US SCHOOL OF COMMERCIAL MUSIC SUMMARIZES THE HISTORY OF GUITAR SEMINARS

[www.usschoolofmusic.com]
Seminars have led to the most efficient means of music college course delivery at a distance, which is exclusive with USSCM.

NEWARK, Delaware, November 10, 2007 - Johnny Smith, one of the greatest technical artists of the plectrum guitar held the first seminar in 1970 in Colorado Springs. US School of Commercial Music DIrector, John Amaral, had this to say about it: "We were about 60 people, mostly young, and some very fine guitarists, including 15 year old Tim May and HR imitator Bobby Montoya. Howard Roberts (HR), Johnny's favorite guitarist, was the guest artist. Howard took one look at me and said 'I know you!' As it happened, we did know each other from the Hollywood studios of Bill Putnam: United Recording and Western Recorders on Sunset Boulevard. During the seminar, HR and I conversed at night about his love of teaching, so I suggested that he start some seminars of his own, and he did. Two years later, I drove for three days from Berklee in Boston and attended his Hollywood seminar which featured Joe Pass as a guest artist. The following year Barney Kessel held his own, which I also attended. HR was the greatest of all as teacher, artist and person; as one of the greatest music educators of the 20th Century, he emanated love, attention and inspiration. Howard (who had taught previously at Westlake Conservatory) continued holding several seminars a year in the US and abroad, three of which I organized in the Boston area while I was still a student at Berklee College of Music. When he grew tired of that, he founded and wrote the the Guitar Institute of Technology which became Musician's Institute.

A benefit of the seminar format is to clearly outline the steps necessary to accomplish a chunk of essential work; a process which leads to a tangible results in a short time. USSCM's philosophy of education continues the tradition of these fine musicians in seminar by employing concentrated learning techniques first developed for the Hollywood elite. In Hollywood, as in other locations where music is taken seriously, your musical reputation is made not by who you know or whether you have a college degree, but by what others say you can do.

Because of the essential role of a student's personal drive to achieve musical goals, college music studies lend themselves particularly well to the seminar model, in which a big chunk of information and assignments is given in a short time, followed by a concentrated period of rapid disciplined learning by the student. In music, this is known as "going into the woodshed," or simply, "'shedding." USSCM takes this principle several steps further by customizing some aspects of each student's study materials every microsemester and by providing nearly instantaneous feedback on their work.

About the US School of Commercial Music
First founded in 1915, US School of Commercial Music continues a rich tradition as the oldest, most trusted name in distance music learning. Beginning in 1995, USSCM was the first institution to offer a college-level commercial music Diploma Program via online technology. Today, USSCM offers Diploma Programs in every major category of commercial music, as well as unique proprietary Certificate Courses with content unobtainable elsewhere. Recognizing that each music student has unique needs, USSCM's Matriculate™ online technology gives students the unparalleled flexibility to design the exact program they need by sequencing seven basic areas called "Modules": Performance & Improvisation, Schillinger System/LineWriting/Music Business, Advanced Improvisation, Melody/SongWriting & Linear Counterpoint, Arranging & Orchestration, Media Composition & Scoring and Music Production & Engineering. Each Module consists of 4 microsemesters of concentrated studies.

At the start of each microsemester, US School of Commercial Music students receive a large package of customized materials covering all their study subjects. Projects are recorded and returned to the college via the internet for rapid feedback. According to Professor Amaral of USSCM, "Choice and flexibility are great reasons to choose USSCM for your commercial music education." He continued, "USSCM has an approach unlike any other:
• It mixes proprietary materials with the best of published materials, which are evaluated and upgraded twice yearly.
• There are no distracting non-music 'academic' subjects, such as English or History.
• There is no internal competition for resources between a 'bricks and mortar' operation versus 'online'
• USSCM has only one agenda: a student's rapid progress on a personal "microsemester" pace, rather than keeping him or her in a too-lengthy "semester" program.
• Students work in all four rhythm section instrumental areas each microsemester.
• Students record homework in each subject.
• Feedback about homework is greatly facilitated by online communication and often seems immediate.
• USSCM tuition is realistic, with generous scholarships and discounts.
• USSCM programs offer students a level of choice and customization very difficult to achieve and manage with a 'classroom' model of course delivery."

US School of Commercial Music is the most economical way to acquire the knowledge and skills a commercial musician needs to compete and 'collect a paycheck' in today's noisy musical environment. USSCM students save considerable money by studying at home, anywhere in the world, and they may actually get a better education than at typical 'bricks and mortar' schools. While there is no substitute for working with fellow students shoulder to shoulder, student peers are seldom professionals. In comparison with many other schools and other approaches to commercial music study, USSCM exposes each student to a higher quality of music information, better accompaniments and professional presentations, because it upgrades materials on a semi-annual basis, with the primary requirement that it be the best information and most effective presentation available. By rising above the typical noise in music education, USSCM saves its students time, money and energy.

At www.usschoolofmusic.com, prospective students may read about course offerings, initiate inquiries, design their program, determine tuition costs, scholarship elgibility, financing options and aid, fill out and submit their application, print their learning agreement for faxing, and much more. Also from the college homepage, students, alumni and industry professionals may access several useful resources: Music Industry News, USSCM News, MI Jobs, USSCM Forum and USSCM Internet Radio.

For more information, please contact
US School of Commercial Music
www.usschoolofmusic.com
info@usschoolofmusic.com
617-666-4839



**************************************
Check out AOL's list of 2007's hottest products.
(http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop00030000000001)