UNDERGROUND MUSIC
ACADEMY
DETROIT BASED MUSIC ACADEMY
UNDERGROUND MUSIC ACADEMY
KNOW THE PAST. CHANGE THE FUTURE.
The moment you've been waiting for is here: we're thrilled to announce our first-ever online courses launching in 2024!
Sign up for our email list to be the first to know when course registration opens and stay ahead of the curve. Don't miss your chance to amplify your sound and elevate your craft with us!
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ITS MORE THAN THE TOOLS
Whether you're preparing to work in the industry or developing as an independent artist, we are here to empower you with specialized courses that cover a range of technical proficiencies, exploratory topics, and skill-building.
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Courses are developed using our Eco-System of Curriculum focuses.
It allows students to understand and cultivate the magic within making music. This system connects the dots between theory, skill building, and application. It ensures a transformative journey of education in electronic music for each student.
OUR ECO-SYSTEM
MUSIC: FINDING YOUR VOICE. DEVELOPING YOUR PRACTICE.​
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How do we develop a creative process that moves us towards innovation?
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What skills must one cultivate to create a practice that works for them?
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How do you position your practice for industry or independent artistry?​​
We encourage our students to identify their unique creative processes. Our Eco-System of wellness, empowerment, and community pours into how students develop and sustain vibrant creative practices. Along the way, students receive an expert education in production and DJing. This education includes the use of tools, software, and equipment.
FOCUSES:
Speculative Futures:
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Am I an Architect?
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Who am I Building with?
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Future Casting. New Sounds. New Visions
Skill Building:
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Workflow & Practice Development
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DJing
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Equipment & Software
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Branding / Marketing
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Music Production
Practice:
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Finding your Sound
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Collaboration in Practice
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Work Flows & Organization
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Sourcing Inspiration
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Iterative Processes & Experimentation
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Independent Artists
WELLNESS: THE POTENTIALITY OF FREQUENCIES
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What impact does music have on us?
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How do we maintain wellness within our personal practices, communities, and industry?
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What is the role of the musician in wellness?
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Our students leave our courses with a deeper understanding of the power of music. We investigate the ways music impacts those who make it and their audiences, safe practices, and financial
well-being.
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FOCUSES:
Wellness in Practice:
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Scientific Basis (Examples / Applied)
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Sustainable & Safe Collaboration in Practice
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Financial Wellness & Business Practices
The Impact We Create:
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Facilitating Healing
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The Artists Impact
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The Impact of a Song
Impact on the Musician / Individual:
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Personal Practice, Embodiment, Mixing Mediation, Discipline
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Play, Creativity, & Mixing as Magic
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Trauma-Informed Safety
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COMMUNITY: AMPLIFYING CONNECTION. CULTIVATING COLLABORATION
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What does safety & accountability look like in practice?
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What role does community play in education & development?
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How does collaboration help us to foster collective growth as artists?
As artists, we engage with communities in a multitude of beautiful ways. Whether that be the communities we form with audiences, neighbors, or fellow musicians. Our curriculum uplifts and guides those connections. We encourage students to collaborate and grow together.
FOCUSES:
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Community-Centered Economies:
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Building Networks & Mutual Aid
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Business in Community
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Resourcing
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Engaging with Community:
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Community Event Practices
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Safety & Accessibility in Event Planning
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Engagement in Practice
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Safety & Accountability:
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Accessibility
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Sustainable Practices
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Diverse Learning & Processes
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EQUITY: UPLIFTING THE HISTORY. UPLIFTING THE
ANTI-HERO
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How can understanding the past guide us toward equity in the present?
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What is the role of music in archiving the past, representing the present, and creating new futures?
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We want our students to leave with a deeper connection to past and present architects of electronic music. We believe history empowers our community to understand their individual and collective power. It lays a blueprint, offering frameworks for independent artistry, grassroots movements, equity, and genre building. Students leave us grounded in legacy and ready to innovate.
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FOCUSES:
Connectivity:
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Historical & Contemporary Examples of Collaboration
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Peer-to-Peer Skill Sharing
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Collective Movements & Building
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Social Justice Values:
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Frameworks of Equity
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Surveying Applied Practice
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History of Movements in Electronic Music
Equity & History:
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Architects
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Detroit Origins
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Legacy, Lineage & The Future
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Afro-Futurism
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World Building
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Sign up for our email list to be the first to know when course registration opens and stay ahead of the curve. Don't miss your chance to amplify your sound and elevate your craft with us!
Waajeed, Director
THE GENESIS
The concept for the Underground Music Academy is one that had been bubbling in the minds of the team of community leaders in the North End of Detroit for years.
Borne from their shared experiences informally mentoring up-and-coming Detroit artists, as well as touring the world as professional musicians and multidisciplinary visionaries, the team saw the potential of creating something local in Detroit that could connect to their global community.
The idea became reality in 2015, when, with the generous support of Tresor Berlin and the Detroit Berlin Investment Corporation, the organization acquired a historic building that once served as the headquarters for the NAACP in Detroit’s North End.
The Future
The Underground Music Academy mission to build the future leaders of electronic music through education and mentorship remains, but we’re thinking bigger.
Our dream is to create a more inclusive global dance music community that’s more aware of its roots. We will start online, reaching students from around the world, until it's safe to offer a best-in-class educational experience in-person in Detroit..
If you believe in our mission of helping build the next generation of electronic music artists & bringing the originality, quality, & diversity back to the forefront, we hope you will consider contributing.