Alexander Rothe

3 take-home quizzes, 3 essays. No trick questions, and he gives out all the questions in his review sessions.

Take Rothe for Music Hum for the sake of your life. He is the nicest human being on earth. Very accommodating and nice. The class can be a bit disorganized and unstructured but we get to listen to good music.

assignments about readings twice a week three papers (2-3papges) midterm and final

Taking Music Humanity with Dr. Rothe is a great experience. Very nice person and full of patience. As a non-native speaker, I do not have much music background and the vocabulary is quite challenging for me. However, Dr. Rothe is always very patient and devotes a lot time in his office hour. Reasonable workload. Someone might complain about the frequent assignments (twice a week but super short)but I think it is the best way to encourage you to learn (also avoid being too lazy and falling behind the progress). Love the Met Opera!!! and the Met museum field trip. Also require students to attend an extra performance with many recommendations. The prompts of papers are very interesting and the length is very short.(2-4 pages) For exams, he is always very clear about what he is going to test. Just prepare without too much worries. Finally, a very nice grader for people who do things required. I think I am less talented than many of my classmates but still get a A for my efforts. P.S. really love his recommendation of the Sachertorte cake at Cafe Sabarsky hahahaha

Readings, quizzes, concert papers, midterm, final, attendance- manageable, reasonable workload for Music Hum/Core standards.

Like most, I was fulfilling a requirement, and I did not expect how fun and educational the class would be because of Professor Rothe's excellent teaching. He consistently was very prepared and did a great job of discussing pieces as how they were representative (or not) of a broader historical time period. He would actively encourage us to return to the key concepts and descriptors we learned in the beginning and use them as tools to analyze the music, which I felt was helpful for reinforcing them. It is clear how passionate he is about the subject when he discusses experiences like his visit to Notre-Dame or shares his favorite musicians and their work. He also had a fun sense of humor that made class more enjoyable. If you have a chance, Music Hum with Professor Rothe is a great experiences.

Manageable, if you study. MCQs are tricky. Quizzes, midterm, final

Professor Rothe is great. I would completely recommend him. He's very knowledgeable and passionate (he often asks 'have you heard of xx's films/songs/art?' and it was kind of endearing how he would also look a little crestfallen if no one raised their hands but delighted when someone did). I didn't have a strong music background and my class was a mix. But he managed it well by being very patient and also using the knowledge of the experienced musicians. The class was also not very discussion-based, which was fine by me because he had plenty of insights. I loved the historical focus of the class. Take his class!!

short readings for every class. 3 quizzes worth 30% total, two papers worth 15% total, final, midterm, attendance

Rothe isn't as awkward as everyone else says; he's actually wicked funny. Also, he's a terrific teacher and I totally recommend you take the class with him. Why? Because you won't have to memorize what 60 very similar-sounding pieces sound like and he's super chill. I've been talking to my other friends who had music hum, and they said they had to do that memorization, and as someone even classically trained in music it seemed a bit ridiculous. Rothe isn't like that. He repeats that he isn't trying to make it unnecessarily hard on you, so our 3 quizzes over the semester are exactly what he tells you they will be like--very historically based, identification between like 6 pieces (which are very different, because some are operas with and without video and like costumes guys come on, some are symphonies, some are clearly only with one instrument, etc.). 6 different works for the midterm, guys. All in all, take the class with Rothe. If you look over the material, it's an easy A. Actually do the readings, it's an easy A. It's more historical-based than other music hum sections, as Rothe doesn't see music in a vacuum. He also is into operatic stagings and talks a lot about that, if you're into that. HE'S THE BEST.