1 SANTA

WHEN I was seven my friend (who was a year older than me – which OBVIOUSLY made her the coolest person on the planet) asked for a keyboard from Santa. I find it really strange but also beautiful that I have have this memory. I remember walking home from school and her telling me that she was asking Santa for this keyboard and I had no clue what she was on about – what the hell was a keyboard? Anyway, it didn’t matter to me, Chelsey Gordon was asking for a keyboard which meant I had to ask for one too. On Christmas morning I learnt that this was a musical instrument and I’ve been hooked ever since.. ha! I got my piano at 15.

2 Emma-Jane

EMMA-JANE was the singing teacher at the local performing arts school I went to and also the music teacher at the high school I would be attending. I met Emma-Jane when I was 11 years old and at that time, my mum was very ill and I remember being angry at life and feeling almost out of control at times.

One evening at the performing arts school Emma-Jane put me in my place and I remember we had a really big conversation about what was going on and about my love of music, too. I guess she was trying to distract me.

I don’t think she knows this but from that day on I knew I wanted to be a high school music teacher. I remember thinking she had the most beautiful singing voice I had ever heard and what she had done for me – even at the young age of 11 – I knew I wanted to pass on to others.

We definitely had a special bond – she improved my confidence with regards to singing in front of anyone and she is definitely my role model in my teaching career. I am now a high school music teacher and I’m very lucky to have a job that I love in order to pay the bills and fund my dream of becoming a successful singer/songwriter.

3 CANCER

I’LL keep this one short. It’s not so much changed my life but more shaped it, I don’t need to say much more.

There are no words to describe the bond mum, dad and I have. I guess it would be strange not to have built up this strength after all these years. My mum’s battles have definitely allowed me to see the world in a way I think many don’t.

I appreciate every single relationship and friendship I have in my life.

Be nice to people. This life is a gift at the end of the day.

4 KT TUNSTALL

AS mentioned earlier, at the age of 11 I realised I wanted to be a high school music teacher. Fast forward four years to 2009 when I went to my first KT Tunstall gig at the AECC in Aberdeen and that dream extended slightly to wanting to become a singer/songwriter.

This is a weird one really. I remember my friends being into the boy band Blue and the like before heading into their emo/rock/Paramore teenage stage. Me? You could say my KT Tunstall stage never really left me.

After seeing her in person at the AECC is was instantly hooked. I bought a loop pedal, a guitar and a microphone a few weeks later with the help from mum and dad. It was then that I started writing songs – something I had never thought of doing before. KT inspired me so much. I think because she seemed so down to earth and she is Scottish, I just related to her.

Some 10 Years later in 2019, I released my debut album Read Me Write and this led to an interview with The National. I was asked about the inspiration behind my writing. Of course the answer to this was KT.

A few weeks later KT read the article and sent me a lovely message on Instagram. At that point, I was totally delighted just to hear from her and never expected what was to happen in 2020...

When Covid struck, I spent a lot of time during lockdown writing and reached out to KT through her Patreon campaign.

Two weeks later, she listened to my album – liked it and asked me if her manager could call me.

No words can describe how exciting and overwhelming these past months have been. I am not getting ahead of myself but there are really exciting projects coming up and her management are helping me to release my latest singles.

Cringiest thing to say here but if any musician you look up to randomly decides they want to support you with their management and skills – yeah, that would obviously be incredible. But when it is your absolute hero – it really is a dream come true!

5 MALAWI

The National:

I WAS offered the experience of visiting Malwai by one of the schools I worked in. They wanted me to come so I could play live music. This trip really did change my life and I am so thankful for the experience. Luckily I am still in touch with the school and I am counting down the days until I can go back to Malawi with them.

Don’t get me wrong, it was no holiday – we were there to visit prisons, death row and children’s hospitals. It opened my eyes to say the least.

No words can describe this experience. It made me realise how lucky in life I am and made me want to help others as much as I possibly can.

There is nothing like music when it comes to bringing people together, their song was the only thing they could give us.

I brought my fiddle and shared songs. Never did I think doing a Strip the Willow in a prison in Malawi could bring so much joy and hope.

6 MEN

I WILL also keep this one short and sweet. I think it is fair to say that heartbreak can change your life – for the better in my experience. Oooft that period of my life stung like a bitch.

Something I never want to go through again... but hey – silver linings – it made me become a better person and I managed to write some cracking songs thanks to the experience.

7 LEAVING HOME

I LEFT home at the age of 18 to move to Aberdeen where I attended the University of Aberdeen to study. I completed my BMus Ed degree (Music education) in 2015 and then moved to Glasgow to explore the much bigger music scene and start my probationary year in a high school in Shotts.

I loved Aberdeen, the city life is definitely a change for someone who only ever lived in the small “friendly town” of Keith as it says on the sign. I made friends for life at university and loved the lifestyle.

8 TEACHING

WHEN I think about it, I guess teaching changes my life every day. Apart from my dream of becoming a singer/songwriter to the level of being able to make a comfortable living, I couldn’t do any other job. I really enjoy my job as a high school music teacher - especially in the school I am currently in where my boss and head teacher are so supportive of my music career (hard to come by in teaching). I am very lucky.

I love kids and teenagers, I like that my job is different every day... you don’t know what you are going in to.

The reason I like it the most is because I can be a role model to my pupils (like Emma-Jane was to me).

I’m a big kid at heart and believe I always will be, which I think is the reason I make a good teacher.

Other than becoming a successful singer songwriter, I would love to be a guidance or pupil support teacher one day.

9 CONFIDENCE

LET’S just say confidence and I have a strange relationship. We have fallen out many a time then made up the next day...

When I was very young (at primary school), you could have placed me on the stage at a sold out O2 Wembley Arena and I’d happily have sung you my wee rendition of Ally Bally Bee/Coulters Candy without batting an eyelid. Put me in front of two people at the age of 12-15 and ask me to sing and you wouldn’t have seen me for dust.

Being part of the Strathspey Fiddlers helped my confidence. I was one of the younger members for a while and the only singer. Singing in Canada, Germany, America and Ireland with the group, surrounded by really supportive band members helped me a lot.

However when it comes to the idea of recording an album of your own material, I think you need a whole different level of inner confidence with yourself. Something I never thought I would be able to do, but I did and it has changed my life. Seriously, three years ago if you’d ask me to either cage dive with a great white shark or share one of my own songs with anyone and I would have dived in – even without the cage.

It all changed one night when someone I look up who has a very prestigious musical career said to me “Amy, if you like the songs you write... that means that at least one other person will like them too”.

10 TRAVEL

I LOVE exploring different countries. I feel a sense of change in myself after every adventure. Maybe because I learn more about the different places and cultures and I find more respect for the wider world every time I travel.

I don’t know, but what I do know is that I love it and if its not through performing and touring (fingers crossed), I will travel by teaching abroad – that is the plan anyway.

Amy’s latest single, Summertime Blues, is available to download and stream now. For more information go to www.amypapiransky.com