Professor Savage was very accommodating for students who felt uncomfortable to attend class due to COVID, and he is accommodating in general. He recorded the lectures and posted the slides, and is very open to receiving and answering questions from his students. The course material can be a little hard to understand the the very first look into it, due to extensive vocabulary and philosophical elements & concepts. But, if u rewatch the lectures and really pay attention to what he is saying, it’s not really too bad. The readings aren’t also too much to do in this class, and aren’t heavily incorporated into the course. I will say, this class makes you write a lot, and it is basically all of the graded assignments. There are 2 essays, 1 midterm consisting of 2 questions, and a final consisting of 4 questions (all essays). This is kind of the only “homework” in class as well. If you don’t like writing, don’t take this class. But, I really enjoyed writing these essays and they did really make me understand the course material better because I actually had to go back, relearn it, and understand the topics better to put it into essay format. Professor Savage also gives you a spoken outline of each essay in class, and helps you through each part, which I found to be a BIG help. Overall, this class was enjoyable and I learned so many things. The way the material is presented makes it actually interesting- as Professor Savage presents the material in a relatable way. If ur looking to expand ur music history knowledge- this is the class for u!!!!

The class itself was not that hard, but obviously, if you want that "A" grade, you have to put in the effort. Professor Savage is great overall and extremely helpful when you ask him questions about the material. He provided all the information and resources to earn a decent grade. All of the assignments submitted for grading were essays. So, 2 essays (each worth 15% of grade), plus the Midterm (30%) and Final exam (40%). The Midterm exam consisted of 2 essays (2-4 pages each) and the Final exam consisted of 4 essays (again, 2-4 pages each). But, I would suggest writing more pages than the minimum required. I highly recommend attending the lectures live to be able to ask questions if necessary. I am not a music major and was initially worried that the course would be difficult, but it was very doable. Take him if you want to learn about the history of Western music and its aesthetics.

Interesting class but it is more about music history than aesthetics. Professor Savage explains things clearly but the lectures can get very repeatative especailly towards the end of the year. If you go to all the lectures and the discussions (very good for a summary of the lecture material) you really dont need the course reader at all. The tests are multiple choice and easy if you are good at memorizing, but there is no curve and the wording/vocabulary can throw a lot of people off.