University teachers/private lessons

[kay-lister]

A friend of mine has been studying privately for about 4 years now.

[kay-lister]

Oh and pay for them ofcourse.

K

[unknown-user]

Yes, but it’s a good idea to check to see if she’s not too busy. At some schools (with

[Sidney Dharmavaram]

Yup.

[Seoid OC]

Surely even if that’s not possible she could have private lessons with another harp teacher separately to college?

[Julietta Anne Rabens]

Each institution has its own policy, so it is necessary to check with the specific school and instructor. There are departments that only allow students to register for private lessons with the primary instrument professors if they are a music major. If this is the case, it might even be possible to take private lessons with the primary harp professor outside the context of registered courses. There might also be other instructors available. There should surely be some way to continue.

[kreig-kitts]

I’d check with both the music program and the teachers. If the music program is large enough to have a graduate school, undergraduate non-majors would often be assigned a graduate student, though the faculty can usually take on some non-major students if they choose. Of course if the teacher knows the student and wants to teach them, the chances of this happening are much better. At Indiana I knew of several voice faculty members who taught non-majors as well, including some of the major ones. Often these students were voice majors who left to do another degree, possibly music theater or something related, and stayed in the studio. I boldly approached a few of them about taking me on as a non-major, and they were gracious and James King let me sing for him and sang a few notes for me while I felt his diaphragm, which was quite interesting since he had such a powerful voice, and even in his 60s at point blank range the sound was almost overwhelming.

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

In the past, University of British Columbia has allowed non-music majors to pay a small fee to have their lessons in the music building, if the teacher has time to fit them in. If there is a shortage of that instrument, sometimes they even get to perform in the symphony orchestra. (There is no shortage of harp majors right now, though.) There are various community orchestras around town as well.

[Katherine Denler]

Though I know this wasn’t the original topic, I do think there are orchestral opportunities for non-majors that could be available depending on the area. Pops orchestras, community groups, youth symphonies without a young harpist — often these groups go under the radar unless they are willing to pay a harpist. Usually that’s not in the budget so they don’t program music with harp, or they just go without. It’s unfortunate, because it is such great experience for a younger player.

At least in my experience at two larger schools, a student continuing on harp could be accepted to the major studio – especially if they are willing to do a minor in music (which may not be too many classes). Or be taught by the graduate assistant, registered in a minor course.

[Sarah Mullen]

At Oberlin you couldn’t even take harp lessons with the teacher if you were a college music major.

[kreig-kitts]

To echo Sarah’s comments, an advantage of a school without a well-known conservatory is that non-majors get more access to instructors and ensembles. Even schools without a music major at all usually have

[kay-lister]

I BELIEVE she might be going to University of Texas at Austin.

[tony-morosco]

All these replies are very interesting.

Can’t she take lessons with the instructors outside of the college? My teacher taught at both SUNY Purchase and at the Music Conservatory of Westchester. But I took lessons from her privately in her home.

It might be convenient to take lessons on campus, but most professors tend to live near the campus. If they do then taking lessons off campus might be an option.

[HBrock25]

I guess that a good harp lessons from the university or from private people or person can help you out big time. I just hope that things would work out well as you would be able to really show off the skills there.

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