Private Lessons
Private music lessons are available to both music majors and non-majors, with varying levels of requirements to fit students' individual situations.
Expectations
Students taking private lessons must attend lessons responsibly and punctually, purchase and learn the assigned music, practice as directed, perform in recitals (if required), listen to recordings, attend a specified number of concerts and/or recitals on or off campus, and perform before a faculty jury (if required).
One must attend at least twelve lessons to pass the course. The lessons are given weekly, and are available in increments of a half hour a week (one credit/semester) or an hour a week (two credits/semester).
Practicing
You will succeed in your private lessons only if you practice habitually. For one-credit (i.e., half-hour weekly) lessons you must practice at least one hour a day, five days a week. For two-credit (i.e., hour weekly) lessons you must practice at least two hours a day, five days a week.
Learning Music
Private instructors teach students how to play or sing—how to interpret and communicate through music. While they may make suggestions as to how to go about reading and learning music, it is not their function to teach the student the notes (or words) of a given piece. As a music student, you are responsible to do whatever it takes to learn the assigned music in the given amount of time—just as you are expected to turn in assignments by the due date in your other classes. The teacher's work really begins when you have the notes (and words) learned.
