Department of Music

Private Instrumental and Vocal Study

A vocal instructor works with a student

Lessons are taught either by members of the Brandeis faculty or by members of Boston's large and talented community of professional musicians.

Fees

Lessons at Brandeis cost $700 per semester (for 10 fifty-minute lessons). Non-music majors pay the full fee: $700 per semester; music majors in the Composition & Theory and History & Culture tracks pay $250 per semester. Music majors in the Performance tracks and Leonard Bernstein Fellows do not pay a fee. If you owe a fee, it will be billed to you via your Nelnet student account within a few business days of registration for the course. For more information, contact Katie Ball.

How to Register

Note: Vocalists need to sign up for and successfully complete an audition before beginning the registration process.
  1. Submit a pre-requisite override request for the section you plan to register for: 
  • Vocalists: MUS 112a-1 or MUS 112a-2XC
  • Violinists studying with Andrea Segar: MUS 111a-3 or MUS 111a-$XC
  • Violinists studying with Julia Glenn: MUS 111a-9 or MUS 111a-10XC
  • Violists: MUS 111a-5 or MUS 111a-6XC
  • Cellists: MUS 111a-7 or MUS 111a-8XC
  • All other instruments: MUS 111a-1 or MUS 11a-2XC

2. Once the override request is granted, register for your section. 

3. If auditions are required, audition for a Music Department Ensemble. Audition information can
be found here. Following a successful audition or, if your ensemble does not require an audition, register for the ensemble in Workday. If you have difficulty registering in an ensemble consult the director of instrumental studies, Professor Bob Nieske or director of vocal studies, Professor Robert Duff.

 

Credit

Students must register for lessons in Workday (MUS 111a/b for instrumental lessons; MUS 112a/b for voice lessons). Students are encouraged to register for credit whenever possible. The courses are half-credit courses (one year of study is worth one semester course credit), and they have as a corequisite participation in a university-sponsored ensemble. The ensembles are also half-credit courses.

One semester of private lessons plus the co-requisite ensemble satisfy the Creative Arts requirement for your degree. Since two half-credit courses are required in this instance, you should contact the Registrar directly in order to count lessons/ensemble for Creative Arts credit.