Music at Hamilton
Private Lessons
Online registration for Spring 2024 lessons will be open from Thursday, January 4th until Sunday, January 14th @ midnight!
Please plan to bring your instrument to campus with you.
The Music Department offers private instrumental and vocal study with a faculty of distinguished instructors. A student receives either eleven half-hour lessons per semester, which will earn .25 course credit, or eleven hour lessons, which will earn .5 course credit. An additional fee is charged for lessons; students receiving financial aid are eligible for assistance in meeting the cost. Students taking lessons have a variety of performing opportunities, including departmental concerts, featured appearances with choral and instrumental ensembles, and half and full recitals for qualified juniors and seniors. Students may also audit lessons. (See Registering for Private Lessons below).
The Music Department offers a variety of performance opportunities to accommodate student performers at all levels. One of the satisfactions that music can provide is the pleasure of sharing one's musical discoveries and accomplishments with others through public performance. Public performance also facilitates greater understanding of the role of the performer in the musical process.
Courses in performance have as their primary goal the development of musicianship in the classical, jazz, or folk traditions. Their main purpose is to develop the skills appropriate to the instrument, including awareness of what constitutes responsible performance. Performance practice, form and analysis are part of the preparation of any work to be studied. Students will explore music from various style periods, according to their instructor's advice and their own preferences.
The Music Department offers private lessons in the following instruments:
| Flute | Trumpet | Violin | Piano * |
| Oboe | Horn | Viola | Organ |
| Clarinet | Trombone | Cello | Guitar ** |
| Saxophone * | Euphonium | Bass | Percussion * |
| Bassoon | Tuba | Harp | Voice |
* Instruction in classical and jazz styles are available.
** Instruction in classical/fingerstyle, jazz/pop, and folk styles are available.
Courses
Applied Music
Applied Music lessons are appropriate for students at a beginner to intermediate level on the instrument they wish to study. In contrast to Solo Performance, there is no public performance requirement for Applied Music. This course is graded pass/fail, and carries .25 credit for half hour lessons and .5 credit for full hour lessons. An extra charge is billed for all private lessons, though financial assistance is available to students who are on financial aid. Students are encouraged to move to Solo Performance when they are ready, in consultation with their instructor.
For more information see Applied Music.
Solo Performance
Solo Performance gives students at an intermediate or higher level in their private music study the opportunity to develop their artistry and performance skills in their lessons. Solo Performance carries a letter grade and .25 credit for half hour lessons or .5 credit for full hour lessons. Students in Solo Performance must perform a solo on a Weekday Musicale (see below) every semester for which they are registered for this course; they may also audition for the Student Soloists Concert at the end of each semester. An extra charge is billed for all private lessons, though financial assistance is available to students who are on financial aid.
For more information see Solo Performance.
Advanced Solo Performance
Advanced Solo Performance is required for and open only to students at an advanced level on their instruments who are preparing half or full recitals approved by the Music Department. Advanced Solo Performance may also be taken during the semester prior to the one in which the recital is scheduled. This course carries a letter grade and .5 credit for full hour lessons. An extra charge is billed for all private lessons, though financial assistance is available to students who are on financial aid.
For more information see Advanced Solo Performance.
Registration and Fees
Registering for Private Lessons
Private lesson registration (for both new and continuing students) takes place online prior to each semester and is coordinated by Kim Carroll, Academic Office Assistant for Music. Registration info can be viewed below. You will need to provide your class schedule, a placement questionnaire for beginning students, and the contract.
Completed lesson schedules will be sent by email to the student. Lessons will not be scheduled until the student signs the Lesson Contract. Students are responsible for letting the Music Department Office Assistant know of any schedule changes as soon as possible. Once this contract is signed, no refunds will be given. Students in their first semester of study at Hamilton may drop lessons prior to the second scheduled lesson. If they sign and submit to the Music Department Office Assistant a “Drop Contract” form and “Course Drop” prior to the second scheduled lesson, they will only be financially responsible for the first lesson taken rather than the full amount of the signed contract.
Students who wish to audit lessons may do so. The same fee applies, and no credit is awarded.
Fees
A course in Applied Music, Solo Performance, or Advanced Solo Performance entails either eleven half-hour weekly lessons per term, which will earn one-quarter course credit (Mus 125, 225); or eleven one-hour weekly lessons, which will earn one-half course credit (Mus 126, 226, 326). The fee for one semester of half-hour lessons is $330.00; one semester of hour lessons is $660.00. This amount is in addition to regular College fees and tuition, and a separate contract for the lesson fees is completed when the student registers for the course. Financial assistance may be available to those on financial aid.
Students who receive a Music Department Scholarship for private instruction in music will not be billed for eleven half-hour lessons ($330.00). Scholarships are only given to students who are receiving credit for their lessons. Students who break their contract, who drop taking lessons for credit, or who otherwise do not ultimately receive credit for the course will forfeit their scholarship(s) (and any financial aid that had been applied) and will be billed for the total amount of their lesson fees.
Financial Aid and Scholarships for Music Lessons
Students receiving a college scholarship as part of their financial aid package are eligible for assistance in meeting the cost of private music instruction. Please contact the Financial Aid Office prior to enrolling for more information.
The Department encourages music concentrators to study an instrument or voice. Therefore, there is no charge to music concentrators for up to a full hour of eleven lessons ($660.00) taken each term for credit, provided that previous grades for these lessons have been satisfactory. This is made possible, in part, with funds from the Ralph Upson Stone ’80 Memorial Fund.
The Department also can provide lesson scholarships to cover the cost of eleven one-half hour lessons ($330.00) for designated students who participate in ensembles (Choir, Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, or Chamber Ensembles) or who otherwise contribute to the program. The financial aid status of the student is not necessarily a factor in determining who is selected by program directors to receive stipends. For students who do receive financial aid from the College, as described above, the stipend is applied towards the balance of the lesson fee after financial aid has been applied.
These lesson scholarships are available for as many as eighteen students who are members of the Choir, twelve students who are members of the Orchestra, six students who are members of the Jazz Ensemble, six students who are members of chamber ensembles, and six students who participate in the staff pianist program. At the beginning of the semester directors of these programs will identify the students who are to receive these waivers and will also ensure that the students are informed, in writing, that they are to see Kim Carroll to register for the lessons no later than the end of the first week of the term. To receive this benefit, students must enroll for credit, either in an Applied Music or a Solo Performance course. Stipends are not automatically renewed from term to term. If students are nominated by directors for a continued waiver, the Music Department Academic Assistant will first check that the grade awarded for the previous work in lessons is satisfactory. If not, then the stipend will not be granted.
Stipends are only given to students who are taking their lessons for credit. Students who break their contract, drop taking lessons for credit, or otherwise do not ultimately receive credit for the course will forfeit their stipend(s) (and any financial aid that had been applied) and will be billed for the total amount of their lesson fees.
Assignments to Studios
New students who register for lessons for those instruments for which there is more than one teacher (piano, violin, and voice) are asked by the department to complete a questionnaire in which they describe the extent of their previous work on the instrument. Based on this information, and as far as schedules permit, the department will then distribute students evenly among the available instructors.
Returning students in piano, violin, or voice may express a preference for an instructor on the registration form. If this is a change from their previous instructor, then as a matter of courtesy they should speak with both their previous instructor and their preferred new instructor. To the extent that schedules permit, the department will honor the expressed preference for an instructor.