MUSC 239 is unlike any other class offered in the music department. There are no prerequisites, you don’t need to know how to read music and you don’t have to be a music major.

All you need is a desire to learn how to make beats.

“We’ve gotten a good mix of students — some experienced beat makers, some classically trained musicians, and lots of hip-hop and electronic dance music fans,” said Mark Katz, a music professor who teaches the course.

To get into the class, students have to write a letter to Katz and Stephen Levitin aka Apple Juice Kid (adjunct professor) explaining their interest in beat making.

The class looks at beat making from the practical, culture, historical and entrepreneurial perspective. Using laptops and the software programs Reason and Audacity, students explore how to make beats, delve into the history of the art form and learn how to make a living in the modern music industry.

The class has showcases and beat battles each semester. Click here to find out when the next event will be.