Go Music or Go Home

Eniola Awolesi

For a while now, an intriguing trend has spread at the Faculty of Arts as an increasing number of students from different departments in the faculty have carved a niche of borrowing practical courses from the Department of Music. The trend was and is still so widely spread that it is almost considered taboo for one not to have taken a course from the Department of Music. The last AFAS leadership administration even added it as part of a “bingo” online game template.

Whether from Classics, CLA, English, Linguistics, Religious Studies, you name it, students from various departments opt to pick their elective courses from the Department of Music. And you can be certain that it’s not the allure of melodies that draws them to the course, but the opportunity to get a seamless A.

Aside from their practical courses, music courses are usually known for their complexities in theory, composition, and even performance. Their courses require painstaking demands of understanding musical notation, mastering instruments and knowing the intricacies of music theory. These are not the aspects embraced with enthusiasm, however. What sets this trend apart is the open invitation extended to students from other departments, by the Department of Music, to partake in the practical courses. No sane student will pick any other course in the Music department, except if it’s a practical one or such student is merely interested.

The department offers the visiting students a unique and inclusive opportunity to partake in their musical journey. In fact, they are almost too open-armed in receiving students in the faculty. It could be because the students are ready to buy their way to get an A, and the musical performances need money to run.
The crux of the matter is that, whatever reason the department deems fit to accept non-students in the discipline, the students who are allowed to be participants only find solace in the fact that their involvement in music courses primarily requires attendance at rehearsals and a willingness to lend their voices, whether or not they have good voices. Despite the additional downside of the financial burden of purchasing music sheets and concert costumes, these students are undeterred. They remain motivated by the prospect of earning a coveted ‘A’ in their grades.

This issue has been discussed from two perspectives. A penultimate student of the English department said with a bright smile, “I’ve taken every single music practical course since 100 level, and I’ve had A’s in all of them. Imagine what that has done to my CGPA. Although I love music, I don’t consider myself Beyonce, so it’s nice to partake in the music-making process. And I don’t really mind the amount I have to spend, they should just award me an A, otherwise, ‘I no go gree’.”

The other perspective is not in the same atmosphere of perfection. The dissenting voice is from a student of the host department, Music. She expressed concern about students from other departments infiltrating their space. She contends, “While it’s great that others are interested in music, sometimes it feels like they’re making light of the seriousness of our course. The lack of commitment of some of them hinders the overall quality of our performances, and it’s frustrating because excellence is what we aim for. If it’s anything less than excellent, we face the consequences, they are not the ones facing it. One of my seniors, who was a group leader for one of those courses, once had a C, while her group members, most of whom are not Music students, scaled through with their A’s. It’s just not fair.”

The contrasting opinions just go ahead to show the delicate balance between inclusion and the preservation of standards within the Music department. On the positive side, it opens up avenues for interdisciplinary interaction, although the students have their fixed intentions. On the flip side, concerns are raised about maintaining the integrity associated with a specialized field like music.