extremely nice and lenient professor. the class is interesting and easy. the only difficulty i had was the music examples, which you should listen to several times if you want to do good on exams.

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Do your work, listening examples and concerts and you will get an A. He's very cool.

he is realy nice,sweet,and helpful. Do your work and you get an easy A!

Very easy class, he is clear and to the point of what he wants you to know for the exams. Makes or at leasts tries to make information fun and interesting. Just be sure to study listening examples. Overall good teacher

Ric Alviso is an awesome teacher. He gets you invovled in the class with instruments, stories, dance steps, and guests performers. For those of you who are looking for an easy class, this is the one. Tests are easy and not alot of HW!

omg...this guy is sooooo sexy P.S. hes a good teacher too

wonderful

I came late and I barely showed up, and I still got a B. I probably would have gotten an A if I had showed up. It was a very interesting class though. He really cares about the student and realizes that people's lives can't always revolve around school

If you do your readin and work, youll "A" the exams. Plus its the cheapest class since all you waste is less than $10 for the text. Definitely take this class to learn and have fun, most importantly interact with lots of students around you. And and crashin in his class is a SURE THING ;)

From the notes other students wrote about J. R. Alviso he seems really nice and alligent.

Rick knows what's up.This guy's traveled the world studying music,in many different cultures.Definitely a fun class,and you learn alot.

I love this class, its so much fun. the class seems to pass by so fast. i wish this professor would teach all my classes. he's great!!!

This os a fun and interesting class, if you do your reading you have no problem passing it. He is very easy and caring. Fun experience

Easy, pleasant, fun, and interesting.

Great professor, I got an A, and I learned a lot about american music. He also tries to get students to play intrument, and the homework is not that hard to do. Great class

if this class isnt easy, you must be very dumb! great class, pleasant teacher. everyone gets A's.

His class is very interesting, at times. And he doesnt mind late students. You can miss a class or two and still get an A.

He is so cool! Regardless you have a musical background. You will learn a lot about other types of music such as Bluegrass. I learned so much in the class! The midterm is so easy. Just study what you had (lecture, listening quizzes 1 and 2).

His class was so much fun and it was easy. The work was easy, just follow the instructions. The class was not hard once you understood the terms and musical tones of each selected song. Be friends with nearby students because at times you will need support from them. I highly recommend his class during short semesters.

Fun class, especially if you take w/ a friend and can groove to cultural music. Leave your inhibitions and stereotypes outside, and you'll love this class. I didn't mind taking this at 8 am, since it's easy and fun. Definitely recommend La Fonda for one of your concert reports - tad pricey, but totally worth it. Just HAVE FUN and go with the flow.

Awesome class, great professor! I had a lot of fun in the class and learned a lot. I highly recommend this class during short semesters.

I really don't know what everyone is talking about. He is the easiest teacher I have ever had at SMC. In fact the class was really fun too, it was never boring. Just take notes and memorize them and you'll get an A in class. His tests and quizes are straight out of the notes and he tells you whats on the tests.

He is a very fun and easy teacher!.There are only a few Home Work Assignments which are relatively easy. The listening quizes and Tests are easy as long as you study.

This teacher was awesome! He is super easy and makes the subject material interesting and fun. He involves the class, is easy to approach, and really enjoys teaching the material. Anyone who says otherwise must be lazy because this was by far the easiest class I've taken in all of my college career. Seriously, take him and you'll see!

This is the easiest class I've ever had. If you come to class everyday and barely study, you can get a B+ on the exams (that's the minimum). He's really nice, knows a lot about music and gives extra credit. Take this class if you want to learn about music while boosting your gpa :-)

Professor Alviso is very nice. Everything on quiz and test is from the class notes. No surprise on tests. I barely spent time on this class and got A. This was the easiest class I never had. Alviso is very approachable when you have any questions. His class isn't stressful at all. He is super smart.

FUN CLASS, SUPER EASY. FOR THOSE WHO ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT IT THEY MUST BE REALLY STUPID. THIS CLASS IS THE EASIEST CLASS I HAVE EVER TAKEN AT SMC.

He is one of the best teacher I've ever had! He opened me to a lot of different cultures and music! Eventhough music is not my major, I enjoyed a lot the class and got an A just because I did all the work he asked to do. He gives us a lot of opportunities to get extra credit! The class is so much fun! I highly recommand it!

he is an awesome teacher, i got an A because i did the work and his midterm is very easy. The assignments he gives such as the concert reports are fun..definetily should take him!!

Great Prof...learned a lot!

i had really liked this class because i learned a lot. my class had over 120 students i was so mad because it was hard to even learn. i did all the work passed the midterm and quizzes did the reports and i got a D in the class! WTF! he was nice but i dont like how big my class was it was hard to pay attention.

He writes his own workbook, and a huge majority of the work is listening to the examples he assigns before the quizzes and tests. He can be a prick and often makes people feel dumb when they ask questions. Be prepared to dance at the park (UGH), and learn a lot about African and Hispanic Music. Lots of extra credit opportunities, do your homework!

Fun class, very relaxed

Nice and friendly prof. Interesting and knowledgable. Show up, do the work, and it's an easy A.

Large class. Professor follwed his syllabus.Made learning music very fun, you will enjoy his class and pass. I earned a B. Do your Hw. Take advantage of extra credit points. Do all concert reports. Pass Midterm and Final [They are easy].

I LOVE THIS PROFESSOR! I have learned so much more then ever expected! I was shocked to see people with negative comments. This man is upbeat, funny, warm, patient, interesting, and sweet! Honored to have been taught by him!

I really enjoy going to this class. He is the nicest professor and really loves what he teaches. His book and notes are very helpful on tests. Only 3 or 4 hw assignments all semester. I am learning a lot and he makes class fun. usually lets everyone out early. I would recommend this class to everyone. He is a very sweet prof

Very easy class, professor seems to be a little bipolar, sometimes very sweet and nice, other times impatient and rude to the extreme, often lacks clarity and organization of notes are a joke. Overall a good easy A and had fun learning about different music styles of the American culture.

Passionate, well educated, and informative. I went into this class very skeptical, but came out learning so much. Respect him, and he will respect YOU. His notes? Copy down everything he writes, mark little notes and that's about it. Study those notes and listening examples...you'll get an A. If you can't follow directions don't take the class!

Alviso is a great professor. The text book is the key to the entire class and all the lectures are fun if you're a music lover. He responds quickly to emails too. He doesn't coddle students but is super insightful and passionate about what he does. He went out of his way to provide hands on experiences, it was a great semester for me.

I really loved this class. He's such a great professor and his tests are super easy. He usually lets us out 20 min early and all we really do in class is take notes for a little bit and then watch videos and listen to music. You can tell he's really passionate about music and he enjoys what he does.

He's very passionate about music. Could be a tiny bit difficult if you're not a music major. Requires 3 concert reports. Has listening quizzes which you need to study for and the tests are half listening portion half based on lecture/textbook. You need the book. Overall he's pretty great. Made class fun. We played lots of instruments. He taught us some taiko! :)

Took this class for some GE credit for my school (UCLA) because tuition is ridiculous at UCLA now. Anyway, I got a B with little or no effort. Grade doesn't really matter for me since UCLA doesn't even factor in the grade to my GPA. I didn't use the book nor studied the listening examples or even used the CD. Study the notes and you're good.

Professor Alviso is a really good teacher! You just need to study! Half of the class fails and the other half gets A's. He even tells his students this the first day of class. Just study, take good notes, do your concert reports and you'll get an A! Overall, I loved this class! :) P.S. This is a class of 100+ students

do your homework from the BOOK, turn it in early. lecture notes are everything because they come straight from book. attendance is important because he explains things in detail. just do your reading, its a short book and the rest should come naturally for an A. its when you dont show to class and read when you will fersure fail.

he is a relaxed teacher. the class was 100+ students so youre better off asking your peers if youre confused on anything. the material is basic and you just have to study and if you do youll do fine.

What a terrific teacher in SMC music department! After the final taken today, I got an A both for the final and entire semester. Class is easy if you put full attention in his lecture and textbook. All the materials in the tests are covered in the book. Read through the entire book and study hard on the listening examples and A is guaranteed.

I took his class during fall 2013. Professor Alviso is a great teacher and very clear about what he expect from us. Not a hard class at all unless you don't pay attention. He is a quick grader which is a great thing because you get to study your quizzes before taking the mid-term and final. Fair grader and drops the lowest score!! TAKE HIM

This has been my most interesting class by far. Mr. Alviso is a WONDERFUL teacher and wants his students to learn about the subject matter and do well. Throughout EVERY class he informs what will be on quizzes and tests so everyone is WELL aware what is expected. We played Taiko drums in the park! It was so much fun! Take this class!!!

Easy. He started to give out study guides and the tests just got easier than before. 3 homeworks and answers are found in textbook, few concert reports, and quizzes and there's an A. Take him!

Nice professor, very interesting class

Easy A if you do the homework and use the study guide he gives you for the tests and quizzes. Attendance isn't mandatory, but there are a lot of fun activities done in class like playing Taiko drums. You don't even have to do Concert Reports if you go to SMC performances. Offers a lot of extra credit too

The most caring proffesor I ever had, highly recommended!

holy smokes extra credit! his class was great! the quizzes were easy but please expect to get out of your comfort zone! i did his in-person class which i do not regret and it was fun!! so many cool instruments. just beware if you're talking ab something he disagrees with he's going to dismiss it and move on lol. other than that he was pretty cool.

Great Professor that knows his stuff! Class will be difficult if you don't study for the midterm and final. He uses Youtube videos as lectures so I recommend downloading them and listening to them repeatedly on your commutes. Classes were fun playing instruments. Great class for anyone needing to tick of GC requirements.