Meet Ariana Abedini | Pianist, Composer, Psychologist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ariana Abedini and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ariana, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
“You need to find a secure job”

From time to time, I would hear this “piece of advice” coming from relatives or friends. It would often make me wonder if my passion for creating was “wrong”, if I should sacrifice my dream and find a job with a stable income that would make me a “successful” person. Even though my parents would always tell me to follow my passion, I can’t deny that sometimes I would doubt myself – especially when others tried to change my mind about my career choices. I actually tried working for a company, but it didn’t really work for me. I remember myself from an early age chasing adventure, striving for creativity and innovation; while repetition would only make me bored and frustrated. That was enough for me to realize that I should not let others define my future – I am responsible for making my dream work.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
It all began when I was 10 years old, when I started taking piano lessons. Music has given me a different way of expressing myself when words fail, whether that be through playing the piano or writing music. Early on, my piano instructor and my peers noticed that there was something different, may I say “odd” about me and my relationship with music – I am a pianist, who enjoys classical music, yet I spend most of my time listening to and writing electronic music. I remember that a few years ago, I was forcing myself to write solo music for the piano. I was struggling and, at some point, I realized that this genre was not where my heart really belonged. At first, it felt weird to say that I am not doing much as a classical music composer; it took me a good while to let go of the belief that I was supposed to compose music for solo piano. That’s why I am proud that I managed to eventually break free from these beliefs that held me back from discovering what I truly wanted to do, and that was electronic music.

Another big challenge for me has been the fact that I used to have so many different ideas and I just couldn’t narrow my options down to two or three. That would inevitably lead to a lot of confusion, frustration and negative thoughts such as “I have no idea what I should do now”. Then I realized that this was a vicious cycle that I had to get out of, so I decided to write down on a piece of paper my values, as well as three things that I absolutely loved and wanted to do in my life. I started off by writing in big, bold letters: “I want to pursue a career driven by my passions: Travel, Music, Psychology”. That, along with my genuine interest in constantly learning new things, led me to start a series of Music Education episodes with G. Henle Verlag, a German music publishing house specializing in Urtext editions of classical music, where I talk about the life and works of various classical music composers, in an effort to make classical music more accessible and comprehensible to people. I am excited to tell you that this fall, we will be releasing new episodes filmed around the world instead of just my music studio!

Apart from that, a big lesson I learned along the way is to value teamwork. For some reason, I think musicians (myself included) are taught to be competitive. At some point, I shifted my perspective from wanting to be “better” than someone else, to “joining forces for an even better outcome”. That’s how I came up with the idea for the “I CAN PLAY THAT TOO” collaboration, which originally began with an online series of videos where pianists from around the world unite and play different parts of the same piece. This was in an effort to show that music has no boundaries and that, instead of competing against each other, we can collaborate for an even better outcome. I’m also pleased to share that this initiative was warmly welcomed by Piano Marvel, a company that is focused on providing technology combined with traditional piano lessons to make learning to play the piano an engaging, interactive, and fun experience.. That’s why we decided to host an event this November in Colorado, where pianists will be invited to perform live!

My message to people is that things might not be as easy and pretty as they seem: Quite often, I get questions on social media such as “how can you be so happy all the time?” or “why do all these amazing things come your way that easily?”. My response is “they usually don’t”- you just don’t get to hear the backstory all the time. A lot of times I am faced with struggles that make me feel hopeless, I just choose to remind myself of my goal, and this is how the tears and disappointment fade away and are replaced by my determination to find a way around my problems.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I think the first stop would be south beach, as it has so much history there. Then I would head to Brickell city centre to show them the downtown city life, have drinks and small plates. Sugar, one of my favorite spots, is a rooftop bar that has wonderful views of the city during sunset. Then I would go to Wynwood, which is the art district. Hopefully there would be some kind of exhibit or art installation going on that we could explore, afterward I’d want to walk around Wynwood and explore the small bars and restaurants while admiring the graffiti art that covers the entire area. And eventually I’d love to show the Miami nightlife at least once so I would obviously head over to one of Miami’s most iconic hotels, such as the Fontainebleau. I’d start off with dinner at Scarpetta and then go to Liv nightclub which is one of the best nightclubs in the world! Then I would end the trip with heading over to Key Biscayne, for some jet skiing and Bill Baggs state park to explore the lighthouse there and lay on the beach.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Quite a few people: I’d say It’s definitely my family, which would support my decisions and help me overcome obstacles. As an artist, I’d often come up with a lot of ideas and things that I wanted to do, but I’d get confused because I was trying to do everything simultaneously – and of course this would end up with me doing nothing. My brother has played a significant role in helping me define my goals clearly and to start working on them consistently.

I also need to mention my aunt, who has always been the biggest inspiration, especially every time I felt like giving up: she had to start from scratch, and despite the difficulties, she would never quit – she had a dream, a plan and a goal. And she made it work.

Website: www.arianaabedini.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/ariana.abedini

Facebook: www.facebook.com/arianaabedinipiano

Youtube: www.youtube.com/ArianaAbedini