UNC Music Department offers creative courses for students regardless of major

Students majoring in anything from political science to economics can find a home in classes within the UNC Department of Music. While music majors are given priority for certain courses when it comes to registration, non-majors are invited to take other music classes alongside them.

Jocelyn Neal, the department chair of UNC’s music department, said the majority of music courses UNC offers are academic-based and explore the understanding of music from different perspectives, such as culture or politics. 

Neal said there are also courses that focus on the composition of music, including those on songwriting and beatmaking. Despite not counting toward their programs, both types of music classes benefit non-music students by fulfilling some UNC focus capacities for the IDEAs in Action curriculum.

Neal said students can also obtain academic credit for certain performance opportunities, covering a variety of music. This can range from southern bluegrass music in the Carolina Bluegrass Band to Cuban style music in Charanga Carolina. 

Enrollment in the performance programs are not reserved for music majors. Instead, Neal said instructors may hold auditions for all UNC students. 

Mirabella Petruzzi, a junior in the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, said she always knew she wanted to pursue music at a higher level. 

Petruzzi said she grew up singing with her older brother and ultimately got into musical theater, which was initially her minor before making the switch to music. 

This semester, Petruzzi is taking Music 111: Group Lessons in Voice with professor Melissa Martin. 

Petruzzi said the class leads up to a recital at the end of the semester in which the students perform two songs of their choice. Being in Music 111, she added, was reminiscent of her musical theater days in high school. 

Other students, like UNC senior Ryan Ricks, initially had no plans to become a music minor. As a double-major in political science and Hispanic studies, Ricks said she took a lot of courses that could get stressful at times, and she chose to also take music classes to focus on something she enjoys.

Ricks said she is currently taking Music 157: Rap Lab, in which students practice writing 16 bar verses that will culminate into a full rap song at the end of the semester.

"Everybody loves the rap lab class because you get a chance to explore something that a lot of people sometimes feel embarrassed to do in front of other people," Ryan said. "So it's definitely an open environment, and you get to have fun, but in a musically academic way."

Ricks said she encourages her fellow UNC students to take creative classes regardless of their major. She said these courses can provide a vulnerable space where people can connect with people the might not have otherwise.

Junior Laura Bache, a dramatic arts major with a double minor in writing for the screen and stage and musical theater, shared a similar sentiment.

“I think the arts inform the sciences. I think the sciences inform the arts,” she said.

Bache is part of Martin’s studio, which she said she received permission to join despite not being a music major.

A studio is a small cohort of students who study under a professor. Bache said her studio meets weekly to perform for each other and have additional one-on-one sessions with Martin and an accompanist.

Professor Michael Kris, who teaches classes like Music 105: Individual Brass Lessons, Trombone, said he aims to teach his students in a way that is impactful and transferable to other fields. 

Kris said he primarily uses a Socratic method of teaching where he asks students questions to promote collaboration. The process, he said, improves not only their music but their ability to synchronize different aspects of learning. 

As a student in the arts, Bache said she is a big proponent for a well-rounded education that expands on both the analytical and creative sides of thinking.

“I'm just saying that you shouldn't be afraid to let the other side in and let it inspire you and wash over you,” she said.

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