Studio classes

November 22, 2025, 11:04 AM · My teacher does studio classes only for the younger children. When the kids are ready to join the music school's chamber orchestra then they are no longer required to attend the weekly studio class. We're talking about a Suzuki class here, where all the kids play the same pieces together as a group, along with some arrangements that the teacher wrote of other things.

Studio class in college is more like performing a piece for the other members of the studio and receiving feedback. Once every few weeks my teacher will have a child who has volunteered to perform a piece for the group (again these are small children) and receive feedback. ("Only positive comments.")

November 22, 2025, 11:42 AM · Studio lessons at a college, university, or conservatory are somewhat different from private lessons. They are also a class, which means that they receive credit, are graded, and must have a final test. That final test is the "jury" (hate that word) which combines the stress of an audition with the stress of a final exam, during the super busy and stressful last two weeks of the term. There can be a requirement for a spot on a student recital, with an audience, during the term. Then there is a senior recital requirement for the performance major. Studio lessons are naturally intended for music performance majors. Open enrollment is unusual. My school was one of the last campuses in my state public system that had open enrollment for studio lessons, until some accountant decided that they were too expensive. The pay per unit for those part-time studio lecturers was 1/2 that of regular faculty.
Some schools will have beginner level classes (not individual studio lessons) for instruments. Those are valuable for music ed. majors, conductors, composers, and someone wanting to add another instrument to there toolbox, like piano, voice..
One disadvantage of the system is that if the student has some major technical problem, ergonomics, bowing, etc., the teacher does not have the option of stopping their regular playing schedule, to focus on a multi-month renovation. The student has to learn and perform a new piece every term.
I made my most rapid technical progress when I dropped out of my university music performance major for two years, got a different teacher, and only did lessons, practice and music jobs.