Now that I'm a senior, I suppose I should make myself useful and offer up some course-taking advice to Brandeis' incoming class. And while my top suggestion—taking interesting courses—sounds like a no-brainer, selecting those four or five classes that will really expand your mind can be as difficult as taking the courses themselves. Over my 3 years here, I've realized that Brandeis' Music Department has one of the most diverse and stimulating lineups. Here are a few music courses that first-years and upperclassmen alike should consider.

AAAS 171A: Reggae, Race and Nation

No music background required.

Prof. Wayne Marshall is a Harvard-educated ethnomusicologist who has published works such as Reggaeton, Musical Antinomies of Race and Empire and Treble Culture. He has taught world music, hip-hop, American music and reggae at Brown University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago. Marshall is also a journalist who has written about music from North America, Africa and Jamaica. Although I've never taken a course with Marshall, my peers have me convinced that he just may be one of the most memorable visiting professors at Brandeis.

The course is a special offering that examines the narratives of reggae and Jamaican music through the lenses of race, gender, sexuality, religion, nation and diaspora.

MUS 4A: Introduction to Chinese Music

No music background required.

The music in China spans a history of over 3,000 years and countless genres, so I'm curious to see how Prof. Yu-Hui Chang, a well-known composer, pianist and conductor, tackles the subject. Will she explore Chinese opera of the Tang and Yuan dynasty, or detail the beginnings of Chinese rock with Cui Jian? What about studying the uses of the pentatonic scale, the history of traditional Chinese instruments or modern pop icons like Jay Chou?

The course is open to all students. It examines the history and practice of Chinese music, as well as how music affects Chinese-speaking communities, through listening, reading and class discussions.

MUS 33A: The Beatles: From "Yesterday" to "Tomorrow Never Knows"

Music background required.

I can't tell you how excited I was when I found out that Prof. Eric Chasalow was offering a brand-new course on The Beatles. Almost everyone loves The Beatles, and countless scholars have studied the band's influence on music and culture. Examining songs like "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" with Prof. Chasalow, an electronic music composer and producer of the Brandeis Electro-Acoustic Music Studio Electronic Music Marathon, should give students a musician/producer's point of view of the music. Note that this is not a general-interest or music-history course. It's an intense and hands-on music course that requires arranging, playing and composing songs by the Beatles.

The course requires the ability to read and perform music. Prerequisites are MUS 5a, MUS 101a or an audition with the instructor. According to the course description, the course "explores why the Beatles were much more than simply the most famous band of all time. … We will play the songs, analyze the music and its technical production, and create our own arrangements."

MUS 86A: Improv Collective

Music background required.

If you Google the phrase "free improvisation," Tom Hall's website, freeimprovisation.com, is often the second hit. There are countless explanations of what free musical improvisation is, and Hall has even written a how-to guide for free improv. But even the most seasoned jazz improvisers, avant-garde classical composers or Phish-inspired jam bands have something to learn from the tenor saxophonist and musical director. I've been a member of Brandeis' Improv Collective since my first semester here, and each semester has brought new insights to how to break and form boundaries, establish and disregard relationships with other players and just have fun. Some tips: Sign up early and try to learn to "speak" through your instrument.

The course is an experiential learning course that yields half course credit. Placement auditions are held at the start of the semester. The course can be taken as an extracurricular, noncredit activity and culminates in a final performance.

MUS 153A — Music and Culture in the Middle East

Music background preferred but not required.

Prof. Ann Elizabeth Lucas both teaches and performs Persian and Arabic music. She is an ethnomusicologist with a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles who specializes in the history of music in Iran. According to her website, she is "currently working to create a new Middle East Ensemble for Brandeis." One-time-offer courses can sometimes serve as pseudo-experiments for the University to see which courses are popular in addition to accommodating visiting professors. So if enough students express interest in this course, it may be possible that Brandeis will get its own Middle East Ensemble.

The course examines music and culture in the context of the Arab Levant and North Africa, as well as Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey. Basic music knowledge is required.

MUS 87A: Music and Dance from Ghana

No music background required.

This course is everything "Brandeis," and I mean that as a compliment. Students learn about a non-Western culture (although it doesn't seem to fulfill the non-Western course requirement) through experiential learning from a visiting professor. They learn to dance, drum and sing from the ground up and perform for an audience at the end. The course is taught by Ghanaian drummer/dancer Tommy Nani Agbeli and is the brainchild of Prof. Judith Eissenberg, who organizes a world music residency at Brandeis each semester.

This is a music ensemble offered on a credit/no-credit basis. The drum ensemble includes bells, rattles and drums. Singers learn call and response singing in local languages. Dancers have choreography to follow as well as opportunity for individual expression.