What Is Kitsune Music Academy?
Kitsune Music Academy is a modern way to learn music, and we consider it to be either a supplement or replacement for traditional music lessons. We encourage our students to approach a variety of topics at their own pace. You are not limited in the breadth of courses available to you with a KMA account – you have full access to every topic; be it Theory, Production, Bass, as well as all topics to come (including Piano, Drums, and more)!
We offer courses across three different levels: Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced. This covers a very broad range of skill levels – from absolute beginners, to those seeking information beyond what you’d find in a college course. For more information, click on “Courses.”
We also encourage the use of KMA in a school environment! Our courses have been created to meet the standards of North American Band Associations, and the content has been vetted by numerous teachers!
How Did Kitsune Music Academy Start?
Kitsune Music Academy is the brainchild of Creator & Instructor Alex Gelinas. He has significant experience as a teacher, and can see that the way forward in education is by embracing technology. KMA aims to blend the information available in a traditional education with the pace we have come to know and love on the internet. A Kickstarter campaign was created in August 2016, and it was a success! It is thanks to the support of many generous backers that KMA is here today.
What Is The Structure?
The way courses work on Kitsune Music Academy is that there are a series of course topics – at the moment, Bass, Music Theory, and Music Production. Each one of these topics has three levels of courses – Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced. From each of these course levels, you have a selection of courses within each topic, and these courses are organized into modules, and lessons. Courses also have short quizzes to help make sure you are retaining all of the information, and when you’re finished, you receive a badge on your profile which marks the completion of that course!
We also have the capacity to allow for live-streams and private lessons! These do not have a set schedule at the moment, but any and all news will be announced if/when they do.
Why A Subscription Model?
Why is Kitsune Music Academy a subscription site, and why should you join it when there are hundreds of YouTube videos out there for free?
Our goal with KMA is to create high quality, well produced educational materials about the subjects you want to learn about. While some free YouTube channels have good quality information, there are several caveats. We have found several channels which teach wrong information. We have also noticed that channels tend to fall short of the full educational spectrum- while they may be great for beginners, they offer very little for intermediate, or advanced musicians.
KMA aims to be affordable with its subscription model, starting at just $5 per month, and reaching $15 with its highest tier. We want to keep that barrier of entry very low, because it is the quality of education which matters most. We also interact with our community, and want to provide the content that you want to learn. We regularly read comments and feedback when creating our new courses, so we encourage you to be vocal with your requests!
Who Is Alex Gelinas?
Alex Gelinas is the Creator & Primary Instructor of Kitsune Music Academy. He has been a musician since 1995, and has a huge amount of experience in the music industry. He has performed all over North America (From Vancouver to New York City), with numerous different groups (Jazz, Vocal, Metal, Bluegrass, Rock, Folk, Pop, and a few more). He is a multi-instrumentalist; but his primary focus is on the Electric & Upright Bass.
In 2010, he graduated from Grant MacEwan University with an Associate’s Degree in Music Performance (Honours). A few years later, he graduated from Berklee College of Music with a Degree in Electronic Production & Design (Honours).
Though he has a very creative mind, he also has an extremely analytical, logical one. He has worked professionally as a Software Developer, as well as providing Software Consulting services for multiple companies. He is also the web developer for KMA!
Alex is an avid teacher. He started teaching private lessons in 2006, and continues to teach to this day. It is a passion of his, and his goal is to make learning fun and accessible for everyone. He believes that education is one of the most important parts of our lives, and we should always be learning!
In his free time, Alex loves playing video games with his friends, hiking, and spending time with animals.