SCHOOLS THAT OFFER A ROCK-SOLID CURRICULUM

Following are some of the prominent private institutions that maintain you can teach rock ‘n’ roll. All require some sort of audition before accepting students.

--Musicians Institute, 6757 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. The one-year program is divided into three disciplines: GIT (Guitar Institute of Technology), BIT (for bassists) and PIT (for percussionists). Teachers include guitarists Larry Carlton, Larry Coryell, Robben Ford, Scott Henderson (himself a GIT grad) and Steve Lukather; bassists Jeff Berlin, Tim Bogert, Billy Sheehan and Bob Magnusson; and percussionists Jeff Porcaro, Ralph Humphrey, Chuck Flores and Steve Houghton. Sample classes: Heavy Metal I, Funk Grooves and Rock Performance Practice. To graduate, students must attend classes and workshops for 1,200 hours over 45 weeks. Tuition: $4,095.

--Grove School of Music, 12754 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. Emphasis here is on jazz, but the school--now in its 14th year--is adding more pop and rock instruction in line with student demands. “We offer the chance for guys to come out of here and be working pros,” says founder Dick Grove--and the school’s reputation backs up the claim. Among the dozens of well-known session players who have attended classes there: Barry Manilow, Linda Ronstadt, guitarist Steve Lukather and sax man Ernie Watts. Also offers work in film scoring, music synthesis, composition and arranging. Faculty includes pianist-percussionist Victor Feldman, jazz pianist Clare Fischer, composer-arranger Thom Sharp, jazz pianist Lou Levy and keyboardist Milcho Leviev. Students take about 800 hours of classes and workshops over nine to 12 months; costs, effective February, 1987, are about $4,300 a year, depending on the number of hours taken.

--The Berklee School of Music, 1140 Boylston St., Boston, Mass., 02215. Berklee is more of a European-style music conservatory than a trade school. Students are given a complete grounding, including history and liberal arts, in their chosen field. Course load is spread over four years, leading to either a bachelor of music degree or a professional diploma. Numerous curricula are offered: performance, arranging, songwriting, film scoring and any number of instrumental courses. A typical four-year study program costs about $2,795 a year for the bachelor of music program and about $2,595 a year for the professional degree.

There are other rock schools as well; bear in mind that most music stores also have teacher referral services. In addition, many public universities offer some sort of rock education within their music departments.