedom that is highly unusual in the technological disciplines.] No audition is required. () and Technology. The program requires a minimum of one hundred thirty-six credits to attain the degree of Bachelor of Music (B.Mus.), of which sixty-six are in music and twenty-four are in electronics, with the remainder in general education. An audition is required. A more detailed accounting of the curricula is given in Appendix I. Enrollment The enrollment in the three programs in the Fall and Spring Semesters of the academic year, according to the University Registrar's official figures, is documented in Appendix II. The data was of some surprise to this author for the following reasons: (1) Approximately half of the students are in the audio program. This was entirely unexpected at its inception. () The attrition rate between semesters was only.%. As a college administrator accustomed to 10% attrition rates from Fall to Spring semesters, this was similarly revealing. () The full-time enrollment exceeded 9% in both semesters, and was 100% in one of the programs. This percentage is vastly in excess of the percentage of full-time students in the overall university enrollment, as well as the enrollments in the colleges of engineering and technology. Summary The University of Hartford looks upon its array of offerings in the area of music and sound engineering technology as a distinctive and possibly unique set of curricula. The goals for the future in the programs are: (1) Continual refinement of curricula. () Accumulation of substantive data on the career progress of graduates. () Development of assessment tools. The success of the above array is one of those accomplishments at which one can point with pride and feel that one played a significant role.

4 Appendix I Technical Curricula for the Majors Year Acoustics & Music & Technology Audio Engineering Technology B.S.E. B.Mus. B.S. First Principles of Engineering Ear Training I Principles of Design Ear Training II Elementary Ear Training I Elementary Ear Training II DC Electronics Fund. Solid State Devices AC Electronics Fund. Intro Engineering Tech DC Electrical Fundamentals Personal Computer Lab Fund. of Music Theory Solid State Devices AC Electrical Fund. 1 Second Statics Ear Training III Dynamics Mechanics of Materials World Music Survey 5 I Intermediate Ear Training I Intermediate Ear Training II Analog Circuits Analog Circuits Digital Circuits Communications I Third Electrical Eng Fundamentals Graphic Communication Technology I Technology II Computer Programming Circuits and Electronics Optics Vibrations I with Apps. Technology I Music Prod. Technology II Survey of Record Industry Managing Music Career Intro Music History History Popular Music in U.S Digital Circuits Communications I Sound Technology I Sound Technology II I Elementary Ear Training Fourth Engineering Acoustics African-American Music Materials Science Music Prod Techniques I Music Prod Techniques II Choose Two Noise Control Design Engineering Research Vibrations II Thermodynamics I Techniques I Techniques II Project Composition Seminar Music History Elective.5 Intro Music Technology I Music Technology II Intro Computer Music The curricula as presented delineate technical courses in the major only. Each of the programs has an extensive general education requirement (mathematics, basic sciences, humanities, social sciences, etc.) in addition to the above. Courses listed in italics are common to at least two of the programs described.

5 Appendix II Enrollment Fall Semester 1997 Full-time Part-time Total Acoustics and Music 0 Audio Engineering Technology 9 1 and Technology Totals 80 8 Spring Semester 1998 Full-time Part-time Total Acoustics and Music 0 Audio Engineering Technology 8 1 and Technology Totals