Key Of Grey

Photo courtesy of Jakob E

June 4th, 2008 – I am excited to announce that “Key of Grey” is live. I have been mulling over how to launch this site for a long time and I’m excited that it’s finally online. For the past 2 years I worked for a software company, working to pay off my student loans. I never planned on working in IT. In fact, when I was programming in Turbo Pascal at about age 16, I told myself that I would never do it for a living; I wasn’t built for that type of work. Fast forward a decade and, after surviving on an artist’s meager earnings, I bit the bullet and gave software development another chance. The money was decent, certainly much better than what I had made writing music, but it left me starved creatively.

A month ago, I quit. It was something I had thought about for a while but when it actually happened, I was in shock. Suddenly, I didn’t have the safety net of a stable job. What I did have was time to do everything I had daydreamed about. Starting “Key of Grey” has been at the top of my agenda for a long while.

Several years ago when I was just starting out, I had a lot of questions about the technical side of producing music. I had song ideas, but did not know how to get them to the same level as songs on the radio. I went to forums and websites trying to find answers to some very basic questions. Unfortunately, it was difficult to get a straight-forward answer for a newbie, not to mention one that wasn’t sarcastic. As I’m sure most of you have discovered already, there are some groups out there that are pretty elitist.

I decided that I should invest my time and money in a professional institution, so I went to music school. After I graduated, I worked in studios as an engineer and producer, and wrote music for artists and films. One thing I realized, was that passion for music is the important part, all the technical things are simply tools for allowing you to do what you want.

When I first started writing and producing music for a living, friends started asking me all sorts of questions; I had no idea so many of them were interested in creating music. Between them all, I started to recognize a common line of questioning. At that point, I decided I should create a resource they could all access.

“Key of Grey” is designed to be an easily digestible resource for beginners to the world of songwriting and music production. I would love to see it grow into a supportive community such that readers that start as beginners can progress to the point that they can share their experiences with a new generation of song writers. I am by no means an expert on all things music, nor am I always going to have the right answers for you. I can only provide what has worked for me and I hope it helps you get started. If you enjoy this site, please help me pass the word!