Grambling State University's new program aims to prep students for music industry work

Grambling State University is expanding a degree program that will prepare students to enter into the music industry.

The university will soon offer a bachelor's in music with a concentration in commercial music with an emphasis in sound recording technology. The new program will give students the analytical and professional skills necessary for careers in music production, such as music producers, recording, mixing, mastering or live sound engineers.

Dr. Nikole Roebuck, the university's music department chair, said she began working on a new degree option in 2021 after noticing a demand from students who were interested in making beats rather than solely performing instruments.

"The program itself was developed for us to continue to grow our department's curriculum and get more students interested in majoring in music," Roebuck said. "I majored in music education and students now, they'll come up and say, 'Hey I want to major in music' and the first thing you ask them is, 'What instrument do you play?' and they'll say, 'Oh no. I make beats.' I kept getting that semester after semester and I'm like, 'Hey, we're missing out on students who could possibly be music majors,' and all of them wanted that studio experience."

Beat making is a form of music production that almost entirely uses digital tools to create a final piece of music. Rather than relying on live instrumentalists and vocalists, beatmakers will turn to samples, hardware and software to create their music. It is prevalent in several genres of music, including hip-hop, electronic and R&B.

Roebuck said she wrote a proposal for and eventually obtained Title III funds for the new program, which was approved in December 2022 by the National Association of Schools of Music, following approval by the university.

Title III funding provides to historically Black colleges and universities to establish or strengthen their physical plants, financial management, academic resources, and endowment-building capacity.

Roebuck said there is a goal to obtain a sound recording technology coordinator for the program and start offering classes in August.

Platinum-selling rap artist Earl Stevens, who is known professionally as E-40, initially reached out to Roebuck in hopes of collaborating with the band. However, after reminiscing with Roebuck about his time as a student at GSU and wishing he would had learned more about music production before becoming an artist, Stevens offered assistance in building the new program.

"He said, 'You know what? I want to do something special for Grambling State University and I want my contribution to be meaningful," Roebuck said. "That's when he said, 'I would like to help in developing the studio for the program'."

The funds from Stevens will benefit the music department, as well as the upkeep of the newly installed recording studio, which has been named in his honor. Roebuck said Stevens' funding will supplement what the program will not get from the Title II grant, such as soundproof panels and mixing boards.

Roebuck said she is excited about the new things that are happening in the GSU Department of Music, which she says has more to offer than the World-Famed Tiger Marching Band and choir. Roebuck said with the new program, she's hoping that the department is exposing students with musical interests to be more engaged in different facets of music.

Follow Ian Robinson on Twitter @_irobinsonand on Facebook athttps://bit.ly/3vln0w1.

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This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Grambling expands music program with studio technology concentration