Background
I was born in Málaga, Spain, in 2002, and I’ve lived here my whole life — though I’ve always dreamed of moving abroad, currently with Germany in mind.
Even though neither of my parents pursued music professionally, I grew up surrounded by it. My dad plays the guitar, and our home was always filled with music. Oasis was on repeat and eventually became my all-time favorite band, but I also grew up listening to Green Day, The Beatles, Queen, and The Rolling Stones. On the Spanish music scene, I was heavily influenced by Pereza, Love of Lesbian, Miss Caffeina, and Iván Ferreiro. I feel very lucky to have developed such a diverse and rich taste in music.
Despite being constantly exposed to music, I didn’t start playing an instrument until I was 11 years old.
Discovering the Piano
My first real contact with the piano came thanks to my best friend at the time, who had just started learning. It immediately caught my attention, and the idea of sharing that hobby with her sounded fun. Not everyone was supportive — some people even said it would be too difficult for me — but my parents believed in me and gifted me a small 54-key Casio keyboard.
From the very beginning I fell in love wiht it. I started teaching myself simple pieces, like the famous Für Elise. After a few months, I upgraded to another Casio keyboard, this time with 61 keys and a sustain pedal, and signed up for group piano lessons at my school with my friend and another classmate.
Those lessons were all about playing together as a trio. We even performed in a small school concert, where we played Get Lucky by Daft Punk and Mamma Mia by ABBA. Not long after, I received the biggest surprise of my life: my parents gifted me a full-sized digital piano — my beloved Kawai CN24 ✨ That was the turning point when things started to get more serious.
I soon began private piano lessons with the wonderful Ana and her Kawai grand piano. She was demanding yet kind, and she knew exactly how to help me grow. With her I explored the world of classical music — Chopin, Mozart, Czerny, Bach — as well as modern repertoire for duets, where I played piano while my classmate sang. Those lessons were incredibly enriching, and I’m very grateful for that experience.
Eventually, I paused formal lessons, mainly because of school-related time constraints. Still, I kept learning on my own, mostly by playing piano covers of modern songs. That carried me forward until I reached a new stopping point...
When I Let Go of Piano
School began to take a heavy toll on me — not just in terms of time, but also my energy, confidence, and overall well-being. On top of that, things in my personal life weren’t going so well either, which affected my mental health significantly. Eventually, I reached a point where I had lost the desire to play altogether. My piano sat in the corner of my room, gathering dust.
Life moved on, and as a full-time student in need of money, I faced a tough choice. I ultimately decided to sell my piano. It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made, because deep down I still held on to the hope that one day I’d return to playing when circumstances improved. Letting it go felt like abandoning a part of myself that had brought me so much joy even in the darkest of times 💔
Reigniting My Passion for Piano
A couple of years later, in 2023, that spark started to flicker again. I found myself reminiscing about the times I spent playing piano — all the songs I had wanted to learn but never did, the sense of accomplishment, and the feeling of belonging to a world where I felt welcomed. That led me to buy a Korg B2 keyboard and start playing once more.
After being away from piano for so long, I was worried that I might have to start completely from scratch. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case. The first piece I tackled was Bloody Tears from Castlevania and muscle memory kicked in incredibly quickly: my fingers remembered the movements, even if not the exact keys. With the sheet music in hand, I relearned the entire piece in a single evening.
I resumed learning songs I enjoyed, but at first it didn’t feel as fulfilling as before. I questioned whether returning to piano was the right choice. I was a completely different person now, and the hobby felt incomplete without purpose. The breakthrough came when I realized the issue wasn’t piano itself — it was my approach to it.
Previously, I would learn a song, move on, and never revisit it. That made the effort feel wasted when I eventually forgot it. To give my practice meaning, I started recording my performances. Each new song was learned with the intention of creating a recording — a tangible, revisitable representation of my effort and personal interpretation. Much like a sportsperson earns medals or trophies to commemorate achievements, my recordings became my trophies.
This shift in mindset transformed the way I practice piano and how I feel about every step of the way. I still enjoy improving my skills and tackling pieces I couldn’t before, but now I have an added reward — a lasting record of my progress and journey.