Music Lessons for Non-Majors

What you get

Any Porter student can take private lessons for credit through MUS 1700 Applied Lessons. The standard non-major option is 1 credit: twelve 30-minute lessons per term, scheduled weekly with your teacher at a time you agree on. Music minors and students preparing for a scholarship audition can take the 2-credit, 45-minute option. Lessons are repeatable, and students have taken eight terms of cello alongside a mechanical engineering degree.

Last year 112 students took applied lessons. 71 of them were not music majors or minors. Voice, piano and guitar were the most requested, in that order. Some non-majors come back to an instrument they quit at fifteen, some start one they always wanted, and a few want help with something specific: an audition for the spring musical, a wedding they have agreed to sing at, or a bass part they keep getting lost in. Teachers build the term around your goal, not a fixed syllabus.

What it costs

The fee pays the teacher and is charged in addition to tuition for the credits. Students between 12 and 18 credits pay no extra tuition for the lesson credit; see tuition and what it includes. Students receiving the Ensemble Music Scholarship have the standard fee waived. If the fee is a barrier, the department has a small fund that has covered every request so far. Ask, and nobody will ask you why.

Teachers and instruments

Cello, harp and other instruments are available when enough students ask. Last fall that was four cellists. Beginners are welcome on every instrument except, practically speaking, the organ, because Porter does not own one.

How to enroll

1. Submit the applied lessons request in MyPorter by December 1 for spring 2027 (August 25 for fall).
2. Studio places are limited. They go first to music majors and minors, then to members of an ensemble, then to everyone else by lottery. Joining an ensemble is not required, but it really does help.
3. You will get a permission number to register for MUS 1700 and a teacher assignment before the term starts.
4. Your first lesson is in the first week of term. Lessons cancelled by the teacher are made up. Lessons you miss without 24 hours’ notice are not.

Non-majors are graded on preparation and progress, not on a jury. You can play in the end-of-term studio class if you like, and most people do after the first time. If you are starting from zero and want something gentler first, try MUS 1500 Class Piano or MUS 1010 Music Fundamentals.

Practice rooms

Lesson students get card access to the practice rooms on the Applied Arts third floor from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week, and priority booking up to a week ahead. There are 18 rooms: twelve with uprights, four with grands and two with percussion setups. Room 312 has a recording setup. Your Porter Card is activated for the floor within two business days of registering. Students who want to keep playing after lessons can take a placement hearing for an ensemble. The arts season has concerts to hear what that sounds like.