Randy Walker wrote:Do I think mi is better than lama? No, it's a money machine, much why guys like Joe and Ralph jumped to help form lama, thus why LAMA has a program similar to MI's, the guys whom created it ar at LAMA now.
The mi I know of died a few years after I graduated when pat hicks sold the school off
I attended MI from 83 to 84, a few years later the school moved from Hollywood Blvd to its present location, then Pat sold the school and in my opinion AND others like key instructors the school went down hill.
M.I. has always been located on Hollywood Blvd (McCadden Place more precisely), since long before I was there.
I attended maybe 10 years ago now, but from what I gathered then it was MUCH better then in the early 80's. You must have been one of the first PIT students as the program only started in '83 or so.
It was awesome when I went, I had my own practice room, the teachers were (and are) all monsters.
The comment about money is bullshit though, ALL schools are a business, they make money. LAMA, Berklee, MI, etc etc They don't receive grant money like a State University does (which I also went to). Being a private school, they all have to turn a profit.
To me, the price was WELL worth the experience. The immersion is unreal deep.
The class size when I was there was an average of 6 students, only 12 graduated through level 3 - impressively down from over 100+ at the beginning of the program. A 90% drop out rate is not because they school is trying to make money, it's because they push the students VERY hard.
I believe I had between 16-20 classes a week during a given quarter. Not including the live playing requirements. A good 6+ hours of homework to go with the classes. Plus you know, wanting to shed hard on the really fun stuff. Connecting with other students (like recording students) for projects, etc
Though, as I mentioned, anyone wanting to go MI or LAMA should check both out, they both do open houses and so forth. I checked out Berklee, UNT, LAMA and MI and decided on M.I. A lot of it was the location, you're smack in the middle of it all and the facilities are incredible.
rpc - Unfortunately either school (or any of the kind) is going to cost you a lot, figure $30,000+ in tuition and materials all said and done. Additionally, you can't work a job while attending, so you can figure your cost of living in addition to school costs. There are grants, scholarships and student loans you can make use of.
However if you're saying don't even have your own drum set, I would work on that issue first. It really wouldn't be worth the time/money at least until you have spent a great deal of time shedding on a kit, otherwise you'll be just paying for the same stuff you can learn out of books with the guidance of a good private instructor (though at a far accelerated pace).
IMO I would work on getting yourself a drumset (even the mid level ones now are killing for the prices), a good private and see if you can spend an hour a day shedding, or more.
cjbdrm - When I was at MI we had several students who were older, who had saved up and came to the school just out of love of drumming, granted most only did 6 months at a time, but they were there. A fireman, lawyer, etc In addition to people who go and just realize they'd rather be really good at drums, and work a normal job that pays more (consistently).
