(IGNORE THE COURSE TITLE, I took Music History 60, The American Musical)

I am so glad I decided to take Professor Knapp's class on the American Musical.

I already had a strong interest in musicals coming into the class, so that may have helped. Knapp is a very distinguished man in his field, and extremely intelligent. He's super soft-spoken and friendly (you can always go up to him during breaks and ask him a question).

With that said, the lectures can get dreary at times. Since he sends out the lecture outlines beforehand, I suggest bringing a laptop to class and typing your notes onto the outlines.

The two textbooks we used were actually written by Knapp himself. While they are interesting, and you get to learn a lot about specific musicals, his scholarly language and technical musical terms might fly over your head. I definitely suggest reading the assigned chapters before coming to lecture, so as to get a basic understanding of what everything is about, but the reading WILL be long and dry.

We had three listening quizzes (very easy), a midterm (multiple-choice), a final (multiple-choice, essay), and a five-page paper on a musical of your choice. Your TA will be the best source of guidance--I had a fantastic TA who was a tremendous help on my paper. Knapp provides study guides before each exam, so you just need to know them well.

All in all, the class was insightful and interesting, and I loved the music. We learned about so many classic musicals (Cabaret, Hair, Anything Goes, Singin' in the Rain, West Side Story, Oklahoma, among others), and I feel great going places and understanding all these musical references! With A's on every assignment and exam, and a great relationship with my TA, I ended with an A+.