Alicia Keys enrolled in the Professional Performing Arts School at the age of 12, where she took music, dance, and theater classes and majored in choir. In her preteen years, Keys and her bass-playing friend formed their first group, though neither "knew too much about how pop songs worked". Keys would continue singing, writing songs, and performing in musical groups throughout junior high and high school. She became an accomplished pianist, and after her classical music teacher had nothing left to teach her, she began studying jazz at age 14. Living in the "musical melting pot" city, Keys had already been discovering other genres of music, including soul music, hip hop, R&B, and taken affinity to artists like Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield. Keen on dissecting music, Keys continued developing her songwriting and finding her own 'flow and style" through her exploration of the intricacies in different music
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