Professor Marcus is sooooo funny-the funniest instructor. Though sometimes unorganized, if you pay attention, you can learn a lot from his theory class. I like the way he teaches Pythagorean and just tuning system. He also brings many interesting instruments to lecture. The homework and exam are easy and straightforward. Highly recommended
He's really passionate about India's culture and the classes he teaches but he's extremely unorganized and basically his 3 hr long class is just about his life in India also he was teaching us stuff that had nothing to do with music in India.
MUS22N taught by Marcus Scott is an interesting elective. He gives you an amount of information about middle-east music theory but he would not test on it. I highly recommend the people who wants to learn an extra music intrument take this course.
I took MUS 22N with him, which is a small course teaching an instrument. He is very nice and caring, and he is definitely high-level instrument player and a proficient of Arabic Music Theory. However sometimes he does not show up without providing a reason and cannot be contacted through e-mail, so it would be better if you ask him for his phone No
Prof Marcus is very old fashioned and his lectures can be a bit unorganized but if you go to his office hours and just have a conversation with him about his background and/or the course material, it clears a lot of it up. He is a very interesting professor with a non-traditional background. Great person to have a conversation with
It was great interacting with him.
Scott Marcus was by far the worst professor I have ever taken. He rushes every class and somehow teaches very little material. He gets offended and very defensive if you disagree on something he's formed a strong opinion about. His exams rely heavily on the reading which can be very different from the lectures themselves. Highly do not recommend.
Easy A if you go to lecture and read the book. MUST OUTLINE ASSIGNED BOOK READING TO DO WELL IN CLASS. The majority of tests are from dense, book material. Lectures are easy and completely oral. He's very passionate. Concerts are annoying but sometimes interesting. He's extremely friendly and always there to help you.
Unless you really enjoy music history don't take him. He never has a set plan for the day so when you go to study for the midterm or the final you don't even know what to study. 6 required concerts which is ridiculous. If you miss unorganized high school teachers take him if not save you $ and take something else
One the most passionate, inspiring, and amazing professors I have had the privilege of learning under. Take the class as more of a learning experience, as the exams are simple. Write the paper on something you're genuinely interested, and take advantage of this incredibly interesting class with a remarkable professor. Couldn't recommend more.
I hated this class. Requires 6 concerts, book is ridiculously expensive, lectures are scattered and not on any particular material, he comes across as super arrogant and always picks on students, and always tests on random things. This class was such a waste of money and time. This was one of the worst classes I've ever had to take.
Goes off on tangents and has no clear set plan on what you are going to be talking about in lecture. The class over all isn't bad other than the fact that your confused on what your actually learning.
If you go to all the lectures & skim the reading, it's an easy A. Only downside is having to attend all the mandatory concerts. Some were pretty cool though!
This professor is an amazing and dedicated human being. He truly loves what he does and even pays out of pocket to provide instruments for his students. Who does that nowadays? If you ever want a professor that actually cares about you learning and is passionate about his labor then I highly recommend Prof. Marcus.
Scott is really passionate about what he teaches. He can sometimes go off on tangents and may be a little hard to follow. Overall, it's a really easy class.
His class was very interesting, you listen to lots of performances, and most of his lectures are interesting. But the required and optional concerts are so boring (most of them).
Relaxing and easy class. Half the time it's listening to his stories and music examples. Section has really simple homework. Guest performances every so often are awesome. Scott loves Indian music/culture so be prepared!
Lectures and section do not correlate. The book is painfully dull but reading it lightly will suffice for an A on all 3 exams. The paper was pretty much open to anything related to the class. Very boring but very easy A. The 6 required concerts were hit or miss. Some were amazing while others were painful. Keep in mind they all cost money.
The only plus side to this class is getting the midterm and final a week beforehand. Everything else is downhill. He makes you do useless book notes on hundreds of pages and a 10 page minimum paper on any topic. Basically his teaching style is terrible and he says that somethings are going to be on the test when they're not. Pointless class.
boring class, rambles about nothing and always says "this will be on the exam" when it never is. easy but boring. don't take if optional
1 small test, 1 midterm, 1 5-page "ethnomusicological" paper, 1 final. the lectures and sections DO NOT correlate. the professor will be talking about middle eastern music and the TA will be talking about native american traditions. don't take this class. it's not that hard but it sucks.
sections are meant to be a reinforcement of the lecture, that wasn't the case for this class. 140 dollars for the book + CDs which is required, 6 total concerts that would cost at least 75. worded the questions on the tests horribly, lectures were all over the place with no structure at all. 2 midterms, 1 final, one 6 page paper. you've been warned
Even though he gives the essay questions for the midterm and the final in advance, this class is MUCH more work than it's worth! You have to take copious notes on hundreds of pages of reading a week. It's more work than I've ever had for a class before. Plus, he takes attendance randomly and counts it towards your grade. Don't bother!
loves all things middle eastern....the tests were pretty easy bc he gives it to you before hand, even though its closed book. we repeated a lot of drum beats...really easy, just not that interesting to me because im not middle eastern.