Can you go directly to Now Playing and disable the miniplayer?

Can you go directly to Now Playing and disable the miniplayer in the new Music app? It is a terrible UX to have to tap the 'miniplayer' after tapping a song while playing music. Most of my friends didn't even realize you could do it. When I asked them how they skipped songs they said they'd lock their device and do it from the lock screen or while in the Music app swipe up from the bottom and use the controls in Control Centre. I do not understand the logic in this UI/UX choice at all. Essentially it feels like Apple made the typical music controls (fast forward and rewind, shuffle and repeat) hidden. Frustrating for sure.

Thanks
Steve