It was a spectacular week of concerts and classes at the UNC Summer Jazz Workshop (MUSC 364)!
Written principally with those who might consider attending the workshop in the future in mind, here are my top four takeaways from the week as a participant in the journalism/jazz history section of the course:
1. There’s nothing quite like live music.
Learning about jazz in a classroom is one thing. Seeing it with all the vigor and spontaneity of a live performance is another. The improvisational character of jazz really comes alive when you can sit for an hour or more and listen to jazz musicians just doing their thing. I’ve always more-or-less liked jazz (even before I became a huge fan of the Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin/Nat King Cole genre of ballads), but I can confidently say to any of you who are not into jazz, that the in-person experience is far more lively than simply pulling up a jazz playlist on Spotify. Give it a try.
2. No musical expertise is required.
Before coming to the workshop, I hadn’t played an instrument with any degree of seriousness in about 7 years. I still can’t read music very well. And yet, I had a blast at the workshop. I particularly want to give a shoutout to Dan Davis – the great drummer and UNC professor, who led our section of the workshop through a basic series of piano lessons – for helping me develop a level of comfort on the piano that I did not think was possible in just a few days’ time.
3. No journalism expertise is required either.
Andy Bechtel did a marvelous job teaching our section of the workshop about some fundamentals of journalism and the tools of the trade in the age of social media. Over the course of the week, we wrote blogs (like the one you’re currently reading), live-tweeted a concert, and learned techniques like how to write a good headline. Whether your interests lay in music or something completely different, increasing one’s understanding of some of the ways in which the media business works could be a very valuable part of this program for you.
4. If you’re a UNC student not studying abroad or doing a major-related internship, you should take MUSC 364.
Just go ahead and do it next summer. You knock out three credit hours, plus the Experiential Education (EE) general education credit (for students who entered UNC prior to 2022-23), in five days of classwork and concerts. You can do this whether a musician or not. It’s one of the best options available at UNC, especially considering the brilliant music and journalism faculty involved.
So, what are you waiting for?