Matthew Taylor

This course was a bit of a disappointment for me. I took it because I love music and wanted a bit more of a formal background, but I absolutely did not get that. Prof. Taylor rarely assigned any work outside of the first two weeks of class, and he only suggested we practice ear training exercises on our own time. He never formally tested us, so for me there was very little external motivation to give this class much time and dedication compared to my other classes. Prof. Taylor would also cancel classes frequently. However, since he is not working at Midd anymore, it's entirely possible that another professor would have more skill and effectiveness when teaching this course.

This course was a bit of a disappointment for me. I took it because I love music and wanted a bit more of a formal background, but I absolutely did not get that. Prof. Taylor rarely assigned any work outside of the first two weeks of class, and he only suggested we practice ear training exercises on our own time. He never formally te …Read more

This class was the easiest A you can get. This was Professor Taylor's last year at Middlebury; he was unenthusiastic about the class (likely because there was minimal student participation) which made the class feel like a waste of my time. From beginning to end, the class consisted of listening to one song three times and doing very basic analysis, being lectured about a small new concept, and singing basic sheet music with the class. There was very low amounts of homework which he was chill about turning in late. There are required concerts you have to attend and do an easy worksheet for that are a little boring. If you have genuine interest in music theory and have any background in music at all, test into Music Theory II. Otherwise, this is an easy cross off for the Art distribution requirement, just a little bit of a snooze fest every class.

This class was the easiest A you can get. This was Professor Taylor's last year at Middlebury; he was unenthusiastic about the class (likely because there was minimal student participation) which made the class feel like a waste of my time. From beginning to end, the class consisted of listening to one song three times and doing very …Read more

The course is rather slow-paced and most if not all the materials was already covered if you took AP Music Theory or had some kind of instruction on tonal harmony; on the other hand, I do feel that if you began Music Theory by MUSC160 and took the course, it may be somewhat difficult to learn (As far as I know, MUSC160 could efficiently cover much more materials and make 260 a real upper-level course had it become more structured). Professor Taylor is an accomplished musician and has great enthusiasm in the materials, but I feel that his teaching is really unorganized, with homework popping up and sessions cancelling randomly (although most of the homework doesn't seem to be graded strictly). In general, this course would be an easy A and even easier if you have the aforementioned backgrounds, but it is questionable whether or not it 1) fits the difficulty of a 200-level course or 2) builds a basis on the materials it covers.

The course is rather slow-paced and most if not all the materials was already covered if you took AP Music Theory or had some kind of instruction on tonal harmony; on the other hand, I do feel that if you began Music Theory by MUSC160 and took the course, it may be somewhat difficult to learn (As far as I know, MUSC160 could efficien …Read more