Jim Wakelin's Music

Hi! I'm Jim and I've been composing music for around () years now, though I've only been uploading

music since Feburary 2022. I've had an interest in music my whole life, having grown up surrounded by it

which lead to me forming an early desire to learn how to play musical instruments, most notably the Piano.

Having attempted to play from a young age, I volunteered for Piano lessons at my school..

Which is exactly how I found out that I'm really bad at doing things the 'right way'.

For one, in large part due to a condition I have called Dyspraxia, I can find it very difficult to coodernate my hands.

Additionally I am terrible at reading sheet music, and I tend to instead play songs by ear from memory.

These do not lend themselves well to playing a Piano.

As a result I can usually only just about manage to play the right-hand part of a song, and only if I have practised

it extensively before doing so and built up muscle memory. This makes playing the Piano a lot more difficult for me,

and due to these difficulties I didn't think it would ever be possible to compose my own music.

I was still interested in the idea of making music though, and throughout the years that followed

of browsing the internet looking for games, I would encounter a new way of playing music - sequencers.

I loved these, as being able to sequence the notes I wanted to play removed the main physiological barrier

that prevented me from experimenting as much as I wanted to with more complex melodies.

These sequencers were very limited though, and I would usually only spend an hour or so

experimenting with them before getting bored and moving on to something else.

They stuck with me though, and over the course of the next several years I would discover two

programs that also allowed you to sequence notes - the Digital Audio Workstation(s) FL Studio, and LMMS.

I don't know exactly how long ago I first discovered what a DAW was, or which one came first, but both of

these programs helped me realise even more that making music doesn't mean having to be able to play it.

There was only one problem - the learning curve. It was many years until I was ready to confront it,

but in June 2020 after a burst of inspiration from discovering a sample pack by Hyper Potions,

I decided to buy it, download FL Studio's free trial, and attempt to make music.

It was bad.

But even so, to me in that moment, it felt like one of the most fufilling things I had ever done.

After recieving feedback from family members and friends, I would continue to iterate upon the melody

and play around with different instrumentation trying to see what worked. My only goal was to create something

with melodies I liked, but getting to realise that was something I had never fully felt able to do before.

So I kept creating new music, kept looking for feedback, iterating, and hoping that others would like it.

And that's still what I'm doing now - I've learnt so much since I started trying to make music, and I am incredibly

thankful that I am able to do so and that there is a chance people will listen to it. If you are reading this

and considering whether or not you'd like to make music of your own - I highly recommend you try!

It may just change your life, it's already changed mine.

And, if you've ever listened to something I've made, thank you so much for listening!

I doubt many people will ever read this, so if you are - thank you for reading.