At 7am every morning, the neighbours in Aisha Mohammed's Edinburgh flat can hear the piano. By the time most people have had breakfast, Aisha has already completed two hours of practice. She is 22 years old, and for the past eight months she has been preparing for the most important audition of her life: entry to the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Aisha has been practising for six hours a day — three in the morning and three in the evening. She has been working on a demanding Beethoven sonata, one of the most technically difficult pieces a pianist can perform. "I have been playing this piece over and over for months," she says. "Some days it feels perfect. Other days it falls apart completely." Her hands have been aching from the repetition, but she has not been taking any days off.
She has been recording herself after every session and watching the playback carefully to identify mistakes. Her teacher, Professor Hana Lindqvist, says the progress has been extraordinary. "Aisha has already learned and memorised the first movement completely," she says. "But she has been struggling with the second movement for two months. It is technically demanding, and it requires real emotional maturity."
Aisha has been working with Professor Lindqvist every Tuesday and Thursday. Her three flatmates have been surprisingly patient about the constant sound of piano music echoing through the flat. "They have been brilliant," Aisha says, laughing.
The audition is in six weeks. Aisha has not been sleeping well — the nerves have been growing stronger every day. But she remains determined. "I've been working towards this my whole life," she says quietly. "I am not going to stop now."