Professor Maus is a very understanding and intellectual person, and the way he presents the material during the class is very easy to understand. He is very accepting of questions and is always eager to give clarification on something or go more in depth about a topic. The assignments and content of the class are found in a music theory reader that he has written (similar to Theory I), and Professor Maus has no deadlines or exams for the course. He is very flexible on when assignments need to be turned in and allows people to redo homework assignments multiple times to receive a better grade. While there are no strict deadlines on when to get assignments in during the semester, he is very accommodating and willing to work with you if you may be falling behind on the material. Overall, I would definitely recommend this class if you are interested in learning more about Music Theory past Theory I. #tcfSpring26

Prof. Maus is an extremely low-key and down-to-earth guy. He did a great job accommodating students' struggles during this online-only semester. He basically never enforced deadlines, and every single homework assignment could be revised for a higher grade. If you attend lecture consistently, pay attention, and give a good effort on your assignments, you will succeed.

His lecturing was sometimes boring, but so is everything over Zoom. He was also extremely receptive to questions and would stop to explain even the most basic of misunderstandings. (I used and perhaps abused this to get him to re-explain Theory I material to me.)

Maus is a good person, and if you're interested in first-species counterpoint and art music from the early 18th century onward, you should take this course.

N.B.: You can exempt Theory I and take this course. If you have some prior theory experience, consider emailing Maus and testing out. It wasn't too difficult—I managed to test out of Theory I with knowledge from high school orchestra and Intro to Jazz Improv.