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Dibs Fall 2026

MSC IND 55

Legends of Songwriting: Their Life in Music

Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. With special focus on songwriting renaissance of rock era, examination of work of important songwriters of post-World War II generation (circa 1952-1994) and those they have influenced. Practical industry guidance from current and noteworthy practitioners. Coverage of songwriting, arrangement and record production, music publishing, and record business in 20th and 21st centuries. Guest music industry professionals demonstrate individual creative processes and discuss their paths to songwriting and their place in world of music. Course is not workshop or tutorial on how to write songs. (See course 112.) P/NP or letter grading.

Course statistics

Predicted GPA
3.83
n = 109 · 3 terms · ± 0.050
A range
91%
of letter grades
Taken P/NP
4%
100% of those passed
D / F / W
1.8%
incl. withdrawals

Sections in Fall 2026

Sections offered, with live enrollment and predicted GPA
Section Status Enrolled Seat risk Meets Instructor Predicted GPA
Lec 1 Closed
280 of 280
100% full
 fills Time TBA Leaf, D.A.
3.83n=109 · this instructor

Grade distribution

  • A+ 78 · 68.4%
  • A 18 · 15.8%
  • A- 3 · 2.6%
  • B+ 2 · 1.8%
  • B 3 · 2.6%
  • B- 1 · 0.9%
  • C 2 · 1.8%
  • F 2 · 1.8%
  • P 5 · 4.4%

Grey bars are non-letter outcomes — P/NP, S/U, incompletes. They are excluded from the GPA entirely rather than scored, because counting a P as a 4.0 would be a fabrication.

By instructor

Instructor Predicted Raw n Terms A range
LEAF, DAVID A 3.83 3.83 109 3 91%

“Predicted” is shrunk toward the course average, which is itself shrunk toward the department — so an instructor with a handful of students sits near the course mean rather than topping the list.

By term