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How do you describe your music? Acoustic, pop and indie.

How long have you been a musician? Do you play instruments as well as sing? I’ve been a musician ever since I started piano lessons at the age of five. From there, I started picking up more instruments… I’ve been a percussionist in my middle and high school bands since sixth grade and recently learned how to play trombone for my jazz band my sophomore year of high school. I self-taught myself how to play the ukulele during the pandemic which then became my songwriting tool.

Were you always interested in following a creative path? Surprisingly, no. Music was not always something I wanted to pursue. For the longest time I thought I might want to serve in the military and go to West Point, but during the pandemic when I started songwriting and releasing songs I realized music was something I wanted to pursue in some capacity.

What does your “day-in-the-life” as a musician look like? Currently, I’m finishing up my senior year of high school, so it’s not too different from any other high schooler’s “day-in-the-life.” The one major difference is that at my high school, my first class is jazz band and it starts at 6:30 a.m. (ick).

Where do you get your creative inspiration for songwriting? I draw a lot of my songwriting inspiration from artists such as John Mayer and Jason Mraz. I really love their lyricism and instrumentation in a lot of their songs. As for the actual material and ideas for my songs, I use a lot of my own life experiences or things that I’m obsessed with at the moment.

Why do you love what you do? I love songwriting and performing because it’s a way for me to give back to others and really connect with people.

Have you faced any challenges as a musician? My sophomore year of high school, I crushed my elbow in a skateboarding accident, and I wasn’t able to play any of my instruments. I actually learned euphonium because you can play it one-handed, which eventually led to me playing trombone after my recovery… the accident made me realize how important music is to me and made me value it so much more because for a moment I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to play any of my instruments again.

One thing most people don’t know about being a musician: It doesn’t always come easy to us. Yes, music comes more naturally to some than others, but we all still have to work on our craft and put hours upon hours of practice into it.

Early bird or night owl? I’m most definitely a night owl. I’m forced to be an early bird a lot of the time between school and early morning shifts at work, but I definitely function better in the later hours of the evening.

Dog or cat person? I’m a dog person!

Is the glass half empty or half full? The glass is always half full! Life is so much easier and enjoyable when you look at the positives, so why not be a half full kind of person?

What makes you happiest: The top two things that make me happiest are either spending alone time reading my Bible with a cup of coffee or being in the ocean. I hope I’ll be able to travel in the future to visit the ocean more often, the waves are so calming and bodyboarding or swimming in the water is so fun!

Find Kaliyah on YouTube and Instagram @kaliyah_music, on Facebook under Kaliyah Garania Music, on streaming platforms as Kaliyah Garania and at www.kaliyahgmusic.com