Before taking Home Recording Academy, I hadn't really considered myself as a musician, but when I joined an online choir during the lockdown, I found that recording my parts into my phone and sending it off for someone else to put together inspired a thought to put my guitar and my voice singing lead and harmonies together somehow. I tried using my husband’s recording equipment, with his help, but I wanted to learn how to manage the technology myself so I could create freely, independently and in my own time.

I had a really powerful need to express myself and thought that recording my music could be a more accessible way to reach people. Isobel’s 5 Day Challenge really opened my eyes to something else I could do and be, so I took the leap to enrol in Home Recording Academy. I loved how we were made to feel safe to ask questions, and that we could support each other along the way. HRA taught me everything - from knowing nothing to recording and mixing by myself.

Home Recording Academy has given me a future in music, which I hadn’t even considered as an option before. I’ve now got an amazing commission to put a soundscape together for the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Show. Without HRA, I never would have had the knowledge or confidence to put myself forward for this kind of opportunity. After years of prioritising other people and other things, I’ve finally been given a creative outlet for the things I need to say. It’s been utterly life-changing.