Ralph Lowi

MUS184 · MUS114 · MUS115 · MUSC128A · MUSIC115 · MUS37157 · 31 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 52/100
RMP rating: 3.3/5
Take again: 53.33%
Difficulty: 2.1

The decision

Consider him for online MUS115 only if you will do the reading; think twice about recent songwriting sections.

Best fit · Self Taught ProPolarizing songwriting circleReading-heavy GEBlunt critiquesOpen-book quizzes onlinePessimistic tone

MUS115 online can be an easy GE if you read and ; .
Recent songwriting (MUSC128A) and thin structure.
Overall recommendation is split—knowledgeable about music history, uneven as a mentor.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

72/100

MUS115 grades are often easy if and assignments; songwriting still passes with participation but is emotionally harder.

Online GE is the easy-A path; and more about tone.

Is the course easy?

Standard

58/100

Content is not conceptually brutal, but , and song drafts add real work.

Online students stress reading volume; .

Is attendance flexible?

Varies

45/100

; in-person songwriting and some history sections expect presence and participation.

as optional; in-person songwriting marks it mandatory.

Is this professor recommended?

Depends

48/100

solid for structured online history GE, poor fit for students needing warm songwriting mentorship.

Online leans more positive; .

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

68/100

Assignments and open-book quizzes reward completion; he is not described as an .

Format shift

; in-person grading complaints are more about critique tone than harsh points.

Workload

Moderate

48/100

up, especially online or summer terms.

Format shift

Online workload complaints are louder; .

Teaching experience

Average

55/100

Deep music knowledge and occasional great lectures are undercut by monotone delivery and recent harsh workshop tone.

Format shift

Online is more facilitator-style; in-person quality swings by course.

Assessment method

Balanced

50/100

Weekly assignments and depending on the course.

Format shift

Online is assignment-heavy with open-book quizzes; .

Luni fit check

Weigh these signals against your actual schedule.

Get help balancing workload, grading, and timing when no option is an obvious fit.

Course format

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Classroom format

In person

22 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

and harsh, unstructured songwriting workshops.

Main concern

Recent songwriting students describe negative, blunt critiques and weak structure.

What students said

“This dude is the most negative professor I've ever had.”
MUSC128A

“really ... not a ”
MUS115

“it's really just a songwriting circle where people share songs.”
MUSC128A

Remote format

Online

9 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online MUS115 , and a relatively easy A for organized students.

Main concern

and assignment load; one student dropped for workload.

What students said

“ and they aren't too bad.”
MUS115

“You just have to read the text book and do the assignments and you'll get an A.”
MUS115

“There was more work for this class than my other three courses combined.”
MUSIC115

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Online quizzes are often open book from the text; in-person assessment ranges from easy .

Open book quizzesReading-based testsWeekly assignmentsSong presentations

Assessment risk

StudentFriendly

72/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person history classes use midterms/finals and playlists; songwriting centers on presenting songs for .

Midterm and finalSong draft presentationsPlaylist study

“The midterm and if you have read the chapters and studied the songs on the playlists given.”
MUS115

“The main focus was preparing two final songs, presenting drafts, and and professor.”
MUSC128A

Online

Online MUS115 and simple weekly assignments with no webcam proctoring proven.

Open book quizzesTextbook-based quizzesWeekly short assignments

“ and they aren't too bad.”
MUS115

“Make sure you read because the book.”
MUS115

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“This dude is the most negative professor I've ever had. He's always taking a pessimistic tone towards music, the class, the industry as a whole.”
Voice snapshots generated from 31 reviews (9 online, 22 in person), contrasting online GE ease with . Credibility rating: Medium.

🎯 Teaching Quality

55/100

“He knows his material very well.”

👍 Recommendation Split

48/100

“ .”

📖 Online Easy GE

75/100

“This class was a complete piece of cake & satisfied a GE Requirement.”

🎵 Songwriting Climate

30/100

“Ralph is very blunt. Perhaps too much so, often his critique of the class or individuals can be seen as hurtful or personal.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

really
He jumps back and forth, so it's .
it's really just a songwriting circle

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

You pretty much get full credit if you do the assignments.
it was an easy A.
Just get the assignments in and you'll do fine.

Theme 3

⚠️ About Classroom Tone

He's always taking a pessimistic tone
Pretty unapproachable and intimidating.
He usually has class favorites and likes to call people out

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

74/100

Evidence confidence

Thirty-one reviews cover both formats and multiple course types, but opinions diverge sharply by class, lowering consistency.

Inside 31 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 58

4 out of 512

3 out of 53

2 out of 52

1 out of 56

Course coverage

MUS11516 reviews

MUSIC1156 reviews

MUSC128A5 reviews

MUS1142 reviews

MUS1841 review

Show 1 more courses

MUS371571 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

13 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 5 · A 6

B range

No reported values

C range

No reported values

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

Drop/Withdrawal 1 · Not_Sure_Yet 1