General Information on Private Music Lessons
Private music lessons are intended for students with prior experience.
The School of Music offers the following lessons:
Woodwind: Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet, and Saxophone
String: Cello, Viola, Double Bass, and Violin
Brass: Trumpet, Trombone, Horn, Tuba and Euphonium
Percussion
Voice
Piano
Private music lesson fees are required for individual instruction according to the following scale: $175 for 1-credit courses; $250 for 2-credit, 3-credit, or 4-credit courses. Music fees should be paid at the Bursar’s Office, 103 Shields Building, upon receipt of your bill.
Because private music lessons involve one-on-one instruction, they are inherently more expensive than most university classes. Thus, it is not unusual for institutions to charge an additional fee to assist with the extra costs of one-on-one instruction. This practice of assessing an applied music fee continues at most institutions. At Penn State, the fees are also used to support a variety of performance-related costs such as buying and maintaining pianos for faculty studios and practice rooms, purchasing music stands, providing back-stage assistance at concerts, sponsoring master classes, and printing concert programs and posters among other things.
Non-majors interested in enrolling in private lessons should use the following steps:
- Complete an application for Private Music Lessons. Applications are available on-line or on the bulletin board outside of 234 Music Building I.
- Turn this application in to 233 Music Building I before the last day of class the preceding semester or for new students, during registration.
- Lesson assignments will be posted outside 234 Music Building I, by the end of the first week of classes. Please refer to the bulletin board to obtain the name of your instructor, with whom you should confer immediately to set up a lesson time.
Your acceptance as a private music lesson student is subject to studio availability and School of Music approval. Lessons are departmentally controlled and will be registered by the office.
PLEASE NOTE: Students applying for private VOICE and VIOLIN lessons must audition. An audition sign-up sheet with important information is posted on the door of room 114 Music Building I (VOICE) and 208 Music Building II (VIOLIN), the last two weeks of the previous semester. These auditions are held during the first two days of each fall and spring semester. The list of students accepted for Voice 100J will be posted outside of room 114 Music Building I one day after the conclusion of auditions (third day of classes). The students accepted to Violin lessons will be contacted by email two days after the conclusion of the auditions. A list of students receiving lessons will also be posted on the bulletin board outside of room 234 Music Building I.
Music majors and musical theatre majors qualify for lessons through the audition process required for acceptance into the major. Click here to see audition requirements by instrument.