Class record · MUSA · MCAS

MUSA 3114

Jazz Harmony and Improvisation · 1 instructor on record · 4 sections

What the course score is made of

83BC evaluations4 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Fall 2024

—Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute

—RateMyProfessorsno ratings — does not contribute

That is the class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it. Who taught it, and how each of them scored, is the board below — that is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between.

What the challenge rank is made of

57thMore challenging than 57% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

92BC — “Intellectually Challenging”4 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question for this class only — students answer it positively about courses that stretched them, so it measures intellectual challenge and NOT grading, workload or quality. Almost every BC class scores high on it, which is why it is shown as a rank rather than a score.

What the workload rank is made of

78thMore work than 78% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

60BC — “Workload”4 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College reports workload for this class only as one of five bands, not as a number of hours, and it does not publish what the bands mean — so this site will not translate it into hours. Higher means more work, which is not the same as worse.

This music theory course will focus on the study of chord structures, chord substitutions, chord scales, composition, and improvisation as they have been codified by contemporary jazz musicians. The technical innovations in the music of Sonny Rollins, Thelonius Monk, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis will be analyzed and discussed. Special attention will be placed on learning how to improvise on the great standards of the jazz repertory. Additional studies will include the following: piano lead sheet arrangements; ii-V-I keyboard harmony, re-harmonization, and composing original tunes based on chord structures of standards by Berlin, Kern, Gershwin; rhythm changes; and the blues.

The only instructor on record

4 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record

Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge
Thomas LeeMusic	904 records	78th	57th

There is no ranking to read here: Thomas Lee is the only instructor with evaluation records for MUSA 3114, so the number is a record, not a position.

Also taught by Thomas Lee

4 other classes

Class	Instructors	Course score
MUSA 1100Fundamentals of Music Theory	1087 records	82
MUSA 3100Chromatic Harmony	432 records	72
MUSA 3120Seminar in Composition	15 records	91
MUSA 3130Orchestration	13 records	89

Other MUSA classes

All of them

Class	Instructors	Course score
MUSA 1100Fundamentals of Music Theory	1087 records	82
MUSA 1200Introduction to Music	1163 records	80
MUSA 2100Harmony	536 records	87
MUSA 3100Chromatic Harmony	432 records	72
MUSA 1300History of Popular Music	529 records	79
MUSA 1320Introduction to Musics of the World	529 records	73

The line

All 13 items · means across 4 records

The Professor4 items

Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.

8718th pctl

Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.

9134th pctl

Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.

9562nd pctl

Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.

9882nd pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

776th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

8937th pctl

Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.

9351st pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

9259th pctl

Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.

9889th pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

8830th pctl

Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings

WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.

6078th pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

9257th pctl

Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.

9467th pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.

Game log

4 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Thomas Lee	Fall 2024	01	80	67	—
Thomas Lee	Fall 2023	01	100	92	—
Thomas Lee	Fall 2022	01	80	80	60
Thomas Lee	Fall 2021	01	100	95	60

How to read this boardInstructors are ranked on their record in this class only, never on their average across everything they teach. Scores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Workload is BC's own five-band figure, not a number of hours, and is shown as a rank. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero.