What kind Of Musician Do You Want To Be?
Music is fun. You can enjoy playing, singing, listening, dancing, etc… We’re glad that there’s no Ending!
However, becoming and being a musician is not easy. You need to practice. If you want to be a superior musician, it’s gonna be a tough road unless you have talents. Now We believe you’re looking for the better. You aim for it.
Welcome Musicians!
For Writers and Producers
Learning ”Key Areas”
We mainly provide our learning materials for writers and producers. Some of them are great to go for singers and players.
We recommend writers and producers to be “a player” and practicing instruments daily. It doesn’t matter how good or bad at playing. Just practicing and feeling instrument is super important. No one can be a baseball coach who doesn’t play catch!
Writing
Music and Lyrics
-Melody, Harmony, Rhythm
-Words and Rhyming
-Song Form and Structure
-Advanced technique
…etc
Producing
Creating Tracks
-Tracking (MIDI, Audio)
-Audio Processing (FX)
-Mixing
-Mastering
…etc
Playing
Basic playing skills for writers
-Scales and chords
-Voicing
-Playing Melody
-Daily Practice
…etc
Well Being
Daily Maintenance
-Creative and Productive
-Mind Set
-Practice
-Self management
…etc
Listening
Ear training for all musicians
-Melody and Harmony
-Rhythms
-Dictations
-Detecting Instruments
…etc
Analyzing
Getting to know other works
-Detecting melody and harmony
-Forms and structures
-Theme and objective
-Influence
…etc
Boost Your Skills
Requirements
Music Theory
So-called “Music Theory” is like the alphabet. It’s the rule to communicate with other musicians. Music Theory doesn’t do anything for your creativity however, you never skip to learn. Just like the alphabet. You can talk, you can hear without learning alphabets but you can’t write. Music is the same as language. If you want to express your feelings, you need to learn music. Harmony, scale, rhythm, how to write, how to read, how to arrange. The more you learn, the higher level you will find your place.
As you know, Music is evolving. Melody, Harmony and Rhythm. Their expression ways are progressing regardless of genre, style or sounds. Why don’t you catch up with today’s finest and join ahead of the pack with us?
Remember it’s never late. Everyone has a chance. And You have the Choice!
DAW Operation
Whether in your room or studio, you need to operate DAW, Digital Audio Workstation for producing. Even if you are just a singer or songwriter, it’s better to know how DAW helps your work and use it actively, instead of phone apps or tape recorders!
You can choose Mac or Win, but we offer Mac to go because of easy extension of your workplace with iPad, iPhone or other Mac. Key Área works with Logic Pro for audio, Final Cut Pro for video.
Getting start music production, you must have basic skills;
Audio and MIDI Recording
Virtual Instruments setting
Track Editing
Effect Setting
Mixing
As you step up for the higher level, you may need extra sound sets and plugins. The better the sound, the higher the cost while spending money doesn’t guarantee your better production result. You need to learn good skills.
Listening Ability
Listening is the most important skill for all musicians, engineers, even for managers!
As for being a musician, you don’t need to have Perfect Pitch, but well-trained Musical Ear. It is definitely “trainable” at any age. You don’t have to start in your childhood. I have seen many miracles happening in my ear-training class when I was in college!
Ear Training purpose is not just like “defining pitch”. You will be able to express what exactly you’re hearing “in your head” before speaking. This inner hearing skill is much more important than outer hearing for musicians.
If you want to be a better producer instead of better player or singer, you still need good listening skills. You must understand what others are playing to make a decision, and have better direction.
When you’re mixing or mastering the process, you need a good ear too. You must define the better EQ, Comp, Delay, Reverb by listening. You must train.
Understanding Instruments
You don’t have to be a virtuoso (If you want, go for it!). However You must play some, or sing at least to be a musician. We always recommend one or two instruments and singing for songwriters, as many as possible for producers. That’ll be very fundamental.
Understanding instruments means just not by name or sound, but how to play notes for music. Playing dynamics affects its sound, the sound reflects players’ emotion, the series of emotions express the spirit, heart and soul of music.
For instance, as soon as you understand the piano, you will start finding which song is written with the piano. Likewise, guitar. You may find how instruments affect writing music.
Now you can have many instruments on your DAW. If you don’t know how to play the guitar, your track doesn’t sound like a guitar at all. Well, it may be acceptable today. But if you don’t understand strings or horns, your arranging and producing gets in trouble. If it doesn’t sound good, you’ve got no chance to win.
Again, you don’t have to be a virtuoso. But you must know the instruments as much as possible.
Persistence
There’s no exam or qualification to be a musician. Everyone has potential to be good, which means we have potential not to be good too. It’s easy to start, easy to quit. The hardest thing is keep doing, keep having dreams.
As soon as you start practicing instruments, you’ll find how difficult it is to memorize scales and chords, to play in time, to express your emotions. Whatever you struggle, you just enjoy practicing today.
As soon as you finish your first writing, you’ll find how difficult it is to have audiences that like your music, and how others are better than you are now. Whatever you feel, all you need is to enjoy learning more.
If you believe in yourself, everything is possible. When you find out you’re not good enough, it’s the very best time to start learning and make progress. Everyone must choose one of two pains, the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.
You never give up until you shoot your stars.
The Best Coach You Have Ever
Why Can We Help You Better?
Certain Professional Experience
Key Área is a Music Professional Company so that all members have a certain career in music business. Some are professional musicians, studio engineers and college faculties. Besides their specific field, they are all musicians who have many experiences in live performances and studio recordings. They have been doing extremely hard work to pursue a professional career. They know what to do in both good and bad moments.
Not a single student wants to learn from non-experienced instructors who only self-taught or just graduated from college.
Don’t worry. We are experts!
Over 20 Years, More Than 4,000 Students
For your reference, our founder Ken Araki has taught in college for 13 years including online lecture for covid-lockdown, 10 years as the dean of music school, over 10 years in bass instrument school. Over 20 years, more than 4,000 students he had while never stopping his playing, writing and producing career.
From those teaching experiences, he creates his own curriculum and methods for teaching music writing and producing. He also consults musicians for daily experiences such as physical and mental resilience.
Curricula For Specific Purpose
Since we are not full time schools, we provide some specific fields with limited curricula.
Now you can find many great books and online courses for any musical skill. We’re approaching more specifically your purpose of learning.
For instance, there are so many materials of scale learning for instruments, but merely seen for writers. Also so many Diatonic chord practices for instruments, but hardly seen for writers. We are offering these lessons to boost your creativity.
Fresh Materials For Learning
It’s very important for all of us to learn from the greatest hits of all time. Those songs give a lot. At the same time, we must learn from new hits, too. Because we are going to write and produce for the future! Why don’t we study the current songs?
We always analyze New Hits from US and UK charts. Let us share some magic we learned.
We hope to see you in class!
Upgrade Your Music
Key Área Learning
You can see your progress in the practical training.
The best training for skill up is OJT. Our workshop is closer to that practical training. Students are going to work on the specific situation of Songwriting or Production, and finish their creatives. Our coach guides students every step, encouraging them to finish.
Mostly provide online small class style.
Explore your curiosity. Lecture and Discussion.
Lectures in college style give us an opportunity to study subjects deeply, to develop new ideas or concepts which help us to progress. We provide seminars in the field of Writing, Music History, Analyzing and Marketing.
Provide both online and face-to-face style.
Take your Best time to Learn!
E-learning is the most convenient for busy students. We provide a course package with textbooks, materials and a series of video lectures. Students will work assignments to hand in, coaches will feedback comments and advice.
Online coaching in One-On-One session!
We have Workshops as online classrooms in which we have 3 to 4 students. If you want to learn more specifically, we offer private lesson slots.
Students and coaches will discuss subjects, goals and schedules.
Now we’re glad to have students from all over the world!
Let’s start learning with our handy E-Books!
We are working on publishing books. They will come soon and stay in touch!
Express Your Love & Emotion
The World Will Find You
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