Professor Miller is not only one of the best professors I have had at Columbia so far, he is one of the kindest. This is the kind of teacher who will email you about assignments over break or on weekends (even though he's on the train on his way to perform in 3 concerts), show up to Friday keyboard hearings just to smile encouragingly, and give you a little nudge towards the error you've made on the midterm when you try to turn it in. The class is difficult, especially the first part which is focuses on species counterpoint, as the previous reviewer noted. Lectures are clear, but expect to spend several hours reading the chapter and perfecting your part-writing in between. While it's not unlikely you'll get 12/30 on some assignments, Professor Miller will ALWAYS allow/require a redo, sometimes even two. If you took AP Music Theory in high school, expect to work a lot less...and somehow learn a lot more. Plus, you'll not only come out a better composer/part-writer, but a better musician, as lectures often include (spontaneous) listening exercises and discussions of what technical elements makes a piece of music emotionally moving.