ToneGym Hero: Sam Darabi(Sammy)

A melody chaser since childhood, blending his deep musical roots with a tech-savvy edge and expressive guitar playing. From sketching Bach fantasies to prepping original releases with his brother, Sam Darabi is this month’s ToneGym Hero!

How did you first find your way into making music?

When I was a kid, there was this cartoon that I used to watch over and over: “Land before time”, the music and dialogue is imprinted in my brain forever. I remember trying to figure out the different melodies from the movie on the piano and got super excited whenever I figured out a piece of it. That’s how I got started, and from there I started figuring out more melodies from different songs, various genres, on the piano. In high school, I borrowed a friend’s guitar, curious to see how it related to the piano, and I've been playing ever since.

Aside from music, what hobbies or activities do you enjoy?

Drawing / Painting murals, Sports! Football (both Soccer and American), latest trends in the tech world, Movies / TV shows (usually the same movies and shows I keep rewatching), hanging out with my dog.

What’s something you're surprisingly good at that has nothing to do with music?

Wii Sports Resort Golf. It’s the only console game I’ve played exclusively for the past 10-15 years. I can also Juggle stuff with my feet pretty well. 

If you could play or create with any artist, who would it be and why?

I've always had a hypothetical fantasy of traveling back in time with an electric guitar, a sick multi-effects amp modeler, and high-quality speakers to play for J.S. Bach. I'd love to see his reaction and what he could compose with the sound of an electric guitar in mind. In reality, though, Iron Maiden's melodies are what initially inspired me to dive deeper into guitar playing, so it would be awesome if I could play with them.

What musical instrument do you love the most, and what makes it irreplaceable for you?

As much as I love the sound of a Grand Piano, Guitar’s versatility and expressiveness makes it my preferred instrument. You can do so many things that you just can’t do on a traditional piano: harmonics, bending, vibrato, palm muting, etc.. Its portability is also a significant advantage.

What daily or weekly habits do you have in place to keep you creating?

My current primary project dictates my daily and weekly practice habits. For instance, right now, the piece I am working on right now requires a lot of string skipping and alternate picking, so I have incorporated that into my daily practice. I also focus on the key, chord prog. of whatever song it is that I happen to be working on. I will say that one of my daily habits is that I collect my GuitarGym and ToneGym coins

What keeps you motivated to continue making music?

In the early days little wins here and there made me want to keep going: Figuring out a melody by ear, learning a technique, getting hold of a cool sounding effect, software or any piece of gear. Over time it just becomes second nature, like brushing your teeth. Even if I happen to not be in the mood, I still find myself picking up my guitar at the end of the day, mindlessly just noodling on the couch for the very least.

What song would you choose as the soundtrack of your life?

Bohemian Rhapsody, because it’s long with different parts and key changes and nobody really knows what it’s about. Lol

What's your favorite feature on ToneGym, and how has it helped you in your musical journey?

All the interval exercises. To me the intervals are like the alphabets, and other things like Chords, Scales, chord progressions, etc. are the words and sentences. ToneGym has really helped me nail down my intervals and as a result I feel like that has built me a solid foundation for the other stuff.

What’s something exciting you're working on or looking forward to?

What's most exciting for me right now is the journey toward releasing original music. I've been writing songs throughout my entire musical life, but it's always been a private passion while I've focused on my software engineering career. Recently, I've decided it's time to truly put myself out there. My brother and I have a duo, and we're planning to start by performing some covers to build our confidence, with the ultimate aim of recording and sharing original material.

You can follow Sam on ToneGym, GuitarGym and his Instagram, SoundCloud, and Youtube Channel.