r/musicians Rules

Hello, I’ve been playing guitar for about 2 years and recently I’ve been starting to go to public jam sessions. I’ve gone 2 times and today will be my 3rd but I’m always kinda confused and don’t know what to do. Are there any things that I should learn that would make it easier?

Hello everyone,

I am 18 years old and I'm in pop/punk band from St. Louis. Recently, the band has been becoming more serious. Our social media views have been going up, as well as streaming numbers, and we've been getting a lot of amazing opening slots on tours coming through STL.

Through these opening slots, we've been making a lot of great connections to people in the industry and the future looks bright for us at the moment. I understand that none of that ACTUALLY means anything, but we're young and this all very new to us. I am the baby of the group, the other two are both 20.

My main question is; How do I say motivated in every day life? The more shows we do, the more connections we make, and the bigger the band gets, the less I want to do anything else. I am a full time student at the local community college, I work in fast food, as well as the local guitar store a couple days of the week so I'm also rather busy on top of the band.

Any feedback, or advice would be greatly appreciated :)

So I’ve been doing a lot of research and I’ve seen that the Ibanez guitar is best for a beginner. But after getting off the phone with a salesman, he pointed me to this Sire. Should I stick with my gut and get the Ibanez?

Сегодня на меня внезапно ночью напало творческое настроение, хотя я на самом деле вообще не хотел этим заниматься. Видать, отвык я уже что-то мутить в ночи.

Hello,
I have a condition which makes it so I shouldn't put things in my ear canals. As I still want to protect my hearing, I am looking for alternatives. There are of course those over ears which you can find in a construction site or when drummers practice, but are there any option that is a bit more concealed?

So as the title says I need some help with some concert planning and some decisions.

Basically around July I began planning an end of year christmas concert (cliché sure, but I'm restricted to that kind of music due to the venue owners wanting that and the success of it last year. I have changed it a bit however so that's it's not your typical showcase but rather a narrative concert where there is some narration but the music tells the overall story through mood, song choice, instrumentation etc.). So, I got together a big band like I did last year and asked all the players if they're available and they all agreed. I also asked if they will commit themselves and they all said they would. I started with 3 alto saxes, 2 Tenors, 3 trumpets and a full rhythm section and a singer. I'm now down to 1 alto saxophone, 1 tenor saxophone. My rhythm is still intact with a bassist, guitarist, pianist, drummer, percussionist and I still have a singer and the 4 trumpets. We also gained a violin for some reason.

(please note these are high school kids, however they are intermediate/more senior players)

I've already written the charts for the prescribed band, we've had 2 rehearsals but obviously we have more planned.

I don't know if I have energy to do this anymore because it's been such a hassle to find and replace players and I'm starting to get sick of it. Should I go out of my way to rearrange all 14 songs for the band that I have now, should I try and recruit more people, or should I just call this whole thing off. Maybe I'm just venting though, any advice?

Curious for those of you have done both which do you prefer and why. I have found it hard to perform as a solo artist as it feels so much more intensely vulnerable whereas sometimes the relational dynamics of working with other musicians can be difficult? Would love to hear some opinions and experiences good and bad? I’m a guitarist singer who uses Ableton live…

Hi I would like to do guitar cover videos in a similar style as Social Repose (I linked an example), but I’m a little confused on how he gets his audio recorded.

Obviously there’s no mic in frame so maybe he pre-records his vids or maybe there’s a mic out of frame?

Any tips?

Hey all, looking for advice though this may look like a bit of a rant.

I have been playing guitar since I was 10 and have always felt a deep love and passion for music. I played in a couple cover bands in high school. I'm now 24 and I haven't played in a band or a live show since graduating. I moved to a new city and state when I was 20 and I've been unable to make any real friends or connections since living here (not that I had any friends in my home town either.) I've met a lot of people and formed some small 'friendships' but their very surface level, and any attempt to jam or just hang out has been futile. People tell me I'm a good player and that they like my music, but it feels impossible to get anyone to want to collaborate with me and doubly impossible for my music to get any traction.

When I was 21 I decided I wanted to get into film scoring, so I enrolled to college and am now in my 4th year for a bachelors degree in music composition for film. All of my skills as an artist have increased exponentially, but my struggles to connect with other artists and creatives persists. Outside of my own personal projects I haven't been able to work on anything or with anyone and I'm just starting to get in my head about these 4 years of college being a waste. Losing my confidence in myself as a musician feeling like maybe I'm not as good as I thought I was when I can't even get people who call me "friend" to hang out or jam or anything.

Music was all I ever wanted to do, but my confidence in my future as an artist has completely tanked and I'm just not sure what to do at this point.

Hey everyone,

My band are looking for a drummer.

We are influenced by bands such as The Smiths, Durutti Column, early New Order, The Drums, early The Strokes, PJ Harvey, early Morrissey, The La's, The Fall, Iceage, The Cure and other bands.

The project consists of myself (vocalist), guitarist and a bassist at the moment. We've recorded some rough scratch demos of songs that we can send you. We all have experience writing songs and playing in bands. We are committed to having fun writing songs, recording and playing shows.

We have been rehearsing weekly in Deptford so far.

Get in touch if you're interested. If you can’t direct message me, leave a comment and I will message you. Please have recordings or a video of you playing.

I have made ChordPro Alternative for Continuous script such as in Thai language. If anyone have problem when rendering chords this might be useful.

https://github.com/PrakarnP/ThaiChord.git

Hi, so my EP opens for pre-order on streaming platforms in four days, ahead of its October 23 release. I'm wondering whether it's still worth setting up a Bandcamp pre-order or whether I should focus entirely on streaming platforms.

A. Launch a Bandcamp pre-order now, offering 48 kHz/24-bit (it's only 44.1/16 in streaming services) lossless downloads from my masters, and promote it alongside the upcoming release.

B. Wait for the streaming pre-order and focus my promotional efforts on Spotify, Apple Music, and other platforms.

Given that I already have an established streaming audience, which option makes more sense? Is Bandcamp worth launching at this stage, or would it be better to focus on the streaming campaign and offer Bandcamp downloads later?

Don’t be like the person who said they [hate making music](https://www.reddit.com/r/Learnmusicproduction/comments/1wykyon/i_fucking_hate_making_music/)

As for myself I’m new to it from the production side of Hip Hop and in my mid-40’s and I write my own lyrics in the aforementioned genre minus what people think of and as someone who didn’t get a lifetime of formal music education I’m grateful I have access to a DAW & keyboard controller and as someone who is friendless I wouldn’t want to go back to when people had to know someone with access to commercial recording studios plus while I used to wish I had a mentor or mentors, the politics of being a woman deadens that as I’ve educated myself on the horror stories thanks to podcasts that women are sharing about the dangers they experience being in the industry

Just wondering. And what’s you’re scene/genre?

Edit: Also feel free to share links with your stuff if you’re keen on sharing. I’m very open to new music. A DM is ok if you don’t want the thunder today. I’ll handle all inquiries discreetly.

Edit 2: How does it feel to be recognised by random strangers?

Edit 3: Thank you for all your insight, replies, anecdotes and links guys. This is giving me much joy! Happy weekend!

I can't finish my album because whenever I listen to something I made a year ago that I had already decided would make it onto the tracklist, I just don't like it anymore.

This is a recurring problem: whenever some time passes after I make a track, I start feeling like it isn't good enough or that my overall album concept isn't fully developed with that track in it.

Does anyone else relate to this? How can I get over it?

Some of you might know Matt Smith and most probably don't. He passed away earlier this week far too early. While he had tens of thousands of fans, I'm posting this so maybe even more people might get to know him.

Matt Smith was one of those rare individuals whose talent was only dwarfed by the breadth of his knowledge and his devotion to music. He was a remarkable guitarist, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and teacher.

We performed together. We recorded together. He talked me into writing my own material and produced it. We shared the experience of creating something from nothing.

Matt's professional accomplishments were pretty unbelievable.

Over a career spanning more than four decades, he performed with artists including B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, Gregg Allman, Sheryl Crow, Al Di Meola, Trey Anastasio and Los Lobos and more that I've forgotten.

He performed at Carnegie Hall, the Blue Note and international guitar festivals. His technical knowledge and musicianship led to longstanding professional relationships with Ovation, Takamine, Hamer, Fret-King, Tony Bruno Amplifiers, Tech 21, Pigtronix and Supro. Fret-King even created a Matt Smith signature guitar.

As co-founder and creative force behind Austin's 6 String Ranch, Matt produced and engineered more than 100 commercial recordings, working with artists including Tommy Shannon, Del Castillo, Guy Forsyth, Mike Milligan and many more.

He was also a prolific recording artist in his own right, releasing 20 albums over his career.

But perhaps Matt's greatest contribution was his generosity with his knowledge.

He spent more than two decades teaching at the National Guitar Workshop, authored numerous instructional books and mentored countless musicians. Through his work with young people struggling with addiction, he helped them find something powerful in music: a means of expression, accomplishment and hope.

He didn't simply make music. He helped other people make music.

In a business where egos can be enormous, Matt understood that music was bigger than any one musician. His legacy isn't confined to the records he made, the stages he played or the remarkable artists with whom he worked. It lives in the people he taught, the songs he helped bring to life and the musicians who became better because they knew him.

I have spent much of my life around extraordinary musicians. I know how rare it is to encounter someone with his combination of talent, knowledge, experience and generosity. People always make an angel out of anyone who dies - but Matt was truly just an unbelievably humble and kind person.

But none of those credentials adequately describes what it means to lose a best friend. And Matt had thousands of us.

There are recordings I can listen to, performances I can remember and music we made together that will always be part of my life. I'm grateful for every minute we spent creating it.

His last words to me where "I love you man..." as I left the studio after another long session. Just like we did every time we were together. Tell someone you love them today because tomorrow it may be too late.

This is a song he wrote about 16 years ago. It says it all. Now you've heard of Matt Smith.

Rest easy, brother. Thank you for the music, the friendship and everything in between.

Hello everyone, i hope it's okay to post this here.

I'm currently working on a music management game, where the player takes a band from zero to hero basically. it's still pretty early days, but i would like to get some music in.

What i would do is either put your band in the game(in the style of the game) as a band the player can control or a rival band. I could also use instrumental music for BGM and such.

In the game i would like to portray the band as is. That is to say if you are a Norwegian black metal band based in Oslo, named "Black Death", send me some music and maybe a band photo and that's what we'll go with in game. and you'll be represented and credited on screen in game when your music plays.

If you should be interested, send me a link to some of the music you would want in the game or a link to your bands page. I hope to hear from some of you :D

Какой у вас любимый синтезатор от плагина TAL-U-NO-LX? И какие синтезаторы посоветуете для создания более мрачной и загадочной атмосферы, если шарите

With about 20+ years experience as a drummer (main) and guitarist, for the first time I want to write a solo project. I plan to write an EP initially and see how it goes. I worked with different bands, and recently am also playing for a professional band with a booker. But I never wrote something all by myself from 0, and even less other instruments that aren't drums.

For the past 10 years, I have been quite exhausted of musicians who didn't have a serious commitment or the mindset to carry things forward. So I decided to do it myself. Professional musicians exist everywhere, so I don't see why it wouldn't work with me either.

The plan is to write a (concept) EP in the metalcore genre with a twist, and then go out and gig. Probably the handiest would be to hire other musicians for live and some recordings. I'm no one special, rather mid, therefore also have to work on that to bring authenticity.

While I do have experience recording drums, I have no experience writing entire songs myself even if I have all the tools at home and get myself out to gigs. I want to make something as professional as I can get.

So here we go:

- Is an EP sufficient to start asking gigs around?

- How do I get gigs: more specifically, how do I best pitch myself since I have no following (yet)?

- Who can I start approaching first for gigs and how do I scale this up? Local bars, local pop-podiums? or am I thinking this wrong? Where I live there is very few available for this as government isn't funding art-culture.

- What should I be careful of during this process?

- What are mistakes you'd avoid making again with such a project?

- How would you approach hiring musicians for such a project, to not get screwed or not get people that have 0 serious commitment?

I asked my band the same question, but I wanted to hear different voices and opinions over here.

I play the mandolin and I know a few songs on it but I'm not making any progress with the actual instrument I'm just plateauing at a basic level and it's frustrating because I've been at it for years. I can't afford a teacher and I don't think I could find one if I could

Thanks for the help actually having vague structure and a goal is making me feel a lot more optimistic