Academies

Introducing the Music Crossroads Academies, an innovative and affordable approach to music education in Southern Africa. Our programs provide young musicians with skills for a music career, contributing to regional music sector development and education. Experience contemporary African music styles, modern teaching methods, and well-equipped facilities.

About the Music Crossroads Academies

The Music Crossroads Academies opened in 2013, in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. This initiative aims at providing young musicians with the required skills for a professional career in the music sector. Over 3500 students, majority aged between 18-30, have been trained in a yearly Professional Certificate Program based on African and African-descendent music to become professional musicians or to access higher music education.

The academies offer:

  • Comprehensive Music Education:
    Offering a curriculum designed around African and African-descendent music, emphasizing modern teaching methods and a practical approach to music education.
  • Qualified Instruction:
    Students learn from internationally trained teachers in well-equipped rehearsal rooms and music labs, ensuring high standards of education.
  • Scholarships:
    Ensuring inclusivity by providing scholarships to marginalized youth, allowing up to 40% of students to access music education they might not be able to afford.
  • Community Engagement:
    Conducting workshops on vital life skills, including health promotion and relationship building, which address community issues such as human rights, gender balance, and child protection.
  • Partnership Development:
    Collaborating with African cultural and music education stakeholders, including governmental bodies, to maximize social impact and create strategies for long-term sustainability.

Since their inception, the Music Crossroads Academies have garnered respect as influential educational institutions. They have played a pivotal role in innovating solutions to longstanding challenges in music education, effectively establishing themselves as reputable providers in their communities. The academies focus on nurturing musical talent while fostering a vibrant cultural ecosystem that empowers youth for successful careers in music.

The Music Crossroads Academies embody a commitment to transforming the music education landscape in Southern Africa. By providing accessible, relevant, and high-quality music education, the academies not only develop aspiring musicians but also contribute to the cultural identity and economic sustainability of the region. Through their initiatives, they ensure that music is recognized as an effective tool for personal and social development, creating opportunities for young people to thrive in the music industry.

Curriculum

The first year of curriculum is designed as a foundation year. As many young musicians in Africa have no access to formal music education, the foundation year of the certificate program will change all this and bring you up to speed.

On your main Instrument you will work on all the basic instrumental and vocal techniques and learn to play in a band using charts.

In the music theory courses you will learn harmonic and modal concepts, how to apply them up to 7th chords and you will become musically literate through the intensive rhythmic and melodic reading and writing program. All this with a strong focus on your own music culture.

You will learn basic computer skills from word processing to simple content management.

At the end of the first year you will be well prepared to continue your studies in greater depth in the second year.

The first year of the curriculum is divided into four broad sections.

  1. Major Instrument
    The major instrument is comprised of one module containing artistic main instrument/voice lessons and ensemble courses.
  2. Minor Instrument
    The minor instrument is comprised of one module containing keyboard harmony and rhythmic training courses to impart essential skills to assist the student to develop a more advanced harmonic and rhythmic sense on their main instrument or voice.
  3. Music Theory
    Music theory is comprised of two modules, a harmony module containing harmony and ear training courses and a music reading module containing rhythmic and melodic reading and writing courses. These courses are intended to give the students the necessary skills to understand more advanced harmonic theory and learn how to read more advanced music notation.
  4. Key Competencies
    This area is comprised of two modules containing courses in Information Technology (IT) and writing and communication skills.

The second year of curriculum is designed as a follow up to the foundation year which provides a solid basis for more advanced studies culminating in a Professional Certificate in Music.

On your Major Instrument you will develop your instrumental and vocal techniques to a more advanced level and begin to explore artistic expression. You will also expand your repertoire through ensemble playing. In the music theory courses you will learn harmonic and modal concepts and how to apply them (9th, 11th, 13th, suspended chords and 6/9 chords) and develop your musical literacy further through the intensive rhythmic and melodic reading and writing program. All this with a strong focus on your own music culture.

You will learn how to use a computer based music notation program and take courses in Music Business and Self Management.

At the end of the second year will be well prepared to continue their studies in greater depth or to begin looking for work as a music teacher and performer.

The second year of the curriculum is divided into four broad sections.

  1. Major Instrument
    The major instrument is comprised of one module containing artistic main instrument/voice lessons and ensemble courses. 
  2. Minor Instrument
    The minor instrument is comprised of one module containing keyboard harmony and rhythmic training courses to impart essential skills to assist the student to develop a more advanced harmonic and rhythmic sense on their main instrument or voice.
  3. Music Theory
    Music theory is comprised of two modules, a harmony module containing harmony and ear training courses and a music reading module containing rhythmic and melodic reading and writing courses. These courses are intended to give the students the necessary skills to understand more advanced harmonic theory and learn how to read more advanced music notation.
  4. Key Competencies
    This area is comprised of two modules containing courses in music software notation, music business and career planning/marketing.

In the third year of the curriculum you will start your advanced studies in music culminating in a Diploma in Music in the fourth year.

On your Major Instrument you will develop your instrumental and vocal techniques to an advanced level and begin to focus on artistic expression. You will also expand your repertoire through ensemble playing, playing in sections of similar instruments (rhythm, brass/woodwind, vocal) and learn to play in a large ensemble (big band) . In the music theory courses you will learn advanced harmonic and modal concepts (altered harmony) and how to apply them. All this with a strong focus on your own music culture.

You will be able to choose between two minor electives, Music Performance and Music Education where and will be able to broaden your studies by choosing the electives you would like to take and you will start studying music business in the key competencies section.

At the end of the third year you will be able to continue into the fourth and final year of the diploma program where you will be qualified to work professionally as both a teacher and performer.

The third year of the curriculum is divided into four broad sections.

  1. Major Instrument
    The major instrument is comprised of one module containing artistic main instrument/voice lessons/rhythm-horn-vocal section/ensemble-improvisation
  2. Minor Instrument
    The keyboards harmony module will show more advanced concepts and progressions.
  3. Music Theory
    Music theory is comprised of two modules, a harmony module containing harmony and ear training courses and a music in Africa module focussed on the different music traditions in Africa. These courses are intended to give the students the necessary skills to understand advanced harmonic theory and a clear foundation in the music of the continent.
  4. Elective Minor
    You will have to choose between two focus areas:
    • Pedagogy – with a focus on Psychology, Pedagogy and Teaching Methods.
    • Performance –  with a focus on acoustics, electro-acoustics, studio technology and transcription/documentation.  
  5. Electives
    You will be able to choose from a range of different electives fine tune your studies yourself, either from the other minor or additional courses offered at the academy
  6. Key Competencies
    Music business is the focus of key competencies

Focusrite Scholarship

The Focusrite Residency Scholarship Programme is an initiative that has been benefitting young, talented musicians at our Academies since 2019. This scholarship allows the beneficiaries the luxury of focusing on their studies as the initiative was developed to ensure that the basic needs of food and accommodation are taken care of, as well as their fees, so that they can spend their time studying, rehearsing and bettering their craft.

Historically our Focusrite beneficiaries have always been amongst our top performing students both academically and professionally. Over the last 5 years the initiative has benefitted 136 students with 98 residency scholarships, with over 40% female participation – a phenomenal achievement in this sector for Africa. 10 of our FR students have been afforded the opportunity of international experience through our partner activities such as ETHNO and the MOVE EXCHANGE Program, travelling as far afield as India, Brasil and Norway. The program has impacted over 4000 indirect beneficiaries through workshops, skills transfer and teaching and the total outreach is more than 50 000 people.

This program has removed barriers to entry and granted access to the academies to students who faced financial or logistical challenges. These students have been able to learn, to grow and to become professionals within the creative sector. This initiative continues to change lives and empower the youth, in a real and impactful way.

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