Professor
Elizabeth Upton
Most Helpful Review
First off, I got an A+ in this class and worked for it. Overall, I think anyone can get and A in this class if they go to lecture and put some effort. I basically agree with the person below. Professor Upton is a good person who obviously loves and geeks out about music; however, she is a bit disorganized and could use improvement for this course. The course is called "Getting Medieval" and by the end of the class I still didn't know what "medieval music" really is. She plays interesting music in class including pop songs and soundtrack music, but half the time I would think "why are we learning/listening to this again?" But she does post her powerpoints after lecture. Also this class was a bit more work than I imagined (I took Music History of Bach and loved it way more that this one). We have readings (sometimes 60+ pages!) and forum posts regarding the readings due every week. This is around 20% of your grade I think so they basically are easy points if you put the effort into it. There are also 2 papers which the grade is totally dependent on how your TA grades it. My TA was extremely nice with the grades and mostly everyone got As on their papers. Then there is the midterm and final that have listening portions. The midterm was extremely easy compared to the final because the final also involved short answers.
First off, I got an A+ in this class and worked for it. Overall, I think anyone can get and A in this class if they go to lecture and put some effort. I basically agree with the person below. Professor Upton is a good person who obviously loves and geeks out about music; however, she is a bit disorganized and could use improvement for this course. The course is called "Getting Medieval" and by the end of the class I still didn't know what "medieval music" really is. She plays interesting music in class including pop songs and soundtrack music, but half the time I would think "why are we learning/listening to this again?" But she does post her powerpoints after lecture. Also this class was a bit more work than I imagined (I took Music History of Bach and loved it way more that this one). We have readings (sometimes 60+ pages!) and forum posts regarding the readings due every week. This is around 20% of your grade I think so they basically are easy points if you put the effort into it. There are also 2 papers which the grade is totally dependent on how your TA grades it. My TA was extremely nice with the grades and mostly everyone got As on their papers. Then there is the midterm and final that have listening portions. The midterm was extremely easy compared to the final because the final also involved short answers.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2017 - Prof. Upton is a treat! She's funny and engaging, super knowledgeable about the source material, and makes you actually want to attend. The required reading isn't super useful, unless you're interested in the Beatles, but you can find everything on https://www.beatlesbible.com/ A bit heavy on music theory so if you don't know about that, it can be a bit confusing but that's what section is for.
Winter 2017 - Prof. Upton is a treat! She's funny and engaging, super knowledgeable about the source material, and makes you actually want to attend. The required reading isn't super useful, unless you're interested in the Beatles, but you can find everything on https://www.beatlesbible.com/ A bit heavy on music theory so if you don't know about that, it can be a bit confusing but that's what section is for.
Most Helpful Review
For music History 68 Beatles Loved the class!! She was enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the Beatles and their music. Breakdown of the class is one midterm, 8 page paper, and final. The midterm and final are pretty easy. They consist of listening to the songs and identifying them, name, band, album and date released and two sentences significant to the song. then there are essay questions that if you go to lecture you are bound to know. the paper is not hard and for a non-music major it was easy to do; basically you pick a Beatle song and analyze it. She will show various examples of how it is done. There are two texts required but only one really needed for the essay. Gould's Can't Buy Me Love. If you need a copy I have it email me ************* read it for she makes constant references to it and may appear on the midterm and final as "gould said this what do you think about it?" and the pages add up so keep up with the reading. overall recommend the class!!
For music History 68 Beatles Loved the class!! She was enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the Beatles and their music. Breakdown of the class is one midterm, 8 page paper, and final. The midterm and final are pretty easy. They consist of listening to the songs and identifying them, name, band, album and date released and two sentences significant to the song. then there are essay questions that if you go to lecture you are bound to know. the paper is not hard and for a non-music major it was easy to do; basically you pick a Beatle song and analyze it. She will show various examples of how it is done. There are two texts required but only one really needed for the essay. Gould's Can't Buy Me Love. If you need a copy I have it email me ************* read it for she makes constant references to it and may appear on the midterm and final as "gould said this what do you think about it?" and the pages add up so keep up with the reading. overall recommend the class!!
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2022 - Professor Upton was AMAZING! The Beatles were definitely a subject I didn't expect to become so invested in. Class was online, but the TAs and other students made it fun chatting and reacting to her lecture. She shows a good amount of music videos and documentaries so the slides aren't boring. Our grade consisted of weekly discussion posts with one reply, quizzes corresponding to each lecture, a research paper, and a final reflection in place of an actual final. Overall, I'd highly recommend this class as a GE. Also, Alex was the best TA I've had. Super funny and understanding when it came to deadlines!
Winter 2022 - Professor Upton was AMAZING! The Beatles were definitely a subject I didn't expect to become so invested in. Class was online, but the TAs and other students made it fun chatting and reacting to her lecture. She shows a good amount of music videos and documentaries so the slides aren't boring. Our grade consisted of weekly discussion posts with one reply, quizzes corresponding to each lecture, a research paper, and a final reflection in place of an actual final. Overall, I'd highly recommend this class as a GE. Also, Alex was the best TA I've had. Super funny and understanding when it came to deadlines!
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Fall 2021 - Professor Upton is hands-down, one of the nicest professors you'll ever have at UCLA. She also teaches the Beatles course, and I've heard many good things about that class too. She is so sweet and genuinely loves what she does and wants us (her students to do well). I'd highly recommend taking her course if you like music history!!
Fall 2021 - Professor Upton is hands-down, one of the nicest professors you'll ever have at UCLA. She also teaches the Beatles course, and I've heard many good things about that class too. She is so sweet and genuinely loves what she does and wants us (her students to do well). I'd highly recommend taking her course if you like music history!!