Hilarious. Was late for class about every week. A very nice guy who was always willing to give extra help if needed and he got the points across albeit he would ramble sometimes.

I loved this prof! He is so friendly and enthusiastic, and so knowledgeable about music! His lectures aren't boring either.... but they are packed with information, and they are long lectures. It is not an easy course, in fact, I got a D+ in his class and that's lowest mark I've ever had. Be prepared to do a lot of reading for his class.

He is fun, energetic, and super friendly. I had a great time in this class, though you have to keep up with the readings because he goes through the slides very quickly. I also like the fact how he makes sure to put the 'know it all show-offs' in their place. Makes everyone else who doesn't have a clue whats going on not feel so stupid.

Great Prof. Goes by the book, yet knows his stuff about classical music history.

Definitely my favourite professor of the semester. So knowledgeable and friendly, its refreshing to see a prof. who actually enjoys what they teach! I would recommend this course to anyone who loves music!

had an awesome time in the class,,,he is very funny and he knows his stuff...i kinda scared me sometimes how much he knows...but in a good way

knowledgeable and helpful prof with a sense of humour, but tends to veer off topic very easily and for a long, long time. gets behind in lectures, so that by the end of the term, you're cramming everything into the last three hours.

He really does know what he is talking about. I personally found him very interesting. He does read from the slides but he often goes off on interesting tangents. Will answer questions in class and if you need to will answer questions after class. A great person and great prof.

Wonderful professor, a lot of fun to work with. He made sitting in class/learning entertaining and fun.

I loved this guy! He made class so much fun to be in, and it was so interesting listening to his many many stories he had. Has a strange fetish for boy bands.. But all in all Higney is awesome!

Higney is a fantastic professor. This course was incredibly interesting. Some of the earlier comments about him had me worried, but I found his course no more difficult than any other course. He tells you flat out what terms you need to know for midterms/exams and there are absolutely no surprises or trickery. All the material covered in class is r

Awesome teacher, made coming to class fun. Learned our names and didn't pressure anyone to participate. Exams are super fair and he'll e-mail you a list of things to study to prep.

The discussions about Jackie Chan, Mr. T, and the emotional well-being of clams really broke up long lessons of chord progressions and cadences! The material was a bit challenging, but the prof made my day.

Great guy. Funny and incredibly passionate about music. His tests/exams were fair. Has the tendency to wander off-topic at times--often to amusing ends. Does seem to prefer BMus students, however.

Fantastic prof for all courses he teaches. Strongly recommend taking it, unless you're an engineer like that other poster and don't enjoy a good arts course. Keeps lectures interesting and is incredibly helpful in both a classroom and a one-on-one situation.

He's a great professor. He actually seems like he likes to teach, unlike many other university profs. It was an interesting course, and is quite easy if you do any amount of work, except for apparently those engineers.

The course I took with Higney was MCOM cross-listed with MUSI, though it was very heavy on the MUSI in the early going. However, I advise any MCOM students to stick that part out, because our stuff does come! Higney is interesting, funny, and makes classes great. If you go to classes and pay attention, studying will be a breeze. Awesome prof.

Had him again for music industries. He's definetly in the top 3 teacher's I've ever had. He has so much passion and wants you to show it too. The man cares alot and has a very clear teaching style. He is not what I would call an easy grader though and you will need to pull your own weight to succeed in his class.

One of Carleton's best music profs. While I agree with some of the other posts that his classes are better for BMus students (though music history ISN'T easy, engineers...get that out of your head), if you get into one of his smaller classes he knows you by name and is extremely engaging and helpful with any problems or difficulties.

Dr. Higney is an extremely helpful professor. He's always willing to help with course content, and actually sat down with me for a good hour until I was comfortable with the material. Superb prof. Keep up the great work!! Awesome music history prof too btw.

Very nice person, he's a true creative mind. Always reminds us of the real important things to remember and is very easy to talk to.

Dr Higney is a great professor. He is very well educated, and can talk at length about any musician mentioned in class. Know that he will not 'hand you the course' though, and if you want to do well you must READ THE TEXTBOOK. I got 100% on the midterm and got a great overall mark, and I'm not a music student. You just have to what is assigned.

This guy is too legit. He knows his music and its social impact. Great prof, looked forward to every single lecture.

Very down-to-earth professor. I found Dr. Higney to be very helpful and supportive when I was having trouble. He's funny too but knows when to be serious and get down to business. I had no qualms with this man. One of the best profs I've had.

Amazing proff! so helpful, fun! do the listening and read the listening guides and you will do super well! he really wants you all to pass so if there is confusion go see him!

As a neuroscience student, I didn't consider myself in an "easy arts program" and I still did really well in this class. It's a class with a history component, so obviously there's some memorization. That's what history is. If you can't remember simple names and dates, this isn't the class for you. He was helpful and kept office hours regularly.

Higney has great energy for a morning class. Obviously very passionate about what he teaches. Really easy to meet with, exams are fair (even if not a MUSI student - no music theory components). Can't wait to see my final grade. Beautiful Classical music, inspired me to take another MUSI history course. Great job Prof. Higney!

John Higney is the most handsome guy I know

Was by far my favourite prof at Carleton in the last 2 years. Higney is extremely engaging and passionate about music. His views on the music industry are amazing and he is very open to hearing what students opinions were. His tests were fair and he was happy to help with papers.

Ignore the negative comments... most are a result of students who did poorly. Higney is a solid professor - clear expectations, thorough lectures, and he has a ton of musical insight. Great guy with a relaxed vibe and an interesting sense of humor. He is easily distracted, but that just adds to the fun of it.

Great prof. Very laid back he's from nova Scotia so you know... Really knows his stuff, can always answer questions that are off topic or beyond scope of course. Great musician, brought instruments into class to demonstrate different sounds. He's usually about 5 minutes or so late starting class because people want to talk to him. Really nice guy.

John is probably the most enthusiastic professor I've had at Carleton. His lectures are always a joy, and he keeps the class energized no matter the time of day, not to mention he puts effort into knowing our names. I would greatly enjoy taking future courses with John as my professor.

he really has sense of humor, and really nice! if you missing the class, feel free to contact him, he will very carefully explain what you missed!

I think is easy to get a A+ if your really get the all things in classes, and prof is really nice, i have taken third course of this prof, course material are pretty fun. i got an A+ on this course, and I am not major in music, its all fine, because the course is design to student interested in music and don not have so many background

John Higney is one of the most engaging professors at Carleton. I wasn't particularly interested in the earlier part of the course but as it moved on I found the lectures and discussions increasing stimulating and interesting. I recommend trying to get somewhat familiar with the general periods of classical music from 1500s on before taking this.

Awesome prof! Truly loves teacher his passion and makes it enjoyable for everyone! Took this course as an elective and though I came in knowing nothing, he made the class interesting and easier. The course itself is very simple if you already know music history. I didn't pay attention in class much and notes were not online. Great class and prof!

Good course if you have some background in music. Prof Higney is a great lecturer who makes learning and experiencing music history enjoyable and interesting. However, I would not recommend taking this course with no musical background, as the tests are based on the musical terms, which are somewhat tedious and difficult to learn with no background

The course was memorization heavy (my study docs for the midterm and exam were around 30pgs), but honestly it was still my favourite of the semester thanks to the enthusiastic lectures given by Prof. Higney! I'm not a music major so many concepts were foreign to me, but he really cares about your success and always makes extra time to explain!

Dr. Higney is great at what he does. Very knowledgeable about the topics he teaches, and his passion for them is evident, which does make his lectures heavy, but very interesting and engaging! Super helpful outside of class as well, if needed. Stutters quite a bit, but it's something you get used to and block out. Overall, a great choice.

Attending his class is probably the only thing that doesn't make me want to shoot myself at 8:30 AM on Monday mornings. Great professor both in terms of the amount of knowledge he has and the way he teaches. Missing his class will probably end in you looking through pages upon pages of text to get meaning from the terms posted.

I loved professor Higney!! I got cursed with having him for a night class so if I'm being honest I skipped quite a bit, but I'm still getting a decent grade otherwise and any bad grades are my own fault. He gives awesome lectures and is very passionate. I wish I had his class at a better time in the day because i actually like his lectures.

Professor Higney is a caring, knowledgeable, and entertaining instructor. However, I found this course to be disorganized in every administrative way. I took this class as an upper-year student for elective credit and have experience with sociology (this course is basically sociology plus music), and somewhat regretted it despite the easy markers.

Professor Higney is a great prof, and he has been amazing during this online semester. As long as you are respectful and make an effort to learn, there will be no issues. However, this class was (relatively) easy for me because I am a music major, but if you know nothing about music you may find it quite difficult.

Chill prof! He can really bring music topics to life during live meeting sessions. Would recommend that you take notes and have watch his lectures in advance because he goes through slides way quicker during live classes and may skip some. However, he encourages participation in class, which will definitely help you understand the topics better.

Great prof! Loves sharing wonderful concepts of music history and other areas of music. His live meetings can easily inspire people further with the ideas covered in asynchronous lectures. He is also fair with evaluation and will let you know what chapters you need to know as well as the format for quizzes, midterm and final.

Awesome prof with very clear expectations on what students should know. Even though some students don't have much prior knowledge in classic music, he can provide lots of inspiration to get students motivated in the course.

Really nice guy, but a lot of work is required to get a solid mark and grading can be a bit hard

He's a very understanding professor. The lecture is very memorization heavy, but every assignment / test was extended past it's due date because students asked. If you need help, he will help you. Seems like a genuinely good person.

MUSI1002 is terminology heavy but Prof Higney tries his best to discuss with the class various topics covered in the lecture. He's also very approachable online, along with TAs in the course and tries to make things as fair as possible. I do find his lecture rules annoying though (can't take pictures, no slides posted).

Higney's lectures can be a lot, but reading the textbook helps a lot when it comes to knowing the test material. He doesn't post lectures but he posts key terms which is pretty much all you need to review for the tests. He will help you if you email him or attend office hours (he helped me find sources for my paper when I was struggling).

Prof. Higney truly cares about the success of his students, not because he has to, but because he truly loves educating. His classes are engaging, evaluations are clear and fair, and he is very accessible for help with research. Truly an amazing professor.

Not a fan of the class, but the prof was awesome.

I genuinely love him, he is the best prof. I took his MUSI 1001 course, and it was so interesting. One because I love history, and 2 because he is so entertaining. Its hard to get bored in his class. He is also super understanding, I got injured and had to go home he was very understanding and allowed me to do quizzes late. He is the GOAT.

Dr. Higney is one of the most passionate and friendly professors, but it is a shame that he had to teach this course. The structure of this course is REALLY lecture and memorization heavy, and the TA's (or mine at least) are not helpful. If you plan on taking the course, make sure you use Higney's office hours to review the lecture material.

Professor Higney really loves the material that he teaches and his enthusiasm is contagious. Expectations are clear and you will not succeed if you don't show up to lectures. Don't take this course if you're looking for an easy pass, but you will do well if you pay attention.

great prof, litterally the reason I chose the music program