Applied Studies Courses: Private Study
The general aim of private instruction is thorough development in all phases of technique, style, musicianship, interpretation, and repertoire.
Performance majors pursuing Private Applied Study in the Conservatory normally register for lessons each semester in residence. Transfer students are assigned to a Private Applied Study course sequence based on an audition at the time of entering the Conservatory. Students must complete all the Private Applied Study courses in a sequence as defined by their major.
Principal Private Applied Study is available in Composition and TIMARA as well as in the following performance areas: piano, voice, organ, strings (violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp, guitar), woodwinds (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon), brass (trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba), percussion, early instruments (harpsichord, fortepiano, Baroque violin, Baroque cello, viola da gamba, Baroque flute, recorder, Baroque oboe), and jazz performance (bass, drums, guitar, piano, saxophone, trombone, trumpet).
Secondary Private Applied Study is offered in all the above areas. For a list of faculty who teach private applied study, please see the specific department in the section describing undergraduate Conservatory degree programs.
Assignments to private study instructors are made by the Office of the Associate Dean in the Conservatory, and students usually remain with the same instructor throughout the course of study. Students may not study with teachers not contracted by Oberlin College. A student assigned to Private Study must contact the instructor before the close of the first week of the semester or forfeit their spot on the instructor’s schedule.
Conservatory students are permitted to take either one Principal Private Study and one Secondary Private Study or two Secondary Private Studies without payment of additional tuition; Arts and Sciences students are permitted to take one Secondary Private Study without payment of additional tuition unless the Private Study increases the student’s registered credits past the semester limit (see “Tuition” in the “Expenses” section at the beginning of this catalog.) Conservatory double majors may enroll in both major areas for Principal Private Study with permission from the Office of the Associate Dean. College of Arts and Sciences students should contact the Conservatory of Music Dean’s Office for further information on Private Study.
Principal Private Study: 6 or 8 Credits
These courses may be repeated for credit.
Sixty minutes of private instruction each week. Students majoring in Performance must take Principal Private Study for eight semesters; students majoring in Musicology must take Principal Private Study for four semesters.
Performance majors must take a minimum of six credits of principal applied study each semester.
Principal Private Applied Study may be elected for eight credits with the permission of the applied instructor and with the consent of the Associate Dean for Advising and Retention. Normally, a student elects additional hours of private study during semesters in which additional student preparation time is required for events such as recitals, outside performances, competitions, or auditions. The additional credit hours do not imply additional private instruction time.
Secondary Private Study: 2 Credits
Thirty minutes of private instruction each week, for two credits per semester. Secondary Private Study is required for many Conservatory majors. Students with a Secondary Private Study requirement may audition for full or partial waiver of this requirement before the appropriate department when the Secondary Private Study auditions are heard.
Secondary Private Study Auditions
Students wishing to take a Secondary Private Study in Performance must demonstrate performance proficiency by auditioning before a committee of the applied study department concerned. Auditions are typically held during the first week of classes each semester. Audition requirements vary by department, and specific guidelines are posted on the Conservatory Student Academic Affairs’ page. The Secondary Lessons Application is available through OberView. Secondary Lessons’ placements are communicated prior to registration deadlines at the beginning of the semester. Whether the Secondary Private Study is required or elected, students may continue such study for as many semesters as they choose and teachers are available; however, students who receive an unsatisfactory grade (C+ or below) normally forfeit their place on a teacher’s schedule and are required to re-audition if they wish to be considered for subsequent placement on a teaching schedule; under extenuating circumstances, a student who has received an unsatisfactory grade may be granted a one-semester probationary period by the faculty member giving or supervising the instruction, in consultation with the Associate Dean in the Conservatory. Students who, of their own volition, discontinue Secondary Private Study for one or more semesters are not guaranteed a future place on a teacher’s schedule; students who discontinue Secondary Private Study in Piano for more than one semester are required to re-audition.
Assignment to Teaching Schedules
Because all students approved for Secondary Private Study cannot be assigned to faculty schedules, many students are assigned to study with advanced students under the Supervised Student Teaching program (described earlier in this catalog).
