Michael D. Mertens

MUSIC201 · HARMONY · PIANO1 · MUS111 · MUSCI1 · MUSIC111V5193 · MUSIC201203 · MUS202 · MUSIC · MUSIC321 · MUSI101 · HARMO123 · HARMONYIII · MUSIC111 · 29 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 64/100
RMP rating: 3.6/5
Take again: —
Difficulty: 3.5

The decision

if you already know some music and will study; skip as an easy humanities fill-in.

Best fit · Effort For RewardFunny but demandingExtra credit and curvesHard listening quizzesBest for music-background studentsMixed clarity for beginners

Many students praise his humor, knowledge, and , yet non-majors often feel lost.
Tests and listening quizzes are frequently called hard; and EC.
piano/harmony fans love him, gen-ed MUSIC111 is polarizing.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

52/100

and curves help, but and listening sections keep an A from being automatic.

; no online reviews.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

34/100

Content and listening work often feel demanding, especially without prior music background.

; no online reviews.

Is attendance flexible?

Depends

58/100

Strong fans call him one of the best, while unless they already know music.

; no online reviews.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

58/100

Curves, , and understanding comments balance hard tests for many students.

Format shift

Workload

Moderate

42/100

Assignments, chapter reading, and demanding listening work keep the load solidly moderate to heavy.

Format shift

Teaching experience

Good

66/100

Funny, knowledgeable, and engaging for many; and patient for beginners without music background.

Format shift

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

68/100

Tests, listening quizzes, and .

Format shift

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 Effort For Reward

In-person music courses range from fun and and poorly paced for beginners, with frequent praise for personality and frustration over difficulty and .

Main concern

Non-majors can feel abandoned on hard listening tests and .

What students said

“Easy C but not easy A.”
MUSIC111

“he gives a lot of chances for and other assignments”
MUSIC111

“it's way too hard, and too demanding.”
MUSIC111V5193

Remote format

Online

0 reviews

Low confidence

No stored summary is available for this format.

Main concern

No main concern is stored for this format.

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

portions; some open-book tests and EC softens risk.

Listening quizzesChapter-based testsSome open-book testsExtra credit options

Assessment risk

Standard

56/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

; listening sections trip people up, though some tests were open book.

Listening portionOpen book on some testsOnline quizzes mentioned once

“3 out of 6 tests were open book. Be very careful with the listening”
MUSIC111

“listening parts of .”
MUSIC111

Online

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“Do all of the work and study and you will get a good grade”
Voice snapshots generated from 29 in-person , and major-vs-non-major fit. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

66/100

“Professor Mertens is one of the .”

📈 Difficulty Reality

34/100

“ as a humanities class unless this is your major.”

⚖️ Grade Path

52/100

“gives at the end of the semester, and .”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

great guy and teacher for piano
He has a very sarcastic sense of humour
He's a funny and likable guy.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

Easy C but not easy A.
passed with an A!

Theme 3

⚠️ About Fit For Beginners

Avoid unless you have a background in music.
you have a chance of being completely lost
there is no teaching or minimal provided

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

78/100

Evidence confidence

29 detailed in-person reviews spanning many years show consistent themes despite polarity.

Inside 29 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 511

4 out of 57

3 out of 56

2 out of 54

1 out of 51

Course coverage

MUSIC11112 reviews

MUSIC3 reviews

MUSIC111V51932 reviews

MUSIC2012 reviews

HARMO1231 review

Show 9 more courses

HARMONY1 review

HARMONYIII1 review

MUS1111 review

MUS2021 review

MUSCI11 review

MUSI1011 review

MUSIC2012031 review

MUSIC3211 review

PIANO11 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

1 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 1

B range

No reported values

C range

No reported values

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

No reported values

Michael D. Mertens

x x if you already know some music and will study; skip as an easy humanities fill-in.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

FairEffort

Challenging

Recommended

Depends

See how this professor fits your week.

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

In person

Online

See what students actually said.

🎯 Teaching Quality

📈 Difficulty Reality

⚖️ Grade Path

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

⚠️ About Fit For Beginners

See exactly what the AI read.

Quality ratings

Course coverage

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

A range

B range

C range

D range

F

No letter grade reported

if you already know some music and will study; skip as an easy humanities fill-in.