This is a good class to take for a GE. It's straightforward and you don't have to deal with the highly subjective grading of a class like philosophy. A lot of the music he plays for you and makes you know for the midterm and final is pretty catchy.

For tests, you should first make sure you know every musician's instrument(s), roles, subgenre/time period, and other factual tidbits. The best way to do this is to make an Excel spreadsheet and list each musician on the left, and their characteristics on a bunch of columns to the right. Go through and quiz yourself by folding the papers so all but the names are covered and make marks next to the names as to what you think their instruments are, etc. You can grade yourself quickly and you'll learn all the information faster than any other method (flashcards aren't necessary because his tests are multiple choice). Know the conceptual stuff too. The book isn't that helpful but I would pay attention to what he says by word of mouth in addition to what he writes on the board. I noticed direct quotes from lecture showing up sometimes on the tests (he seems to refer to a script as he lectures and it likely contains everything you could possibly need to know).

I didn't think this class was a pushover as other people may suggest. You have to memorize ~100 musicians per test and you have papers to write and a performance to go to, but if you work diligently you should get no less than an A.

This was a great class! Not a hard class and it's interesting. You have three easy and short essays. You also have an opportunity to do extra credit by writing a concert report. Professor Harrison is laid back and you can tell he's passionate about jazz. I would definitely recommend this Professor Harrison. In fact, this class made me interested in jazz.

Okay. I took this class because of what other people wrote here about 50A, not 50B (since 50B was a new class). The thing is 50B consists of A LOT of names you have to memorize. This class is purely based on memorization. I thought it would be easy but, seriously, if you have to know about 100 persons with their specific instrument, a few songs each, and genre...it is not the easiest thing. And seriously, how entertaining can ethnomusicology get? Of course, some music we listened to seemed fun and interesting, but it's not worth it, in my opinion. So basically, if you are looking for a easy GE course, don't take 50B, but take 50A!

Very manageable class. Professor Harrisons lectures were definitely a nice break during the day. It was not strenuous at all, you listen to Jazz music a lot of the lecture and he's a very lively guy who tries to tell a lot of personal anecdotes. I didn't do very much of the reading because if you go to lecture you wont need to (but buy the book because you need it for papers). There were 3 papers (one was a concert report) about 5 pages long but they were not difficult by any means. I definitely recommend it as a GE class & Harrison's passion for the subject really makes you interested in Jazz.