Genre: Opinion/Argumentation

Imogen Heap is best known for her ethereal voice and the ability to mix electronica , rock and pop . Here , she speaks with Megan M. Retka about her record company woes and having her bed set on fire ... MR : You 've had quite a formal musical history . You were trained as a classical pianist ? IH : First things first , was the piano . We had a piano at my parent's house in Essex , and I think as a kid you 'd obviously want to make noise on something , and thing that would make the most noise in my house was the piano . So , I used to play the piano very badly from as soon as I could reach [ it ] , and I do n't remember going to my first lesson . As far as I know , I 've always played the piano . And obviously I did n't at some point because I was , like , a baby , but I 've always felt like I 've played it . I guess , as a kid , I would just hear sounds and try and imitate them , and gradually as I became conscious that I was actually playing a piano and I wanted to learn more , that 's when my parents tried to get me lessons . I wanted to get lessons even before my feet would reach the pedal , [ but ] I could n't have my first lesson until my foot would reach the pedal . Luckily , I got there quicker than most because I 'm quite tall . So , I learned classically . I did all my lessons and I did my grades on the piano , and I learned about theory as well . Then , as I became a bit older , maybe about eight , I started learning cello . Well , actually I started learning the violin , but I hated the violin . You have to spend hours and hours rehearsing to get even a decent sound out of the violin , but luckily with the cello , it looks great instantly . Yeah , it 's not quite [ such a ] jarring , screechy noise . By this point , I kind of decided I wanted to be a composer . I wanted to compose and conduct orchestras and play pianos for orchestras and write for film - things like that . That was my plan as a kid . And then I thought , well if I learn a string instrument and a percussive instrument , then I need to learn a woodwind , so then I learned the clarinet . I tried to go one stage further and learn the trumpet , but that was n't to be . I stopped at brass . I really enjoyed writing and composing for instruments and the orchestra , and as a kid that was about the only subject that I really , you know , spend time on the homework and actually get excited about a string quartet . I think the other reason is , maybe partly , is that when I was a kid , I realised that the more instruments I played , the more academic lessons I could get out of . So , that was quite cool . Later , when I was about twelve , I went to a boarding school . The music school there , was really really amazing . They had loads of pianos - they had 24 pianos . I guess they really thought that people in the school would want to play the piano if they 've got all those hours to wile away after lessons . Of course , I was in there every night playing the piano , and soon realised that Mr. Dodge , was his name , had a toy room where he had a computer - an old Mac Classic . You could write notes and things like that on this program he had called Notator . I kind of realised that quite early on and was like , " Hmm . I really want to get into that . " But he said , " Well , you ca n't really use that until a bit later . " So , when it came to doing GCSEs , I then learned about this computer . I was thirteen when I did my GSCEs , because I was always a year ahead . I start using this gear when I was about thirteen . I did n't get on with my music master at all . It was just me and him in GCSE class . Just me and him . In a quiet , eerie room , pencils scribbling - it 's all very eerie . So , I 'd get there and talk to him , and after about five seconds we 'd be at each other 's throats arguing with each other - I was a bit of a rebel - so he was like , " Ok . I 've had about enough of you . Go into that room and make some music . " So , I 'd basically have an hour , three times a week , to read this massive manual of this computer , to figure out how to use it . As soon as I realised that I could do this with this computer - create like a whole orchestra without having to actually have an orchestra - I was hooked . From the beginning . That 's when my love of programming started . Throughout the years I just got better and better at it . Continue >> More Imogen Links : Upcoming gig tickets >> Bush Hall gig review >> Speak For Yourself album review >> Buy Speak For Yourself at Amazon . co. uk >> Hide & Seek vide