Spring Short Courses at DIME Detroit begin May 9th!

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Spring Short Courses at DIME Detroit!

Class is in session Tuesday nights from May 9th-June 13th. Space is limited, so sign up today!

Register Now!

 

SINGING STYLESSinging Syles
Instructor: Liz Gray
Can you sing different musical styles with authenticity and authority? Each week of this vocal short course focuses on a different genre of music, allowing singers to take steps towards being a versatile professional, stretching outside of their comfort zones and better preparing them to perform in any situation. Styles include Rock, Pop, Soul, Jazz, and Blues. DIME’s amazing Vocal Instructor, Liz Gray, has coached vocal students who have appeared on VH1, The Disney Channel, Billboard, and stages across the world. Liz will help expand your musical horizons and guide you towards a final-week performance for friends and family on our incredible Underground stage! Click here to register now!

LYRICS AND LINES

 

LYRICS & LINES

Instructor: Audra Kubat
This course will help hone your skills as a wordsmith, with topics including methods used to write a song, dissecting imagery, metaphor, and simile within lyrics, analyzing traditional lyrical devices found in both contemporary hit songs as well as indie classics, and exercises designed to work through writer’s block, allowing songwriters to jump start their creative process even when the well seems dry. Audra Kubat, an award-winning and prolific songwriter who has recorded and performed her own original compositions for major labels, prestigious venues, and alongside national artists, will encourage students to create their own songs and perform in a showcase concert in DIME’s Underground venue at the end of the course.

 

Register Now!

 

Artist MgmtArtist Management
Instructor: Angela Watson
How does an artist forge a path from the local clubs to the top of the charts? This informative course will examine the basics of managing an artist’s career including branding, booking, building a business model, negotiating contracts, and more. Angela Watson, a label operator / manager / festival organizer / artistic director will share her experience from years of working with artists and events including Carl Craig, Movement / DEMF, and the J. Dilla Foundation. Whether you are an artist hoping to guide your own projects to success, or an entrepreneur interested in working within the business side of music, this course will help to create a strong foundation of industry knowledge and understanding. Click here to register now!

 

The Art of the Emcee
Instructor: Mahogany Jones

ArtoftheEmceeThis progressive course will help teach MCs how to feel comfortable freestyling and improvising lyrics on any subject, learning patterns to help spark creativity, understanding punchlines to add power and wit to your words, and lyrical devices including imagery, metaphor, and flow. This course will be taught by Mahogany Jones, an award-winning MC who has recorded and performed with artists including KEM, Gil Scott Heron, Talib Kweli, The Roots, and India.Arie. Mahogany is a four-time consecutive winner of BET’s 106 & Park Freestyle Fridays, and has toured the world as a United Nations Cultural Ambassador with American Music Abroad. This course will culminate in a student performance in DIME’s Underground venue!

 

 

Register Now!

 

If you have any questions about the above courses, feel free to give us a call at 313-223-1600 or email info@dime-detroit.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No place I’d rather be,’ DIME was the right choice for me

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As six DIME Detroit drum students walked to lunch recently, they broke out in a beatbox harmony of “My Girl” by The Temptations.

The impromptu performance admittedly triggered some odd glances from others passing by on the sidewalk.
It also served as a reminder why Duane Hewins, Jonathon Staten, Dalton Sitzler, Will Daniels, Christopher Williams, and Jack Reedy have grown to love DIME and each other.
“We all came from different backgrounds, but we all have one goal,” said Jack Reedy. “I’m realizing a dream by being around like-minded people who want music success and want to be their best.
“We’re one big happy family and we’re all here to push each other. There’s no place I’d rather be than DIME.”
Reedy’s feelings are shared by DIME students who understand that a real-world music education prepares them for entry into the industry and a sustained, successful career. Students are meeting industry professionals, developing their individual styles and techniques, and learning the business end from the inside.
Just as the best learning and preparation for a teacher occurs in the classroom and an aspiring chef needs to be in the kitchen, DIME places students in the middle of music environments to gain experience.

Sitzler, who was going to study at a traditional school of music before learning about DIME, remains amazed by the daily interactions with instructors and the drop-ins by accomplished professionals.
“They teach you everything that is going to be relevant for your career,” Dalton said. “That’s how you know you’re in the right place.”
“DIME was a game-changer. I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to learn and study under professionals who are out there making a career out of music like we want to do.”
Staten, meanwhile, said the close-knit relationships developed at DIME are special.
“We’re all on the same journey together, and that was something that was lonely before we got here. We were doing it on our own, and now we’ve changed our lives and our course,” he said. “I’ve met my brothers here.”

Ready to apply… LET’S GET STARTEDScreen Shot 2017-02-20 at 2.26.25 PM

Masterclass with Les Nubians at DIME: April 21st

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Les Nubians is a Grammy-nominated French duo composed of sisters Helene and Celia Faussart. They have become one of the most successful French-language musical groups in the U.S, best known for thier Billboard R&B Single “Makeda”. Les Nubians comes to DIME Detroit for an interview, performance and Q&A with audience, hosted by WDET’s Chris Campbell!

This session will also include special guest, Pirahnahead, noted DJ, guitarist, arranger, and producer (including Les Nubians next project).

Join us from 1pm-3pm in the Underground. Free Entry!

LES NUBIANS[1]

Part-time Public Speaking Instructor

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MSU @ DIME is looking to hire a part-time Public Speaking instructor.
Teaching duties start in early June. Must have at least a Master’s degree in communications or related field.
Please see link for more info.

https://www.msudenverjobs.com/postings/9530public speaking

5 Reasons Detroit is the Best City to Be a 20-Something

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By Allye Gaietto

Detroit is right in DIME’s name because we couldn’t be more proud to call this city our home. Here are some reasons to make it yours, too!

1. Rent is (relatively) cheap.

On a small budget, anything that costs more than free can seem like a stretch, but when compared to other cities of similar size, Detroit’s rent decidedly qualifies as cheap. Better deals can be found by moving a little further outside of the downtown area and commuting (luckily, a parking pass is included in DIME tuition!) but downtown living is not totally out of a student’s price range, especially with a roommate or two.

2. We have great food.

Detroit was named the best “unexpected” city for food in North America by National Geographic. Detroiters totally expected it, though. Get your Lafayette Coney Dogs steps from DIME’s campus (American lovers, rethink your life choices) or take a quick hop to close-by neighborhoods for food from all over the world. You can find excellent spots for Middle Eastern, Thai, Polish, Greek and Mexican cuisine all within a few minutes from DIME, whether you’re walking or driving. You can also find fresh, local ingredients to cook at home at Eastern Market, the largest historic public market district in the United States.

Blog pic 1
A man plays saxophone at Eastern Market; image from the Huffington Post

3. Our public art is mind-blowing.

Public art is everywhere in Detroit. From sweeping murals on downtown high-rises, to a major street turned into an art district, visitors and residents alike are constantly met with incredible surprises. Some of the best hotspots for street art in the city are within a five-minute drive from DIME, including Lincoln Street Art Park, the Eastern Market district, and the Grand River Creative Corridor. If you’re looking for a bigger adventure, check out this list of must-see pieces from the Free Press.

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A dinosaur made of found objects at Lincoln Street Art Park; image from chosenbythefunk.com

4. There are tons of weekend vacay options.

This is less about what’s in Detroit, and more about what’s around it, but I’m willing to make the exception if you are. Detroit’s surroundings are part of its appeal. There are some awesome parks in the city – Belle Isle picnics, anyone? – but if you want to get into nature without a skyline in sight, there are plenty of places within a three hour drive, especially since we’re so close to four out of five of the Great Lakes. Check out Port Austin at the tip of Michigan’s “thumb” for Instagram-worthy rock formations (2.5 hour drive), find your passport and head to Ontario’s beautiful Point Pelee National Park (1 hour drive), or make the trip across the state to my hometown of Muskegon (3 hour drive) to hike the sand dunes at Hoffmaster State Park. If those don’t strike your fancy, check out this list of great road trips starting from Detroit.

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Turnip Rock in Port Austin, MI; image from portaustinkayak.com

5. The music scene!

No list about Detroit is complete without mentioning its music. With newer venues like El Club and Marble Bar, long-standing dives like PJ’s Lager House and Small’s, and historic beauties like the Fillmore and Cliff Bell’s, there is something for everyone. There are too many great venues and bands to list here, and we haven’t even gotten to the festivals! There’s always something to listen to in Detroit, and there are tons of options for cool places to listen.

And, finally…

6. DIME students are here!

Okay, this is a bonus. But our students at DIME are making Detroit a cooler, better, more musical city every day, so there was no way I could leave them out.

Come check us out… SCHEDULE A TOUR

Soundtrack of My Life: Sara Berger

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The first in a new series where DIME students share the songs that have shaped their lives and musical journeys

Sara Berger image

 

My name is Sara Berger and I’m a BA Commercial Music Performance (Vocals) major at DIME. I was born and raised in mid-Michigan and have been on many journeys in my short life, but I somehow always find myself back here. This soundtrack represents events and details that have shaped me into who I am today. They stand for what made me a musician and molded the choices that put me where I currently am mentally, emotionally, and physically.

 

 

“Listen to Your Heart” – DHT

This song means nearly everything to me and is the root of my musical journey and the start of my career. In 8th grade, I joined my middle school choir. Never having sung before, I just wanted to take the easiest class to boost my grades. Kids would audition for a solo slot in the final concert of the year. It was a huge ordeal and everyone dreamed of singing their favorite song at this performance. I ended up being convinced to sing backups for one of my friends’ songs, and my choir teacher heard me and drafted me into singing this song, which I had never even heard before. I hated singing and thought it was a joke. When I came into class the next day she showed me my name in the program, I had my own solo slot for “Listen to Your Heart”. I was in shock and stressed over it for days. I had no idea that one night, that one performance, that one song, would change my life forever. When I was finally in the moment singing this song, I remember pure bliss taking over my entire body. In the entire 1,500 seat auditorium, the only thing I could see through the pitch darkness was the tiny exit sign in the back of the room. It was the most significant moment in my life. I was nervous when the performance ended, I ran off the stage and just stood there for a few moments, unable to move or even comprehend what had happened. From that night on, I knew what my calling was. I knew that I was born to sing and I would spend the rest of my life trying to accomplish that. I would have never discovered my passion for singing and performing if it weren’t for being forced into singing at that concert.

“New York” – Alicia Keys

This was the theme song of my life when I moved to New York in 2015 to pursue musical theater. I had been accepted into AMDA (the American Musical and Dramatic Academy) and was planning to attend, but last minute I was given the chance to study privately with Peter Sklar and Kevin Jones. Those are two of the biggest names in the musical theater industry and they had offered me an opportunity which I couldn’t turn down. At the time, I thought that musical theater was my calling, and so I moved out to Brooklyn without a second thought. It was the biggest decision of my life, I had never been to New York, and I didn’t know a single soul there. I didn’t even know where I was going to live until a couple of weeks after I had landed. When I first arrived, I was able to spend a few nights with a friend of a family friend from home, but they were still complete strangers. Shortly after, I signed the lease for my apartment with two more complete strangers and we moved in. It was the most terrifying of times for me but I believe I learned more in the year I had spent there, than in all of my time at home. By the end of this chapter of my life, I was miserable and hated where I was. I had fallen into bad habits such as partying and drugs, I was surrounded by bad people, and I hated the path that my musical theater career was taking. I knew if I kept going the same way, I would end up in a bad place. Although my time in New York ended abruptly and painfully, I am thankful for having gone through it. I learnt things that only experiences such as these are capable of teaching. I wouldn’t trade my time and situations there for anything. They are just more pieces of who I am. 

“Confident” – Demi Lovato

My favorite song in the world is ‘Stone Cold’ by Demi Lovato and this was a song I sang when I auditioned for DIME. While ‘Stone Cold’ represents pain and heartbreak, ‘Confident’ represents a full blown defeat of inner demons and strength for me. What really makes this song special is that it not only represents an event of growth in my life, but it also is the new step for Demi, too. Being a diehard Lovatic like myself, it is a very special and endearing thing when you can blossom and transform with your hero at the same time. Demi delivers this song with power and a new perspective, and I was given the chance just recently to do the same. When I performed this song at the Grammy’s Show at DIME, it challenged me in ways I never knew were possible. The song made me expand my comfort zone and try new things and taught me to not care about what others say or think of me. The message of this song is to be confident in who you are and that there is nothing wrong with being assertive. This message perfectly sums up where I am in my life at this very moment, and represented a significant moment, of which there are many more to come!


 

Mastermind Collective Live: April 28th

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Mastermind

Come out and witness history as Mastermind Collective has their very first show!Come and enjoy some amazing live music from some very talented artists. Featured acts include
Grainger, and Dave Green.
Doors open at 7:30 at the Underground
Tickets: $5 in advance, $8 at the door.
Cash bar for guests 21+.

Turntable Thursdays: DEEP April 6th

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Deep

Jump in the mix! April 6th and join us for Turntable Thursday! We’ll be welcoming local DJ’s to perform in partnership with Spin Inc.

Doors open at 6:00pm – NO COVER!

Things are getting DEEP in The Underground as DJ’s from all across Detroit take the stage. You might want to bring your dive gear for this one.

DJ Darrell Dyer

G-smoove

Chris Worthy

Ravasco

9T3

GIA

Mix Sessions DJ’s

Frank Harrington: Ice Cold

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Young Detroit Artist and DIME Freshman, Frank Harrington, Talks Bridging Gaps, Style, and Kidnapping with Senior, Jimmy Showers

Frank Harrington is currently enrolled in the BA Commercial Songwriting course at the Detroit Institute of Music Education. I spoke with the young guitarist and songwriter one afternoon in the city he hopes will inspire him as it has so many of his role models. I wanted to know him and know more about the music he creates—the music that is drawing attention from local venues and fans for its unique flavor, a sound he describes as, “a mixture of Alabama Shakes meets early Arctic Monkeys with just a touch of Mac DeMarco.” Frank speaks about music with the same nostalgic comfort one finds digging and listening through a stack of vinyl records—he’s the cool friend that you’ve always known. Although he states, “I just want to be in the 70s”, his appeal is timeless. I asked Frank some questions about his sound, his current project, Brother Son, and got to know more about the suburban kid looking to make a name in Detroit.

Frank, brother to five and son to two, recalls his childhood as seemingly normal, growing up just outside Detroit in outlying Birmingham. A promising athletic pathway to the Olympics was cut short in the seventh grade when he discovered guitar, which just, “made sense” to him. Years later in his high school choir class, Frank discovered music and its correlation to self-expression and he was sold. It’s obvious that Frank’s love for music is strong as he gushes over his idols from the 1970s such as Lou Reed and The Eagles. Frank loves life, and consequently life and love propel the young songwriter as thematic elements in his music. His Instagram bio is simple – “Heartthrob”—so it makes sense that the first song he ever wrote, “Shy Remarks” was about heartache. What is unexpected, however is that the longing heart Frank sings about describes his kidnapping and boarding in Samoa. He spent the concluding months of his high school senior year isolated and miles away from home. This did allow him to hone some original songs for his musical aspirations and when he returned he got to work.

Hanging around his local music shop, Frank discovered DIME—The Detroit Institute of Music Education—auditioned, succeeded, and enrolled in the fall of 2016. Now currently in his second semester in the songwriting program, he believes that DIME is, “setting the bar” and kicking his creativity into overdrive: “I have never written as many songs as I have just in this last semester alone”.

Come check us out… SCHEDULE A TOUR (link to: http://music.dime-detroit.com/schedule-a-tour)

Along with furthering his education at the school in Detroit, Frank now lives in the city too which he says has only helped to inspire him. “The city is beautiful. It’s chill and totally low-key and just amazing,” says Frank about his apartment’s view of the developing downtown. To Frank, inspiration can come in many forms and he is no slouch in finding new ways to formulate expression. While currently excelling as a songwriter, guitarist, and student at DIME, Frank recently added another layer to his persona—fronting his newly formed band, Brother Son. The four piece is working on releasing two singles in the coming weeks in preparation for the release of their first EP this spring with live shows to follow. The sound, he describes, is, “sexy, but sophisticated.”

From his local roots to his newfound love in the Motor City, Frank is a force full of potential. His breaking into the local scene will come with a warm welcome for his unique and fresh flavor coupled with his charisma and charm. After all, what’s cooler than being cool? Well, that would be being Frank Harrington—ice cold.

Find out more about Frank Harrington here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brothersonofficial/

Instagram: @mymanfrancois

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/brother-son-band