Vraj Patel

Hi, my name is Vraj Patel and I developed an interest in the field of music at the age of 3. However, before deciding to pursue this field professionally, I had to first convince my parents because at the time I was only 3 years old and my family believed that I can’t make music my profession. Gradually as I started growing up, I began to convince my family and then eventually they supported me in making a career in the field of music. After receiving the support from my parents, I was able to pursue this as my profession. I began to pursue this field full time after my first achievement given by Gujarat tourism at the age of 8 in Assam, India. After many achievements, my passion towards this field gradually increased, which helped me in maintaining this as a fulltime career. I usually have more shows on weekends and less shows on weekdays in Canada, but back home I used to do three shows everyday. I have been learning Tabla since last 19 years from my guru Pt. Munjal Mehta and my training has not stopped yet as I still have a long way to go. When it comes to practicing for an event, it depends on the event as some shows require more practice than others. I practice and train myself by dedicating at least 2-3 hours per day because practicing is crucial for an artist as it is always a learning experience. Although my field of expertise is playing Tabla, I also play the Dhol, which is a type of drum. Apart from playing Tabla, I am also a full-time student. I am currently studying to be a Computer System Analyst in the IT field however; my dream is to become a great artist and make a name for myself in the music industry by being recognized as an international Tabla player. My guru has always been a great role model for me, and he inspires me everyday to grow and keep moving forward in this musical journey. During my journey as an artist, I have had many successful shows by entertaining people and fulfilling their requirements to the best of our ability. We must present our hundred percent dedication collectively as a team in order to make a show successful. In my opinion, if you are confident, prepared, and dedicated anyone can achieve successful show. However, along with success I have also had many challenges in my journey of becoming an artist; I learned that in order to become a great artist, I must constantly update myself with all the current songs and music variations. In addition to that, I faced many ups and downs because I realized that there is a huge competition to be a part of this industry and to be appreciated thoroughly by our audience.