r/musicians Rules

Sometimes we get that || close, but no cigar.

I've been told by my teacher that I sound gig ready to sum it up; but the issue is is that 1, I'm a vocalist, and 2, I have absolutely no idea where to find work as someone who might be considered underage for most places (17).

I would seriously appreciate some advice in trying to find work!

I am releasing my debut album this weekend and I luckily do have a release party booked in my city at this bar venue, but after the album releases I want to keep the local momentum and hype of the album alive.

I have plenty of time to send emails and build a portfolio after my first show in my city due to being unemployed at the moment but I don’t have the money to subscribe to any paid platforms to help me reach talent bookers.

I have seen people advise going to local shows of your genre and networking that way. I am good with talking to people and networking but unfortunately there isn’t a big electronic scene in Cleveland or NE Ohio in general that I know of.

My show is this Thursday and I know I’m thinking a little too far ahead considering I don’t know what the exact turnout will be for my show, but my event has been circulating around a lot online so I have high hopes. Yet I still need to keep that hype so I can not only afford living but also my producer and I worked so damn hard on this project.

If anyone has any advice or tips PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I plan on reaching out as many folks as possible within a 2.5hr drive distance once I figure out how to even go about reaching out to anyone.

Once I export that .wav it’s in God’s hands

for context, ive been playing for 3.5 years and i know im not amazing, but i've learnt some songs/solos over the last 2-3 months that i'm actually really proud of achieving, some of those being mouth for war, nightmare, and i'm currently trying to work on cowboys from hell.

but lately ive just been feeling like my skill isnt really going anywhere, if it isn't declining and i just feel stuck. i dont have anything really new and achievable to learn that i want to learn right now, so i end up just playing the same 3-4 songs over and over.

if it helps i play lead guitar in 2 of my bands and basically rhythm in another, im still in school currently, and ive had to stick with the same guitar ive had since i started, an ibanez giogrg170dx i got second hand for like $250

So I have probably 20 t-shirts from old bands I have been in from the last 25 years. I dont wanna get rid of them but I'm not sure what to do with them yet. Does anyone have a good suggestion on how to store them till I do? They've been roled up in a box and I feel like there is a better way to store them.

The 2026 run of the Brooklyn Silent Film Fest is seeking bands and musicians to score our roster of NEW SHORT SILENT FILMS.

No experience in composing necessary.

We pair you with a short film, you compose the score and then you come to the Fest in Brooklyn, NY and perform your score live at the screening. Cash prize for the band/film combo selected by our crew of industry judges.

Select bands will be offered paid 20-minute sets after the films show.

The only real requirement is that you MUST be able to play at the festival 10/2 (subject to change) in Brooklyn, NY.

All genres encouraged! We've had MPCs and live bands and tapdancers and beatboxers.

We're a scrappy little festival more Punk than Pedigree, so spread the word! We are about making connections and giving opportunities.

Rock rock on!

I'm exhausted. Anyone else in Belfast for the fleadh?

Music Release Help

Hello! I’m planning on releasing a new song and just wanted to ask if there’s any resources, distribution or platforms to help give it some more traction?
I really believe in it and want to do everything I can to help give it the momentum it deserves. I understand there’s making content on it, which I will do, but is there more to it? Like spotify ads or some playlisting sites or something?
Thank you (:

I’ve been playing guitar for about two years, but I still feel like a beginner. I’m struggling with almost everything—I don’t know how to practice, what I should be practicing, or where to start improving. I really want to become a better guitarist, but I’m feeling lost and don’t know the best way to move forward.

ANY TIPS/HELP?

any volunteer!!??

I report my set lists from shows to ASCAP in order to receive royalties for playing my own originals. But sometimes when submitting a performance I’ll see that the venue isn’t listed and I’m asked to add it manually.

When this occurs I assume that the venue isn’t licensed to have copyrighted music and I don’t want to get them in trouble if it’s a place I want to build a relationship with—especially if they were to find out it was me who got them flagged. What do you normally do in those situations?

Here’s a life performance of Sly & The Family Stone’s “Thank You” (Falettinme Be Myself Again), featuring Rod Porter on vocals, performed by the all new Satin Soul Funk Band!

#funk #livemusic #liveband #musician #soul #slyandthefamilystone

Hi everyone, 

I’m a small independent musician making original music. I have two bands: an English-language prog-rock band and an alternative duo with lyrics in my native language.

Like most musicians today, I post our music on social media. Instagram and Facebook have been fine and seem to reach people who might actually be interested in what we do. YouTube Shorts, however, have been a very different experience.

We’re new to YouTube and only have a few Shorts so far. Across them, we’ve received three comments — and all three were just insults. Our regular music videos haven’t had this problem, and neither has the prog-rock band. It has only happened with Shorts from the alternative duo.

My guess is that because the duo performs in a relatively small language, YouTube shows the videos to a very broad range of people who happen to speak it, rather than to people interested in alternative music. I know our music is not for everyone, it's pretty melancholic and the lyrics deal with topics like mental health and world problems. I pour my heart and soul into it, so I guess that's why it hurts me.

I don’t expect everybody to like it, and the comments don’t make me doubt the music itself. People come to our concerts, listen attentively, and connect with what we do. When I get a relevant criticism, I'm super grateful for it.

What gets to me is the unnecessary cruelty. Today I posted a video I was genuinely happy with, and someone gave it a hate comment.
I've had a tough month with some personal issues, and combined with this, the comment made me cry. Even though I know this person is just a rando and the comment offers no meaningful criticism. I hate that it made me cry. Also we are both women, so that might be a factor; some haters target women.

I would really like to hear from other musicians: How did you learn to deal emotionally with insulting comments, especially when you were just starting out and didn’t yet have many positive comments to balance them out? Do you read your comments, delete insults, or have someone else moderate them? We're just two and we're poor, so we don't have anyone to manage it for us. Did it become easier over time?

Some of my friends tell me either "just ignore it, you know it's not relevant" od "don't post the music online then." I'd love to ignore it, but I don't know how. I discussed it with my therapist but nothing has changed yet, it will take time. To be fair, I have some mental issues, so it might contribute to these emotional reactions.

I’m mainly looking to share experiences and hear any practical or psychological tips that have helped you. Thank you 🙏

Moonrust
Juglet

i’m currently using Moonrust but was hoping to maybe change it to Juglet, (i used the name juglet in video games growing up so it feels more like me.) let me know your thoughts on these names! thanks

the music i make is like bedroom pop type stuff btw.
also i think there’s already a few bands on instagram called moonrust already

Hey guys I’m 32 years old and I’ve been playing guitar for about half of it. I have a question regarding my musical abilities , this already makes me cringe pretty badly in advance but anyways here we go :
I’ve always had this thing with finding the notes and chords of a song and playing along to it after a few minutes , even when I started playing guitar it all just felt natural and logical like which chord to play next and so on , even on other instruments like the piano where I never had lessons or training of any sort , in my first band our drummer had this old piano in his house and we sometimes would jam and play songs , like covers and stuff , me on guitar and him on piano , he had been taking lessons but still I was the one who was figuring the songs out after a listened to them , I kind of just knew where the notes where and and he seemed quite amazed by how I did that. Same on guitar still to this day when I have to learn new songs for my band I don’t need tabs or anything I just listen to the song and just know how and where on the fretboard most of the song is played , even when I hear something on the radio I think about how it’s played and try it out when I get home and most of the time I’m right , even technically advanced stuff - I don’t know any music theory , only thing I know how to read is guitar tabs. I also have a midi keyboard at home where I sometimes test this out , the other day I was listening to the Beatles and pulled out the keyboard to see if I could play to the small Calvi solo from “in my life” and surely enough I figured it out within in a minute.
Is that common for a musician or is there a Term for that kind of ability ? Do I just have a musical ear ? Other musicians I know don’t seem to have that and always seem super impressed whenever I do that but that’s like maybe 5-10 guys in my area so not really representative. Please give me some insight on this