We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sachio Nang. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sachio below.

Hi Sachio, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I first started taking piano lessons at 5 years old, and that was when I realized that I genuinely enjoyed playing music. As I went through middle school/high school, I got very invested with composing and arranging, but never thought that it would take me anywhere professionally. I want to say around my sophomore year of high school, I was pretty set that music was what I wanted to do as my profession, so I really started going all in on building my chops and becoming a versatile musician by the time I was in college. I graduated high school in 2020, so it ended up giving me a lot of time to learn new instruments (I took up woodwind doubling then, as well as trumpet/trombone). Shortly after graduating high school, I decided to really jump into pit musician work, booking my first professional gig shortly after high school. From then, I’ve gigged on multiple instruments, including (but certainly not limited to) piano, guitar, bass, drums, and woodwinds! I’m gonna be completely honest, I wasn’t the best student, and I just know that I could’ve learned a lot more/gotten a lot better if I had the work ethic I had now in high school. As a musician, I think that networking, building your chops, being a nice person, and not being afraid to be yourself are essential skills in this business. It’s all about who you know, how you carry yourself, and how good you are at playing. Music is definitely a profession that takes time to get good at, and I think one of the obstacles that stood in my way the most in terms of how much I learned was that my chops (on all instruments, and composing) just needed to take time to grow. As much as I wanted to be able to play multiple instruments proficiently right then and there, I definitely had to take a stand back and realize that it was going to take time. I also think that (in terms of composing/arranging), training my ear over years and years, as well as being exposed to all sorts of music, was something that just took time. I was very young, and there were definitely times where I wanted to rush the process of learning, both in music performance and composition/arranging.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Sachio Nang! I am a musician/composer from Skokie, Illinois! I got into the business doing primarily pit musician/music direction work in theaters throughout the Chicago suburbs, and am branching out into doing more jazz/pop work, as well as composing/arranging! As of this interview, I am currently on my 3rd national tour, playing the bass book for the 2nd national tour of the musical Ain’t Too Proud: The Life And Times of The Temptations! I do anything from composing, performing, orchestrating, arranging, and have recently been doing a LOT of transcribing! I am definitely most proud of my versatility as a musician, being able to play multiple instruments in different settings proficiently, most of them being self taught! I also take a lot of pride in my quick turnaround times when it comes to composing/arranging. I wrote my first symphony in the span of a week, and have done complete orchestral transcriptions in mere days.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I definitely think that music is such a unique art form. We (as musicians) can tell stories without saying a single word. Just the way chords impact people can make them feel emotions… that’s unlike any other art form that we have. I remember that every single time I would hear live music, especially as I was getting more into music itself, I would leave the performance absolutely entranced in the fact that the music could make me feel something. I definitely think that one of the most rewarding aspects of being a musician (and by extension, an artist and creative) is that I can make people feel emotions… whether that be the ones I am expressing in the moment (usually while soloing), or ones that I have put in a piece (while composing). I also think that another rewarding aspect of doing what I do is that I get to do what I love to do as my job. It’s an absolute blessing to be an artist, and to be able to put my experiences and emotions into everything I do.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I definitely think that people who aren’t musicians don’t understand that music isn’t just a hobby for me. It is the one thing I want to do every day for the rest of my life. I eat, sleep, and breathe music. I know it may sound crazy, but I don’t think I could even go a day without at least listening to music. I also think that a lot of people don’t understand that music can be draining. There have been nights where I have felt drained after composing/performing music… whether that be emotionally or physically. Music is a very emotionally AND physically demanding profession, in the sense that, of course, music takes physical work… you have to physically play an instrument, and the sense that it takes emotional work… you have to convey emotions of the composer, or put your emotions in a piece you’re composing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sachionang.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/sachionang
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sachio.nang.1
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sachionang