Doesn't pay attention to new students. Has his own clique of upperclassmen.

Has no respect for students. If you are good but can't teach than stop

Cares nothing about students only about his stature.

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First time I've not liked marching ( I've been in a lot). Thinks HIS class is more important than academics. Is not good leader. Plays favorites. Bad teaching tactics (screaming). Picks on people. Intolerant. Won't help. Won't listen. Makes it obvious when he doesn't like someone. Don't take him.

Professor Martin is an arrogant, rude, power-hungry man. If it weren't for the love I have for my instrument,I would never be in an ensemble of his again. He has all but taken the joy out of band for me, and for numerous others as well. Sad that GV is hurting the music program by keeping him around.

Short for "Richard". a jerk of epic preportions. Needs to find a new carreer, maybe as a rodeo clown or a speed bump. Picks his nose alot.

Professor Martin is great for Marching Band, Military Marching Band, and a bad High School band. I know personally about a hundred people that would want his job as the Symphonic Wind Ensemble director and that would actually make the band sound OK. He is the reason for great music is dieing.

he is horrible, the worst music teacher i have ever encountered. and ive encountered alot. He would be a good business man, he belongs there. NOT music, doesnt really give a rip about the students. someone else said he only yells at people for mistakes they constantly make. NOT TRUE!!!

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Not gonna lie, I hate him. I think my favorite part of class is how he blames the drumline for his inablility to count at a consistant tempo. Also, I love how he always shows up to rehearsal late after writing his shameful attemps at drill. It is seriously the worst drill ever. I'm suprised how many people are in the marching band in spite of him.

Loves to be in control. Will go out of his way to get things done EXACTLY the way he wants them, even if it means smashing his students into the ground.

I hate him and always will. He knows his stuff, but does NOT know how to get it through his students. He likes to make you feel inferior and like crap. I suggest you not take marching band, you will end of hating it.

He seems angry nearly all the time, to the extent that when he's not mad it's almost unsettling. He yells unnecessarily a lot. He seems alright when he's not angry though.

This man is not a teacher and is not even a musician. He has no feel for music. Or for people as far as that goes. He likes notes, not music, and should have been a chartered accountant. I have heard that he was hired by the Grand Rapids Symphonic Band. No idea what they were thinking but apparently they are losing members left and right.

You must have a musical background to take this class. He expects you to memorize all material every week. Exams are a major part of your grade. The professor is rude and mean. He doesn't help you and talks to you like you are stupid when you ask questions. Only has 1 hour a week of walk-in office hours otherwise you have to make an appointment.

He expects you to know everything about all the music you listen to. If you don't sit in your room and listen to the listenings repeatedly, you will struggle. He is very rude, and not very helpful. He also reads straight out of the book but still expects you to come to class, and if you miss more than two classes he will mark you down.

This has been one of the most difficult core classes I have ever taken at GV. It is a class for non-music majors, but if you don't have a substantial musical background you will have to work hard. He is text book heavy and does not give instruction well. Feed back was never positive and he can be rude. Don't expect additional help. Beware.

The "Not my tempo" scene from Whiplash, is a good example of what it feels like to be in his class. He is very intimidating and does not give helpful feedback. He may be a musical "genius," but should definitely not be teaching an entry level music class. Ended up being my hardest class all semester. DO NOT RECOMMEND.

I took this for a general education art credit. Mistake. It was fast paced so I went to Prof for help and he told me to "try harder." He's grouchy, has high expectations, and DOESN'T USE BLACKBOARD, so you have to ask him what your grade is. He gets irritated when nobody volunteers, then calls on people who he knows don't know the answer.

He does not use blackboard at all and only post your midterm and final grade. You don't know what grade you have until the end of the course. This class is supposed to be for non-music majors but is incredibly difficult. Participation is very important in this course. He will call you out for your mistakes in front of everyone in class.

This class was a gen ed class but he taught it as if it were a major class senior year

This was the worst class I have ever taken. And I am a nursing major. I took this for an art credit, and I would not recommend this class to anyone who isn't already a music expert. The course title is very misleading. The tests are completely open response, and there are far too many questions to answer in a short time. Turn back now.

*raises hand Professor Martin, what page are we on? Does anyone else not know what page we are on? No? *continues on with lecture without telling me what page we are on. This class was the worst class of my undergrad. Class attendance is a requirement and he is very rude and not helpful when you are having troubles understanding material

Walked in one second late to class and he said he needed to see me after. After class he was extremely rude to me about it. Even though attendance isn't supposed to be mandatory this year becuase of covid, he said "technically attendance isn't mandatory, but you can't pass without participation in class". so basically made it mandatory anyway.

Looked through this app to find the best music teacher and of course last minute GVSU swtiched the professor to this guy. PICK A DIFF PROF. For a gen ed class, this guy took everything way too seriously and made it harder than it had to be for no reason at all. He was rude and when he lectured, he would go so fast and wouldn't explain things well

I stand by the fact that Music 129 was the hardest class I've taken thus far. Professor Martin made is so much harder than it had to be and the man is a hard-ass about EVERYTHING. I thought I would've done fine, and I should've been, since I've done band for 10 years. Pick a different prof unless you want to devote your entire semester to a gen ed.

took this class for an art credit and dropped it halfway through the semester as this class was hard (even if you have had music history) and the prof just expects you to understand everything right away.

Prof. Martin cares about his work to a point it really feels excessive, especially for a 100-level course. It feels assumed that you have extensive musical experience coming into the course (I came in with years of Violin experience from HS and still struggled) glancing over hard topics. It makes learning the 'basics' feel like a 300-level course.

This class is just misleading, I wouldn't take it if you do not have any music experience. I have 11 years of music. It is titled "fundamentals of music" but is a music theory class, which I think are completely different. So first, the title needs to change. Second, he is very picky with how you write music so make sure you learn how he likes it.

Hard and not helpful

Prof. Martin teaches like a high school teacher. He focuses more on following unnecessary rules than teaching. Rules include non to few restroom breaks per class, marking students tardy for showing up even a minute late, grading on absences, and leaving early regardless of the reason. While his lectures are okay, his attitude makes him intolerable.

Prof Martin is passionate in what he teaches but he treats his class like they're middle schoolers in terms of knowledge about music. He demands we be on time and respect his time but he isn't prepared for class when it starts and is late when coming back from break. He drones on and makes the class uninteresting and makes you dislike the content.

This class was one of the worst classes I have ever taken. Attendance was mandatory and he would mark you if you came in a minute late. Tests were extremely hard, and no one ever did well on them in my class. He teaches us as if we are musical prodigies, not people taking the class for a gen-ed. I wouldn't even make my worst enemy take this class.

Prof. Martin has tarnished my enjoyment of music. Before taking his class, I really wanted to keep doing stuff with music through college, but he killed a lot of the fun in it for me. He's a very harsh and rude professor, and the way he teaches his class and the way he grades reflects that. DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO!!!

I went into MUS 129 thinking it would be an easy gen ed due to my 10 years of music experience. However, I quickly learned that this class did not match the course description and was harder than it needed to be.

During a quiz, one of my classmates got a phone call for a family emergency. This student quietly packed up and approached Dr. Martin to explain the situation and asked to be excused. Dr. Martin responded to them with, "You know that's going to cost you attendance points right?" One of the most unforgiving professors I've ever had.

Prof. Martin makes such a simple class so difficult. On top of his snarky remarks and attitude, his attendance is mandatory and if you miss three classes it brings your grade down extremely, and his grading is very harsh. Not very helpful for preparation of tests or quizzes, and doesn't make you feel comfortable enough to ask questions.

The professor informed me I was not able to miss anymore more days of class due to the fact that I had not been there for days previous even though I was not yet enrolled in the course as I had just changed my schedule. He used me as a class example repeatedly of what not to do even though I had no prior knowledge of the content.

do NOT take this class as an elective if you aren't planning to pursue anything music related. I thought it would be easy but its SO hard & I've done chorus and band so that says something.. he goes through too much info too quickly to understand anything. He is a perfectionist when it comes to grading!! And he is rude when you don't get something.

If your marks do not meet his standards to the very microscopic particle, you will lose points. If you don't understand something or answer a question incorrectly, you will be made to feel stupid. You also cannot miss a single class without falling significantly behind. The homework isn't terribly difficult as long as you are paying attention.