I attended grad school at CWRU in Cleveland, Ohio at a time before laptops. I came across my synthesized notes for my final exam in the course focused on baroque music with Professor John Seuss.
These notes were effectively a re-taking of notes which I’d found as an undergrad was an effective way to help me internalize content. I’m thankful I took these by hand, I think taking notes by hand helps me better retain information.
The thing I remember about this class was the actual final exam. Our class took place in Harkness Chapel, behind the stage, in a large room. There was a listening section in addition to the essay questions, the ones we’d put into multiple blue books. The listening portion played a number of pieces I was well-familiar with. To show off, I not only would describe the music (identification wasn’t required per se), but I’d list the pieces, the key, and in some cases, I listed the performers. I remember he wrote something in red pen (he always used red pen!) about my IDing the works. I should hunt those blue books up. (No, I don’t toss anything.)
