KeyboardMania FAQ 1st Mix

by rampage

KeyboardMania 3rd Mix Arcade

Q: How do I play KeyboardMania?
KeyboardMania is played in a similar fasion to other Bemani games, especially beatmania. The "keyboard" is a 2 octave, 24 key keyboard with a pitch wheel. As bars drop down the screen, you need to hit the corresponding keys or wheel in time with the dropping bars.

Q: Do I need to know how to play the piano to play KeyboardMania?
While knowing how to play the piano can be helpful, it certainly is not a requirement. The advantage to knowing how to play the piano is in that it can be easy to recognize certain note patterns making you better equipped to hit the keys in the correct sequence.

Q: Will KeyboardMania help me to play the piano?
It is the author's opinion that using KeyboardMania to help you play the piano is about as useful as using GuitarFreaks to help you to play the guitar. While the methods and mechanics may be piano-like, you're not requidarkblue to read real sheet music or really play music. Ultimately, you're using a big controller to hit the right button at the right time.

Q: What is KeyboardHeaven?
KeyboardHeaven is the Korean version of KeyboardMania. It is basically KeyboardMania 1st Mix with the Japanese songs removed.

Q: What are the home versions of KeyboardMania?
KeyboardMania is a direct port of the arcade version of KeyboardMania. It is compatible ONLY with the official Konami KeyboardMania controller.

KeyboardMania II is a port of Keyboardmania 2+3 combined into one game. Unlike the original KeyboardMania, Keyboardmania II has the ability to use any MIDI keyboard as a controller by adding a USB to MIDI convertor. Konami recommends the Yamaha UX16 convertor, but people have ported successful results with other adapters.

Q: Is there a 3rd-party controller that I can use for KeyboardMania?
If you are playing KeyboardMania II, you can use any MIDI keyboard as a controller as long as you buy a USB to MIDI convertor.

Q: How is the official Konami KeyboardMania controller?
The official Konami controller is nearly identical to the arcade controller. Some people have said that the keys are a bit stiffer, but that could change after the controller is "broken in". A picture of the controller can be found here.

Q: When will the next version of KeyboardMania come out?
Unfourtunately, KeyboardMania appears to be a dead series. Konami has no future plans to release another version of KeyboardMania. The lack of session support for KeyboardMania in GuitarFreaks 7 and DrumMania 6 pretty much spelled doom for the series.

Q: What codes are there for KeyboardMania 1st Mix?
This section is under construction.

Q: How do I unlock Pressure Mode? (3rd Mix)
This section is under construction.

Q: What's session play, and how do I use it? (3rd Mix)
Session play is only supported in the arcade, and is only supported with KeyboardMania 3rd mix, GuitarFreaks versions 5/6 and/or DrumMania 5/4. If the machines are set up for link play, you will see a screen showing the connected machines after you hit start. When this happens, others who are playing will have an opportunity to put tokens into their machine and press start. Note, though that there is a very limited selection of songs for session play when there is a KeyboardMania machine linked into a session making it far from popular.

Q: How do I get Light+ mode? (3rd Mix)
When in Light mode, hit any of the black keys to change from Light mode to Light+ mode. In Light mode, only about 75% of the keys are available (the last 6 keys are blacked out). Light+ lets you play on easy difficulty with all 24 keys available.

Q: How do I access Another mode in the arcade? (3rd Mix)
Another mode is only supported in 3rd mix on a handfull of songs (Carezza, Pink Rose, Illegally Sane, and Smoky Town). To access Another mode, you first need to be in Real mode. On the first octave, while holding down C#/D# (the two black keys all the way on the left) hit any white key. Release. Then hold down F#/G#/A# (the group of 3 black keys), any white key. This will put you into Another mode. Songs in Another mode on KeyboardMania are extremely difficult!

Q: What is Pressure Mode? (3rd Mix)
Pressure mode is a set of non-stop courses. In these pre-defined courses you can select the order of the 4 songs and speed you want to play them at. If you miss any notes, your life bar will not recharge.

Q: What are the different Pressure Mode courses? (3rd Mix)
1.J-Vocal Selection: Shiritori, Pink Rose, Shining Dream, New Century Generation
2.Rapid Selection: Keyboard Man, Klungkung 1655, Sabre Dance, Cassandra
3.Upper Selection: Frozen Ray, Limitation, SENSATION-from SALAMANDER2, Ride on the Light
4.Breeze Selection: Smoky Town, To the 44883, Citta' del sole, Blessing
5.Pops Selection: Mr.Moon, Depend on Me, Cosmic Cowgirl, Show Them The Way
6.Impossible? Selection: Q no Tame no Sonata, Carezza, Classic Party 3, Three Worms
7.Dokkiri Selection (Real mode only): Presto, Carezza (Another), Smoky Town (Another), The Least 100sec

Legend: Green: New to the mix Blue: Exclusive to the mix

KeyboardMania 3rd Mix (Arcade) / KeyboardMania II (Home - 3rd Mix songs)

Henry Henry / Bunmei [not available in KBM II]
Shiritori / Fantastic Factory [not available in KBM II]
Keyboard Man / simon [not available in KBM II]
Shining Dream / Magic Project [not available in KBM II]
Ride on the Light / Mr.T
Sabre Dance / A. Kachuaturian
Memories / Naya~n
Akumajo Dracula Medley / Kukeihakurabu
Presto / Osamu Kubota
Vitalize / Sphinx
Massara Long Version / Natural Bear
Pink Rose / Kiyommy+Seiya [Another version available]
New Century Generation / Magic Project
Show Them The Way / Nahjee
Labyrinth / Nahjee [Session Play supported]
Illegally Sane / Tatsuya Nishiwaki [Another version available]
Smoky Town / Q.U.A.D [Another version available]
Threshold Lebel / Tatsuya Nishiwaki
To the 44883 / Mr.T
EL-AL-K / Shinji Hosoe
Sensaton-from Salamander 2 / Shinji Hosoe
Frozen Ray / dj TAKA
Citta' del Sole / Q-Mex
Klungkung 1655 / simon
Limitation / Seiya Murai
Q no Tame no Sonata / J.S. Mech
Blessing / Q-mex
Carezza / Osamu Kubota [Another version available]
Midori no Kaze / Naya~n
Monkey Magic [Session Play supported]
Dear My Friend [Session Play supported]
The Least 100sec / Sakasiki Hiofumi [Session Play supported]
Classic Party 3 / Hideyuki Ono [Session Play supported]
Cassandra / anettai maji-SKA bakudan [Session Play supported]
Three Worms / Jimmy Weckl [Session Play supported]
Mr.Moon / Julie Ann Frost [Session Play supported]
Depend on Me / Thomas Howard [Session Play Supported]
Cosmic Cowgirl / Toshio Sakurai [Session Play supported]
Erize no Tameni (Fur Elise) / L.V. Beehoven [unlockable song in Arcade version]
Omocha no Heitai no Koushin (Parade of the Wooden Soldiers) / Leon Jessel [unlockable song in Arcade version]

Burnin / Bunmei, Ryo [not available in KBM II]
Shake! / Bunmei [not available in KBM II]
Fairy Tale / Q-Mex [not available in KBM II]
Mighty Guy / Chihomi [not available in KBM II]
Henry Henry / Bunmei [not available in KBM II]
MR.C.C. / N.R.B. [not available in KBM II]
kimi ni ai ni yukou / Pictures of Lily [not available in KBM II]
Let's go back home (for Christmas) / Larry Caorin [not available in KBM II]
Morning Music / Bubble System [not available in KBM II]
Armajiro / Bunmei [not available in KBM II]
Ride on the Light / Mr. T
Sabre Dance / A.Khachaturian
Memories / Naya~n
Motion / Sparker
Steam and Dream / V.C.O.
Akumajo Dracula Medley / Kukeihakurabu
Presto / Osamu Kubota
Mighty Guy (long ver.) / Chihomi
Morning Music (original) / Bubble System
Journey to the Wonderland / N.P.B.
Inspector N. / III
Snow Afternoon / Univers 6
Manhattan Sports Club / simon
Beyond the Ocean / World Sequence
Usao Kun / The Rabbits
Massara / Natural Bear
Hear My Love Song / Saki
Regret / Ryo & Q-Mex 5
Vitalize / Sphinx
Heaven's Gate / Nahjee & Hata
Cycletron / Hiroyuki Namba
Sun Beam / Nahjee

Burnin / Bunmei
The 24th D / Sparker
My Love / Q-Mex & Chelsea
Confusion / Thomas
All The Love / Lala Moore
Shining Dream / Magic Project [Not available in KeyboardHeaven]
Fairy Tale / Q-Mex
Lets' go back home (for Christmas) / Larry Caorin
Shake! / Bunmei
MR.C.C / N.R.B.
Crisis of Love / T.R.S.R. feat. MIHO-F
Brain child / Logic System
Armajiro / Bunmei
Dicky's Theme / Naya~n Big Band
Pf Concerto No.2 / Prokochsky
kimi ni ai ni yukou / Pictures of Lily [Not available in KeyboardHeaven]
Shiritori / Fantastic Factory [Not available in KeyboardHeaven]
Keyboard Man / simon
Mighty Guy / Chiomi [Not available in KeyboardHeaven]
Morning Music / Bubble System
gymnopedie (skip over mix) / Mitsuto Suzuki [Only available in KeyboardMania home version]
Mighty Guy -Long Version- / Chihomi [Only available in KeyboardMania home version]