This is definitely a class where if you can't direct your own self-studies, you will be lost. The course material is dense and Neuman is so closely involved with his work that it is difficult for him to explain the topics outside of the culture; though he may try his best. The lectures are somewhat disorganized, there aren't any slides or outlines to follow. A lot of it is listening and jotting it down, keeping up with the speed of the lecture. No discussions to help you note take--definitely find a buddy and compare.

He can be tricky on tests. For example, on a quiz, he once made it so that the first half was all true, and the second was false. He is however, a very fair grader. Don't be expecting a break too often. Know the material and you'll be fine. He also does make up exams, which are helpful since there are a lot of quizzes in this course. His general philosophy is "i'd rather test often to make sure you're keeping up than administer a large exam".

A plus is that he is very quick in responding to emails and is very tech-saavy. There is no bumbling about, wasting time.

In end, I don't think I would take another class with him, but he teaches very well and the subject matter is interesting.

- Professor Neuman is a very nice Professor who showed enthusiasm and knowledge for the subject of North Indian Classical Music and the way he taught it toward students so that it was easy for students to understand the subject, as obscure as some of the topics became at times.

- He kept the class relatively light without making it too boring.

- There were 10 quizzes (best 5 counts toward 75% of your grade). Some did prove tougher than others, but there are enough relatively easy ones that your best 5 will average out to a decent to excellent grade. Some quizzes involved listening to pieces of full songs, many of which he does send you through the class website. Others involved determining what kind of raag a piece was (and you get to really learn what a raag is throughout the course), matching instruments with their performers, factual tidbits, etc., mainly in the form of T/F or filling in the blank (where most times, he will list the terms where one on that list is the answer).

- The other 25% is on the comprehensive final, which did not involve any listening (at least on the one from Fall 2011.) The final will happen at the same time as the class normally meets and on one of the days the class happens (it was on Tuesday of Finals Week of Fall 2011).

- He also offered extra credit once during the term where you create a bibliography of up to 25 articles on a particular topic he gives you; this makes up for quizzes you may not have done well on.

- Overall, Professor Neuman is kind, approachable for help, and sometimes funny. He does give a break during class because he noticed when members of the class glazed over. He also had many guest musicians and speakers come throughout term, which was the best part of this class!

Don t take his class. He is very bad attitude and performance.