Join today

Sound Design 1 | Spring '26

Classes meet in Minneapolis, weekly on Tues. @ 7pm CST for 12 weeks, starting Apr. 21, 2026.

Learn to create your own original sounds that match the sounds in your imagination.
FORMAT

In-Person
Course

START DATE

TUES. 4.21.26

DURATION

12 WEEKS
2-3 HRS / WEEK

END DATE

TUES. 7.7.26

CLASS SESSIONS

$499 / MONTH

START TIME

7PM CST

learn sound design 1

who needs presets?


In this course, you will learn how the original synthesizer designs are still used today to create basses, leads, sound FX, percussion, and more.

The best way to find your own style is to make your own sounds! Take this course to make it happen.

Start building your own unique sound palette and stop relying on presets:
  • Craft bass, lead, and string sounds using analog modeled synthesis
  • Design metallic percussion, drums, and leads using FM Synthesis
  • Build your own complex. multi-instrument patches using Instrument Racks
  • Start making your own songs out of your own sounds!

meet your

instructor

michael 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.