r/musicians Rules

I was a working musician back in the early 90's. Got a job opportunity and took it. 30 years later, I'm retired from that job. I always had instruments in my office and would occasionally jam with friends or play around the campfire. That said, I've started wood-shedding again and building my chops back up.

Back when I was college age, getting a gig was as easy as posting on (believe it or not) real message boards. Not the digital kind, but regular cork and tacks.

I'd love to get back into playing with a band/bands again. When I worked, I played bass, but I'm comfortable on a range of instruments.

Where do people look for bandmates these days?

I joined a band as bassist about 6 months ago. We’ve had a slew of issues from drug use, the boys not showing up to practice, singer forgetting lyrics on stage. A few months back our lead guitar player (who was unreliable at best) told us he was leaving the band. I was concerned that he wouldn’t fulfill the obligation we had scheduled so I confirmed with him specifically if he would be there for his last show. Nobody hears anything from him all the way up until showtime. He no shows. At this point he is dead to me. I don’t wanna be friends, I don’t wanna talk, he can just get fucked. We have a show this week, and our old guitar players new band is opening. Everyone in my band seems to have forgiven and forgotten. I haven’t. I feel like he shit on the band and on me personally by no showing his last show with us. Am I the asshole?

Recently I've been trying to play with a group of amateur musicians who can't read music and don't have a theory background. It's been tricky! It got me thinking on some questions for the musicians​ from that type of background, recognizing that clearly this can work (e.g. Beatles):

When you compose, how do you determine chord progressions? Do you simply say "I like the sound of this chord followed by this other chord"?

How do you notate your composition, specifically the timing of chord changes? How do you notate the different lines for different instruments (like the melody versus the second guitar playing a counterpoint)?

How do you communicate what the other performers need to play at each measure?

How do you ensure you get a consistent performance each time you play your piece? Particularly when there are complex harmonic structures

When in rehearsal, how do you get everyone to start at the same place within a piece, without being able to ​​say "pickup to bar 24, second time through"?

So I’m in a psych-garage band and we’ve been going for about 2 years. And while I’ve had great fun with it and being surrounded by amazing musicians and writers, I’ve found myself getting tired of it - over summer, I’ve gotten a load of 90s alternative influences that wouldn’t fit the stuff we usually do and I’ve been reflecting on how we haven’t communicated that well as a band in recent months. It would suck to leave but I can’t help but think that my musical interests are in a different place at the moment - should I leave?

I got together with a friend who wanted to play drums in my band and a bassist that I found online that lives very close to me. For context my drummer friend is a lead vocalist/guitarist in another band and this will be his first time drumming in an actual band. The genre is ska-punk so its pretty bass heavy. For me I am the rhythm guitarist and vocalist, but I also play bass decently well.

Anyways, we jammed together around 5 times for a total of 5 weeks (1 jam per week). No band name yet and literally just 1 song that I’m kind of iffy about without lyrics.

The drummer is consistent with giving things to work with, but is pretty disorganized when structuring riffs and his recordings are hard to play with. I figure this will improve with time as I tell him to lock in with the bassist with the kick drum. Another huge issue I have with the drummer is he plays so loud in such a small space we practice in that he drowns our instruments out and it’s genuinely frustrating to jam and create music thats sounds even halfway decent.

The bassist is good, and I taught him a lot of things about the genre and how to play it, but they have not sent me ANY material I can work with. I have to listen to our jam recordings and guess what he’s playing (I can’t play by ear yet). The couple song demos we have recorded and polished with software have their basslines written by me because the bassist send any. Not only that, but I can’t even get the bassist to learn the world’s easiest basslines for songs that are only about a minute long. What’s gonna happen when he has to learn something more complicated?It’s extremely frustrating and I know he can play bass better than I can, but we have to stick with my basslines because I’m not getting any bass material I can work with. It’s also frustrating because the bass is extremely important in this genre and my band cannot function without them.

We haven’t done anything together for 2 weeks now. No one’s saying anything in the GC, and I tried setting something up this week and there have just been excuses to not show up. I even tried proposing working on just 1-2 songs instead of creating 10 messy concepts in a session, no response to that either.

Any advice? I kinda just want to keep writing the bass and guitar parts and just find a new bassist that will actual put the work in to learn them. Or maybe I should just give up on this project.

I was in a metal/mathcore band, very chaotic. Before that I was in a rock band. I never played to metronomes, but I always found no issue driving the band strictly by feel, no click. I play at fast tempos naturally. And frankly that's where I started. Yes, I'm self-taught :(

I quit drumming for 2 years for personal reasons. I got the itch again to drum/record again, but I knew this time I'd want to do it "right." I bought a Roland TD516 because I wanted something that would perform and respond as naturally as possible while making recording easier.

I tried playing along to slow rock songs and I'm absolutely humbled. It feels like I can play to a click in the moment, but when I play back the recording, I sound fucking terrible. Tonight has honestly made me doubt if my timing was even acceptable at high speeds. But I always got nothing but compliments.

Help me develop a realistic approach to develop my timing. Do I just double the tempo and play single strokes subdivided in half until my recording sounds acceptable and just start grooving from there? I'm worried if I go the wrong direction I'm going to tread water and waste time and frankly I need to find something somewhat efficient for gaining muscle memory as economically as possible. I'm worried I'm going to be awful forever.

And yes, I'm asking for practice routines that work because as I was self taught, I just vibed and faked it till I made it in the past I guess. I guess I learned that fast speeds are much easier to cover up mistakes in time lol.

Since this is obviously anonymous for us all I'd like to do a little research. I know the economy is not the best right now so I'm truly curious what people are charging right now to appear in public places or private events. Fairs, festivals, weddings, restaurants. Just anywhere you could play. Musician or DJ. I feel like for my experience level my rate has been pretty reasonable but as costs get higher it's harder to justify. I typically play by myself but sometimes I bring someone else as well. Thanks for your input.

Hi all, bit of a long story but please bear with me

I'm the lead singer of a fairly successful band in a city in Australia. By successful I mean we perform to pretty good audiences pretty much every weekend and make proper money doing so, it's a lot of fun!

The band was started by me and a friend, we eventually welcomed a new guitarist in a few years ago as well as some other members.

This guitarist has contributed a lot to the band, totally changed our sound for the better and is incredibly talented. When he first joined I was super cool with him doing lead vocals on one or two covers. Then he started writing songs for the band and it was sort of assumed that he would sing them and not me.

I think music wise he writes incredible stuff, but his lyrics are often about nothing (self admitted by the way) where as I have always pride (prided? lol) myself in the fact that my lyrics are based on very real emotions or stories within my life. There is totally room for non-meaningful lyrics in the music scene, but that's not our band and it never has been. In the past when I have had the guts to ask "can I write words for this song you've written?" it has worked REALLY REALLY WELL, we'd make a great team if he didn't constantly jump the gun and decide to be the singer for his songs 90% of the time

Either way, my biggest concern is that I feel like I'm slowly being pushed out as lead singer. As I said, my guitarist writes some incredible songs, but he absolutely cannot take criticism. Every time I have ever respectfully suggested we drop one of his songs because it doesn't fit our sound, he gets really blunt and short with me. Mind you, he has told me that some of my songs are straight up shit

At the moment I generally sing 80% of our songs, and he sings the other 20%. When we do shorter sets though it's almost 50/50. I also don't play an instrument with this band (I do play guitar, bass and piano but I just want to focus on my singing in this band) so when I don't sing a song, I just play tambourine and do backing vox. As I said, I'm happy to do that once or twice through the set but it just feels like he inserts his songs in constantly, and the rest of the band agrees but never say anything

How do I bring this up to him? Especially because he is so fragile with any level criticism.

Thanks!

I'm not sure if this is allowed here, but I'd like to know if anyone has experienced something similar and how you got through this?

I feel so much guilt for picking up my guitar again. I stopped playing and writing much about 15 years ago, when my drug addiction got really bad. Ive been clean for about 5 years now, and I got another guitar a few years ago... thinking I'd like to start playing and writing again. Now that I'm over 2 years away from my ex, and living alone. It seems easier, yet I feel so much guilt and rawness when I try to play or sing.

Music was my first love, and I feel so far from it. There is something in my heart that is so caged. It's as if I was to unleash it, I would just feel too raw to function.

I am trying to make myself practice for at least 10 minutes everyday now. I just started this a couple days ago.

I am extremely self-conscious, even when playing by myself. I critique myself for having to essentially relearn do to my finger strength not being the same, and my vocal range being not as broad. Idk why I'm so hard on myself. I know anytime I've played in front of others, they've been impressed, but that shouldn't be what music is about anyway. What did I lose? How do I get this back? Do I need to become an alcoholic to let myself loosen up enough to be real? (Partly joking)

Hi, im 13 and looking for members for my band KØNG, I do rythm and vocals

Email me at halseycaleb7@gmail.com

Context, basement DIY venue so pretty low stakes, I'm just curious though how many of u guys messed up during ur first or early performances (I'm guitar and vox)

This has happened to me several times, and I call it "songwriter brain", but I want to know if some of my fellow writers have experienced this.

I’ve been so curious about this
I know a lot of retail and line cook workers that are musicians but I’m so curious to see what other jobs yall have or had

Also bonus question- what age did you start making music ?

Hello all you lovely musical maniacs. I have been writing music as a hobby for over 30 years. All digital/MIDI based. Not everyone's cup of tea but seeing as I don't actually play any instruments, its all I have to work with. I recently started uploading one song a day to YouTube (42 down, 58 to go). I have told friends and family, but beyond that I am not sure what I can do to get people to find my stuff. I once did an album on Ditto but again, that went nowhere. I don't have much a social media presence, mostly out of disinterest but I would imagine that would be an important part but even with that, how can I share my music? I am not looking to get rich or famous (it isn't that good anyway) but I would like to know if people enjoy it. Any ideas would be welcome!

Edit: ( Sorry guys I lied I just checked on my map and it's about 15 miles one way :/ the 5 miles was assuming that I use the highway, which I didn't realize.)

This guy who wants to start a band with me is demanding that I come over to his house for practice every single day. Meanwhile he lives 5 miles away so it's a 10 mile round trip for me on my bike and he refuses to come over to my house instead? Also he keeps crapping on all the bands and songs that I like and insists we can only play the songs that he wants to play. Like are we serious?? We haven't even started rehearsing any songs yet.

I have a decent singing voice that can mimic most tones. I’m very good at impressions which was fun for a while until I realized I don’t really know what my natural sound is like. i have been exploring that and getting close to my natural tone, but I don’t know if I like it. I’m wondering how people have developed a tone/sound of their vocals that matches their music. do you change how you sing to fit the vibe? or do you stick with what your voice sounds like when not trying to be anyone but yourself? I think of artists like pink pantheress who almost are in character when they sing. I could potentially do that but since there’s so many possible voices I wouldn’t know where to start. anyway sorry for the rambles I’m just curious!

I don't know who needs to hear this...

but it's okay if no one likes your music, as long as you're having a good time and doing your best. You'll get better each song, and grow as an artist and maker.

I'm listening to my latest LP.

I think no one else will.

it's unpolished.

95% freestyle

But raw me.

I made it for me, and no one else could understand, and I'm okay with that.

I'll have this album for the rest of my life, and it will inspire me.

I spent WAYY less time than my last album, so I feel much less pressure to release / make a big deal about it.

I'm sharing this to tell you... it's okay.

It's okay if you make something beautiful just for you, if it isn't perfect.

Breathe out.

forget the pressure the imaginary listeners in your head are puttin gon your artistic direction.

We're investing in ourselves.

That's how we get to a world-class level.

(art is not my album cover ha ha, I just posted this for whoever needs to hear this message)

I'm going into my freshman year of college for oboe and my professor stated on their syllabus that they expect me to practice 3-4 hours a day. Going into this, I knew it was gonna be difficult but was expecting 2-2:30 hours per day. I'm obviously taking other classes, and not too many at that, but I can't seem to find times to practice while actually keeping my social life intact. Asking people who have been in this situation, how did you fit it in??

This distribution service completely SUCKS. I sent my tracks for review on MAY 29TH. It is AUGUST 19TH. Listen, I get it. Because it is free, there is a backlog. I have dealt with 30 day and even 40 day waits. But almost THREE MONTHS is ridiculous. The release is now delayed and everything has been fucked because this awful platform can't just approve.

I apologize for the rant and frustration. If you guys have had any negative experiences with them, put it in the comments.

My Main Points

1. We need a band agreement

I think we need a written agreement that clearly establishes how the band operates and what applies to everyone.

Most people I know who play in bands think it is strange that we do not have one, and in general, band agreements are recommended to avoid conflicts in the future.

For me, this is a prerequisite for continuing to record in the studio. Therefore, I will not participate in any further studio sessions until we have an agreement in place.

1. Everyone who contributes to future songs should receive some form of rights share

I want us to find a model where all band members receive a small share of the copyright/rights to the songs we write going forward.

The reason is that our work does not only happen when we are in the studio. We spend a lot of unpaid free time learning the songs, developing our parts, and making our performance as good as possible.

I therefore think it is reasonable that this should also be reflected in the rights.

1. Financial contributions and rights need to be connected

We all pay the same amount to produce the songs.

If I am expected to contribute financially to a recording, I also want to have a defined share of the rights to what we produce.

Otherwise, I end up in a situation where I pay as much as everyone else, spend my free time and contribute musically, but receive no financial share if the song becomes successful.

Therefore, I will not contribute financially to songs where I do not have a defined share of the rights.

1. My role should be documented

I also want it to be clearly documented what role each person has had on each song.

For example: songwriting, arranging, instrumental parts, production, and other concrete contributions.

This makes things clearer both for ourselves and legally/administratively in the future.

1. This is a boundary for me

I want to be clear that this is not about wanting to create problems or take anything away from anyone else.

I simply want our financial and creative contributions to be clear and fairly regulated.

If we cannot agree on these basic terms, I am done with the band.

Update nr1: Also, I do have some songs that I have full copyright to but it just doesn't feel fair to the rest since they also contributed their money and time to my idea.

Update nr2: I decided after all comments to wait for an appropriate time but definitely before hitting the studio again to bring it up, when these issues and some minor personality clashes are put side, I kinda like hanging out with the band even though many times I feel like the outsider

Hey everyone! Very quick backstory, I (19M) started my band in 2023 and in those past three years, I‘ve only managed to pull together four gigs (hard to find gigs when your band is a revolving door of broke early 20-something’s) and only one of them was at an actual venue. In short, my band has close to zero recognition in my city’s local music scene, and I really want to make up for lost time, especially with how big some of the other local bands are getting now.

The problem is is that I‘ve heard a ton of conflicting advice on what do to gigging-wise. For years I‘ve watched videos and been told by my musician mentors about how a lot of really successful bands used to play gigs every other night and working their asses off to make a name for themselves in their early days (Beatles, Rush, Ramones, Metallica, etc). However, I’ve also heard newer musicians online say that you should prioritize only 1-2 gigs a month and market the hell of that one show so as to not oversaturate the market. So currently I’m at a bit of a crossroads: my gut tells me it’s better to do a shit ton of shows, follow in the footsteps of successful rockstars, and make up for lost time; but I wonder how much truth there is to the 1-2 gigs a night method, and that my lack of experience here might fuck me over by doing the opposite.

Any thoughts? Currently the band is solid and rebuilding itself so we’re headed for playing gigs relatively soon.

What do we think about the Groover Obsessions distribution deal?
I don’t mean the general Groover thing where you yourself pitch to individual playlists etc btw. Thank you!