When I was little, I was always drumming on the couch or singing everywhere I went. I remember when I used to go to church and all I could watch was the drummer. I don’t know why I was so interested in the drums as there were so many other instruments I could’ve chosen, but this was what I loved. Once they noticed my interest, my parents surprised me with my first drum set at six years old. It was just scraps from other sets, but it was perfect.

Getting this set meant I needed lessons, so my parents signed me up. Now instead of doing drum lessons, I had to start with piano lessons. At the time I thought this was crazy, but as I got older I realized how important it was to learn piano. It wasn’t necessarily the piano that I had to learn but really it was the sheet music. It also helped with tempo control and similar basics. After I had learned the basics, that was when my parents finally signed me up for drum lessons.

I started my lessons at the store on Higgins called Electronic Sound & Percussion (ESP). I got to be with the best teacher I could have gotten, Checkers. This guy taught me everything I know from the multitasking to learning songs and even some jazz. I had lessons for a couple years and had bought and sold three drum sets. I even wrote songs of my own… but I never finished them.

With all these lessons, I had to do something, so I joined my band in fifth grade. It was such a great experience being able to play in a huge group. I learned countless songs and loved every single one. Even through sixth grade I was still loving the band. I played solos, learned even more music, and played every day. 

When middle school hit, I began my “creating music” journey. I was introduced to a browser-based software called Soundtrap. Looking back, this software was not great, but back then it felt like long lost treasure. I started to create my own songs, but I thought they needed something more. This is when my sibling bought me the NT1 Fifth Generation Rode Condenser Mic. I used this mic every chance I got. After about a month with all this newly acquired equipment, I had finished two songs.

Going through my eighth grade year, I saw a flyer for a program called Dream Bigger. I saw that we could get $100 to spend on a topic of our choice if we sign up. At the time I had thought this was a scam but I thought, “why would they put it in a school?” I told my mom and I got signed up. About a month later, the first couple meetings had started. At first I was struggling with a topic to do because of the low budget, but then I got big news. The $100 at the start was just to see who was interested. Now we were getting $4,000! I realized that I could get more music equipment so I called a friend for recommendations and I got everything I have now.

Now I have a small music studio, all built into my closet, with speakers, a midi piano, a Macbook, and some other small essentials. I have created many different songs but have yet to finish them fully. I use logic pro and it was very complicated at first, but I watched tutorials and now I’m halfway to knowing everything I need to. Once I finish a song or multiple, I will start publishing on Apple Music and Spotify.