Schools
Keylab Strikes A Chord In Carroll Gardens
The music, arts and technology studio offers private and group lessons, workshops and open labs in south Brooklyn. [SPONSORED]
CARROLL GARDENS, BROOKLYN - Keylab is, first and foremost, a hub and haven for courses centered on music, the arts and technology — but it is so much more. From filmmaking to podcasting, Keylab encourages students to explore the capabilities of their digital production tools in a grand scheme to hone in on and sharpen the way people communicate ideas through sound.
Owner and musical director Adrian Cohen shares Keylab's music education classrooms, designed to join traditional concepts with modern technology; adult classes, its classical concert series and summer programs with Patch.
Find out what's happening in Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hillfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Patch: How does Keylab stand out from other studios?
Cohen: Keylab stands out from other studios in that we have three fully modernized music education classrooms that utilize multimedia, digital audio and affordable modern music production tools to inspire and educate our students of all ages. Our focus on teaching both traditional music education and music production through the lens of modern technology is something that not many studios are doing in Brooklyn.
Find out what's happening in Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hillfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Patch: Keylab’s premier courses center on music, the arts and technology. What is the significance of including courses in other disciplines, such as filmmaking and podcasting?
Cohen: Keylab includes courses in filmmaking and podcasting because they are, in essence, much like music — exercises in composition and communicating ideas. Music communicates in broad strokes, using sound to illicit a response in the listener, but the response can be highly subjective to each listener, based on their own personal way of processing sound and emotion.
Film and podcasting, on the other hand, communicate a more specific idea to the viewer or listener that is highly curated and directed by the composer or producer, using the basic compositional ideas and processes that musicians use when composing. By allowing students to learn about these mediums that are closely related to music, they not only get to more fully explore the capabilities of their digital production tools — tablets, smartphones, desktop computers — but also how to express and communicate specific ideas to the world.
Patch: Tell us about Keylab’s lab rooms.
Cohen: Keylab’s three modern music education classrooms are designed to bring together traditional music education concepts and modern technology to create a unique, one-of-a-kind learning experience. The main tools we use in our classrooms are readily available in most homes these days: desktop computers, tablets, smartphones and inexpensive digital keyboards.
Our Key Lab is a state of the art group piano classroom, using six digital pianos, a smart TV, desktop computer and a highly customizable audio routing system that allows students to play individually, in small groups or as an entire class. The Tech Lab is our composition and music production classroom that uses 12.9-inch iPad Pros and MIDI keyboard controllers to teach students everything from music theory, composition, music production, music history and more.
The band room is where students learn to perform and record music, using a variety of professional-grade equipment, including a grand piano, acoustic and digital drum set, electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitars and a full PA system for live performance. The band room also doubles as a recording studio, using a desktop computer, digital audio interface and professional music production software.
Patch: What after-school opportunities are available for children?
Cohen: Children can take semester-long classes at Keylab for group piano, Bandnatomy (performance and music theory class), or Stemistry (recording/music composition). We also offer use of our classrooms when they are not being used for classes to families and students who need a place for individual or group rehearsal and music production.
Patch: Tell us about the more popular classes offered to adults.
Cohen: Although we have been focusing primarily on our kid's classes in the beginning stages of Keylab's development, we do offer several classes for adults as well. Our most popular adult class at the moment is group piano, which we currently offer for beginner and beginner-intermediate students. We also offer music theory, music production and band/performance classes for adults and will be announcing offerings in those areas soon.
Patch: How can inexperienced musicians or those interested in learning to play a new instrument get involved at Keylab?
Cohen: Although Keylab has much to offer professionals and more experienced musicians, we are very much suited to beginners, and most of our current classes are designed with the beginning student in mind. We ask most people to send us some basic information about their skill level and musical experience before placing them in classes so that students can get the most out of their experience at Keylab. We also connect students who want to learn individually with other teachers who can either teach lessons at Keylab at their own studios or in the student’s home.
Patch: What events does Keylab have in store this year?
Cohen: Keylab has been hosting a monthly series of classical concerts on weekend evenings in collaboration with the fantastic organization Groupmuse. We will be endeavoring to add more events as we grow, most notably providing performance opportunities to young students looking to hone their live performance skills. We also have our first annual recital event coming up on June 17, which we're very excited about.
Patch: Tell us about Keylab's free workshop in November with Kirin McElwain.
Cohen: Keylab is open to the community for use as a workshop studio, and Kirin McElwain has hosted several group cello classes as well as Alexander technique workshops at Keylab. Her focus in these workshops is to use Alexander technique to help students learn proper posture, movement and performance techniques that promote relaxation and mindful presence while practicing and performing.
Patch: What summer programs does Keylab offer?
Cohen: Keylab is offering several summer programs for the 2017 season: A lab intensive that offers young students an opportunity to explore the possibilities in our labs and then choose a specific project to work with an instructor as their guide.
The Song Lab program is similar but more specifically focused on teaching students how to compose, record and perform an original song. Our filmmaking program uses student iPhones and our own equipment (lighting, green screen, digital video editing software) to create short films. And our podcasting and sonic arts program is focused on teaching students how to use sound, the spoken word, narrative techniques and modern radio production techniques to create short audio pieces that communicate the producer's ideas to the listener.
Patch: Patch readers care about their communities and the people living and working within them. How can our readers get in touch with you or otherwise learn more about Keylab's calendar, rehearsal space, courses and other opportunities?
Cohen: Readers can go to keylab.nyc to find out more about our facilities and programs and to sign up for courses and summer programs.
Photo credit: Keylab
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.