Ram Miles
Faculty
Ram started playing the bass at the age of sixteen. Though he had no formal training, he played in a rock & roll band at school functions and student parties, and later joined a group of established older musicians in a country band with paying gigs and recording sessions. Ram then enrolled at the Berklee College of Music to learn the language of music and improve his skills as a bass player. After Berklee, Ram performed regularly with several groups in and around the Tri-state area of the Berkshires in New England. In 1985, he moved to Los Angeles to study at the Bass Institute of Technology (B.I.T.). While at B.I.T., Ram found plenty of opportunities to play in recording sessions and gigs with rock, jazz, and other types of bands. Ram met Michael Tobias in 1988 through Gary Willis, who, at the time, was endorsed by Tobias basses. Michael made Ram his first five-string guitar. Soon after, he purchased one of Michael’s first fretless semi-hollow five-string bass guitars, which was the most amazing sounding bass he had ever heard. Ram has a new MTD Kingston six-string bass, a five-string (Tobias), and an MTD four-string. Ram also plays the upright bass and electric upright. In addition to his many album recordings, Ram has performed in the U.S., Europe, and India. At IMS, students practice and perform in guitar ensembles, jazz bands, and a rock band. He has taught at IMS since 1998 and in 2018 became the Music Department Chair.