Columbia's Core Curriculum is widely accepted by undergraduate students as quite dependent on the energy, knowledge and engagement of the professor. I could not imagine a better person to have taught Music Humanities than Professor Matthew Ricketts. Music and Art Hum are both courses necessary to a solid liberal arts foundation but difficult in execution due to varying degrees of exposure to the fields of their students. Professor Ricketts made Music Hum not only easy to grasp, comprehensive in depth and thought provoking but enjoyable and entertaining, too. His mastery of the subject material and efficiency of communication made this class exceptional. He would often sit down to the piano to play tonalities and segments of the works we'd just heard in order to clarify his points or demonstrate the musical elements by slowing down, speeding up or changing key of the works. This was not only impressive, but it helped his students connect to the works in a tangible way (as tangible as music can ever really be). Professor Ricketts handled all levels of student questions with the same thoughtfulness and respect even with students' obvious gaps or proficiency in musical capability. He graded fairly but with constructive critiques, he adequately prepared us for exams, he was exceptionally organized and prompt, he pointed us to further and outside resources when applicable and he was generally a joy to learn from. I can't imagine having missed out on taking his course, and he has positively and permanently shaped my experience with Columbia's Core Curriculum.