The professor was a very nice person, don't get me wrong. The lectures were a snooze fest however. You can not pay attention in lecture and copy down only whatever is on the projected screen and do as well in the class as otherwise. If you are somebody who is interested in studying music theory then I would be interested in the class. However, this class is so so so so incredibly disorganized. Part of this could have to do with my particular TA, but interest you have in the music and wanting to be exposed to the culture is just sucked out of you by the amateur way in which this class is presented. For tests, you realize quickly that lectures are spent mostly by the professor talking tangentially about music for the first half hour plus and are pretty useless, as taking tests really boils down to memorizing the people and terms the TA sends you on the study list. But back to the disorganization. When it comes to the final essay, for instance, it is never clear at all what time exactly anything is due, there are really ambiguous instructions as to how to format things, which are exacerbated by the TA sending you ten different emails and the professor never sending out formal due dates or times. The whole organization does a very terrible job at captivating you, making you interested, as it is pretty much just a history class. Nobody in the class, even the music students, seemed interested. Twitter was on everybody's laptop screens during lecture. If you want exposure and discussion of music, or to be captivated by the culture applications of music, I'd take another class. Just took the final today, so INCOMPLETE means I haven't gotten my grade yet

The most difficult part of this class was sorting through the information presented, and there was a lot of reading and listening to do. Professor Keyes is a super cool person who is extremely knowledgeable about the material. The material presented in this class is very important, and enjoyable. Would rcommend this course for anyone interested in social sciences who enjoys music. Scott Linford was an awesome TA, very supportive and available to students for clarity about the material.

I took American Popular music with Cheryl. Take this class if you want ot learn about Ruth Brown and listen to Keyes talk about how Texas T-Bone Walker wrote every song for Elvis. Apparently Frank Sinatra was never popular, not even talked about in this class. We spent about a minute on the Rolling Stones, and a week on booker T and the MG's.

The WORST music course I have taken. The prof goes off into high detail about trivial facts (eg, the whole list of band members, line-up changes included, of some obscure swing band from the 1920s, then she talks about how members would end up in different bands, and then go over the list of ppl in *that* band, etc...) Her music examples are many. Unlike the other music courses I have taken, she doesnt explain *why* she chose those musical examples. She just plays the examples and tells us whether or not she likes that type of music. The course should be renamed to EthnoMus 117: 19th Century American Popular Music, R&B Recording Companies, and Trivia Pursuit.

I took American Popular Music and thought the subject matter was very interesting. But, Prof. Keyes is very disorganized. She basically quotes out of different sources the whole time. The videos are a great compliment and actually, the class could have been taught by video alone without the aid of lecture.

i took analysis of traditional music and i thought her lectures were very organized, aside from the disorganized people in the class everything was perfect

I took Prof. Keyes for Analysis of Traditional Music. Although the subject was very interesting, I found her lectures to be extremely disorganized, which made the class more difficult than it needed to be! It seemed that our entire class felt this way.

Ethnomusicology 117 itself was very interesting. But Prof. Keyes was a horrible lecturer. She basically read straight from the text, constantly quoting the author. My notes were very disorganized (she jumps back and forth between different topics). I could have stayed home and read the book, but she takes attendance. She seemed very unconcerned with the students' learning. This class definitely had the POTENTIAL to be a great class, but in my opinion it needs a different instructor.

take keyes if you want to have to get a 95 or higher for an A and you want to have a bad college experience. She is terrible.

I must say Professor Keyes is a nice lady. However.... Her lectures were kinda uhhh I would say disorganized. I'm sure the rest of the world agrees with me on this. The material she presents in class is not consistent. In the hip hop classes she bounces from one artist to another and not really giving a historical context. I look at my notes and all I have a bunch of names. Good thing is, she grades on a curve. This probably explains why the exams seem somewhat difficult especially on the listening portion.