2.4
Quality3.6
Difficulty4%
Would Retake90
Reviews4%
Would Retake
90
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
17
4
9
3
10
2
19
1
35
What Students Say
“I learned more from youtube”
FPA104 - 1.0 rating“Horrible textbook, has little help with understanding the content of course”
FPA104 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
0%
Textbook Required
75%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.80 avg changeRatings by Course
FPA244
5.0
(1)COMP
5.0
(1)HUM383
5.0
(1)FPA246
5.0
(1)FPA145
4.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
FPA120
5.0
FPA100
5.0
FPA345
5.0
CA104
4.6
FPA244
4.0
Reviews (90)
Excellent prof. Brings in very interesting material and goes into great details.
Does she love that string chart!
useless course, unclear and unfair tests
Lots of lecture extras/not very direct or clear at first..but ask! Very helpful.
Great prof! Very helpful and encouraging.
simply the best
No Comments
made me not interested in music theory anymore...
If you know Music....this is the course you'll love
I've never done so well in a course. My favourite course. Prof is very helpful, except she doesn't give hit to the quizzes and the TA does.
She's good. But half the stuff she teaches in class is not on the test or quiz. Right now I am getting 98%. hahaha.
I want to put a word of advice for those taking next semester .. her material is pretty fair and relatively easy to understand. However, as you venture through the last 3 weeks of her class, you'll find her quiz incredibly hard and the stuff she tests is not even in the book!
I learned allot more from the ridiculously expensive soft cover textbook than I ever did in class. She makes things more complicated than they have to be. Definately not a course geared towards people with no musical background like the course description sais!
hmm, classes were boring. she often lectures far beyond what she expects you to know, and often ends up confusing you. and she doesn't stick to rcm at all. not a terribly friendly lady either. her tutorials are helpful though for ear training
Janet is a brilliant women who is very interested in the material that she teaches. That being said, she does not know how to convey her knowledge to the class. I found the lectures to be very confusing and frustrating and I was only saved by my wonderful TA.
Not interested in music theory anymore! She doesn't know how to teach clearly. Something she goes off topic instead of teaching the material. Never taking another music theory course again!
Awful awful teacher. She is talented in her own right but does not know how to teach or to explain. She constantly goes on a tangent in lecture and speaks an hour about something that could have been explained in 15 minutes. Also hate that stupid rhythm du-ba-de-ba stuff.
I wish that I could say that it was a good class, but it wasn't. Her explanations stunk. They made me confused, and I already knew the information!
everyone said this course is easy, thats coz they all learned music theory before!, folks, if u think u know how to play piano and this course is easy, thats not it!! she can't teach...
Awful prof! There not enough words to describe how bad of prof she is! I'm one of those who don't have previous knowledge of music theory and she doesn't know how to help beginners like me! Don't take this course, it will lower ur GPA.
very awful prof... especially when you have to tolerate this first class in the morning.. TA are lot more helpful than she is.
She has a way of making you think you understand until you go back to do the homework and find you are lost. This class should not be tackled by beginners, even though it says in the outline that is who it is for.
Nice lady but a very poor teacher. Your TA will be your best friend in this class.
Janet is the best comp prof I've ever had.
I like her class. She relates music to other topics, she's brilliant. The TA's are really helpful. Good class, but not easy. Be prepared to work.
She is a brilliant person, although she doesnt seem to have the students' success as a priority. Shes impressive, but the TA's give you practical information, while she does not. Do not take this course if you have no background in music.
i learned music from many prof and teachers before. she is the worst prof i have ever had in music. i dont think students expect her to play brilliantly on the piano but at least please play the notes and rhythm correctly or dont play for demonstration. I got an A+, the course is good but she sucks.. not recommended
She's better at teaching some of the lateral aspects of composition than she is at teaching the basics. Study with her if you already have a solid foundation.
Don't ever take class from her if you expect to learn the "real" music. She seems to teach in her own style instead of following the Royal Conservatory of Music. Quite often, she confuses her students by singing out a tone that is not correspond to the note on the sheet. She couldn't answer some of my questions.
This was my first ever music-related class in ANYTHING, and I got an A-, so I can't complain. I'll give her credit because she wrote the textbook and I must say that it's more helpful than her lectures. FPA 104 is a lot like math - if you do the homework, it's an easy A, but if you don't do the homework, it's impossible to BS your way through it.
The first class, Janet will scare you by saying that the difficulty of the course parallels calculus. That is not really true. Her lectures are boring and confusing but luckily all you need to know is in the text. Do the exercises every week and ask questions and its an easy A!
she teaches the material differently than the Royal Conservatory or Music. But good prof overall. She tells you exactly what will be on the quiz, and gives you a very thorough guide on the assignments and quizzes
Definately a difficult course with lots of work.However, Janet's interest in the subject is obvious and she genuinely cares about her students. 100% fully accessible for extra help if needed. Although it made my semester quite heavy, it was a very enjoyable class.
Janet is a very nice prof who is passionate about the subject but this course was one of the most useless courses I've ever taken at SFU! If you don't have a music background, you would be confused 90% of the time! We had listening logs and as long as you do them, you'll get the 20%. She is very approachable and helpful! Easy course, I got an A-!
If you have a lot of experience in music, you will do well on the written tests but she makes you sing in class infront of everyone, and there are aural exams where you have to count the rhythms for her, and she doesnt count the proper way, she uses random words and you sound like an idiot reading them out and it is very hard to learn that way
Boring lectures. Very dry. Her quizzes jump from being fairly simple to ridiculously difficult. Must keep up with readings, and constantly check homework with webct.
Janet is a really nice prof! If you show her your interest in music she will definately like you. Just don't tell her you already finished Grade 10 piano, or she will think you're free riding in her class, lol...I agree that her quizes are super easy or just way too hard. I feel sorry for anyone taking this class who can't read music, lol
Very passionate about music. Always open for questions. Quizzes are easy if you know the material, which is all laid out in her textbook.
Very disorganized. She just keeps talking endlessly and you can't follow which page of the book she is talking about. She always makes things complicated in her lectures, so it depends on the TA to make you understand the materials well (unless you have some music background in advance). Quizzes are easy. Final is not. And 0830, you know...
this course is way too hard for a beginner course. prof is not helpful and course material for dist. ed. was very disorganized. i dont recommend taking this course unless you have "extensive" background in music THEORY. i mistakenly took this course cause i took a few years of piano and thought i could do well =P
I went in with no music background whatsoever and thought it was pretty easy. Preparation is a must. Missed a few lectures but aced all the quizzes. No midterm, only final and 2 hand-in assignments which were easy too. She plays some classical music on youtube, goes well with my in class naps!
Took this as an elective. No midterms. 4 quizzes (easy). Final included analysis and 50+ m/c, which were simple as well. Hard work is required! Read the book, your notes, and WebCT postings as they basically give you the exact format and preparation for tests. Prof is super nice, but one TA was a typical music snob.
Do not take this course unless it is mandatory for your degree! She does not clarify well at all, and the textbook/workbook is written by her as well, so only one perspective of the course can be gained. Heavy courseload despite the monotonous nature of the exercises. Time consuming, frustrating, and boring.
Easy course if you have theory background. But the most boring, monotone, egotistical, narcistic, show off prof I have had. Clear that she feels superiority over her class and talks nonstop about how the class isn't ready. Textbook is overpriced and cheaply made by her. If you're interested in music it's more worth it to find a real theory teacher.
Way too early in the morning!Quizzes consist theory and hearing basic harmony and meter/rhythm. Music theory tends to be analytical/confusing, so the course can be tough.She actually explained things in a way I could understand.Text is expensive, but useful.She's actually a friendly and approachable prof. Enjoyed the indie music played in lecture!
Do NOT take this course unless you have some background knowledge in music theory. The text book does not explain some difficult concepts very well.
Taking this class with Danielson was the worst decision of my entire university career. She is completely useless and relies completely on the textbook that SHE wrote. She has managed to make a potentially enjoyable class into a HUGE pain. AVOID AVOID AVOID!!
This professor is definitely a piece of work. She doesn't prepare well, and her online materials are all over the place. She takes time out of her classes in the beginning to recite boring quotes that have nothing to do with material. Avoid this class unless you want a C- on your transcript and a ripped off feeling. Save your money!
Okay... so all these bad reviews are a little harsh. I admit that she does not explain very well. She does ramble on a bit... BUT for those of you who got a bad grade, you only have yourself to blame. This course is easy if you put in effort; but, f you skip classes, don't listen in lecture or take notes you will do bad.
Don't take this course if you don't have a music background. It was only easy to me because I learned piano rudiments before since this course is all about preliminary-grade 1 rudiments. This prof is a nice prof, but she has her own way of teaching the theory stuff and it is kind of confusing, even to me. Makes you sing intervals in tutorials lol
With a bit of a music background I thought this would be an easy course... its not. She managed to confuse me about concepts I already knew. Her textbook rambles and makes no sense most of the time. She teaches the concepts in such a random order and expects you to know concepts before even teaching them to you. Worst class ever.
I thought that my prior music knowledge would help me when the difficult material came around. However, concepts I already knew were made even more confusing. Janet's lectures are rambled and poorly organized. She has a gift for being able to play almost anything by heart but she can't communicate her music knowledge. Which is unfortunate.
My class average was 34%. The highest mark was 58%. IN AN INTRODUCTORY COURSE FOR PEOPLE WHO'D NEVER DONE MUSIC BEFORE!
confusing. this is not an intro theory course. Janet is not an educator as much as a knowledgeable music wiz. her job is to break it down, she just made things more complicated. she's not thinking of the student who hasn't had musical training.
I was so surprised when I saw the reviews here for Janet. She is an incredible teacher, mentor, and educator. I could not recommend her more if your forte is in any area of music. I feel the majority of people rating her clearly have no understanding of music theory and its discourse. This is University people! Don't expect to be spoon fed
She is awesome! The knowledge that she has will make your mind explode
Her class is interesting and helpful. Quizs and exams are fair. It is about music theory and analysis music.Unless u study, it is not too hard if u do not have the music background.
Great teacher. I don't get all of the negative reviews of her course; it's not easy by any means but she is phenomenally supportive if you need any help and the amount of knowledge and openness she has towards music is insane. I'd highly recommend any music courses with her, just make sure you keep up with the material.
She is a helpful instructor. Quizzes are not that hard. I would recommend her class.Even I don't have much music background, is not that hard. Read the textbook and do the exercises. Only 2 assignments, 4 quizzes and a final exam. Easy to get mark course.
Janet knows her stuff! I found her to be very helpful. I'm thankful for all of her compositional suggestions. I just wish she and David MacIntyre were on more equal footing at the college...
This was a distance ed. course! Colin MacDonald was my TA and he was great! Colin was really helpful and gave clear instructions before quizzes and the final exam. He was also quick to return marks and give feedback. Janet and Colin were both great. I learned a lot from them and really enjoyed this course! :-)
DONT take it online, unless you already took years and years of piano and music theory background. Textbook sucks, tutorial sucks, and exams were ridiculously significantly more difficult than any of the practice/textbook material . I learned more from youtube. Save your money and time and take something else
The text book is absolutely confusing, goes too much in depth on unimportant things and overcomplicates everything. If this is meant to be an intro course for people who have never taken music before, then you're achieving nothing. Even as someone who has taken piano for 13 years, the book makes zero sense in some chapters.
Horrible textbook, has little help with understanding the content of course. Quizes are extremely difficult! Even though I have played the piano for 15 years, I am afraid I still couldn't pass! DO NOT TAKE IT ONLINE!
Well, I took CA 104 online class, they changed FPA 104 to CA 104. I did not put much effort to this course but still got A+ in this course. I played the piano more than 10 yrs and had a basic knowledge of this course and maybe that's why. IF YOU KNOW NOTHING, you have to study hard to pass the quizzes and finals. Pretty tough for noobs.
useless textbook and over priced
Don't ever take thís class, especially with distance education if you have no knowledge about music (piano to be specific), you gonna regret it. Everyweek assignment is super silly easy compare to quizzes, and quizzes is wayyyy easier than the final exam where she sat and played 2 long piano song while you try to do MC. Final have to > 50% to pass
Took the distance education course. I've played piano and violin for 4+ years and thought that this course wasn't worth the $. I thought that the things that were taught were kinda useless... If you don't have knowledge on music basics, I recommend finding another way to learn since this course will do nothing for you.
Avoid this class. If you have no music experience you will die. Equivalent to intermediate/advanced rudiments if you took rcm theory. Doesn't teach anything useful and def not an elective/GPA booster. AVOID
Dropped out a month in to the music course she wrote. An UNBELIEVABLE amount of work with completely unrealistic expectations. Quizzes are required to be printed and written on, but you can only download, convert (her software forces you to convert, takes ages) and print the sheet AFTER the quiz timer has started. Absolute nonsense.
Difficult course and that's coming from someone who has about 9 years of piano and theory experience. Quizzes are hard, unit tutorials are a lot of work and not much feedback on how to do better on them. Also, feels like I'm losing marks for not being able to "sing" and hit notes properly?? Definitely not a GPA booster.
intro class but lose points for not being able to sing in tune without being taught how to sing in tune... def not gpa booster
not for beginners in music
This course sucked. I have lots of experience in music and did well in tutorials and assignments, but the quizzes and final absolutely blindsided me. With these being 60% of your grade, it's impossible to get a good mark. The single prof-guided info section was really helpful, but the rest of the course is just reading a textbook. Avoid if you can!
The course is incredibly difficult, but if you put in the effort, you will learn a lot. The course relies on the textbook and online quizzes (no lectures), all of which are time-consuming. If you want to commit to learning theory and are not sure where to start, I recommend this course. Granted, I knew how to play the guitar but lacked theory.
Not beginner friendly. Only learning material is a textbook that is inconsistent and over-complicates every topic, making it very difficult to learn from. Exercises and homework mainly focus on the correct use of Gordon and Solfege syllables. While quizzes and tests ask somewhat difficult theory questions for an introduction course.
don't ever take a course with this tutor, even If your life depended on it
She is a good professor and gives good feedback. However, the exam is insanely hard, and be prepared to read tons of theories. You CAN'T just skip studying theory because it is all related. This course level should be 200~300 level, Not for beginners.
Awful, overcomplicated textbook, can hardly use a computer, but is teaching an online course. In no other course at SFU do profs have technical difficulties uploading answers for quizzes or for uploading recordings. This professor is peak SFU and shows how SFU is willing to scrape below the bottom of the barrel. Retire soon please
This course is a joke. No recorded lectures, the textbook is expensive, and its content is overly complicated. There's no help besides emailing the TA. Even when I had a Zoom call with the TA, he didn't even know how to help me. The quizzes and final are just ridiculous, as she made them 200% harder than the tutorial exercises.
NOT a GPA booster. Took as elective and ended up with a C. Her explanations make no sense and are overly complicated. She does not know how to operate an online course, so many announcements were "oops this" "oops that" type deal, making it hard to follow since there are SO many assignments. Very unorganized. She should switch to in person or quit.
Very awful professor. I thought this would be a GPA booster but it's not!!! This is an online course and her way of teaching is letting us read textbook, with no pre-recorded video. I mean who learn music by reading textbook...... Learned nothing from it, absolute waste of money and time.
dont bother taking this waste of time and money, unsure why this is offered. You can learn everything on your own time or with a private tutor
No lectures. You read the textbook and that's it. You do weekly tedious assignments where you sing, read notation, and clap your hands to a rhythm. Do not take this class under any circumstance. Trust me.
One of the worst designed courses ever at SFU. There is a lot of work and covers too much theory and content for a 100 lvl course. The course is a challenge but not one that is enjoyable
Awful class. Grading is done with rolling a dice, and the professor does not seem to care about the student experience at all. No lectures in the course, quizzes and assignments have completely unrelated material. Took this with an interest in music, having done several CA courses in the past - I am leaving with a really bad taste in my mouth.
Worst Prof I've had, and worst class I've ever taken. Stay away at all costs! It doesn't matter if you are a great musician, this class will become so difficult. She is terrible at making changes to the course and hardly listens to student feedback. There are no lectures and we have to teach ourselves everything! SFU should get rid of this course.
Don't take this course. It's really not beginner friendly. This prof doesn't even teach, she just makes you read the textbook. And she doesn't even grade herself her TAs do everything. She also messed up the date of the final it was supposed to have a 48-hour access but she "accidentally locked it" for a day
janet is wild and so is this course. you go from learning do-re-mi to a 3-hour 100-question final exam with questions asking not for the "correct" answer but the "best" answer - which is open to interpretation. should not be a 100-level course (maybe the first half is, but not the 2nd half).
class is online with spots always open, & if you maybe know theory(band, choir) the easy first weekly quizzes might lull you into a sense that “it wont be bad for ME though” long enough to miss course changing deadlines. DONT FALL FOR IT!! it REALLY is that bad! i shudder thinking of people with no experience doing the second half of this class
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
0%
Textbook Required
75%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.80 avg changeRatings by Course
FPA244
5.0
(1)COMP
5.0
(1)HUM383
5.0
(1)FPA246
5.0
(1)FPA145
4.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
FPA120
5.0
FPA100
5.0
FPA345
5.0
CA104
4.6
FPA244
4.0