Two Sides of Music at Oberlin

As I touched on briefly in my last blog, I wanted to dedicate this entire blog to one question; how to get involved in the music scene on campus without being a conservatory student. I plan on discussing both my own involvement in music as well as my friend Aila’s experiences. 

Firstly, one of the easiest ways to get involved in music, and my personal favorite way, is to simply attend concerts. Just last week I attended a jazz performance at the Cat in the Cream and next Sunday I am planning to attend another. We have over 500 concerts a year at Oberlin, which means that on any given night you are bound to find something musical happening on campus. Better yet, most tickets are free or reduced pricing for students!

Another way that I got involved was through secondary lessons. These are lessons that you can take through the conservatory with a student teacher. Although I have very little (and also very poor) piano skills, I found this to be a great option for getting involved in the conservatory as well as learning an instrument from an upper-level student. 

Now that I’ve talked about the ways that a non-musician like me has gotten involved, I’ll start talking about Aila. For reference, Aila is also a second-year student like me, and is excellent at playing the clarinet and piano among other things. Although she is not a conservatory student, she is still heavily involved in the conservatory and music scene at Oberlin (more so than I originally thought was possible)!

Here are a few ways she is involved: 

Arts and Sciences Chamber Collective

This is a two-credit class for non-conservatory students interested in playing chamber music. While any instrument is welcome, you do have to audition for it. Aila says, “I like this because it is the main opportunity I have as a non-conservatory student to play classical music with other people. Also, the Verona Quartet runs it, so there is a lot to learn from them about playing chamber music.”

Secondary Lessons

Like me, Aila has taken advantage of the secondary lessons offered at Oberlin, which you can take for virtually any instrument. While I took lessons primarily for fun, as a more serious musician Aila likes the personalized one-on-one support to improve her playing and get feedback on pieces for her classes and individual repertoire. She also mentioned something I completely agree with, that by taking classes from a conservatory student you can meet a lot of people in the conservatory, which is always fun. 

Beginning Improvisation 

Another two-credit class with a focus on learning jazz improvisation for beginners. Aila had some jazz background but still found this class really insightful. She says that “The class is taught in an intuitive way and super welcoming to classical and non-jazz musicians. Also the class had such a wonderful vibe-- it was small and we got to know each other well." Although I didn't take the class with Aila, I can confirm that small classes with excellent vibes are definitely the norm at Oberlin.

Internalizing Rhythms

This two-credit class allows students to become comfortable with the rhythmic language of music. No matter what your musical background is, Aila highly recommends taking this class, as a thorough understanding of rhythm is important in any instrument and musical interest. 

Performance and Improvisation Ensembles

Yet another two-credit class. Aila summarized this class as being a “fun opportunity to play jazz and jazz-adjacent music with jazz and classical majors and Arts and Sciences students all together.” The class also invites guest experts in for masterclasses, which is a special touch. In this class not only are you able to play and practice with conservatory students, but you can also learn from them and likely become friends with some of them! 

TIMARA (Technology in Music and Related Arts) Classes

TIMARA is a super cool musical department at Oberlin, and one that is pretty hard to find at other institutions. Aila took a class called Electroacoustic Performance and Interpretation and absolutely loved it. I also had fun helping Aila on some of her assignments, one of which involved me slamming various doors into a microphone for her! To quote Aila, “I was constantly impressed by the work my peers produced. The class was a mix of learning the history of electronics in music, composing pieces for instrument and tech, and performing.”

Overall, while both Aila and I have very different involvement in music at Oberlin, one thing is for sure: we both love music, and it is one of the primary reasons for us choosing Oberlin in the first place. There are so many ways to get involved, and no matter what your specific musical interests are, whether you like to listen to it like me or play an instrument like Aila, I hope these ideas help you imagine what it could be like for you to get involved with the music scene here at Oberlin.