Alright so the class is very easy. The class starts great and super interesting but after lecture 3 it basically becomes a two hour-long slideshow introducing jazz artist after jazz artist. It gets extremely boring at times but the class is interesting if you want to have more than a surface level understanding of jazz music. In regards to grading 10% of it is based on participation in your TA section, this can be hit or miss depending on how strict your TA is. Mine seemed like she didn’t want to be a TA for the class was kinda rude tbh lol. But every TA is. The rest of your grade depends on two concert observations, which are very easy so do them early! And the midterm and final as well as a final project. For the tests Professor Bolin will make sure that you know everything that will be on them. We usually had a review day before the exam and basically everything that was on the notes that day would be on the test. For the final project you have complete liberty to do what you want, so you don’t have to do a research paper and can do things like album reviews or even write a song. Overall this is a great and easy class, just boring af.

Let me start with-- this class was easy. Its been said, that's why I took it. Marc is very passionate about jazz and it is clear through his lectures, however, this class is BORING AF. Two hour lectures at 9 am are not it for me, but if that is for you, have at it! There was one midterm that was online and I got 100%. There was a final that was also online, but it was harder-- probably because I studied 0 hours. The final paper was a drag and 6-9 PAGES LONG, but he only looked at the formatting and I got 100%. There were also some TA assignments, but going to the discussions were pointless in my opinion. The listening list is given for midterm and final, but there was NO NEED to listen to them because our midterm and final were online (if in person, I would recommend listening). Just know you will be bored and will not want to go to the lectures (that he doesn't even record), but if you need an easy GE, take this class!

I took this class not only because I am interested in jazz but also because it is a rather easy GE. There is a midterm and a final, both online, and a final project as well. Weekly assignments are easy and just go over the reading (which isn't tested over). The final project was very enjoyable for me, as I did it over something I am passionate about - this class really isn't hard, just know that it isn't over the actual music but rather the genre's history. There are lots of extra credit opportunities as well. One complaint I have is that the rubric for the short-answer final writing was changed last minute and I had to re-submit my 10+ pages of writing close to the deadline because of a typological error in the rubric. Overall, Marc is a great professor and I do recommend the class.

This class is very easy as a GE, but I found a lot of the assignments to be kind of tedious. You are given much creative freedom on the final project, but most will likely pursue a research paper style thing. Professor Bolin is a really cool guy, but the two hour lectures can tend to drag on. If you're interested in jazz or music at all, I would recommend this class as an easy GE. However, if you have substantial knowledge of jazz music, you'd be better off spending your time elsewhere. That being said, much of the history taught is quite interesting.