<p>I know that most Ivies offer music ensembles as an extracurricular, but will non-majors have enough time to continue music with lessons and participation in an ensemble along with their studies (in particular engineering)? I want to continue growing as a musician but don't really want to major in it.</p>
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<p>Yale has tons and tons of music, of all types, people taking lessons and playing in groups large and small of all levels of seriousness. And not one note is played by music performance majors, who don’t exist. There can’t be more than 10-15 music majors per class, if that many. So all the music getting made is getting made by people majoring in something else. They make the time for it.</p>
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<p>Are most private lessons taught on campus or off?</p>
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<p>You can find out more about this on the Yale website, but I believe that non-majors can get lessons for credit by audition. There are also opportunities for non-credit lessons (I think), and there are people who take lessons off campus in the community.</p>
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<p>Here’s the official lessons info:</p>
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<p>Non-credit lessons are available in 6- or 12-hour per semester units, for $350 or $550 per semester for non-music majors.</p>
<p>I’m sure private lessons can also be arranged, probably for less, but less conveniently, too.</p>
<p>My wife, as an undergraduate (a long time ago), took both violin and harpsichord lessons at the SOM. I did weekly voice lessons for a while with an undergraduate music major who had founded a singing group I was part of, for which I paid a pittance.</p>
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<p>So even if my classes are rigorous, as long as I make time I can continue growing as a musician? Although I probably won’t get any better because I won’t have enough time to practice, but you know what they say, if you don’t use it, you lose it. Thanks for the information you guys! Now getting into Yale is another story altogether… Most Ivy League schools (in particular Penn, Brown, Harvard, and Princeton) offer the same sort of musical opportunities for non majors right?</p>
<p>None of the Ivy League schools have a Music Performance degree (although Princeton has a Certificate program in music performance which you can join in your Junior year, but you still need to have something else as a major). All of the Ivy League schools have extracurricular music ensembles, including orchestra. All of them have a Music Department, which houses liberal arts courses in music theory, history, composition, etc. The liberal arts Music major is not a very popular major at any of these schools. Music as an extracurricular activity, however, is fairly popular. All of these schools offer some arrangement by which you can take music lessons on-campus. The financial arrangements and the credit options vary, and often depend on your performance ability.</p>
<p>All that having been said, Yale is a particularly exciting and satisfying place for musicians. It has a very strong and wide a capella tradition, and the presence of the Graduate School of Music on campus influences undergrad musical life. Whether you in particular would have time to practice depends on you, but many many Yale undergrads do take private lessons for credit or not-for-credit, and spend a lot of time in music performance activities.</p>
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<p>Absolutely. My D is taking a very rigorous course load, she is in a large performance group that meets four hours a week for practice, she is also in a smaller ensemble, and has signed up for private lessons. She was assigned to get lessons from a senior graduate student who is an accomplished musician and performer. She is very much growing as a musician even though she currently has no intention of being a music major. And she is really enjoying the fact that music is a huge part of Yale’s culture. As memake pointed out: Yale is a particularly exciting and satisfying place for musicians. </p>
<p>Just keep in mind: You can’t take private lessons for credit unless you are simultaneously enrolled in a Music theory class. And you are unlikely to get a faculty member as a teacher if you are not a music major.</p>
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