Shariq Ansari, better known as DarkeSword, got started with music in public school, where he played trumpet for 8 years. In high school, he was heavily involved in his marching, concert, and jazz bands. In order to improve his trumpet playing and musical knowledge, he took music theory courses being offered at his high school. After learning basic music theory and composition techniques, he started composing and arranging his own music using a MIDI sequencer called MusicTime Deluxe and the MIDI driver called WinGroove. Some of his earliest arrangements were of video game music, from such series as Final Fantasy and Sonic the Hedgehog.