Study Heavy Metal at a Dutch University
Heavy metal fans will now have the opportunity to study their favorite genre at the highest level thanks to a Dutch university.
Introducing Metal Factory
Summa College in Eindhoven has opened a new department called “Metal Factory,” where students are taught to “master the art of growling” through singing lessons, as well as playing guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards for a metal audience (via 7 Australian News).
The news outlet reports that “according to instructors, the key to an effective heavy metal growl is simple: ‘You start with a sigh or groan and use your vocal cords to gradually build it into a primal scream.’
According to a post on Official website of the Metal Plant, the curriculum “will teach you how to become an independent artist/entrepreneur in the music industry.”
It goes on to say that career opportunities after completing the degree include composing, producing, and “teaching and coaching.”
He adds: “We also have graduates who have gone on to study copyright, management, music therapy, or speech therapy. Metal Factory offers anyone who wants to make music professionally a broad foundation for the future.”
They also describe how many of their mentors have “traveled all over the world.” He continues: “All of our teachers are active in the music industry, on stage and behind the scenes,” says The Metal Factory. “We try to keep our education current and relevant to today’s industry. We believe it is important that our faculty reflect this philosophy. Many of our teachers have traveled the world and are therefore able to share realistic experiences and knowledge with our students.”
Watch the video report about the course here:
@7newsaustralia Students in the Netherlands can now earn a degree in heavy metal and master the art of growling. Would you subscribe? #heavy metal #screamo #heavymetalmusic #music #university #study #news #7NEWS
All potential students interested in studying on the course can attend the open day at Dynamo Eindhoven on 26 January. Find out more here.
Other Unique University Courses
Back in 2023, the opportunity to study Taylor Swift at university became available as the musician became the topic of a new course in Arizona.
- READ MORE: Taylor Swift re-recordings: everything we know about upcoming albums
The course, titled “The Psychology of Taylor Swift – Advanced Topics in Social Psychology,” explores what psychologists can learn from her career.
Posted by graduate student Alexandra Wormley, who teaches the course. Arizona State University news site at the time: “The course basically uses Taylor Swift as a semester-long example of various phenomena—gossip, relationships, revenge,” emphasizing that “the course is not a seminar on how much we like or dislike her.” “We want to be able to study psychology.”
She added that they would connect themes from Swift’s various albums with psychology, citing 2017’s “Reputation” as an example.
“Taylor’s sixth album, Reputation, marks her return after disappearing from the spotlight due to conflicts with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. “She’s getting back at them – and the wider media – by releasing a wildly successful album along with a stadium tour,” she said.
“Students know this, but do they know why we like revenge? Do they know how we take revenge? Social psychology can tell us this.”
Previously, Stanford University had announced a university course analyzing Swift’s “All Too Well (10-Minute Version),” and another at Berkeley was examining the pop star’s business success.
Last November, Yale University launched a course dedicated to Beyoncé. Titled Beyoncé Makes History: The History of Black Radical Traditions, Culture, Theory and Politics through Music, it examines Beyoncé’s work, from her 2013 self-titled album to 2024’s Cowboy Carter, as a lens through which to examine black history, intellectual thinking, and activism.
Students will have the opportunity to participate in screenings of the Drunk In Love singer’s visual albums, discussions of various scholars’ writings on her, compilation of playlists linking her discography to her musical predecessors, and much more.
Speaking to Yale Daily News, Daphne Brooks, professor of African American studies and music, emphasized that the recent US election represents an excellent opportunity to recognize and examine Beyoncé’s contributions to American culture.
“The amount of breakthroughs and innovations she’s made, and the way she interweaves history and politics, and really nuanced engagement with black cultural life in her performance aesthetic and using her voice as a portal for thinking about history and politics—there’s simply no one better than her,” she said.
Other artists who have received university treatment include Kanye West, who attended Montreal’s Concordia University in 2022. Kanye vs Ye: Genius by Design course looked at the rapper’s career, from his time as a producer in Chicago to his rise to fame with albums like College Dropout and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
In 2023, Stanford University also offered an online course on the music and culture of The Grateful Dead.
https://www.nme.com/news/music/you-can-now-study-a-university-degree-in-heavy-metal-3830513?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=you-can-now-study-a-university-degree-in-heavy-metal
