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| Aabha Pal – Musician/Composer |
“I was in the 7th class when I participated in a singing competition for the first time. I was not at all trained. And to my surprise, I got 2nd prize. Till that time, I had no idea I could sing. After this, I talked to my parents about learning music. They were very concerned about my studies because I belong to a family where no one is in an artistic field- everyone is very studious. I was also good at studies. Like any other Indian family, my parents also wanted me to be an engineer or doctor. I wanted to take commerce as my stream because I’ll be able to give time to the music. But my father had other plans and asked me to take up science. I was very bad at Maths so I took Biology in 11th grade. I wanted to learn music. I studied attentively but at the back of my mind, I always wanted the music to be my profession.
After 12th grade, I was adamant that I’ll learn music, no matter what! Brown parents think that if their child is intelligent then he/she should be in some technical course. After I told them about my plans, everyone was shocked. I was ready to do any course but I would not leave music. I searched for courses that require less attention so that I could give most of my time to the music. I got to know about AAFT (Asian Academy of Film and Television) which was offering Bachelors in Performing arts. They’ll teach about music. I got very much attracted. My parents weren’t ready but they decided to once have a look at the college. Parents doubted it but my excitement convinced them to admit me to the college.
My first year was a trial. I never took professional training so I knew very little about music. I didn’t know what tone suits me or what was my genre. Everyone in my class was confident but I felt tensed and confused. I was exploring my field. I interacted with many new people and they helped me out. I was criticized by many but I took that criticism positively and pushed myself to learn and excel. Teachers also did not pay much attention to me because I was average to them.
After a year of graduation, my parents wanted me to switch to some other college because I had some issues. They were ready to let me pursue music as my profession because they saw how serious I was about it.
I was not trained. I had to train my voice before taking a note. I got to know that classical music helps a lot in vocal training but I had no one to teach me. In the second year, a new teacher was appointed. She was fabulous in her work. She told us about vocal training in western form. Gently, I was able to control my voice. She taught us about western music. After some training, I was able to do things easily in western music. Gradually, my voice adapted those western songs. My classmates told me that western music suits me and I should go for it. But she left after two months. We had no replacement for 6 months. I was disappointed and even argued with other teachers. I wanted to learn but there was no one to teach me.
I searched for Delhi School of Music. I had attended some musical functions of DSM already and was always in awe of it. The ambiance was very impressive. The teachers were very professional and highly trained. I joined DSM. Before the teacher started with music, we were taught some vocal exercises. I used to practice them every day. My western music was also improved. Within a small period, I was able to sing even those songs which I thought were the most difficult to even attempt. My parents were very happy with my progress.
After some time, I filmed the music cover of Wolves (Selena Gomez and Marshmello) and a very professional video for it. I had a very pleasing response on my first ever video. I felt very proud of myself. I felt motivated by the response and did many more covers.
When I got to know that people who are professionally into music were noticing me, I decided to do something big. I wrote a song by myself, ‘Cyclones ft. VDJ Talon‘ and composed it too. I wanted the best to come out of it. During that time, one of my friends sent me some music and wanted me to try it. I did and when he heard it, he was so much impressed that he wanted it to be professional. He produced it. This was my first original music video. I also released another original music video, ‘Hope ft. Ankit Silas‘. I had a beautiful reaction from the audience on both the music videos. My originals were also uploaded on Spotify, itunes, Amazon music. I felt proud of myself.
I thought of making my music commercial. I have a new song coming up which is very soothing. I have many new projects in line. I’m working on my music every day. I’m improving every day. I hope I’ll be able to bring out the best and entertain my audience as much as I can.”