Private Lessons

Undergrad Overview

Music Composition, Guitar Performance, Voice Performance, and Piano Performance students in the bachelor’s degree programs complete nine levels of private lessons. Each level of private lessons is 12 weeks in duration and involves a weekly, one-hour, live webcam session with a faculty member of your choosing.

Private lesson instructors will share their practical knowledge, demonstrate exemplary technique, and coach you through lesson material at a pace individually tailored to your needs.

When course registration opens for the semester, you will be able to register for the appropriate private lesson course level, and then select a day, time, and instructor. Students will earn two credits for the successful completion of each level of private lessons, for a total of 18 credits.

Undergrad Lesson Placement

Guitar Performance and Piano Performance major students should begin their program with the level 1 private lesson. During the first week of the semester, your guitar or piano private lesson instructor will assess your proficiency and determine if you should be placed in a different level. If you have completed undergraduate-level private instruction at a regionally accredited institution, you may be eligible to receive transfer credit for the levels you place out of. If you do not have credit-bearing private instruction in your major discipline or your coursework does not meet the necessary criteria for transfer, you will be awarded prior learning credit for the levels you place out of. There is a $75 fee per credit ($150 per lesson level) awarded.

Students in the Voice Performance and Music Composition majors will not be allowed to skip any private lessons. Students who have completed private lessons on campus through Berklee College of Music will be awarded transfer credit for any levels successfully completed prior to acceptance into their BA program.

Music Composition Reading Sessions

During the first five levels of Music Composition Private Lessons, students will work one-on-one with their instructor on specific compositions, all while preparing to have them performed as part of a live reading session with one or more professional musicians over Zoom. Facilitated via a partnership with Musiversal, the focus of this session is to hear these compositions played live with an opportunity to receive feedback directly from the performer(s).

You will need to share your first name, last name, and email address with Musiversal to help schedule and run these sessions. Musiversal will communicate directly with you via email to confirm your scheduled session and send you the appropriate links to run your session. Once your session is complete, Musiversal will then send you your audio and video recordings via email. More details about these reading sessions, including deadlines and assignments, will be provided within each Music Composition Private Lesson class.

Undergrad Tuition and Fees

Tuition for private lessons follows the same per-credit cost of a Berklee Online course (note that private lessons are two credits instead of three credits). In addition, there is a fee of $500 per semester for each of the nine levels of private lessons to cover the cost of one-on-one instruction.

Master of Music in Film Scoring Overview

Students in the Master of Music in Film Scoring graduate program complete two levels of private lessons. Each level of private lessons is 12 weeks in duration and involves a weekly, one-hour, live webcam session with a faculty member of your choosing. The lessons provide the opportunity to expand your film scoring vocabulary, improve techniques, gain valuable insight into your own strengths and areas of development, and guide you through the process of completing your final project as part of your Culminating Experience.

Private lesson instructors will share their practical knowledge, demonstrate exemplary composing and playing, and coach you through the completion of your Culminating Experience proposal and project at a pace individually tailored to your needs. When course registration opens for the semester, you will be able to register for the appropriate private lesson course level, and then select a day, time, and instructor. Students in the film scoring master’s degree program will earn three credits for the successful completion of each level of private lessons, for a total of six credits.

Master of Arts in Songwriting Overview

Students in the Master of Arts in Songwriting graduate program complete two levels of private lessons. Each level of private lessons is 12 weeks in duration and involves a weekly, one-hour, live webcam session with a faculty member of your choosing. The lessons provide the opportunity to expand your songwriting vocabulary, improve techniques, gain valuable insight into your own strengths and areas of development, and guide you through the process of completing your final project as part of your Culminating Experience.

Private lesson instructors will share their practical knowledge, demonstrate exemplary songwriting, and coach you through the completion of your Culminating Experience proposal and project at a pace individually tailored to your needs. When course registration opens for the semester, you will be able to register for the appropriate private lesson course level, and then select a day, time, and instructor. Students in the songwriting master’s degree program will earn three credits for the successful completion of each level of private lessons, for a total of six credits.

Graduate Tuition and Fees

Tuition for private lessons follows the same per-credit cost of a Berklee Online course. In addition, there is a fee of $500 per semester for each of the two levels of a Culminating Experience to cover the cost of one-on-one instruction.