Piano: The Catalyst of Musical Creativity Aris Raj Agarwala

Music has always been something that interested me. As a kid, I adored the piano and took every moment I could to play the ivory keys with the very fibers of my being. However, as I became older and listened to different kinds of music, the genre that really struck me was Electronic Dance Music.

After buying Fruity Loops Studio, I once again found myself in love with music… not as the player, but the producer. Of course, I had an extremely limited view of music theory and attempted to make melodies by ear which did not always work out. However, just the sheer thought of making trance chords in succession on my screen that sounded decent sent shivers down my spine every time I sat down in front of my computer. Eventually, I took it a step further and bought a MIDI keyboard, plugging it into my computer to test all the things that I learned from childhood about keyboarding.

I still remember that project file that I began on. I still have its series of discordant trials and screeching synths that caused numerous spouts of “Quiet! It’s 2 in the morning!” from my father in the other room.

But of course, we all start somewhere.

As of now, although I do not do it as much as I like, I still enjoy producing electronic music in my free...