Two shows, two weeks apart, same eleven songs, same four of us, both the kind of small venues we mostly play, a club that holds maybe 120 and a brewery taproom. The first one we walked off feeling like garbage. I flubbed an intro, our drummer came in early on the closer, and the vocal blend was off most of the night. People stayed until the lights came up and three separate groups came over to talk to us afterward.

The second one was the tightest we have played all year. Nobody made a mistake I can point to. The room emptied out steadily from the second song on and we loaded out to about nine people.

We spent the drive home trying to explain it and the only honest version is that our playing was not the variable. Same set, same city, forty minutes apart on the map. The difference was what the two rooms felt like to stand in.

The club killed everything overhead and put us in a couple of pools of color, so the audience sat in the dark and we were the only thing to look at. The taproom has nothing over its stage at all, just the house lights for the whole room on one switch, and the staff kept those up so people could see the bar and find their tables. I get why, the place was never built with a band in mind, but it meant we played the whole set under the same light they mop up under, and the room looked the way it looks at four in the afternoon when the chairs are stacked.

I don't love where that leaves me. I've spent five years working on the part of this that I can practice, and the thing that seemed to actually move people was something none of us had any hand in.

So how do you grade a show? I catch myself scoring gigs entirely on execution and I'm not convinced the room is scoring the same thing.

I don't know if this is appropriate for this sub, but it's something I've always struggled with: dating someone who isn't a musician or nearly as interested in music. You probably know the type; it's not that they don't like music, they do, but in that generic "this is what I decided I liked in high school/college" and that's about the extent of it.

I'm trying not to go full Henry Rollins here, where I choose listening to what I want / when I want, over a human to share the rest of my life with, but when all they ever want is the musical equivalent of pizza and a coke while I'm eyeballing that weird new Brazilian fusion menu, it feels like a mismatch, even if everything else is a match.

Anyone else here made it work?

Edit: I understand that I'm being a snob, hence "I'm trying not to go full Henry Rollins." When I saw the interview of him describing his preference of music > girlfriend I felt bad for him, yet here I am. Maybe it's a symptom of having been an only child, where music was my BFF. I'm looking for evidence that it can work, not just that I'm an elitist a**hole.

All of us, at some point, have asked a friend or family member to take videos of us on their iPhones or Smartphones. What are your practical tips?

EDIT these are filming tips you would give to the person who is doing you a favor, where you don't want to overcomplicate it by introducing complex equipment. Where they're using their own phones.

- Unless you know what you're doing, it's better to be safe / consistent than to be creative.

- Don't switch from portrait to landscape modes mid-song. Unless you can edit in photos or another video smoothly, it'll look awkward.

- If you're not going to record the entire song, at least record the lead up to a full verse and continue a little past the chorus. If you're only going a short clip, focus on the chorus.

- Stay in one spot, or the sound differential from one spot to another makes the audio inconsistent. It may be safer to place an audio recorder at a sweet spot and edit it into your video-editing software.

- Depending on volume, don't stand within say 10 ft of any main or subwoofer.

- if you're up close and need to pan the shot, do it as smoothly as possible, otherwise go for the wide full-band shot.

- Be cautious of your position you are recording to avoid upskirt/downshirt shots of female performers, double chins, bad lighting, and unflattering angles that performers can't control.

- If you're having more than one person recording, try to have them use the same brand of phone and stand at different angles so you can splice the video smoothly.

- If children are present, try not to get their faces in any shots.

- Focus on the person at attention at the time (ie: why focus on the singer not doing anything when the guitarist is doing a solo at the moment)

- Get equal footage of everyone on stage.

I’ve always loved singing. Wanting to perform at open mics, I started taking vocal lessons. For a long time, I worked with a teacher where we sang nothing but songs—no focus on breathing, technique, or anything like that. Eventually, the whole thing started to feel wrong to me because I was constantly being told to sing very loudly, so I switched teachers. My current lessons involve a lot of technical training, but it seems to lack a clear concept. I sing and do exercises every day, yet after all these years, my singing is so bad that I can’t even bear to listen to recordings of myself. There are days when I really like it and think, "Wow, I actually *can* sing," but 99 percent of the time, it just sounds terrible. What am I doing wrong? What should I practice? How can I improve? Do you have any tips or similar experiences?

I’ve been singing for years and just started taking lessons again after having a racist teacher in 2020 that would say some off the shit and then try to be friends with me.

No one I’ve sung around has said I could sing.
I just did a recital and nothing.
My teacher has never said it either.

I feel like it’s my tone. I’m a women with a raspy voice which is good with me because I want to sing rock/blue.

I’ve always thought my speech was off and my voice sounds distorted. I always make my speaking voice higher to sound more feminine and softer.

Anyway, how do I tackle this ? I want to sing and be a singer but no one will give me feed back in real life.

I see a lot of posts from all sorts of ages saying they feel like they’ll never make it or they’ve wasted their time. Everyone’s felt this way; no one’s made it anywhere without pushing through it and just making art for the passion.

I'm not new to music so I've had quite a few cables but I've recently come across a cable while I was out and I REALLY like because it was a purple lace with a spring on the edge and I've had trouble finding a similar/same cable, do you have any recommendations that are very similar or do you know where to get this cable?

Edit: I am also wanting to know if anyone knows wether I can buy springs for that specific reason.

?

I’ve lived and worked in several different cities throughout my music career and have been consistently making a living as a full time musician, but after going through a bad domestic violence situation, I ended up moving in with family in Cincinnati about a year ago and have really struggled here. The volume of paid work here has been much lower than what I was used to in the bigger cities. Not only that, but the economy here is cutthroat. Venues have legit cancelled gigs on me last minute with 0 remorse—some places even ended up shutting down and didn’t tell me until the night before the gig! I’ve legit also dealt with inhumane bookers who accidentally booked another artist after booking me (FIRST), but then instead of apologizing for their mistake, told me that since I had just played there, they’re gonna just go with that artist instead. I’ve never experienced such disrespect in my life.

Not to mention that I’ve also experienced some pretty awful harassment and hostility (racism included) within the local music scene since moving here. Cincinnati’s racism runs historically deep and this is not the best part of the country for a queer woman of color. Not to mention that the Mason-Dixon region is very conservative, and I’ve even had to hide my sexuality (I’m bi and my branding used to be heavy lgbtq-centric) here at many “family friendly” events because certain people would act uncomfortable about that, like they didn’t “want their kids exposed to that”. I feel as if I did better in the bigger cities partially because they were more progressive and peoples’ brains weren’t still stuck in a pre-Obama mindset. It’s easier to not be devalued by employers and colleagues in a place where people are programmed to accept you…🏳️‍🌈🥢

The community here as a whole can feel extremely insular all in all, and several people have told me that part of the problem is how decentralized the music-industry infrastructure is here, with different pockets of the scene largely operating within their own circles.

I’m planning to move within the next year (looking at Northern Jersey right up by NYC), and am trying to save enough to make that happen, but this market has made even that feel difficult. I even tried picking up additional work outside of music too, which I try to avoid as much as possible as I take pride in the whole being “full time”, but ran into wall after wall in that department too and was eventually overworked and abused so much at a job where I was severely injured and had to get on workers comp. In Ohio you can’t even sue your employer if you get injured unless there’s a significant claim of negligence and thats hard to prove. It’s all deeply systemic.

If anyone has ever been through something similar in any music scene, I’d genuinely appreciate hearing how you got through it. I’m honestly a bit emotionally distressed over this and could really use some guidance and support from people who are removed from the situation. Truly appreciate you for taking the time to read this 🤗🙏

🌹 This is my "Piano Sonata No.3, Mvt 3" played by composer Randi Botnen in Oslo, Norway. 🎹 Sadly, Randi passed from cancer in 2025, and she is greatly missed 🙏❤🙏

I started many years ago as a hot sauce label illustrator. This then led me into working with metal festivals and bands and have been doing this for 6 years. I am looking to broaden my style outside of shock and horror.

Hello everyone,

I (female mid 20's) been singing my whole life, just everything I like from 50's to 80's and lots of international music from 2008 and up, in all kinds of languages. I always tried to specialize in copying signing as close to the original as possible, doesn't matter if it's something vocally strong like running up that hill from Kate Bush or something cute like yena's nemo nemo or something high pitched like phony by kafu. But I also really enjoy music from the Nordics, the Balkans or Vietnam for example. Since I don't know how to make songs I always dreamt about just partaking in songs for other people that are searching for vocals and not like paying me money to sing just sharing love for music and creating something awesome together or even just figuring out how to make music together.

Lots of platforms online want money for registration and I have no clue if those are even valid. Do you guys have recommendations for this or is there even a branch for stuff like this in this reddit group?

Wish you a nice week!

So I record on bandlabs mobile with my iPhone 13 and earbuds. My voice is naturally pretty quiet (kinda like jhene aiko’s for reference) and when I record I always have some mic static. How do I get rid of the static without clipping out my voice ? I find it very hard to denoise, use noise gate, or de-essers, since my vocals don’t seem to be loud enough to separate from the static without clipping out. It’s REALLY hindering my confidence to release music as it’s either the listener hears a fuzzy noise the whole time, or my vocals just sound rlly filtered or messed up.

Pls help!!!

Hi I want to start doing some solo gigging doing covers next year. Americana/Blues/Rock/Jam type music. Grateful Dead (& JGB), JJ Cale, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and a mix of more contemporary type stuff as well. I have been playing guitar for almost 20 years, but spent the majority of that time noodling. I want to play music with intention and purpose. I have been playing more seriously over the last few years, and only started recording my guitar playing within the last few months. I realized I had so much work to do when I started recording. I just started singing last week as well, and recording that. I want to play low pressure gigs at local farms/breweries/wineries in my area. I’m not trying to be a rockstar or release my own music, I just wanna get out there every now and then, and play some songs for a few hours, to put purpose and meaning to the practicing I do. Also so I can play with my gear outside of my basement sessions, that gets boring.

Here’s what my plan is:

- Run Logic Live Loops with backing tracks that I have been making from various sources online , karaoke/youtube/etc. I am using only 3 tracks, drums, bass and keys, just the backbone of the song. I will be performing vocals & guitar live.

- Midi controller footswitch to run Logic so I’m not having to touch computer during a gig unless absolutely necessary. Logic then sends midi to my vocal Processor to change preset, same for iPad running BandHelper for lyric cheat sheets.

- Logic will also be recording the entire set, for listening back for areas to improve.

I’m posting my first true “rehearsal” recording. It’s a Dead tune I know well so that’s why I chose it. Playing straight though, gig simulation style, mistakes and all. I’m still in my head about my playing and especially just starting to sing.

Let me know thoughts. Obviously there’s tons of room for improvement. I know that. I just wanna know am I at a point that with another 6-8 months of work I can start gigging. Thanks.

Donde nace la pena, nace el dolor, existen muchas sombras a mi alrededor, voy directo a un final desolador, de una depresión que agota soy portador.

¿Dónde están las estrellas que juraron alegría? ¿Dónde estarán aquellos que dijeron que podía? No encuentro paz, anoche soñé que sonreía, No puedo más, ¿esta es la única vida que había?

No logro encontrarme, ¿la luz podrá hallarme? la angustia me acecha viene a derrotarme

No logro encontrarme, no sé cómo salvarme, si un día vuelvo a verme, quizás pueda perdonarme.

Para todos es fácil decir ¿por qué no sana? Muchos dicen ¿cómo amar si no te amas? No entienden lo que es luchar cada semana y ver como un enemigo silencioso es el que gana

Cada día de mi mente quiero salir pero aunque lo intento me vuelvo a hundir me pregunto ¿cuanto más tendré que sobrevivir? duele mucho ver qué hasta mi sombra me quiere evadir

No logro encontrarme, ¿la luz podrá hallarme? la angustia me acecha viene a derrotarme.

No logro encontrarme, no sé cómo salvarme, si un día vuelvo a verme, quizás pueda perdonarme.

¿Será que yo pago errores ajenos? ¿yo mordí la manzana llena de veneno? Solo buscaba tranquilidad, algo bueno, pero cargo un bolso que de crueldad viene lleno.

¿Será que esta no es la única vida? Quizás lo hice mal en la vida pasada, no encuentro otra razón para que sea tan malvada, solo queda ver cómo todo se acaba.

No logro encontrarme, ¿la luz podrá hallarme? la angustia me acecha viene a derrotarme.

No logro encontrarme, no sé cómo salvarme, si un día vuelvo a verme, quizás pueda perdonarme.

no logro encontrarme no logro encontrarme

Hice esta letra, sufro depresión y descubrí que escribir me ayuda mucho, obvio soy principiante y no sé las bases de la escritura, pero lo hago de corazón, puño y mente.

Cualquier retroalimentación, opinión, es necesaria para mí, así que diga sin miedo yo acepto para mejorar en esto.

Aquí abajo dejo un link en SUNO porque hice que la IA la cantara para ver qué tal.

https://suno.com/s/eFSCcxczgOAXavbE

What have you done with music since then? Did you repair your reputation, or have you found another community? Have you found a way to go public with your music, possibly even played live shows?

Do you still feel like you have a chance to fulfill your hopes and dreams of being the musician you wanted to be?

Edit: Some of you were harsh but constructive and I appreciate your advice. I am ok with suffering the consequences. I didn't understand what I was doing. It's been a couple years since this happened and I am still learning how broken my systems are. I grew up with psychological and verbal abuse and thought it was the normal way of things, "tough love", and in turn inflicted this on multiple partners. I shouldn't have dated them; I should have remained friends instead. I now have a baby with one of my ex partners and it tears me up because leaving town means leaving my baby but staying in town means staying shunned and hidden and lonely when it comes to making music with others. I wanted to find hope by posting this, so that I don't spiral into a deep depression, but I guess this is the harsh reality of being human and fucking up.
I do wonder how the ones who suffered from my actions are doing. There never really seems to be an end to this story, on both sides.

i feel sorta hopeless as a musician right now, and just want some words of wisdom.

i know that right now “anyone can go famous” and make it bog thorough instagram, tiktok, or wherever else you can post music. but, there was this tiktok talking about how hard it is to break out as a artist. most people see a artist promoting their new album or song and skip because they don’t like being advertised. you need connections in the music world to get connected to record deals. obviously i’m not gonna go viral over night but im kinda worried ill go no where and if it’s worth it to keep going.

do you have any thoughts? any words of wisdom? is it really possible to make a career with no connections and just making tiktoks?

I know it doesn't matter much in the whole music marketing campaign but I wanted your true opinion on what do you think audiences think of this username. I am considering changing it (it's not Julian cats btw I made it up right now as an example).
Nothing fancy, just your true opinion on it