middCourses
MUSC0160 with Matthew Taylor2 days ago

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

Chill and RelaxedEasy GradingNo Exams
2hrs / week Very low difficulty Low value Would not take again
MUSC0260 with Matthew Taylorlast month

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

Slow-PacedEasy GradingProject Exams
1hrs / week Extremely low difficulty Extremely low value Would not take again
MUSC0215 with Peter Hamlin2 months ago

This was a very fun course. Peter is a retired prof, so this was the only thing he was teaching, and he gave it his all. He designed the course around what we found interesting, and would often shift project requirements if we expressed interest in doing something else. It did feel mostly like lab stuff, usually hands on soundscape work or designing, with not a huge amount of imperial learning. That said, I still think it was a good experience. Peter really enjoyed the class, and invited us for dinner at his house.

This was a very fun course. Peter is a retired prof, so this was the only thing he was teaching, and he gave it his all. He designed the course around what we found interesting, and would often shift project requirements if we expressed interest in doing something else. It did feel mostly like lab stuff, usually hands on soundscape w …Read more

Chill and RelaxedEasy GradingProject-Heavy
2hrs / week Very low difficulty Average value Would take again
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