The first time I saw a keyboard in the house was when I was seven. It was a Casio keyboard, which my Dad had bought Mum as a birthday gift!
Like any other excited kid at that age, I decided to claim ownership of this novel entity, by telling Mum that the ‘piano’ was mine. She agreed, on the condition that I would start learning. At that time, Mum used to take classes in learning the keyboard. Given the financial situation, only one of us could take classes. She stopped, so that I could begin mine and start learning.
Initially, for four years, I used to attend classes in Karama in a joint session where ten people would be playing on Yamaha keyboards in the same room. After that period, my next instructor, affiliated with Trinity College, used to come over home and mentor me. Because of his guidance and teachings, I slowly began to appreciate the finer nuances of music; the scales, techniques, arpeggios and various genres of pieces. These lessons instilled in me the framework required to compose my own music someday.
In 2015, my interest transitioned from technical appreciation of music to an expression of feeling. This was when I felt the chains unshackle, the rules unbuckle, creative liberties increase and ideas flow in for composing my own melodies with a newfound freedom. My first composition, ‘Memories’, struck a chord with my cousin brother Aditya Kripalani, who then featured the track in his film ‘Tikli and Lakshmi Bomb’ on Netflix. I performed a rendition of the same piece in the library at Esplanade in Singapore during my masters.
These experiences, along with being a keyboardist in the NTU ‘Fourier’ Graduate Student Association Band of five members, taught me that music is a language that transcends all barriers.
Do feel free to take a look at my music channel on YouTube. May the music be with you and stay safe!
- Akshay Gidwani
- akshayng30@gmail.com
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7HYYxFD2Bg0bjDGocdrb3w
- Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/akshay.gidwani.31/
- Art Journey