My New Musical Venture
Back in my school days, I dabbled with a variety of instruments like keyboard, clarinet, viola, and bass drum in drumline. I played these casually so I wouldn’t consider myself proficient at any of them. In 2017, after playing Guitar Hero for some time and being inspired by my favourite Japanese rock bands, I decided to try out the instrument. The fretboard made it easy to see patterns and as I dug more into music theory, I was able to improvise and create music for the first time. However, after taking some private lessons, I got discouraged and put down the instrument (More on my guitar story on my about page).
In 2020, with new found motivation and courage, I picked up guitar again with the mission of bringing my childhood band dream to life. Over the year, I improved my guitar skills greatly, and also learned a lot about Japanese music theory for my blog. In Summer 2022, we achieved our goal of not just playing on stage but also playing at an anime convention. On Christmas Eve, my secret santa (who I got the previous year and gave him his first guitar pedal) gifted me with FL Studio. (More on my band experience in this article).
I’m not completely new to producing as I took a music/computers class in 2011 where we used Fruity Loops, but it certainly wasn’t something I considered, especially since I wasn’t able to create or improvise at the time, and my older brother (who I didn’t get along with) is also a producer, thus, I didn’t want to be compared to him. But now that I understand theory more, I’m excited to try out all I’ve learned and share my own style, which is heavily influenced by the Japanese music I’ve heard for over 16 years.
My GoalS With My Music
1. I want to portray the beauty of more interesting chord progressions. I started listening to Japanese music since I was 12, and while I didn’t understand the lyrics, I could feel what they were saying due to the instrumentation, progressions, and modulation. It didn’t need explosive vocals or fancy guitar solos, instead, all members of the band, including the singer, simply served the song. I enjoy music that makes me want to intently listen because the song takes you through a story and you don’t want to miss a thing.
2. Since young, I didn’t like much Western music because the themes often centered around lust/sex, and negative themes like violence, drugs and parties, fame and fortune, etc. They’re not even being subtle with the titles, imagery or lyrics. A lot of music are outright mocking my Lord and Savior, along with everything holy that the faith stands for. Two can play at that game. If they can make outright dark, sexual, and blasphemous, songs, then I should be free to make light, pure, and holy songs.
3. You can label my music as “Christian-Themed, Jpop Inspired BGMs (Background Music“. Each song has a biblical title and an accompanying verse with the purpose of sharing the Christian experience. Christians have to have faith and hope even when life is falling apart, they have to stand up for what the bible says even when everyone around them says otherwise, they have to face persecution and still love their enemies, and there can be many moments of guilt, loneliness, pain and desperation. These are the kinds of topics general Christian and gospel music never really talk about, but I desire to share those feelings through my music, to create an anime-like soundtrack for my brothers and sisters. I also hope it will peak curiosity in non-Christians listeners who decide to read the inspiration and meaning behind each piece.
Fun Fact: "Key to Nostalgia" was actually the first band name I had in mind.
I loved it so much that I claimed it for myself on Instagram in 2020.
"Key" is a play on words, as it means a key to unlock a door, but it's also a musical term.
I always loved songs that made you feel nostalgic or sentimental, even melancholy,
so I hope to achieve the same thing with my music.
My Releases & Song Notes
1. "Be Courageous"
SONG IDEA: Initially, I was planning to start off strong with a concept album, so I wrote down a lot of song titles I had in mind and the kind of genre and story that I had in mind for each song. Did you know the bible actually says “Do Not Be Afraid” 365 times? “Be Courageous” is actually part of a bible verse. Over a decade ago, around the same time I was truly saved, got re-baptised, and read through my bible, I bought this necklace for myself that had Joshua 1:9 on it. That verse says “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” The last 5 years, I’ve definitely gained a lot of courage and confidence as I’ve taken many leaps of faith. Solo trips, pursuing my childhood dream job, picking up guitar, moving out, starting a band and this blog, and now creating my own music. I never had anyone to look up to, no mentors to ask questions, and I never knew if anything would work out…many people doubted my dreams and tried to discourage me, but it was something I really wanted to do anyways. I knew I wouldn’t be fulfilled staying at my old job or never crossing things off my bucket list. With my blog, my main goal was to inspire and encourage others to pursue their musical dreams as well, so what better song to release first? As the world gets darker, I hope it can encourage listeners as well.
SONG CREATION: After I closed the Sabbath on January 7th, I started dabbling with some ideas I had on FL Studio. For this song, I knew I wanted it to have a big mood shift of darkness, confusion or uncertainty, into something that was full of light and hope, so I knew I was going to incorporate modulation (key changes). After inputting a few Japanese chord progressions which I loved. I also added some funky basslines and it was already showing potential by the time I went to bed. The next day, I spent more time on the piano portion, and inputted some drum beats. It was missing something for the final chorus, and I knew I wanted a triumphant/victorious ending, so I added trumpet. Day 3 was spent mostly leveling volumes and velocity, and adding a bit more melody or bass rhythms here and there. I was quite eager to publish it on January 11th, as that would be 1/11, so it felt like ‘The Start of Something New’, which is one of my favourite High School Musical songs. I knew this song would never be perfect, so I didn’t rest on it for too long. I know my producing skills will only get better as I get more familiar with the features of the program and gain experience making mores songs, but all in all, I’m very happy with it ^_^
2. "In The Garden"
SONG IDEA: I was feeling an immense amount of peace in recent months. The urgency of last year has faded, I’ve come to accept that this world is the way it is but it’s not a burden I need to carry, and I found a new church where I truly feel loved and cared for. Life was alright. I can just take it one day at a time. Additionally, I’ve been learning more about what it means to have a real relationship with God and to actually be in his presence. I was told growing up that God only speaks through his word, but knowing that our God does speak and He has countless thoughts about us made me desire to be that close to Him, and to maybe even minister to Him. It’s been a slow journey, but I really love that now, as I take my time with morning or evening devotions, I can regularly feel a warmth or tingle, and I started to think about how close Adam and Eve were when they walked with God in the garden. At the same time, I was looking through Japanese chord progressions and translating all my favourite ones into the same key. I thought they were so pretty and I was sparked with the idea for this song.
SONG CREATION: This one didn’t take long at all. I knew I wanted something very pretty, something calming, and something sweet. I started with a keyboard voice that sounds a bit like an xylaphone, as I thought it was quite cute. With the progressions at hand, I started inputting them into FL Studio, and out of the 4 I chose initially, I ended up just using 2. I then added flute as the melody as it is light and airy. I started by just inputting notes in that key that sounded good, and I was easily satisfied with the initial melody, though I made some changes here and there. And then, I needed more bulk, more body. I opted for a strings section, which meant I only had to add one note but it sounded quite full. I created another harmony line which also was quite easy to figure out. Then I just played around with the velocity volumes a bit. All this was done in the first 2 days. I was a little busy with work and wanted a break to rest my ears, but for the most part, I was fine with. Just a little twitches with the timing, and adjusting the volumes for each part, and I was happy with it. I just needed a sunny day to go take some photos in a garden and I was ready to upload it ^_^ I thought releasing it on the 25th was cool as 2+5=7, and the May (5)+7=12. Both are numbers God loves and uses often in the Word!
3. "Sanctification"
SONG IDEA: I’ve been feeling an itch to write a song for a few weeks, but wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted to write about. I had a few ideas, but didn’t feel I could do them justice musically, at least not right now. All in all, I just knew I wanted to make something more positive and upbeat. After a few weeks of being so busy that I couldn’t focus on my morning devotions and was too distracted on my Sabbaths, I was feeling spiritually hungry, and decided to do a digital fast to really focus on God. Everything I do is online, my work, my blog, talking to friends, and I would use the internet for guitar lessons, workout videos, Christian content and news, so it’s easy for me to make digital exceptions and get carried away, especially on Youtube, but I wanted to be serious: no phone unless replying to a message, and no computer unless work came in. Spiritually, my main focus this week was learning more about the Holy Spirit and His gifts. My old church was spiritually dead, didn’t even believe the Holy Spirit was the seal of God, so I’ve gotten to witness and learn more about gifts at my new church…but I still wasn’t sure about a lot of things, like if tongues was for everyone and what was it’s purpose. My pastor gave me a couple lessons, and while I understood his view, I still wasn’t had some reservations as I didn’t want to be deceived again. He borrowed me a book about the Holy Spirit and His gifts that really broke down everything logically with biblical evidence, and it really cleared so much up for me.
Seeing the potential and power of these gifts, I was feeling really inspired to practice it more seriously. As I was telling the friends I was discipling about my discoveries, I also gave a run through of all I’ve learned and started practicing since last year. I was all about knowledge and theology at first, then I understood the power of prayer and was more intentional about making time to pour my heart out to God, and then I started to bare more fruit of the spirit (especially peace, humility, and patience, grace towards my mother who refuses to admit anything or believe my experiences etc), and now I’m about to enter something much deeper. Sanctification is a life-long journey, but the more seriously we take it, the more growth we will see. On Thursday (September 5th), I decided to visit my mom and actually spend time with her with a more positive heart, and it really hit me how much I’ve changed. My little sister didn’t have any college classes that day and ended up being home. She asked me to curl her weave, and due the colour change from my old colour, I ended up fully gripping the iron and burning my hand. I’m okay! But spent the day there watching a series with them. By the time my cousin/roommate came and picked me up, it was quite late, and I still had work to do. After that, being unable to read due to the the stinging and sensitivity in my hand, I figured I could still work on a song, and that, I did. With a song title in mind, I immediately knew I wanted to do a transformation song like Sailormoon and Digimon. I also immediately knew that I was going to use water for the cover as it’s God who ‘washes and cleanses’ us. Luckily, I didn’t have to go out this time. I had a photo of a lake and ducks from when the girls at my church had a summer picnic. I obviously had to break my digital fast, but I definitely intend to stay off my devices more long term and create more quiet time with my heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit living within.
SONG CREATION: I wrote this song over the span of two days. The first day, I laid down some chords, and made sure to include rising progressions and some bittersweet ones, to reflect the growth of the Christian, and how we can still find love and grace on our worst days. I ended up modulating without noticing, but I was excited to finally use the VIb-VIIb-I cadence that I learned from Digimon’s “Butterfly” and “Brave Heart” to get back to the main key. I initially planned to make it a really upbeat Jpop song, even attempting to use electric guitar or sax, but it felt too extreme for what I already laid down. Finding other instruments that still popped without overshadowing was certainly the hardest part, and I ended up focusing on piano and music box to make more twinkly melodies instead. And of course, making the bass do it’s thing. Without drums, it felt quite slow and sluggish, so I knew I had to incorporate a beat somehow. After using some more common instruments like bass drum, snare, hi-hats, and shakers, I explored other options and opted to use castanettes, agogo. The second day was mostly changing and editing the melody lines of bass, piano and ‘choir oohs’, because I initially made them quite tense and bold but I really wanted to soften it up to maintain a more optimistic and cute vibe even if the chords sounded more minor. The last couple hours was spent changing velocities and volumes, and rearranging notes that I just didn’t like. I also opted to include some funkier drum elements like guiro and vibraslap. I was expecting to spend more hours on day 3, but after changing one instrument and adding a couple more notes, I was happy and satisfied with the piece.
4. "War Against Your Soul"
SONG IDEA: Still feeling super inspired and in the mood to write, I knew I wanted to create a battle theme of sorts. I did consider the title “Temptation”, but I really don’t want to give the wrong impression (ie promoting evil) like many artists do as it is (ie Sam Smith’s “Unholy”), so I initially thought about the title “War for your soul”. Right after publishing “Sanctification” above, I watched a couple videos for tips on writing orchestral pieces, and put a few chord progression ideas together, but nothing was really doing it for me. But Sunday morning, I woke up with a melody in my head. It started with the intro for “Salamandar” from Digimon which I heard the day before as an idea for inspiration, then just flowed from there. I made sure to make some voice notes of my idea, along with a beat that came to mind as I was getting ready, as I left for church at 8:30am (I get picked up and we drive to another Oakville to the church plant. We are always first and help set up for service at 10am). The topic of the month was “Love Walk” and the sermon touched on us needing God to do everything, including being obedient to him. One of the first verses my pastor quoted was Ephesians 6:16, which mentions the “Shield of Faith”, and I almost considered that title, but I already had the word “Faith” in mind for another song. But I looked up to a section that I knew very well, as it was what made me realize just how serious the spiritual battle was last year, Ephesians 6:11-12 “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand AGAINST the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but AGAINST principalities, AGAINST powers, AGAINST the rulers of the darkness of this world, AGAINST spiritual wickedness in high places.” Thus, the title for this song. I took some photos of fireworks on Victoria Day (May), and I already knew that would be the cover photo for this track as it reminds me of Mulan when she finished the war. Additionally, this specific pic has wo perfectly round red fireworks battling, a rollercoaster in the background representing man-made inventions and worldly interests, and the tree above where we were sitting representing God’s creation and protection. Only after publishing the track did I remember a verse that uses the title word for word: 1 Peter 2:11 “Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.”
SONG CREATION: This was definitely my fastest piece to date. Once I got home, I immediately drafted my ideas and finalized the main melody. I went through the instrument list and started layering immediately. I definitely wanted a darker/minor tone this time around, which is honestly new for me, but I feel like I’ve heard a lot of minor sounding music in my years of being an anime fan. I then thought of the next riff which was only going to be a break/bridge section, and then I would repeat the melody, but I ended up liking it so much and decided to extend it much longer. The first rhythmic instrument I decided to add was the Taiko, a Japanese drum that I’m quite familiar with thanks to the DS and arcade game, Taiko no Tatsujin. I thought it’d be perfect for giving the piece a ‘war’ or ‘battle vibe. This was the first time I started with the melody instead of the chords, so I had to play around a bit to beef up the string and horn sections. Another tidbit I took from “Salamandar” was it’s very ominous ending chord. I wasn’t sure what chord they used, but I looked around the advanced minor chords available on FL studio to find which I liked best. After that, it was mostly tinkering with some additional melodies, beats, and volume levels. The last thing I added was a click to imitate a clock, to show the urgency of the matter. Seeing that I was already 90% satisfied before 11pm that same Sunday, I figured….”I may as well publish tomorrow” 😛 I didn’t even feel a need to rest on it (considered it, but it’s back to work tomorrow!). While this wasn’t intentional, I love how the piano stands alone amongst all the other orchestral instruments, and it starts to fade into the background naturally as the other instruments overwhelm it, but then has a moment to shine near the end. It’s a little off que as it’s hesitant to speak up when everyone is suddenly so quiet, and then it doesn’t say anything at all…..but at the end, it shines alone with an unexpected finish. We are like that piano. We can feel alone when you consider all the people, forces, media, lies and so on put against Christianity and Christians, but at the end of the day, we are victorious because God/Jesus has already won the fight.
5. "Convicted"
SONG IDEA: I don’t think there’s any more common experience for the Christian than conviction. Whether the believer is newly reborn and is more conscience of their sin, or they’re more in mature in their faith, they’ll both feel heavy and burdened when they fall for temptations or do something they know they shouldn’t have. Many start to doubt their salvation, or they feel unworthy to be a child of God, or they assume God is distant from them because of the matter…..But Romans 8:1 already told us that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”, and 1 John 9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We will always be God’s children, and while He may discipline and correct us, He is also eager to comfort us and remind us of how much He loves us. Let us always remember that our God is “is merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7). Thus, for this track, I wanted to portray the depressing and hopeless state a believer may be in once they acknowledged that they’ve messed up again and their attempt to distance themselves from their Creator; however, God meets them where they are at and overwhelms them with his presence and loving goodness, reminding them that He is greater than all our sins and to keep our eyes on Him instead. Thus, the reference verse for this track, Hebrews 10:22: “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
SONG CREATION: Continuing off from “War Against Your Soul” in which the piano represents the believer and it ends off with an omnious chord, we see now that they didn’t win the battle and are down on themselves. The cello, representing God comes in to comfort them….silence…..then the piano goes down their negative patterns once again. At this point, when the cello comes back in, it divides into a chord to reflect the trinity and His overwhelming presence. Finally, the tone changes, the piano into a cuter instrument as they can be a child once again, and the cello into a full string orchestra. The parts that took the longest was figuring out the chord progression and melody for the second half, and it took quite a bit of tinkering. I wasn’t sure how to end the piece, so I tested a few chords, and I had similar but different ending in mind initially, but it would have dragged on too long, so I went with this version. While I didn’t mind the silent breaks, I didn’t want people to think the song was done by mistake, but I really didn’t want to add another instrument due to the concept in mind. I already knew what photo I would use for this piece (one of Niagara Falls that ironically had red and blue lights shining over it, so it looked like a police siren. My mom really wanted to go even though it was late, so it was night time by the time we arrived). So I thought bout the convicted person on the run, hoodie on, walking through back alleys, avoiding the cops, and how that scene usually has rain, thus I considered importing an audio file since FL Studio didn’t have one available. I searched a few, and found a free one with thunder that as long enough for the piece. The break in the middle where the thunder acts up again is truly pure timing luck. What I didn’t have luck in was trying to find how to fade the audio track so it doesn’t cut off abruptly. Some videos would say to just ‘right-click automation’, but that option was no where to be found. Finally, and thankfully, I got it. Because it is such a quiet piece, I didn’t want the notes to be as harsh or blunt as usual, so I added reverb, and played quite a bit with the settings to ensure it had the right dramatic effect.
6. "First Love"
SONG IDEA: After a couple ‘darker’ songs, I wanted to make something bright and happy again. I considered something in regards to how ‘joy comes in the morning’, and actually attempted to make a song more along the Jpop girl group or Vocaloid dance genre, but the chords and necessary instruments wasn’t coming together well on the first day. I then considered keeping it a night track, and trying my hand at City Pop. While I’m not a regular listener of the genre, I knew the imagery was always about driving downtown at night, and most songs were about love. So continuing off from “Convicted” where the believer was walking down the streets at night full of guilt and beating themselves up, their joy has now been restored thanks to their first love, God. The reference verse for this chapter reads “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.” In Revelation 2, God sends a message to the church of Ephesus, and while they were known for doing many amazing things, God said “I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” Let us never forget God who loved us and knew us before the foundation of the earth. I wanted this piece to be chill and comforting, reflecting the peace we have in God, but also the excitement and pleasure we can find in Him as our first love.
SONG CREATION: I had to do a bit of research to see what kind of instruments and beats is usually used in City Pop. I played around with a few progressions, and was considering something longer, but with my theme in mind, I decided to keep it simple so I could have more fun with other aspects of the song. The hardest part was finding suitable instruments that fit the vibe, and the rest of the time was spent adding layers, balancing volumes and adding some effects. I considered making a longer track at first, but the longer a piece repeats, the more I personally get annoyed. If I’m telling stories with my music, I only want to say what needs to be said, and I don’t think the piece needed more than a minute. I don’t know how well I did for the genre, but I hope I was somewhat accurate haha