Unlike most music schools, or the music programs at major colleges, the Musicians Institute - College of Contemporary Music gives its students a concentration in something that most schools just can't do. That thing is contemporary music, every day, all the time. There are no elective classes on other subjects, and there are no history classes going back to the days of baroque or Renaissance music. If you're a student at the Musicians Institute, you're going to learn from teachers and professionals who have worked and performed in the modern world of music.
The Musicians Institute takes students of all levels, whether you're a beginning student with little practice time or a student who has played often, and turns them into a first-class musician. Of course students have to put a lot of time in, and that time is put into working in private sessions, group sessions, class time and real live performances. If they put in the time, students will find themselves able to compete with musicians and technicians of all levels across the world.
The school's history began with the Guitar Institute of Technology in 1977 founded by a man named Pat Hicks, who provided the funding. Back then the concentration was only on guitar music and guitarists. Eventually it grew into the Musicians Institute when Hicks and cofounder Howard Roberts decided to expand it into a full services school after they'd created the Bass Institute of Technology in 1978 and the Percussion Institute of Technology in 1980. By expanding the vision of the school into all things music, they were able to add things such as engineering, songwriting, and sound technology, and attract students from around the world. Being located in Hollywood didn't hurt.
Today the facility has a 60,000 sq. ft. main building as well as several other supporting facilities. That includes a concert hall with a 900 sq. ft. stage that seats 500 people and two 1000 sq. ft. live performance rooms that can be used for both performance and training. You never know when a room could contain 40 to 50 guitarists or drummers playing at the same time, the same song, trying to keep the same beat during an instructional period.
There are also multiple studios with small spaces for musicians to play while other students are learning the technology of mixing and recording music in multi-channel analog systems and digital and surround sound systems. Students are also taught how to use the latest computer technology as it applies to mixing sound, including how to match up sound to film and television productions.
The Musicians Institute is located in the perfect place to have guest professional musicians, some of them well-known names, stop by to give clinics to the students as to both musical techniques and the business of music in general. Some of them are alumni of the school, while others have worked with some of the biggest names in music. By going to this school, you will definitely learn if you have what it takes to become a professional musician.