By Blake Deshazo | The Selma Times-Journal
Students that go to Concordia College Alabama will now have the chance to study music.

The school announced Thursday the addition of an associate of arts degree with a music concentration, the school’s eighth new program in the last two years.

“I think it is important that students understand what music really is and what it takes to make music,” said Steven Johnson, the schools band director and music instructor. “It takes some studying, some practicing and digging into.”

Johnson, who has been a musician since he was in the second grade, said it is important to teach students music because of how it touches people and affects culture.

“Music is the universal language. I don’t care if you are on planet Mars, an F sharp is an F sharp,” Johnson laughed.

“I think only a select sample of the population knows anything about what really makes music … so I think that we have to keep pressing that tradition and passing it down.”

Johnson said the program, which requires 44 hours of general studies and 18 hours of music concentrated courses, will start in January.

“What this program is going to do is attract music students who are interested in having some type of legitimate credentials in music,” Johnson said.

“With music, there a whole lot of different careers that you can be a part of even if you are not a musician, so it is going to attract music students.”

Some of the courses students will be required to take are music theory I and II and musical composition.

“That is digging into the fundamentals and the foundational elements of music,” Johnson said. “How chords are constructed and how they follow each other, how melodies are comprised … rhythms and beats, measures and meters.”

Johnson said with the addition of the degree, it should increase enrollment numbers in the music program.

“It’s big for Concordia, and it is big for the Selma area,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he is already telling potential students about the program and can’t wait for the program to start at the first of the year.

The school is also looking to add a bachelor or liberal arts degree.