Course taken: Music History 12W

Le Guin is an amazing person but classes were extremely dry. Discussions were usually forced because there was never much to say about any of the topics presented in class. Those who did speak up in class repeated the same ideas over and over again. There is a lot of assignments in this class that seem really unnecessary but you have to turn everything if you want a decent grade because the point scale is very strict. The music analyses were very enjoyable and I am very grateful that Le Guin spent A LOT of time with us on our thesis and rest of the paper. It wasn't rushed at all and I knew what was expected of me for the paper. That being said, make sure you pick a good topic since so much time is spent on it.. I took this class as a first year to see if I wanted to be a Music History major and I still am unsure but the class satisfies the writing 2 requirement so at least it's something. Ended up with an A in the class, I turned in EVERY assignment and attended every lecture and discussion.

I took Writing about Music with Professor LeGuin. MUSIC HISTORY 12. Professor LeGuin is very knowledgeable, intelligent, and pleasant. Even if you don't know anything about music, you can excel in this course. The grading can be very harsh at first, but as long as you demonstrate hard work, thought, and care into your writing, you should be able to excel. The idea is not to talk technically about music, but to express a human reaction to what you are listening. But be warned: this class is a lot of work. You will work and write continuously throughout the quarter. There is no midterm/final but you will work. I've never worked harder in a class at UCLA than this one. But don't let that discourage you from taking this. You will improve significantly in the quality of your writing and the speed. Make sure to go to Office Hours of your TA or the Professor for extra help---this is the best advice I can give you. This class was rewarding at the end, but it is a lot of work. There are also readings too which are quite interesting, I feel. I recommend this course for a writing course.