The Official Blog of Musicians Institute
IN THE KNOW
Sonora LA Retreat Brings Guitarists, Mentors and Andy Wood to Musicians Institute
Musicians Institute recently welcomed the Sonora LA Retreat 2026 to its Hollywood campus, bringing together guitarists, mentors, educators, and special guest Andy Wood for several days centered around playing, learning, and connecting through music. The annual Sonora...
From MI to The Voice: How Dory Lobel Built a Career as a Guitarist and Musical Director
Building a career as a professional musician takes more than being great at your instrument. You need to learn music quickly, adapt to different artists and styles, perform under pressure, build relationships and be ready when the right opportunity arrives. For MI...
Eddie Kramer & Mark Hudson on Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and the Art of Making Great Records
Quick Answer: What makes a great record? According to legendary producer and engineer Eddie Kramer and producer, songwriter and musician Mark Hudson, it comes down to more than technical perfection. Experimentation, performance, collaboration and the willingness to...
Start Your Music Journey This Fall at Musicians Institute
If you’ve been thinking about turning your passion for music into a career, now is the time to take the next step. Fall 2026 classes at Musicians Institute begin October 5, giving aspiring musicians, producers, songwriters, and music industry professionals the...
What Skills Should a Beginner Songwriter Learn First?
Quick Answer: “A beginner songwriter should first learn how to develop a clear song idea, write lyrics and melodies, understand basic song structure, use simple chords and harmony, develop rhythm and phrasing, finish complete songs, and create basic demos....
What Should You Know Before Studying Music Production?
Quick Answer: “Before studying music production, it helps to understand what producers actually do and become comfortable with basic concepts like DAWs, song structure, MIDI, recording, and critical listening. You do not need advanced music theory, expensive...
#TBT
#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)
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
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
A Conversation With: Aaron Mercier of Mercier Guitars
Aaron Mercier is a guitarist for Kings Of Carnage, and a Musicians Institute alumnus who is keeping very busy in many areas of the music industry, both as a performer and a man behind the scenes. On a recent visit back to the MI campus, Aaron spoke to The Mix about...
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
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...
GUEST ARTIST
Mateus Asato & Fredrik Halland Guitar Jam Session
Alumni Mateus Asato and Fredrik Halland come back to MI for a special jam session. Who do you think killed it? Let us know in the comments!