In the spring semester, Ramsey taught a course called Jazz: Style and History. College senior Shawan Wade, a major in international relations and African American studies, enrolled. "Professor Ramsey taught me how to hear music. He told us that people are used to having music just wash over them. He said, 'Well, when you listen to the music, write what you hear.' Before that, I would never hear a sound and think of a word to associate with that sound. When you start doing that, you hear all types of different things, and you begin to understand how music transcends language and boundaries. It does convey an idea or a message, and it happens without words."