DMACC offers private (Applied) lessons on voice and most band/orchestra instruments every semester; however, lessons are not offered on all campuses. Currently, vocal and all instrumental lessons are offered on the Ankeny Campus; vocal and piano lessons are offered on the Boone Campus; vocal lessons are offered on the Urban Campus. Please see the course schedule for those campuses for further information. DMACC welcomes beginning private (Applied) lesson students as well as those who have studied previously.
Private (Applied) lessons are offered in:
- Voice (MUA 101)
- Piano (MUA 121)
- Guitar (MUA 147 A)
- Woodwinds (MUA 147 B)
- Violin/Viola (MUA 147 C)
- Percussion (MUA 147 D)
- Brass (MUA 147 E)
The registration process for private (Applied) lessons is the same as for all other DMACC courses except that students who want to study more than one of the instruments in MUA 147 must get an add slip from an instructor for the second set of lessons. For example, if a student registers for MUA 147 A, which is the section for guitar players, and wants to also study a woodwind, string, percussion or brass instrument during the same semester, the DMACC system cannot process the second MUA 147 registration until the student gets an add slip signed by the instructor for the second set of lessons. DMACC is working on a solution to this.
Private (Applied) lesson registration is for one elective credit per semester. There is no limit on the number of times a student may register for voice or for a specific instrument; however, only credits from the most recent four semesters may be used when applying for a DMACC degree.
During the Fall and Spring semesters, students get 14 30-minute lessons; during the Summer Term, they get 10 45-minute lessons. In addition to the cost of one DMACC credit, students pay, as a music fee, a portion of the salary the instructor receives. The net cost of private (Applied) music lessons at DMACC is less than the cost of most non-institutional private lessons.
PLEASE NOTE: applied lesson instructors try to contact their students before the first day of classes to set a lesson time. If students have not heard from or have not been able to reply to their instructors, the students must contact their instructors the first day of the semester in person, by e-mail, or by telephone to get their lesson times set.
For further information about private (Applied) lessons please contact Dr. James Thompson, DMACC Music Program Chair by calling him at 515-964-6633, by emailing him at music@dmacc.edu, or by arranging to meet with him on the Ankeny Campus in the Building #6 music area.