Historical instructor

BRIAN HYER

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.41/5 from 44 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

What students say

Original student reviews · all captured dates

MUS121 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 5/5
Prof. Hyer definitely cares about his students, but take note: his emails and writing both DON'T match up in tone with how he is in person. He often makes things sound super consequential/scary in an effort to make sure people take them seriously; if you're genuinely struggling, ASK him. He's surprisingly understanding IF you advocate for yourself.
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MUS121122 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Professor Hyer is a criminally underrated professor who pours a lot of thought into his course and who truly cares about his students. He gets a bad rep for his rather subjective way of grading; however, he's always happy to answer questions and explains everything extremely well. Pay attention and ask questions, and you will succeed.
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MUS121 · course not matched
Quality 3/5Difficulty 5/5
You can tell Professor Hyer really understands and loves music theory, but he can get ahead of himself. He thinks what he teaches is easy when in reality it is harder to grasp for the majority of students. You should reach out if you are struggling as he is willing to help you, but this class is difficult regardless. The papers are also a struggle.
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COMM1100 · course not matched
Quality 3/5Difficulty 4/5
He can be a tough professor. He says the truth and some people found him mean for it. Work hard and you will have a good time. Ask him for help, he is always willing to give good advice.
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MUS121 · course not matched
Quality 3/5Difficulty 4/5
Hard first music theory class. You get used to how he wants things, but it is a lot of work.
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MUS121122 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 4/5
Hyer is a fantastic musician and he is very good at explaining concepts. The only problem is that he is quite subjective in his grading especially when grading papers (which are a huge part of your final grade). You really have to conform to his style of writing and thinking about music. Class is hard, but if you genuinely work hard you will pass.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with BRIAN HYER

No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.

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No courses match this selection. Try the full catalog or another term.

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2023MUSIC 122Musica Practica 2
Spring 2023MUSIC 172Musica Practica: Aural Skills 2
Spring 2023MUSIC 624Form and Analysis II
Fall 2022MUSIC 121Musica Practica 1
Fall 2022MUSIC 171Musica Practica: Aural Skills 1
Fall 2022MUSIC 623Form and Analysis
Fall 2022MUSIC 799Independent Work
Spring 2022MUSIC 122Musica Practica 2
Spring 2022MUSIC 172Musica Practica: Aural Skills 2
Spring 2022MUSIC 622Baroque Counterpoint
Fall 2021MUSIC 121Musica Practica 1
Fall 2021MUSIC 171Musica Practica: Aural Skills 1
Fall 2021MUSIC 623Form and Analysis
Fall 2021MUSIC 799Independent Work
Fall 2020MUSIC 121Musica Practica 1
Fall 2020MUSIC 171Musica Practica: Aural Skills 1
Fall 2020MUSIC 623Form and Analysis
Spring 2020MUSIC 122Musica Practica 2
Spring 2020MUSIC 172Musica Practica: Aural Skills 2
Spring 2020MUSIC 823Schenkerian Analysis
Spring 2020MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Fall 2019MUSIC 121Musica Practica 1
Fall 2019MUSIC 171Musica Practica: Aural Skills 1
Fall 2019MUSIC 622Baroque Counterpoint
Fall 2019MUSIC 799Independent Work
Fall 2019MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Spring 2019MUSIC 122Musica Practica 2
Spring 2019MUSIC 172Musica Practica: Aural Skills 2
Spring 2019MUSIC 623Form and Analysis
Spring 2019MUSIC 799Independent Work
Spring 2019MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Fall 2018MUSIC 121Musica Practica 1
Fall 2018MUSIC 171Musica Practica: Aural Skills 1
Fall 2018MUSIC 623Form and Analysis
Fall 2018MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Spring 2018MUSIC 122Musica Practica 2
Spring 2018MUSIC 623Form and Analysis
Spring 2018MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Fall 2017MUSIC 121Musica Practica 1
Fall 2017MUSIC 622Baroque Counterpoint
Fall 2017MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Spring 2017MUSIC 122Musica Practica 2
Spring 2017MUSIC 172Musica Practica: Aural Skills 2
Spring 2017MUSIC 823Schenkerian Analysis
Spring 2017MUSIC 990Masters Thesis
Spring 2017MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Fall 2016MUSIC 121Musica Practica 1
Fall 2016MUSIC 623Form and Analysis
Fall 2016MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Spring 2016MUSIC 122Musica Practica 2
Spring 2016MUSIC 623Form and Analysis
Spring 2016MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Fall 2015MUSIC 121Musica Practica 1
Fall 2015MUSIC 622Baroque Counterpoint
Fall 2015MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Spring 2015MUSIC 122Musica Practica 2
Spring 2015MUSIC 799Independent Work
Spring 2015MUSIC 823Schenkerian Analysis
Spring 2015MUSIC 990Masters Thesis
Spring 2015MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Fall 2014MUSIC 121Musica Practica 1
Fall 2014MUSIC 623Form and Analysis
Fall 2014MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Spring 2014MUSIC 122Musica Practica 2
Spring 2014MUSIC 623Form and Analysis
Spring 2014MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Fall 2013MUSIC 121Musica Practica 1
Fall 2013MUSIC 622Baroque Counterpoint
Fall 2013MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Spring 2013MUSIC 122Musica Practica 2
Spring 2013MUSIC 925Form and Analysis Seminar
Spring 2013MUSIC 990Masters Thesis
Spring 2013MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Fall 2012MUSIC 121Musica Practica 1
Fall 2012MUSIC 823Schenkerian Analysis
Fall 2012MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Spring 2012MUSIC 122Musica Practica 2
Spring 2012MUSIC 622Baroque Counterpoint
Spring 2012MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Fall 2011MUSIC 121Musica Practica 1
Fall 2011MUSIC 171Musica Practica: Aural Skills 1
Fall 2011MUSIC 921Current Issues in Musical Thought 1
Fall 2011MUSIC 990Masters Thesis
Fall 2011MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Spring 2011MUSIC 122Musica Practica 2
Spring 2011MUSIC 623Form and Analysis
Spring 2011MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Fall 2010MUSIC 121Musica Practica 1
Fall 2010MUSIC 171Musica Practica: Aural Skills 1
Fall 2010MUSIC 823Schenkerian Analysis
Fall 2010MUSIC 990Masters Thesis
Fall 2010MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Spring 2010MUSIC 122Musica Practica 2
Spring 2010MUSIC 921Current Issues in Musical Thought 1
Spring 2010MUSIC 990Masters Thesis
Spring 2010MUSIC 999Phd Diss/dma Project
Fall 2009MUSIC 121Musica Practica 1
Fall 2009MUSIC 171Musica Practica: Aural Skills 1
Fall 2009MUSIC 622Baroque Counterpoint
Fall 2009MUSIC 799Independent Work

Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.

Instructor identity & provenance 
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