I am currently enrolled in a class that only consists of me and one other student. On the first day of class I was running late and arrived to the class seven minutes late ready to apologize profusely to find my professor about to head back to her office because no one was there. I was convinced they would cancel the class before the add and drop period was over. But on it went and for that I am so thankful.

The class is called "Narrative and Metaphor in Music" and it has been a very rewarding, but demanding class. The syllabus describes the class as a "writing-intensive upper-elective advanced study in music theory surveys the topics of narrative and metaphor, and how they interact with each other when considered in relation to music analysis. The seminar will be interdisciplinary in that readings will be drawn from the writings of music scholars well as from the fields of psychology, cognitive science, linguistics, and philosophy." I haven't found any other way that makes any since to describe the class so there is a little taste of it.

There's the obvious part of the class where you really have to show up, and show up very prepared to discuss the reading from the night before that can be quite lengthy and dry. The flip side to that is being able to be very engaged in deep conversations about the use and meaning of things like time and gesture in music and how they are manipulated. Many days I leave classes feeling like my brain is so full of mush it could pour right out of my head.

We get the opportunity to read very interesting and deep works on the latest ideas that are coming out of this field as well as well as write our own research papers going off of idea the different systems of thought we are discussing in class. The one on one instruction and mentorship that I receive makes all of the hard work to preparation for class well worth it.

This class has allowed me to further explore my identity as a writer, a musician, an intellectual, and a music education advocate. I have written papers on different theories of processing and understanding music and how that relates to communication of music, performance of music, and the teaching of music.

So my advice for you are you think about your course selection for the next semester, take those oddly specific electives. Take the small class. Do not drop the class, even if you are the only one there on the first day of classes, explore it a little, you may find it extremely rewarding in the end.