Meet Hiromasa Kobayashi

We recently connected with Hiromasa Kobayashi and have shared our conversation below.

Hiromasa, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

As a music composer, I keep my mind refreshed and my creativity alive by maintaining an active imagination, interacting with various people, and learning from the best.
Usually, I maintain an active imagination through films and novels. I like to collect inside my head those scenes, moments or characters that have left deep impressions and thus have touched me deeply. These sentiments then often translate to melodic fragments which form building blocks for new compositions.
Interacting with people from all walks of life helps me gain a broader view of the world. Listening to their stories and different perspectives is very beneficial for me to construct diverse and interesting musical narratives in my mind.
I am personally an avid listener of music of all genres and styles, and with each listen I always analyze the music carefully by asking these questions: What makes it so good? What techniques are used here? How has the composer developed their thematic materials? I would even at times reach out to composers to ask for their advice or professional experiences. Life is a perpetual learning process, and through continuous learning, creativity is kept alive and fresh.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My name is Hiromasa Kobayashi (Keya), and I am a composer and pianist from Australia. I was trained in classical piano from age 9, but was always drawn more into composition. I wrote my first ever composition when I was 12, which I played in my debut performance during my high school’s end-of-year Christmas concert.
After graduating from university, I worked in the financial sector for a few years before deciding to pursue my passion. For the past six years, I have had the honor and privilege of meeting and collaborating with many outstanding artists from around the world. To date, many of my compositions have been performed and released by various musicians and singers from different countries, including vocal and instrumental works covering a wide range of genres from classical to jazz to pop. My music has also been aired regularly and even won an award on One World Music Radio (UK).
As a solo pianist, I have so far released a number of singles and one full concept album earlier this year. Currently I am working on new singles which are to be compiled into a second album upon completion of all tracks.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

To me, I think these three main qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful are: discipline, perseverance and love. A strongly disciplined lifestyle is essential for getting the work done, avoid procrastination, and reaching various life goals. Perseverance is a must, because all chances and hopes die when one gives up. Obstacles and setbacks can be very disheartening and daunting, but faith in the light ahead keeps dreams alive. Love is the inner light that guides and propels us forward – one feels bravest when one’s heart is filled with love: love for others, and love for oneself.
I am myself still in the early stages of my journey, but I would say that if you truly desire something, go for it and work on it with all discipline, perseverance and love that you can muster. Nothing is easy in life, but with love and passion, you can develop and nurture those qualities that are impactful or important to you with relative ease. The journey then becomes a rewarding and colorful one.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

I would have to say Mark Manson’s “The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F”. The book has been an eye-opener for me since it focuses on many themes that are vital for personal development and living a healthy life including but not limited to: limiting the amount of F’s one should give in life; taking responsibility for one’s own situations; adopting healthy life metrics and values; how to handle the fear of failure; and embracing one’s mortality.
One of the most valuable nuggets of wisdom from the book for me has been to cultivate and maintain good values, that is, those that are socially constructive and controllable, for example self-respect, humility, innovation, charity, creativity.
The other “nugget of wisdom” is Manson’s Do Something Principle: action creates inspiration, which then turns into motivation for further action. This is especially applicable to music composition: instead of just waiting for inspiration to strike, one should sit down and start planning and writing. This has helped me get things done efficiently by eliminating all temptations of procrastination.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/keyamusica
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keyamusica/
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• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@keyamusica