The Mix

The Official Blog of Musicians Institute

IN THE KNOW

Best Venues to Try to Book Your Band in LA

Best Venues to Try to Book Your Band in LA

Los Angeles gives bands a huge range of places to play, but that also makes it easy to aim in the wrong direction. A lot of artists waste time pitching rooms that do not fit their sound, their current draw, or their stage of growth. The best venue for your band is not...

Best Methods for Practicing Your Sight Reading

Best Methods for Practicing Your Sight Reading

Sight reading can feel frustrating because it exposes everything at once. Your rhythm, note recognition, timing, coordination, and focus all get tested in real time. When it does not go well, many musicians assume they just are not naturally good at it. In reality,...

Interpolation vs. Sampling, Public Domain Explained

Interpolation vs. Sampling, Public Domain Explained

If you make music today, you have probably heard producers throw around terms like sampling, interpolation, clearance, and public domain as if they all mean roughly the same thing. They do not. And if you are writing, producing, remixing, or building tracks from older...

What Should I Look for in a Drum School? Key Things to Compare

What Should I Look for in a Drum School? Key Things to Compare

Choosing a drum school can feel simple at first. You want strong teachers, good facilities, and a program that helps you improve. But once you start comparing schools, it gets harder to know what actually matters. One school talks about world-class faculty. Another...

THROUGH THE LENS

Through The Lens is our weekly series where we highlight current students and faculty, capture them on campus and ask them about their inspirations, advice and beyond.

#TBT

#TBT: Jeff Porcaro of Toto

#TBT: Jeff Porcaro of Toto

For this weeks #TBT post, we bright back this gem from the Musicians Institute vault, a special clinic from Jeff Porcaro, one of the most revered drummers in modern music. MI is lucky to have this footage, as his life was tragically cut short when he was only 38 years...

#TBT Michael Ruff Visits MI ( With Sheryl Crow as Back-up Singer)

#TBT Michael Ruff Visits MI ( With Sheryl Crow as Back-up Singer)

A while back, we shared this pretty sweet find from the MI vault: a performance by Michael Ruff, with a very young Sheryl Crow singing backup! Ruff is a multiple Grammy Award nominated songwriter and producer, who has released many solo albums. He has written, toured...

#TBT Jaco Pastorius

#TBT Jaco Pastorius

Jaco Pastorius is widely considered one of the most influential bassists of all time, so to celebrate our first #TBT post, here are some Jaco performances that’ll inspire you to get you back into the practice room real quick! Opening for Joni Mitchell. Weather Report...

PROFILES

Panelist Spotlight: Adam Blackstone

Panelist Spotlight: Adam Blackstone

Musicians Institute is proud to bring some of the best working musicians onto our campus to inspire our students and give them insight into what a career in the music industry holds. With this new series on our blog, we will start to highlight upcoming clinicians or...

The Life And Career Of MI’s Own: Francis Buckley

The Life And Career Of MI’s Own: Francis Buckley

Grammy Award®-winning record engineer Francis Buckley’s broad range of experience has seen him occupy the studio seat for breakout bands, established chart-toppers and Hollywood films. Buckley started out working at W.E. Studios in Redondo Beach in 1979. He then went...

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