Minor in Music: Jazz

Course Overview

The newly revised minor in jazz combines applied study, core musicianship coursework, jazz theory, improvisation, and flexible jazz/commercial electives. You will study sight singing and ear training, music theory, and music history while building specific skills in jazz harmony, stylistic interpretation, and contemporary commercial idioms. Required jazz improvisation and piano lab courses help you internalize chord scale relationships, comping patterns, and rhythm section interaction that are essential for modern performance settings. You will also participate in jazz ensembles and choose electives from areas such as arranging, composition, and commercial music topics, allowing you to customize the minor around your primary instrument and professional goals.

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What You’ll Learn

Develop foundational skills in jazz and commercial music performance, including swing feel, groove, stylistic phrasing, and ensemble interaction in small and large groups. Strengthen your theoretical understanding of harmony, form, and chord scale relationships through music theory and jazz specific theory courses. Build practical improvisation skills in required Jazz Improvisation courses, learning to construct solos, navigate chord progressions, and respond creatively in live performance contexts. Improve keyboard fluency and rhythm section awareness through jazz piano lab, focusing on voicings, comping patterns, and harmonic support for soloists and vocalists. Enhance your ear training, transcription skills, and aural recognition of harmonic progressions, grooves, and stylistic nuances common to jazz and commercial genres. Explore elective topics such as arranging, composition, ensemble literature, or other jazz/commercial music offerings that align with your interests in performance, writing, or studio work.

What Majors Pair with This Minor

Because it emphasizes improvisation, stylistic versatility, and practical performance skills, the Jazz and Commercial Music minor pairs well with a range of music and non music degrees. It is especially useful for students who anticipate performing, teaching, or working in contemporary, commercial, or crossover settings.

Common pairings include:

• Music Education, for future teachers who plan to direct jazz ensembles, show choirs, or contemporary bands and want deeper experience with improvisation and rhythm section writing.
• Music Media Production or Music Industry related majors, where skills in commercial styles, rhythm section writing, and improvisation support studio recording, songwriting, and production work.
• Theatre or Musical Theatre, for performers who frequently work in jazz influenced, cabaret, or commercial musical settings and benefit from stronger improvisational and ensemble skills.
• Majors in fields such as Communication, Marketing, or Business, for students interested in arts entrepreneurship, live event production, or working with venues and organizations that feature jazz and commercial music.