Course Syllabus

Course Information：

Year-Semester	Course Number	Course Name	Phase	Credits	Hours	Required/Elective	Instructor	Class	Student NO.	Withdraw	Note
Fall Semester Year 2026	366958	Introduction to Music	1	2.0	2	△	Jen-Yi Yu	Courses for International Students ISMPE1 4IDI1	0	0	Liberal Education

Course Plan：

Instructor	Jen-Yi Yu
Email	cy1269@gmail.com
Last Updated	2026-06-29 12:49:43
Course Objective	This is a history course of western classical music, of which the definition, according to The New Harvard Dictionary of Music and The Oxford Dictionary, is "art music” or "serious music", that written in a Western musical tradition, using an established form. "Classical music is generally considered to be serious and to have a lasting value.” The styles of various periods will be introduced, from the Medieval, Renaissance, Classical, Romantic, to the Contemporary eras. The goal of this course is helping students to equip a general comprehension of Classical Music in terms of basic elements of musical art, technical theory, historical, social and cultural background extends to related arts and humanities. In addition, basic elements of music notation reading and theory will also be made known to the students. Other genres such as Alternative Rock and related fields will be interlaced with the Classical Music. In order to pursue the most accurate references and info, the major key-points and terminology used in this course will be in English or original European text. (There are requirements to fulfill this course such as Midterm & Final Exams, as well as in-class presentation or performance. If you're not interested in serious music genre, please DO NOT take this course.)
Course Schedule	1st week: Introduction to Western Art Music—Greek origin as the foremost culture before Christianity entered Europe 2nd week: The Medieval Period--folk music, church music in relation to arts and culture 3rd week: From Medieval to Renaissance period--Madrigals, church music, dance music. 4th week: Renaissance period--from Monophony to Polyphony; Introduction to Italian composers, artists, and some of the most popular musical instruments; the Reformed Church and Martin Luther that not only changed the society and belief system but also aethesticism in arts. 5th week: Baroque--Louis XIV and his influence on French music,in comparison to English Baroque 6th week: Baroque--Italian and French legends--Corelli, Lully and Couperin, Introduction to Concerto Grosso 7th week: Baroque--Italian and French legends continues--Vivaldi, Scarlatti, and Rameau--Court Dance and French Ballet 8th week: Baroque--Comparison among Handel, Telemann, and J.S.Bach 9th week: Baroque--J.S. Bach in-depth--his string works, orchestral music, choral music, keyboard music, and Fugues. 10th week: Midterm Exam 11th week: Classical period (Classicism)--The Age of Enlightenment--Frederick the Great as a passionate patron of music and art; Danish royal house contributing Jean-Jacques Rousseau's ideology in Denmark; Catherine the Great and The Hermitage **Students' presentations begin** 12th week: The First Viennese School; Gluck and Habsburg family; Marie Antoinette 13th week: Romantic period--Beethoven and the beginning of Romantic era; how Schubert was influenced by Beethoven 14th week: The pinnacle of Romantic era--Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, to the late Romantic period 15th week: A counterpart of Romantic style with Naionalism--Music by Bohemian and Russian composers; 19th Century Russian ballet and music 16th week: Impressionist Music, The Second Viennese School and related art styles in the period 17th week: The Contemporary Music--from Twelve- tone music (The 2nd Viennese School) to Existentialism, music of Minimalism, and experimental music; comparison with other genres 18th week: Final Exam
Evaluation and grading policy	20% Attendance 20% Presentations (Individual or Group) 30% Midterm Exam 30% Final Exam Extra credits would be added from the impressions of in-class discussions
Materials	All right reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Foreign-language textbooks:Yes . Fleming, William., and Frank Macomber. Musical Arts and Styles. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1990. 2. Martin, Gary. and Miller, James. A History of Music in Western Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 1995
The access to curricular consultation	We'll have a LINE group in case of emergency:) I'll also use the LINE group to give Mid-term and Final exams repertory list, video clips, and references Email:cy1269@gmail.com
Expanding teaching and resources	● 參與式創新教學 (Participatory & Innovative Teaching) 強調學生參與與產出，導入翻轉、PBL/專題、設計思考或遊戲化等策略。 Emphasizes student engagement and outcomes by adopting strategies such as Flipped Classroom, PBL (Problem/Project- Based Learning), Design Thinking, or Gamification.
The course corresponds to the SDGs	SDG3：良好健康和福祉（Good Health and Well-being） SDG4：優質教育（Quality Education） SDG5：性別平等（Gender Equality） SDG10：減少不平等（Reduced Inequalities） SDG16：和平正義與有力的制度（Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions） SDG17：夥伴關係（Partnerships for the Goals）
Does the course incorporate AI	● 使用生成式AI作為教學過程的輔助工具（Use generative AI tools as an aid to the teaching process）
Note	Numerous feminists and queer-gender composers in Western Classical music history could helps us to witness how predecessors fight against persecution and discrimination in this aspect, such as Frederick the Great who was also a professional musician, whose boyfriend was brutally executed by his father. Several examples would be discussed in Week 2, Week 5, Week 11, Week 16, and Week 17