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Wisdom for Young Aspiring Musicians

# 1  "Build A Community of Musicians And Help Each Other" - April 13, 2023

When you are developing as a musician, especially a creative one whose music might not fit easily into a genre, and the community you live in may not be open to the style/kind of music you do, it can feel lonely, isolating, misunderstood, and you may simply not know how to get your music out.

When I was playing music in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, I would often be asked the same damn questions over and over, "What do you call this kind of music??"

Music is music, but when people don't hear a familiar sound or style, it can feel like nobody understands what you are creating. You do however end up finding musicians whose music you appreciate and who are open to yours, even if your musics might be quite different from each other.

When you do start to connect with other musicians, you want to build a community, and help each other. Exchange information about where to play, or brainstorm about new places to seek out. Try to think out of the box to come up with some cool ideas. House concerts, backyard concerts, asking a small record store if they would host a show, or considering a warehouse somewhere, etc.

When you support each other in different ways, you feel connected, and that's so important. I won't name anyone here, but a young great musician in our community who's been playing for several years encouraged a younger artist with less than a year playing out to go to an open mic with him, so as to introduce the younger musician to his booker to get more gigs. This sort of support is really beautiful to see.

Treat your community of musicians/artists like it's your family. It's give and take sometimes, and sometimes it's taking and paying forward, but in the end you will all benefit.

Good luck!

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