Spiller, Terry  

Spiller is great! He is really friendly and is there to help you if you have problems. He even let me take a test during his office hours when I had to miss a class for a swim meet. Not only that, but he knows everyones name by the second or third week of class. Definitely take this class with Spiller.

This was only a one-unit class so it was pretty easy. Terry was SO NICE though. He is a really talented piano player and he is great about taking questions and encouraging students whether they're music majors or not. If you have any problems, he will totally help you. He also is great about learning to listen to music and style of playing. I would definately take him again!

Spiller is an excellent teacher and an insanely talented pianist. He makes the material clear for students of widely varied skill levels. His class was fun and I'm a better musician for having had him.

Dr. Spiller is a great teacher. Excellent musician. Thanks for the great class! I am a better pianist because of it.

Simply put: he rocks, and this was definitely my favorite class this quarter. Since I'm a first year, having something both fun and beneficial to look forward to in a class helped tremendously with my comfort levels at campus. He is both helpful and kind, professional and well-prepared for his class. Highly recommended for this one-unit class.

Dr. Spiller is the best professor I've had at Cal Poly. He is always interested in the students and does an amazing job at helping students improve their skills at the piano. One of the warmest, most well-spoken people I know.

I have been through many piano teachers, and none of them were able to diagnose my problems (with piano) and help me with them as well as Dr. Spiller. Not only did I become a better pianist through his class, but I also began to really enjoy playing. He is a very amiable, good humored man, very talented, and a thoroughly excellent teacher. If you ever have an oppurtunity to take a class with him, you definately should.

Dr. Spiller is my new favorite professor of all time! Having had lots of prior piano experience, I came into this class not really sure what to expect. I was greeted warmly the first day and the class was just a super chill time that forced me to actually practice piano... But in a good way. Dr. Spiller was always so nice and really really helpful. I'm definitely going to try to take more classes from him in the future!

I had Dr. Spiller for Advanced Piano. The only thing you need to know is that he is a phenomenal pianist and the fact that he's teaching is reason enough to take the class. It's a 1 unit class that every hack pianist (myself included) should take, just to be exposed to someone who truly knows the piano. He performs a couple pieces during the quarter for demonstration, which right there is worth the price of admission. Plus, there was only 12 students in the class, so he worked with me one-on-one a lot more than I was expecting. He showed me things I was doing wrong technically and mechanically that I wasn't even aware of.

Dr. Spiller is easily among the top three teachers I've had at Poly. He was so incredibly pleasant, kind, and caring about students' concerns. This course's only homework was listening to great piano music, attending some nice concerts, and writing a relatively simple paper. This was one of my most enjoyed classes and instructors ever. It fulfills a GE and Spiller can't be beat.

This is an great class from a great teacher. I would recomend that anyone taking this course have some experience in music, and music terminology, that will help a great deal. Overall a good course though.

Like the guy beloew you will definitely want a decent knowledge about music to succeed in this class. However if you take it CR/NC like me you should not have any problem passing even if your knowledge does not exceed the average. Terry plays the piano frequently in class and it is quite enjoyable. He is also a very leniant grader and will listen to your concerns, help you any way he can, and be there to encourage you when you are thinking about dropping (like I was). Two thumbs up to Dr. Spiller. ~IA~

A great Teacher, Great Pianist, the lecture was easy music history and listening to Dr. Spiller play the piano pieces that we were analyzing. Every monday and wednesday (when the class was offered) the lecture was more like going to a performance and being able to enjoy great music and then get the bonus of asking questions of the performer about the history of the piece. If you are looking for an upper division C elective and have some interest in music (I mean the hard stuff - Beethoven, Liszt, Mozart, Paganini...) this is the class for you. It will be fun, interesting and great relaxing way to earn your 4 units.