2.3
Quality4.2
Difficulty100%
Would Retake121
Reviews100%
Would Retake
121
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
19
4
12
3
21
2
14
1
55
What Students Say
“This guy does not belong in a college classroom”
MUL101 - 1.0 rating“on the days I had his class, before I would walk in, I would always have to consider the pros and cons of actually attending his class, or just offing myself”
MUL1010 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
100%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.63 avg changeRatings by Course
CLARINET
5.0
(2)MUSICAPPRE
5.0
(2)MUSICN
5.0
(1)HUM101
5.0
(1)MVW1313
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
MUS
5.0
MUL1101
5.0
MUSICAP
5.0
MUL101
5.0
MUSICAPP
5.0
Reviews (121)
he thinks all people are music major. DO NOT TAKE IT, NO!
this is the worst teacher i have ever encountered in my life. he grades unfairly, is super picky and treats his students like they are in middle school....save yourself the trouble and do not take a single class with him.
his class has been the worst experience of my college career
I had him a while ago, and he was ok...he IS picky but somehow I got through his class w/flying colors and there were people who didnt like him, but I was able to tolerate him. Definitely will clash with certain people.
The guy is probably the most arrogant self absorbed teacher I have ever had. As stated by someone else, he treats the students like they're in middle school, sometimes belittling people when they answer a question he asks wrong. class isnt too hard though
J. Brown has been one of the most influential profs. I've ever had. He tells the truth as it stands in history, which is rare; his class deals not only w/ music, but philosophy & arts. He's an atheist & isn't afraid to voice it.
No offense,but if you want to enjoy your college career, DO NOT TAKE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is one of the weirdest professor I have met in all my entire life. I love music, but after taking his class I was contemplating on persuing it.
No Comments
sucks
Music appreciation. . . what a joke. Someone can't be taught to love music, or appreciate it. You either do, or don't. When I entered the course, I loved classical music. This man has made me despise it. He speaks at 150 miles per hour and stutters.
Jay Brown is an incredible and accomplished musician. He demanded the most of me as a student and taught me many things that I use every day years later. He taught me to teach myself. His musicianship was influential above all.
an atheist who teaches more philosophy than music.. the most annoying thing he did was say something very anti-christian then looked around to see if anyone accepted his challenge.
Horrible professor!DO NOT take this man.I went to all of the concerts and wrote papers on them and he would give me a "C" or even a "D" on them!Does not see his students efforts at all!He also has no respect for others opinions.
Horrible teacher!BORING! DO NOT TAKE HIM! He just makes you listen to music all class period and write papers on concerts and then doesnt hand them back for a while with Cs on them. Takes away for not being there. BORING!
DO NOT TAKE THIS TEACHER! What a boring class! You want to fall asleep! Bleh! Stay away!!!!!
james browns class is a semester in hell. you will never want to go to his class. he makes you go to concerts and write reports on them. then he wont give you anythign more than a C. Very hard tests and alot of material. take class with someone else!!!
oh my god!! what was I thinking!! this guy only passes like 3 people, and those people pass with a ¨C. he´s horrible, he takes this class too seriously, and his tests are a joke!! and i won´t even go there with his dumb concert papers.
No Comments
he is a pain on the neck, he should be in a psychatric institution. his damn concerts and his test are nuts. Please never take this guy.
OH MY GOD I DID NOT KNEW ABOUT THIS WEBSITE EARLY ENOUGH TO AVOID THIS PROFESSOR. BAD PROFESSOR AND PICKY AS HELL
The kind of professor that tries to impose his own beliefs on students and does not respect student's opinions. Papers on concerts have to be 500 words long and tests are very tricky! Do not do it!!
If you like to think things through, do not take him. If you are a lazy and never want to learn anything from classes, do not take him. If you want to keep knowledge in your mind and not only in your head, take him.
WARNING DO not take this guys class.the only reason i took it was because of his name.I thought i was even gonna learn how to dance.This guys a WHACKO....
THIS CLASS SUCKS DONT EVER TAKE THIS TEACHER. I FALL ASLEEP EVERYDAY CAUSE OF HOW BORING IT IS. if you want to keep your gpa up and save money don't take his class. His tests cover way too much material and he makes you go to concert and write papers on them that are graded way too strict.
The worst teacher i've had in my life.This guy's on another level.Everything he talks about has nothing to do with the class or whats going to be on his test.I wish i knew about this site earlier so i wouldnt have wasted my money and i wouldnt be stressing whether i'm going to pass or not.
i think he is mean and he needs to be more helpful
DONT TAKE HIM!!!!
This old man is crazy, he thinks we are musicians. Tests are very hard.... You can't even chew gum in class or look at the time!
Very bad teacher I ever had in MDC. I got not bad grades in the test and the report,but i don't know how i still got C. He never talk any useful stuff in class, all the time listen to the music which are not useful for the test.I sholdn't take his class. NEVER TAKE HIM!
Terrible! All we were lectured on was how President Bush was better than John Kerry! Barely anything in his lectures had to do with MUSIC!
This teacher is hard and makes you study your ass off for tests, even though the tests are quite easy because of the studying I did, dont take this guy if you dont like to put effort into your studies.
HARD!
the worse thing ever!!! he's the meanest and critisizes president bush and catholics.i wish i would have never ever taken this class.don't make the same mistake as me.
I wish i knew about this website sooner. Now, I'm stuck in this class and hating it. HELP!
Hello, if you don't like to put effort into your studies, why are you in College??? This is a good professor after all, plays beautiful pieces in class and tries to get us into it. He does like attention and discipline, but, we're not children anymore so, is it so hard? I enjoy his class. Seriously.
this guy is a manipulator and makes the class fairly easy unil after the drop date w/refund and than he just becomes nasty about time and gum chewing.be smart dont take him. quirky, kind of cool guy but not my "prof. of the year" nominee.
It was alright, lots of studying to do when it comes to tests but they were straight forward and easy to answer.
You have to study for the tests but,he gives great lectures.He LOVES music and will show what it really is about.He does some funny things and calls the note of noises.He will also play the glasses for you which is really rare.If you your a lazy parasite don't take this class.It's for real students.
This class rules. He helps your thinking habits and opens up a whole new door and shoves your face in it for moments in the semester. This class was exhilirating. YOU DO NEED TO STUDY THOUGH! But if you know why your in college, I'm sure it won't be a problem at all. Take his class!
No Comments
No Comments
dont like
it is true that he criticizes republicans, catholicism, christianity, etc...And he also gets annoyed when you interrupt him with your tardiness or pen clicking while he tries to present a musical peice to the class. But he is an excellent music teacher!He expects your best.Music is literally his life and i believe no one could've taught me better
he sucks and i have him now. he like went crazy on our class... he sucks as a teacher but he is a great musician! he stayed on phils. for like 4 days of class and then he like piled the test like one right after the other. he sucks dont take his class for the life of u!
I thought this class was great, but only if you're interested in learning. I liked all the Philosophy tie-ins. This is a college course, not high school!
Boring as sin.............
Interesting class learned a whole bunch, though his atheistic rants can be extremely annoying - seeing as it is music class. But once you learn to filter that, its great. Tests are difficult, papers are difficult, listening tests are difficult. For a music class it was excessively difficult.
PLEASE dont take this class with him! He jumps from subject to subject, is very strict. Don't even THINK about coming into class late, or chewing gum. His class is hard and his tests are harder. In order to pass you have to go to several concerts and write papers about them... its totally crazy. PLEASE dont do it to yourself!
This class is not that hard, but he makes it. He is very difficult and can be a total creep. He will make you hate classical music.
Hes extremely uptight and prissy. Very annoying, and his ignorant comments on religion make you want to walk out of the class. Take someone else if you can, if you cant....too bad....
Very strict. Take his class only if you mean business. Otherwise, he's an excellent teacher who injects his course with an interesting Rand-like observations.
I think I'm going to learn a lot from him. He's very passionate and that's always good.
I'm enjoying it. It's true what others say that he is strict, but I think that he's only being that way because that's the kind of person he is and for the interest in the class.
This guy purposely tries to make this class ass hard as possible. He has the most unfair class policies you will ever see. If you walk into class after the start of the period you're late, even if he walks in after you. If you're not in your seat when h
He teaches good. His little peeves are bad though. I chew gum and he doesn't even notice. lol I love how he plays the geeky music I like: Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Dark Crystal, etc. If you don't want to learn then don't take his class. I'd rather you do that than complain here.
He is always talking about Star Wars,his jokes are horrible.And he's always trying to have philosophy involved into his lectures,and he has his favorites.
Dont take his class if you can avoid it.
he is an uptight, ignorant **** who is more interested in converting ppl into atheism than to teaching about music. he sucks the fun out of music....
Mr.Brown is a really cool professor. He speaks really fast and everything he says is filled with really good information. Even though he might have his little perks, he is without a doubt one of the best professors I have ever had. Take his class if you want a professional with a really cool personality and to be taught endless information.
If you want to take this class, you might be better off choosing a different professor. For the kind of class that is he's too hard and expects too much. We are talking about music appreciation, not business calculus.
What he teaches in class has nothing to do with music then he didnt give a study guide and he doesn't teach whats on the test plus he expects you to mesmorize 15 songs. His a horrible teacher
Wow, whatever you do do not take this class with him. The test are super hard and he grades papers like an english teacher.
take another professor.
horrible !!!
He is a good teacher and not that boring but he lectures the whole class and you end up leaving wit no notes because you dont know what is relevant to the class. The tests are outrageously hard and 15 song to be memorzied. :| I had to drop the class before failing horribly. Stick with any other humanities class.
Mr.Brown sucks, don't take him . He is extremely boring and not considerate. He expects too much and does not grade fairly. He as no patience what so ever, and every little thing annoys him. So if want to take music take another professor. Mr,brown should get fires.
Um..does anyone understand that college is for the people who want to excel further than the easy highschool diploma?? This teacher simply gives you a lecture in class and it is up to you to study for the test which, if you actually put the effort to read the book, is easy. If you have this teacher just do what is required and you will easily pass.
This guys sucks his class is hard as hell.. he s very boring and he expects you to read the whole book.. his exams are really hard because he takes tricky questions from the book and never from his lectures... if you are a good student you might get a C more surely a D.. if you are a C (average student) you ll sure fail
This guy should teach highschool, he wont let u enter his class if your late... he takes off for spelling a composers name wrong. (again this is music appreciation - not english) also if you say you dont like classical music in your critique - he'll give you an F - YOU MUST AVOID HIM!!!
HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!
He is just as the others reported. He has no patience, he will not let you in his class if you are 1 minute late and he does not help you understand what he is teaching. He really sucks!
I thought James Brown was going to be the grandfather of soul and he turned out to be this OLD WHITE GUY who liked classical music.. You'll have to LEARN MUSIC in his class. He's a DEMOCRAT, HATES RELIGION and explains why the church is corrupt, which it is. :) He DOESN'T learn names. He is always prepared and fair if you're a good student to him.
This fool thinks he's Beethoven! He's an old fool who thinks he knows everything about music! His class is super hard and the test i'm not even going to go there, he makes you go to like 6 concerts, he's out of his mind, like his class is the only one i had! He's horrible!!!
Unless your a music major, this teacher isn't for you. He takes this class very serious and expects the most from all his students. He teaches alot, but then again expects alot for his tests. There is alot of memorizing in his tests, especially you have to listen to a CD and distinguish which song is which. He's just way to hard.
This guy is one of the worst professors i have ever had in my life! He used to slam the door in my face when i was one second late. One time when i was organizing my notebook during his stupid song he took my notebook and threw it across the room. Very unprofessional prof that thinks he is right about his political views & demands you think the sam
I have respect for this professor because he DOES KNOW what he is teaching and talking about... BUT (BIG BUT!) if you do not want to fail and lower your GPA dont take his class. the MOST you will get is a B and that's if you really, really, REALLY bust your ass studying. at least i got a 'W'... better than an 'F'.
This guy does not belong in a college classroom. His tactics are more like that of a junior highschool teacher. He constantly imposes his views against religion on the students and has no respect for them. He fails you for the whole year if your cell phone rings during class or if you walk out during class. This F@cking @sshole is ruining my future
He's strict and he gets really annoyed if you breath too loudly, but he's passionate about what he does and teaches, so I respect that. The class can get boring and when he goes into his religious theories and rammbles I tended to zone out, but if you make the effort to study he's not too hard...
HORRIBLE TEACHER, AVOID HIM!
I had to drop his class because i didn't understand anything at all. it was supposed to teach music, but instead he teaches humanities, history, and every topic except music. he makes you memorize chants and weird music for tests... very hard and useless. DO NOT TAKE HIM
This old man is crazy, he thinks we are musicians. Tests are very hard
He's wonderful if you're an intelligent student, which, since we're in college, shouldn't we be trying to expand our minds and knowledge of music and art? That's all he wants. The music he's trying to bring to our lives is much better than most of the crap everyone listens to today. He knows music and just wants you to be attentive and open-minded.
Yeah this guy is not the teacher you want to have.You drop your pen on the floor he gets annoyed, you can't get anything out of your bag without getting yelled at. He teaches other subjects that have nothing to do with the course. Terribly hard class not worth taking at all with this man he is horrible.
If you hate God, you'll love Brown. You'll still end up failing most likely, but you'll enjoy it at least.
horrble teacher do not take his class you are going to hate him probably more then i do!!
I made the mistake of taking his class after i read all the reviews. WOW !!! what a mistake. he is so horrible he makes you learn all the music on your time and in class he forces his idiotic ideas on you. if you listen to one thing -> DONT TAKE THE CLASS !!!!!!
I took him for music appreciation and he did get really annoyed easily. He spends A LOT of time teaching philosophy(I don't know why) and gives long lectures on his beliefs. Also tested us on the titles and composers of music that comes in the textbook CD. I did sometimes feel like he was being a bit disrespectful. Only class I didn't get an A in!
He is extremely PARANOID when it comes to noise your cellphone rings and your threatened out of his class. He's like a textbook he tells you the history of EVERYTHING when your going over his notes. He REALLY gets into the music he plays he doesn't approve of anything but classical. He doesn't directly say I hate God but he acts atheistic. He's OK.
DON'T TAKE THIS GUY... He is the worst teacher in the world.. He thinks music is the center of the universe, he's just crazy!!!! you will fail this class if he is your teacher, or you'll just kill him.
This guy is crazy.. he has some weird believes and won't never agree with you.. very arrogant and he thinks he is the smartes person on earth... don't ever take him!!!
This is the worst professor of LIFE! Does not respect your opinion actually he does'nt even allow you to give your personal opinion. No matter how much you try you will never pass a test with a higher grade than average. If you decide to take him I guarantee you are taking a VERY high risk of failing. I passed the class by luck.
Yeah, this was a sour experience. It was like having a bad boss mixed with a fidgety middle school teacher. If you even looked at your watch he would get flustered. He stands guard of the door while playing 70s films because he knows people would just leave. I didn't look at the ratings before signing up for a tour in music hell.. Don't do it..
awesome teacher...
WORST PROFFESSOR EVER! if you want to be bored the whole semester take him! you can never be late to his class because he notices you the minute you walk in, everything distracts him from teaching the class. his lectures put everybody to sleep.
This was by far the hardest class I've had. The professor does spend a lot of time on philosophy. I happen to agree with a lot of his viewpoints. He was not that bad as a professor but his tests were pretty hard. At least the listening portions were. He does make you learn the music on your own. Take this class at your own risk!
I am taking Professor Brown right now and I enjoy his class. I aced his 1st test. He has you listen to compositions of music and you are required to state the name and composer. Ridiculously hard! But other than that if the lazy college students would study rather than complain, they would definitely receive a passing grade.
Basically... on the days I had his class, before I would walk in, I would always have to consider the pros and cons of actually attending his class, or just offing myself.
This professor is an intelligent & educated man. However, he gets bothered by minor things. NO CELLPHONES in view , NO NOISE, NO 2second LATE people ... basicly really strict. His tests are hard, boring, and if you arent into Classical, then this isnt for you. I made the mistake of taking this class, but its nothing impossible... BORINGGGG!
Took his course one semester and failed (too hard), then took him again during summer to replace bad grade and had to drop out. For the type of course he teaches it's way too hard. Take Ms. Bustamante. Took it with her and aced the class. Got all 100 on her exams. I already graduated from FIU with my Bach and still remember how how this teacher was
Jay Brown is not a bad guy if you get a chance to know him but the truth is, I don't like his teaching style.His WAY too anal and everything bothers him.Also,even his tests are pretty hard.I got a B for my final grade but it just bothered me how he just gave me low grades on my concert reports, all for minor details like typos.
Stay away. Worst professor ever
EASY!!!!!Take it from me..I'm 25 so I have had my share of professors and he is extremely easy. Yes, he is anal but just do what you are suppose to and pass with an A. Dont be late, on your phone texting, or chewing gum! How freaking hard is that!! Remember people this is college not high school!
This is a required music class, he made it seem like this was my major, not to mention he went off on a 6 week stint on philosphy (its a music class) he is crazy strict, his tests are too hard, and hes a loon. Do not take any classes from this man it is just not worth it.
i passed his class with no problem but if your looking to raise your gpa with him you can FORGET IT!! extremely anal and gives crazy tests with 70 questions and 20 listening examples stating them by the name of the song and composer its nuts thank god hes retiring
Horrible teacher I wish I would have never taken this class. One of the most boring classes. No using of cellphones or he will drop you. Also any little thing bugs him. Also have to go to 4 concerts and also have to memorize the song samples and the artists for the test. The tests are impossible to pass with a grade higher than a C. Im glad he reti
His class is not terrible. You CAN pass with an A in his class. You have to study every day. You have to listen to the music ahead of time. You have to ask questions. When you write a paper, make sure there are no grammatical or spelling errors. In that paper, say how you feel about the music. Pay attention to what he says. It will be on the test!
He is hard teacher. its one of the hardest classes at dade i passed with a C barely he lost one of my papers and gave me an F for it and when i showed him the graded paper he called me a liar and insulted me saying it didnt deserve a grade and actually dropped it form B+ to a C-he sucks and spends 6 weeks talking about phylosophy stupidest thing ev
I took Jay Brown in 2008. I passed his class with a B, originally I was going to get an A but cause of the grammatical errors on my papers which I didn't notice by the way, my grade got dropped which wasn't fair. His test are hard, that is why you have to study. Music appreciation is a good music class but don't take it with Jay Brown.
In my opinion he is a great professor, people just don't like the fact that he goes beyond the common misconception that teachers at MDC are supposed to be easy because it's pretty much like you are in highschool. For the price you pay, you get a lot of from this professor. People simply don't do good because they don't put forth the effort. I guess they'll just end up at FIU and continue their streak of easy until reality hits them. If you want a challenge, take this class.
He is a scarcastic and aggrvating person. He lectures the entire class and has horrible handwritting and get offended and scarcastic when you ask for cleasification. He do not prepare you for any test he gives. i made a big mistake taking this class tought by him.
I had him many years ago, for Humanities and for Music Appreciation and he is my all-time favorite professor. He is loved by those who care about what they're learning but hated by those that just want to get by. (Just look at the quality of the negative reviews, you can see that they didn't learn much in school)
He is very strict about punctuality. If you're late he will make an example out of you. His tests are pretty hard but if you put in the time to study you shouldn't have a problem. His study guides are spot on so if you know that material you will be fine!
Strict about attendence but if you have an excuse he'll let you off,he teaches the class as if it was a philosophy class rather than a music class. test are easy, the hardest part about the class is the essays and go to class because he will not hesitate to drop you after 3 absnses
Jay Brown is a great professor. He has standards. He is clear in his expectations, is willing to discuss and respect opinions that differ from his own, and really CARES about inspiring student learning. The only people that have problems w/ him are those who think Miami Dade schold be some kind of easy street. If you want to learn, Brown's the man.
Worst professor ever. I took him during the Fall & I dreaded going to class. You need to attend about 4-5 concerts. I failed this class because I only went to 3. Oh, and the test are ridiculous. I would spend hours studying, to end up failing. You need to remember all the classical music to and learn the difference. HORRIBLE! DO NOT TAKE WITH HIM!
I attended his humanities course in 1991 and I have since gone on to graduate from FIU and Duke University. This is the best professor I have ever had. He is passionate about the subject he teaches - listen to him and he might just change your life - he did for me.
15 years ago, I was in college for engineering. My curriculum required an introductory music class. This guy is passionate, knowledgeable and very involved in the music world, perhaps he belongs in higher level music courses. I really didn't give three about music.
Great professor. Only persons who do not like him are those who have no interest for his class. Always on time and is passionate about teaching and strict on time. Don't be late for class! Great professor overall. Recommend him to anyone
I have taken music for 7 years and this was the most difficult music class I have ever taken! Do Not Take Him! You have to memorize every music piece by memory by title and composer.
Very passionate about music. The people failing the test are the people listening to classical music and expecting to remember it the day before the test. Don't text in the class or you'll get kicked out. One of the harder classes I have taken but at the very least I had someone knowledgable to help me learn.
He is fair and inspiring.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
100%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.63 avg changeRatings by Course
CLARINET
5.0
(2)MUSICAPPRE
5.0
(2)MUSICN
5.0
(1)HUM101
5.0
(1)MVW1313
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
MUS
5.0
MUL1101
5.0
MUSICAP
5.0
MUL101
5.0
MUSICAPP
5.0