Mona Decesare

PIANO25A · MUSIC08 · MUSM25A · M · MUS25A · PIANO · MUSICMUSI · MUSM07 · MUS25C · MUSM25C · MUS30D · MUSM08 · 33 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 58/100
RMP rating: 3.5/5
Take again: 53.33%
Difficulty: 2.9

The decision

Take her for piano if you will practice daily; avoid expecting an effortless music elective, especially online appreciation.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerSerious piano coachPractice requiredTest-heavy music appreciationCaring but strictNot always online-savvy

Piano students who practice regularly often , and real skill growth.
Music appreciation reviews are mixed to negative when tests feel overly detailed or workload heavy.
Online sections get weaker marks for tech and feedback, while in-person piano is the stronger experience.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

56/100

Piano grades track honest practice and effort, while some music appreciation students worked hard yet still lost .

One online appreciation review called it an easy A with retakeable quizzes; another online and .

Is the course easy?

Standard

46/100

Piano is skill-based and practice-driven, and music .

In-person piano difficulty comes from practice demands; online appreciation difficulty comes from detailed tests and reading.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

24/100

Many piano and music reviews mark attendance mandatory, with skip-class warnings and pop quizzes.

In-person attendance is clearly mandatory; , but engagement and deadlines still matter.

Is this professor recommended?

Depends

54/100

Recommended for serious piano learners, but not a safe default for easy music electives or online-only students.

In-person piano recommendations are strong; online and music appreciation recommendations are much weaker.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

58/100

Effort-based piano grading is often called fair or lenient, but some music classes feel like tough or .

Format shift

Piano feedback is frequently fair; music appreciation has more tough-grader complaints.

Workload

Heavy

34/100

Daily practice, frequent quizzes, concert reports, and heavy reading appear across many courses.

Format shift

Piano practice load is central in person; online appreciation adds many chapter quizzes and tests.

Teaching experience

Good

66/100

Strong technique coaching and warmth for committed students, with notable complaints about clarity, online skill, and patience.

Format shift

In-person piano teaching earns the ; online delivery is weaker.

Assessment method

Balanced

58/100

Piano relies on in-class playing, practice, and quizzes; music appreciation leans on quizzes, tests, and concert reports.

Format shift

Music appreciation is more test heavy; piano is performance and practice heavy.

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

29 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

In-person piano classes reward practice and ; music appreciation can feel quiz-heavy and unforgiving.

Main concern

Mandatory , and occasional uncaring or unclear teaching moments.

What students said

“This isn't the type of class where you take it for an "easy grade" or something, it's a very serious chance for you to learn from a GREAT teacher who will help you grow.”
PIANO

“You will NEED to practice outside of class (about 15-30 min per day).”
MUSM25A

“She's the best piano teacher I've ever had.”
MUS25C

Remote format

Online

4 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Self Taught Pro

Online music and piano experiences range from easy retakeable quizzes to complaints about tough tests and weak online tech support.

Main concern

and some very detailed high-stakes tests.

What students said

“Mona is nice but NOT online savvy.”
MUSM08

“ felt like I was in a fourth year music history class.”
MUSIC08

“This was an EASY A. There is a lot of homework due every so often, in the form of a score you like.”
MUSM08

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exam friendliness varies from retakeable online quizzes to detailed, unforgiving music-history style tests.

Test heavy music appreciationRetakeable chapter quizzes onlinePop quizzesConcert reportsIn-class piano performance

Assessment risk

Standard

48/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person piano uses frequent playing checks and pop quizzes; music appreciation can pile on quizzes and test content not always matching study guidance.

In-class piano performancePop quizzesPractice-based gradingTest heavy music appreciation

“You MUST practice because you have a quiz on what you're learning almost every class.”
MUS25A

“Assigns 30 quizzes with 20 questions each every week.”
MUSM08

Online

Online evidence includes retakeable chapter quizzes and easy midterms in one section, plus another section with extremely detailed unfair-feeling tests.

Retakeable chapter quizzesEasy midterm and final in one reviewHighly detailed tests in another review

“ a score you like.”
MUSM08

“Went in to the final with a mid A and got wrecked so hard I finished with a B.”
MUSIC08

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“This isn't the type of class where you take it for an "easy grade" or something, it's a very serious chance for you to learn from a GREAT teacher who will help you grow.”
Voice snapshots generated from 33 reviews, separating piano coaching praise from music-appreciation and online friction. Credibility rating: High.

🎹 Piano Teaching Strength

78/100

“She's an amazing piano teacher!”

🏋️ Practice Demand

34/100

“You will NEED to practice outside of class (about 15-30 min per day).”

🧪 Music Appreciation Risk

35/100

“ felt like I was in a fourth year music history class.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

great audio-recorded feedback on each piano piece
knows exactly how to break things down and make them clear
NOT online savvy

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

Your grade reflects your effort
This was an EASY A
I worked so hard in her class for a B

Theme 3

❤️ About Character

kind and caring professor
Doesn't care about her students
incredibly warm & personable

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

86/100

Evidence confidence

Thirty-three reviews with clear course splits, multi-year span, and consistent themes around practice, tests, and online weakness support a high-confidence read.

Inside 33 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 515

4 out of 54

3 out of 54

2 out of 55

1 out of 55

Course coverage

MUSM089 reviews

MUSM25A6 reviews

MUS25A3 reviews

MUS30D3 reviews

MUS25C2 reviews

Show 7 more courses

MUSIC082 reviews

PIANO2 reviews

PIANO25A2 reviews

M1 review

MUSICMUSI1 review

MUSM071 review

MUSM25C1 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

17 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 1 · A 11

B range

B+ 3 · B- 1

C range

C 1

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

No reported values