I need some opinions on the country music lovers of today...my gf and some of my friends absolutely hate country music, and I try and introduce them to the classics (Hank Williams, Brooks and Dunn, Alan Jackson, George Strait, yada yada...), but they still think it's all about whiskey and women. Help reddit people!

Hello!! Music student drop out here cuz I hella burnt out towards the end of high school many years ago 😂😩
I was wondering if anyone could help me with something I’m curious about!

I have this playlist of songs that are mostly sad, however they have a particular sad sound that I’m trying to pinpoint and figure out why they all give me that similar feeling..
I know enough to sorta be like- okay that melody that dropped a semi tone is really doing it for me or like, that suspended chord or that cheeky flat invokes some emotion in me, but not enough to be able to name any specific types of chords or talk in more advanced music terms!!

Like a lot of it makes my heart just feel SO heavy, and the chord itself will sound heavy and whole, and like, hopeful? idk man IDK

Anyways i was just wondering if anyone can hears a particular theme going on? It’s a lot of songs so I don’t expect anyone to listen to all of them, but if u happen to then awesome! ^_^ ty!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Ti9r4uX3dze3CvxoP44dH?si=mkl2-h8mTjCUP0MQzcEKYw&utm_source=copy-link&pi=jOvM0qu3ST2DO

Hello,

I'm new here and hope that this is right

I am trying to write an instrumental passage just basic strings or orchestra with MIDI but I'm not musical like this at all and have been stuck for 8 months now, I don't know about phrasing or timing for things like this and no advice videos have helped me (I struggle to understand but know how I want it to sound) I'm not sure where to start or who to ask for help? Maybe someone can help me

Its always been reccomended for artists to work together and find oppurtunities with our friends to make something new and find new shows to play at.

Its also known that you cant necessarily make anything good without practice and personal time in the shed.

So where do you draw this line?

Im more of the latter and i tend to stick to myself, making things in my own home, learning more techniques and practicing my instrument. I feel like i can make music the way i want to see it that way.

I know someone else who prefers to only lay vocals down and be very involved in the beat making process of the songs but doesnt neccessarily have the skill to actually make the track themselves. They prefer to always try and work with someone because of this.

Wheres the line for you guys? Where do you strike the balance?

.

tuned my guitar to some awesome tuning but idk music theory and i cant replicate this on keyboard because its out of tune pls help

​

as it's being asked by a form for an open mic but I can't read or understand sheet music nor do I know a thing about music theory or the technical side of music like EQ? etc.

but I do understand a little about tempo

Alot of stuff online is very tinny and doesn't sound like the original songs

I don't want to pirate it

I want to instead either download a pdf or get images of sheet music like screenshots or jpegs

But I don't know where to go legally

I don't even understand why they're asking for sheet music

I assume it's because they have a band or people backing up the person singing but not sure

Im just a bass player so I record a riff but then spend weeks programming drums, arranging the song, recording a back up section, etc.. its like it never ends,

And then its like I dont really love the riff anymore so i start over with a new one, rinse repeat

What am I doing wrong?

Between 1:10-1:16 there's this very charming beat being made to something that almost sounds like I'd imagine if wind chimes were treated like xylophones. I was wondering if anyone could be able to identify what instrument it might be as I find it mixes well with the chant being sung by the child within that time frame? Appreciate any expertise and guidance.

Song: Crystal chamber from Atlantis Lost empire soundtrack

https://youtu.be/qJqgXNCfwu4?feature=shared

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to recreate a specific synth sound from a track. It's from an old compilation, so the track doesn't have an official name.

Here is what I'm looking for: at exactly 7:44 in the video (which I will link in the comments), there is a specific sound I need to reproduce. I am currently working on Windows XP, but I also have access to Windows 10 if a modern plugin requires it.

I am using a translator, so I apologize in advance for any weird phrasing. Thank you so much for any help!

I haven't released or produced anything professionally. currently i go by my full name in all caps. i don't love the privacy levels of this and there are other people who go by the same/similar names. it's also often misheard or misspelt which i would want to avoid when picking a name.
i have two main ideas of possible names as i look towards actually publishing my music. i would love to know the immediate vibes the names give off and if you like or dislike the names.

CLVRGRL

JNPRWLK or JNPR WLK

CLVRGRL comes from a few different things, my parents nicknamed me "Clever Girl" and would say that to me often as a kid. i also LOVE Clovers, and anyone who knows me knows that about me. I like the CLVR because it can be both Clover and Clever. This one also could be stylized as ClvrGrl or clvrgrl (ClvrGrl looks the most intentional and not like a keyboard smash)
JNPRWLK comes from Juniper Walk. Which I think could also be good spelt out fully, but there's another artist who goes by the name Juniper.
some other ideas are Clever Jade, or Clover & Key.

My two albums are currently titled
The Architecture of Inherited Starlight
and
The Fire and the Flames
if that gives you a vibe of what i'm kinda going for.

Hey songwriters,

Quick question about your creative flow: When you stumble on a great progression or riff on guitar, what’s your go-to way to get it down?

Do you open a full DAW (Logic, REAPER, Ableton), use a phone voice memo, or something else?

What’s the biggest friction point between having a guitar idea in your head and getting a decent demo finished?

Im seeing tons of artists use clipping campaigns right now. It's where tons of people repost clips of your music on Tik Tok and Reels. Im curious if any artists would actually try this?

Is there a subreddit, or a website outside of reddit, or a fb community, etc. Which is reliable and more organized than just "hey post your stuff here" or "I'll sing on your song!" Without even providing a demo of one's talent etc.

Something more structured that doesn't always revolve around paying somebody to get a gig done?

Or could we maybe have a sticky topic here where the rules are: Post what you're looking for and post an audio of your Work in progress / project, or a demo showcasing your work/skills?

I've spent years off and on trying to use midi tracks on bandlab to teach myself how to put together a song and it just feels so futile. Like every time I take a step forward, I encounter a new problem that just sets me back again, and all the while I'm constantly doubting myself and wondering whether it will even get me anywhere at all. Just feeling very frustrated

For me, it isn't really making the song anymore. Once the writing, recording and mixing are done, I still somehow end up spending hours getting everything ready to actually release it.

Artwork, short clips, little videos for social media, resizing things, making sure everything looks consistent... it adds up pretty quickly. A couple quick visuals in toneframer usually take care of one part of it, then there's still all the other little things around the release.

I'm curious what other musicians find the most time-consuming part. Is it the recording and mixing side, artwork and visuals, promotion, distribution, or something completely different?

I Have an upcoming solo vocal comp for my school in 4 days and there will be a judge there. I usually just sing and record them for fun on my socials. My voice is not bad, but it's not good either. I'm planning to sing Merry Christmas, Please dont call by bleachers. I tried doing some vocal exercises and practice the song, but sometime when i wanna go for that screaming vocals idk where to move my voice to and it ended up going on the wrong note. Here's one of my video for refrences. PLEASE HELP

Notes: This video was recorded months ago

I want to make and perform music so badly but I don’t have much knowledge on playing instruments and creating things that I’m actually interested in. How do people find others that understand their ideas and are able to help execute them? Sorry if this is a dumb post I just figured I’d be able to get some advice :)

Genuinely curious how working musicians feel in 2026.

There's a big difference between "AI writes and releases the whole song" and "AI throws out a rough chord progression or drum groove at 3am that you then rewrite completely." Some people see the second one as no different from a drum machine preset or a sample pack. Others feel any AI involvement changes what the work is.

Where's your line? Has your opinion shifted at all in the last year or two?

Dallon Weekes has a song called “Sickly Sweet Holidays” and I wanted to use a similar name for my EP coming out, but I can’t think of anything that is as good as that song name imo. Like I just love the bittersweetness to it, kind of like Please Don’t Jump (It’s Christmas). It’s moody, but not too “I hate holidays”. It’s just enough mix of everything. Anyone have any thoughts or ideas?

I've been wanting to record and produce some music for a long time however I find myself acting like a deer in headlights every single time I try. I've been playing guitar and singing for years. The guitar isn't all that amazing, I just use it to rhythm accompany the singing. I didnt take music theory past grade 9 and was not very good at it, I never had music theory in primary school so I had no foundation.

I genuinely don't know if its my autism or something else but whenever I boot up ableton and I get something basic down I'm just stuck there with 'What next?' Or 'This sounds really mediocre'. And if I open any compressors or synths or something else like that Im immediately overwhelmed with all the knobs and buttons and terms. It becomes so much that I just kinda shut down and grow despondent.

I know in my heart of hearts I want this to work. I write songs fairly frequently and jam everyday on karaoke servers on chat apps and have been told multiple times I have a great voice but I'm just so petrified of making mistakes or doing things the right way when I'm trying to make something.

I have so many styles I'd love to learn, I would like to make alt rock stuff like Friday Pilots Club and Nothing But Thieves, or to some melancholy out there sounds like Porter Robinson but I just feel so stuck and don't know where to even begin.

Do I need to go spend some time taking music theory courses? Am I just diving in too deep? What is wrong with me?

Anyways, thanks for reading my rant and I greatly appreciate any advice.

Hey there! I'm new here... I'm 17 and my goal and dream is to become a professional drummer. I know that you obviously need skill to do so. But another important factor is connections.

But staying on skill side: Do you really have to study music at a university or something like that to do this as a job. Because nobody in a band asks wether you studied your instrument, right? They just want to have a good drummer and imo becoming one is also possible without studying.

Obviously I know the other advantages of studying (second instrument, music theory, ...).

Just wonder how you guys think about that.

(I'm not talking about orchestra and classical music, I'm talking about anything in pop.)

I make r&b/pop-ish songs and i'm starting to go to open mics again. I love love love being on stage but i don't like how boring i look in my videos. Especially for my slower songs. What are some tips/advice for building my stage presence?