People make and compose music for different reasons.
Some enjoy interweaving chords and melodies to make beautiful compositions. Some like the freedom of creating music that they enjoy listening to.
For me, the main drive to write music is to express my emotions. Music is my outlet for all the frustration and anger I feel but could not express otherwise. That is why the rock genre appealed to me as a songwriter and performer.
At age 13, I discovered Linkin Park and heard “Points of Authority” for the first time. Chester Bennington’s powerful voice struck a chord (actually many chords) with me. I knew then that this was what I wanted to do with my life.
Growing up in Malaysia, I had a wonderful childhood. I enjoyed my primary school years very much.
However, things changed when I went to high school. I was bullied and felt isolated from my peers. I did not get much support from the teachers and I felt alone.
I would daydream during class and wished I was anywhere but there. I had no friends and my grades suffered.
Instead of doing my homework, I would put my legs up on my desk and get lost in the music playing through my headphones. For some reason, the soundscape lifted my spirits and the lyrics made me feel like I was not the only one going through difficulties in life.
Although I would only gain the skills to write songs years after I graduated from high school, the desire to write songs that will move and inspire people has always been there.
Lyrics carry a lot of weight as to whether I would like a song or not. Therefore, I would always write lyrics first, followed by melody and chords (although this has changed recently).
My personal life experiences provided me with a bottomless well to draw from. I began to embrace both positive and negative life circumstances because I knew that even if things do not go my way, I would still get a good song out of it.
And that makes me happy.