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. While I’m happy to have achieved our goals, the last 3 years were certainly hard on me and needed a well deserved break (More on my band experience in this article).
On Christmas Eve, a bit after I made that announcement to them, my secret Santa revealed their gift to me, FL Studio. I haven’t touched a producing software since 2011 when I took a music/computers class where we used Fruity Loops, nor did I ever plan on becoming a producer, but it opened a whole new world of possibilities. I’m excited to experiment and show the world all I’ve learned the last few years as I create the music of my mind and soul.
My GoalS With My Music
As I prepare to release my first few songs, there were 3 goals I had in mind:
1. I want to portray the beauty and magic 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 something, and I could understand it just through the instrumentation. It didn’t need explosive vocals or fancy guitar solos, it just needed chord progressions that take you through a story. I hope to also make my listeners feel something when they listen to music.
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. I want to add to the more positive, encouraging, and hopeful songs that are coming out in this generation, songs that motivate and encourage like the Japanese music I’ve listened to most of my life, and music that reflects the hope, faith, joy, and peace that comes with being loved by God and saved through Jesus Christ.
3. To continue my mission of inspiring others to just take that leap of faith, put themselves out there, and pursue their dreams earnestly. When I was still a really sucky guitar beginner, I was sharing clips of my raw unedited playing on Instagram. While it was a progress journal for myself, I wanted to be real. Many people only show themselves or their work when it’s perfect, but I don’t mind being open and honest about my flaws, my mistakes, and my shortcomings. As I get into producing, I want to create a similar progress journal, not waiting too long to release my first song and then just building and improving with time. If I can get better, so can you <3
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 ^_^