For Ishir Ayyagari, it’s common to be hunched over his computer and listening to the playback of a song he has been tinkering with as it creates it in SoundCloud. The song is good but not quite right.
With a flash of inspiration, Ayyagari reverses the track and adjusts the sound. He is happy with the result, and the song will be on his next album
Ayyagari started his music journey 10 years ago when he picked up the guitar, an instrument he felt was cool. Four years later, he also began playing the violin.
As a 7th grader, Ayyagari discovered another path to take with music: production. Under Redwood Middle School music teacher Isabel McPherson’s direction, he learned to use Soundtrap, a free online music maker, to produce, starting by putting loops together and creating melodies.
Then, Ayyagari began to work in SoundCloud, a similar platform designed for music production. Ayyagari is one of thousands of budding musicians using the platform. Since his debut, he’s released over 70 songs in the genre of electronic dance music.
“I’ve really loved the process of creating music, how you can take any emotion or thought and transform these ideas into sounds that fit together into a song,” Ayyagari said.
While composing a song, Ayyagari has found the greatest joy when a rough idea transforms into something that works out. Though elements may sound unpolished in the beginning, if that raw idea continues being tempered, there comes a point where a single note or rhythm refinement makes everything suddenly click.
“It’s a lot about sticking with an idea, rather than giving up,” he said. “It will sound like cheeks a lot of the time, but having that perseverance to stay with the song through the difficulties is what makes it magical.”
Ayyagari added, “I regret the ideas that I’ve given up on in the past because they didn’t sound like how I wanted initially.”
At SHS, Ayyagari also played violin for the school’s String Orchestra and was a concert master for the group, helping to lead the orchestra.
Playing instruments that have focused on melody (violin and guitar) has helped him with creating melodies in creating his songs, he said. He can generally see how chords come together more naturally, but he thinks he still needs to put in more work into elements such as percussion.
Ayyagari said he has enjoyed finding his musical community on SoundCloud, where he also met many of the artists through Discord servers and other groupchats. He’s learned from those with more experience.
“I’ve got to meet a lot of cool people through music. I’ve loved taking workshops over the summer, parts of production like mixing and mastering,” Ayyagari said. “It’s an incredible stress outlet, and I’m definitely a lot more chill than I would’ve been if I didn’t find music.”
In April, Ishir announced his commitment to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he will major in electronic production and design.
Since Berklee is a school with a lot of connections in the music industry, Ayyagari hopes to widen the audience for his music through it.
“The most important things I’ve learned are open-mindedness and perseverance,” Ayyagari said. “You need to remember that the final product will be difficult to get to and that it will not be exactly what you imagined it to be at first. You should be open to change, both in music and the rest of your life.”
