uwloo

MUSIC 100Understanding Music

Units
0.50
Faculty
Arts
Subject
Music

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 7 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

The styles, forms, techniques, and terminology of Western music through lectures and listening, as exemplified by great works from all eras of music history.

Prerequisites

None listed.

Antirequisites

None listed.

Notes

  • The ability to read music notation is not required.

Leads to

Fall 2026 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 001444040 / 120TTh 11:30–12:50

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 00142920 / 120TTh 11:30–12:50
LEC 701170125 / 9999Online or by arrangement

Reviewed on UW Flow

59% liked it75% easy28% useful

From 71 ratings and 22 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • NOT A BIRD COURSE. the course has 1 listening quiz (easy if you have some music playing knowledge), a midterm (lots of history and you must be able to recognize songs played in class and answer questions like who composed it or where would a piece like this come from), 2 concert reviews (easy but you have to make time to go to concerts which generally run at noon), and a final (10 music examples, history questions and 2 long answer questions). Overall the course is interesting but is not as easy as you think, its a lot of memorization. Take this as a warning.

    Jan 2024 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Honestly really interesting, you just show up and listen to music and talk about it. I skipped a lot of the lectures because I was crammed with other courses, but the day of the final I woke up early, quizzed myself on the textbook and got a 90+. That's all it took

    Oct 2023 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Quizlet is your best friend.

    Apr 2023 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Easiest course I've ever taken in my life (including high school). I did take band through grade 9-12 in high school though, so I did have a little background information which helped a bit for the first quiz. It was a lot of fun to listen to all the "classical music" and I enjoyed learning about it too. Because of covid, we had around 5 days- 1 week to finish all the quizzes and tests and exam so it was very doable.
    Breakdown: listening quiz (15%), midterm test (25%), 2 concert reviews (each 10%), final exam (40%). Concert reviews are participation, just hit all the points and you get 100%.
    I finished the course with a 98. I definitely recommend it if you have even the tiniest interest…

    Apr 2021 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • not as easy as I hoped to be..had to study pretty hard at times.

    Mar 2016 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

53 posts and comments in 48 threads mention MUSIC 100, January 2012 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2022

MUSIC 275 DAW requirements (any music 275 students pls I need ur input) 8 points, 5 comments

“So I'm heavily considering doing MUSIC 275 next semester. I'm pretty decent in FL and am almost always composing and I know that they mainly use Ableton and sometimes Logic. …”

u/PrinceAdebayo: “You can use any DAW you want outside of the the first and third assignments. For context, this semester there are 6 assignments, a midterm project, an essay, a collaborative project, and a final …”

u/BananaSS99: “Oh also one more thing if you don't mind, I haven't taken MUSIC 100 or 110 which I believe is a prereq for MUSIC 275 but like... do I really need it? If I have a portfolio of compositions, can I just show it to them and ask them to let me in?”

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Winter 2022

MUSIC 275 - How Is It? 2 points, 3 comments

“Hey guys, I'm really interested in taking MUSIC 275 next term but can't really find a lot of info on it. …”

u/ohsheeeshyall: “I took it last term. He taught the class in Ableton but you could do the assignments in Ableton or Logic. …”

u/CarusinKid: “I know this is an old post but did you take MUSIC 100 or 110 before this course? It says it’s a prerequisite but I wanna confirm that it’s actually required”

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see you all on february 7th 88 points, 10 comments

u/Dimtar_: “unless you’re in: AFM 113 AFM 123 AFM 182 ARBUS 102 CLAS 202 ECON 101 HRM 200 MUSIC 100 (Conrad Grebel) MUSIC 140 (Conrad Grebel) MUSIC 246 (Conrad Grebel) PSYCH 101 (St. Jerome’s) PSYCH 211 PSYCH 238 PSYCH 253 (St. …”

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Fall 2021

Anyone take MUSIC 140 or CLAS 201 online? 2 points, 4 comments

“Deciding between these two for Fall. If you’ve taken either of them online would you mind sharing the course outline, and how easy the course was? Thanks!”

u/Plane_Razzmatazz_143: “take music 140 online and call it a day. One of the best decisions you can make in your life. Professor Simon Wood is a gift to humanity and he must be protected at all costs!”

u/bolton-js: “Unfortunately, 140 looks like its full and Professor Wood is not giving an override. I have enrolled into MUSIC 100, though.”

u/sandycrunch: “Music 140 is goat.”

u/bolton-js: “Unfortunately, 140 looks like its full and Professor Wood is not giving an override. I have enrolled into MUSIC 100, though.”

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Spring 2021

Winter 2021

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar