Join today

Music theory | Summer '26

Classes meet in Minneapolis, weekly on Wed. @ 7pm CST for 12 weeks, starting July 22, 2026. 

Dive deep into learning music theory - the science behind why music sounds good.
FORMAT

In-Person
Course

START DATE

wed 7.22.26

DURATION

12 WEEKS
2-3 HRS / WEEK

END DATE

wed 10.7.26

CLASS SESSIONS

$499 / MONTH

$150 / MONTH

START TIME

12PM CST

Learn music theory

THE THEORY BEHIND THE NOTES.

In this course, we cover the wide-ranging and in-depth topic of music theory.  We'll be discussing rhythm, from simple yet foundational kick and snare patterns to complex polyrhythms and time signatures.  We'll talk about scales and chords, and how we can use them to influence our harmonies and melodies to make catchy and infectious leads and powerful and moving chord progressions.  We'll even talk about songwriting, and how to implement all of this into our projects to write music that "makes sense" - i.e. we'll be writing good music that both understands the rules of music theory - and breaks it!
Create powerful pieces of music by understanding the rules of music, including:

    Rhythm, tempo, time signature, polyrhythms, metering
    Scales, chords, harmonies, melodies, chord progression, and performance techniques
    Songwriting, song structure, hooks, verses, choruses
meet your

instructor

Mike Pendergast

course author & instructor
Michael Pendergast aka MikeRat has been with Slam Academy since 2013, and is now the lead in-person instructor; teaching classes from our flagship Ableton program all the way to Sound Design and Mixing and Mastering. He's also a pillar of the local bass music scene, having played at The Armory, First Ave, and is a resident performer at Infrasound Music Festival. He's an expert in weird, glitched-out, wompy bass, and has been heard on labels like Wormhole and Street Ritual. Mike's approach to both music production and teaching is to lead with his heart, and he places an emphasis on community and camaraderie in the classroom and on the dancefloor.