An Interview with Meha Patel
We recently interviewed a teen singer/musician for the Cliché Teen Journal Interview Blog page.
Read about the interview below!
*A conversation between Anna L. and Meha Patel a teen singer/musician.*
Question 1: How long have you been playing your musical instrument or singing?
Meha: I have been playing the piano since I was in second grade which was 8 years ago. I also self taught myself guitar and ukulele last year. I played clarinet from 5th to 8th grade in my middle school band. As for singing, I honestly could not tell you. I have been singing as long as I remember. I think my first vivid memory of singing in front of people was a holiday concert put on by my first grade music teacher.
Question 2: What lead you towards your love for music?
Meha: I honestly think my love toward music came out of it being something I could do at anytime and it reflected my emotions so well. I can sing with my best friends or just chill on my bed and play guitar. I can jam out to crazy songs when I’m having a good day or write emotional music when I’m not. Music is something that I can share with the people I love or even enjoy on my own time and I think that’s why I love it. Every aspect of my life connects to music somehow.
Question 3: What would you say your preferred genre of music is?
Meha: My favorite genre of music to listen to is definitely jazz. I feel like i’m an oldie at heart because a great time to me is just listening to a record of Frank Sinatra. Singing wise, I prefer singing ballads and slower music, maybe music with more depth. I can safely say I prefer music that has simple instrumentals such as piano, guitar, or violin; essentially acoustics. I’m not a huuuuge fan of edm style music but honestly all music is amazing.
Question 4: What do you enjoy the most about being a musician?
Meha: I think the best part of being a musician is being able to convey anything your feeling through music. Even though I’m not the best song writer, singing songs that portray how I feel gives me an outlet to my emotions. Some people enjoy writing in journals, I just find music that that represents me in that moment. I also think that the more you connect with the music the better it sounds. There have honestly been times that I have been listening to a song late at night and it really just hits me in the feels.
Question 5: What is your goal in the musical career pathway?
Meha: Honestly, I don’t know what the future holds. I never went into music with the mindset of making money; it has always been a hobby. The biggest thing for me though, is that I always want to be doing something that I love and that’s music. If in the long run it becomes a sustainable career, that’s honestly the dream. I think short term goal wise I just want to grow my reach on social media, maybe start a youtube channel eventually. Long term I would really love to get signed to a label and produce mainstream music. I feel like I could bring a whole new sound to the current world of highly digitized music. But yeah, right now I’m just trying to grow to around 10k in the next two years, fingers crossed
Question 6: What qualities do you believe a good musician should posses?
Meha: I think the biggest thing musicians should remember is to produce content that they believe in, not what people tell them should be doing. Music is an expression of your own feelings; you are telling your story to the world and I think that people sometimes forget that because they want money and fame. I think that if you’re doing what you love, people will notice that passion and THAT is what will help you grow, not producing songs about topics you have no genuine feelings about. Essentially, staying true to who you are.
Question 7: Who had been your biggest “cheerleader” by supporting your music career?
Meha: I think that my friends and family, as cliche as that sounds, have been my biggest supporters. My friends at school are always telling me to post more covers and that they want to be my managers and honestly the love I receive is amazing. My parents also are always pushing me to do what I love, a message they raised me with, so that manifests in me creating more content. I think the funniest moment was when my dad created an instagram solely to follow my account; he didn’t even know how to use Instagram.
Question 8: What is the best advice anyone has given you regarding music?
Meha: The toughest part this far has been connecting with people that have more experience than me, especially over social media. There is that whole stigma of “oh she has less followers I won’t follow her back” and things like that so honestly I haven’t received much advice from people that are doing the same thing as me. I think the advice I got from my music teachers has always been the best and that has just been to keep doing what I love despite the feedback or lack thereof. Eventually, people will notice what i’m doing and it will all pay off in the end. Just keep working hard and staying true to who you are.
Question 9: How does your schoolwork or other things in your life impact your music?
Meha: I think that the biggest hinderance right now is the fact that i’m in high school. I think if school wasn’t an obstacle I would be posting a lotttt more and even have time to create a youtube channel, something I have wanted to do since about fourth grade. The school that I go to is especially tough, one of the most difficult schools in my state and that definitely effects my motivation. Sometimes after a long day at school I don’t want to redo my hair and set up my camera, I just want to play music so sometimes the whole recording aspect seems like a chore. Despite that, I really love recording videos and try to make as much time as possible. Right now, I have a weekly schedule of posting once a week on Mondays. That usually increases in the summer and decreases during field hockey season in the fall. Schoolwork definitely takes a toll on my stress and sometimes that on top of the fact that I may not get the responses I want on videos really frustrates me, but in the end I do it because i love it: it’s that simple.
Question 10: What advice would you give to other kids trying to juggle music and school?
Meha: I think my biggest piece of advice would be to take a step back and chill. Honestly, I used to stress myself out with trying to post three or more times a week and at the same time not having the motivation to work out or do homework, as bad as that sounds. Just try to find a schedule that works for or even just don’t focus on producing videos. Enjoy the music and take a break from recording if you need to. You may lose followers and that’s totally okay I think your mental well being comes first. Eventually, you will find a schedule that works for you. As for just music and school, music is your passion. When you need a break from all that work and stress take it out through your music instead of netflix or youtube.
Last Question: Do you have any last things you would like to add?
Meha: nope! just want to thank you for this opportunity!
Anna: Thank you!
Meha's Instagram: @meha.p.music
View her singing: CLICK BUTTON BELOW!
Meha: I have been playing the piano since I was in second grade which was 8 years ago. I also self taught myself guitar and ukulele last year. I played clarinet from 5th to 8th grade in my middle school band. As for singing, I honestly could not tell you. I have been singing as long as I remember. I think my first vivid memory of singing in front of people was a holiday concert put on by my first grade music teacher.
Question 2: What lead you towards your love for music?
Meha: I honestly think my love toward music came out of it being something I could do at anytime and it reflected my emotions so well. I can sing with my best friends or just chill on my bed and play guitar. I can jam out to crazy songs when I’m having a good day or write emotional music when I’m not. Music is something that I can share with the people I love or even enjoy on my own time and I think that’s why I love it. Every aspect of my life connects to music somehow.
Question 3: What would you say your preferred genre of music is?
Meha: My favorite genre of music to listen to is definitely jazz. I feel like i’m an oldie at heart because a great time to me is just listening to a record of Frank Sinatra. Singing wise, I prefer singing ballads and slower music, maybe music with more depth. I can safely say I prefer music that has simple instrumentals such as piano, guitar, or violin; essentially acoustics. I’m not a huuuuge fan of edm style music but honestly all music is amazing.
Question 4: What do you enjoy the most about being a musician?
Meha: I think the best part of being a musician is being able to convey anything your feeling through music. Even though I’m not the best song writer, singing songs that portray how I feel gives me an outlet to my emotions. Some people enjoy writing in journals, I just find music that that represents me in that moment. I also think that the more you connect with the music the better it sounds. There have honestly been times that I have been listening to a song late at night and it really just hits me in the feels.
Question 5: What is your goal in the musical career pathway?
Meha: Honestly, I don’t know what the future holds. I never went into music with the mindset of making money; it has always been a hobby. The biggest thing for me though, is that I always want to be doing something that I love and that’s music. If in the long run it becomes a sustainable career, that’s honestly the dream. I think short term goal wise I just want to grow my reach on social media, maybe start a youtube channel eventually. Long term I would really love to get signed to a label and produce mainstream music. I feel like I could bring a whole new sound to the current world of highly digitized music. But yeah, right now I’m just trying to grow to around 10k in the next two years, fingers crossed
Question 6: What qualities do you believe a good musician should posses?
Meha: I think the biggest thing musicians should remember is to produce content that they believe in, not what people tell them should be doing. Music is an expression of your own feelings; you are telling your story to the world and I think that people sometimes forget that because they want money and fame. I think that if you’re doing what you love, people will notice that passion and THAT is what will help you grow, not producing songs about topics you have no genuine feelings about. Essentially, staying true to who you are.
Question 7: Who had been your biggest “cheerleader” by supporting your music career?
Meha: I think that my friends and family, as cliche as that sounds, have been my biggest supporters. My friends at school are always telling me to post more covers and that they want to be my managers and honestly the love I receive is amazing. My parents also are always pushing me to do what I love, a message they raised me with, so that manifests in me creating more content. I think the funniest moment was when my dad created an instagram solely to follow my account; he didn’t even know how to use Instagram.
Question 8: What is the best advice anyone has given you regarding music?
Meha: The toughest part this far has been connecting with people that have more experience than me, especially over social media. There is that whole stigma of “oh she has less followers I won’t follow her back” and things like that so honestly I haven’t received much advice from people that are doing the same thing as me. I think the advice I got from my music teachers has always been the best and that has just been to keep doing what I love despite the feedback or lack thereof. Eventually, people will notice what i’m doing and it will all pay off in the end. Just keep working hard and staying true to who you are.
Question 9: How does your schoolwork or other things in your life impact your music?
Meha: I think that the biggest hinderance right now is the fact that i’m in high school. I think if school wasn’t an obstacle I would be posting a lotttt more and even have time to create a youtube channel, something I have wanted to do since about fourth grade. The school that I go to is especially tough, one of the most difficult schools in my state and that definitely effects my motivation. Sometimes after a long day at school I don’t want to redo my hair and set up my camera, I just want to play music so sometimes the whole recording aspect seems like a chore. Despite that, I really love recording videos and try to make as much time as possible. Right now, I have a weekly schedule of posting once a week on Mondays. That usually increases in the summer and decreases during field hockey season in the fall. Schoolwork definitely takes a toll on my stress and sometimes that on top of the fact that I may not get the responses I want on videos really frustrates me, but in the end I do it because i love it: it’s that simple.
Question 10: What advice would you give to other kids trying to juggle music and school?
Meha: I think my biggest piece of advice would be to take a step back and chill. Honestly, I used to stress myself out with trying to post three or more times a week and at the same time not having the motivation to work out or do homework, as bad as that sounds. Just try to find a schedule that works for or even just don’t focus on producing videos. Enjoy the music and take a break from recording if you need to. You may lose followers and that’s totally okay I think your mental well being comes first. Eventually, you will find a schedule that works for you. As for just music and school, music is your passion. When you need a break from all that work and stress take it out through your music instead of netflix or youtube.
Last Question: Do you have any last things you would like to add?
Meha: nope! just want to thank you for this opportunity!
Anna: Thank you!
Meha's Instagram: @meha.p.music
View her singing: CLICK BUTTON BELOW!