I'm really, really struggling with writing lyrics. I agonize over them and avoid putting pen to paper, which results in incomplete song ideas. Any words of wisdom? [more inside]
posted by BlerpityBloop at 9:32 AM - 7 comments

Have any of you been travelling by yourselves as a musician/vagabond? Do you have any advice? [more inside]
posted by groklock at 11:02 AM - 11 comments

Want to beta test out MeFi Radio, a new iOS 7.x app? [more inside]
posted by mathowie at 5:00 PM - 3 comments

So today, I cannot get any of the recent posts to play. If I work my way down to Feb 5, they all seem to play from then and earlier. Has anyone else noticed this?
posted by Danf at 11:07 AM - 4 comments

CALL FOR SCORES 26 beats long to be performed on Disklavier by this toy chihuahua at Qubit Machine Music festival NYC Feb 13th. [more inside]
posted by moonmilk at 12:08 PM - 13 comments

As suggested by Doleful Creature, this two-month challenge is to pick a popular book and a scene or character from that book and write a song about it. [more inside]
posted by greenish at 7:24 AM - 20 comments

Just in time for Christmas for all you guitar players.
posted by Lutoslawski at 9:20 PM - 13 comments

It would seem rude not to do a seasonally-relevant challenge at this time of year! [more inside]
posted by greenish at 4:05 AM - 0 comments

Guitar Center and the end of big box retail
posted by flapjax at midnite at 2:54 PM - 16 comments

An idea from our dear friend Sweet Mister that's short and sweet [more inside]
posted by greenish at 3:37 AM - 11 comments

The 8-bit hymnal
posted by Blasdelb at 4:33 AM - 5 comments

I have a free week. I want to learn how to play the trumpet. [more inside]
posted by chococat at 10:53 AM - 6 comments

Two weeks to go: what we've got so far, help people might need, and challenges still to come :) [more inside]
posted by greenish at 2:52 AM - 7 comments

Is anyone else composing specifically for surround systems? [more inside]
posted by Ardiril at 2:56 PM - 1 comment

Well folks, Sept 1 has arrived. Here's a summary of our summertime Bowie Challenge. [more inside]
posted by dubold at 2:20 AM - 15 comments

The Great Request Raffle: take up the challenge! [more inside]
posted by greenish at 5:28 AM - 105 comments

Yes, friends, sorry to have to report that, due to his exasperation with certain perceived trends at Metafilter, one of Metafilter Music's most dedicated contributors and a former Supreme Overlord of the MeFiMu Challenge has disabled his account. I just found out about it via his Facebook page. Those interested in following his musical activities are directed to his Soundcloud.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:14 PM - 54 comments

I've recently rekindled a creative relationship with a good friend, and for the first time in ten years we're going to try and make some experimental music together. Problem is, a lot of the end result will depend on creative editing, and in the run-up to our collaboration I've discovered that I'm pretty rusty. Any tips, tricks, techniques or tools I should know about? [more inside]
posted by Chichibio at 11:06 AM - 3 comments

Two massive weaknesses in my playing are as follows - I don't know my guitar chords or arpeggios properly and, generally, I don't know my intervals well enough. I just discovered two outstanding videos that I think will help me immensely with fixing this, and thought I'd share them: 12 Essential Chords For Jazz (Jeffrey Matz) - NB - Not just for jazz. Contains *really* useful note on arpeggios at the end. Interval Song (Django Bates)- I strongly suspect that if you can sing this you can sing anything. [more inside]
posted by motty at 7:04 AM - 10 comments

A few weeks ago I bought a beaten up Hammond M3 and Leslie. I was such a massive hit with both band and audience, I figured maybe there was something to this whole vintage keyboard thing. So today I made another stupid purchase. [more inside]
posted by unSane at 9:13 PM - 18 comments

I never really 'got' loopers until I bought one of those dinky little TC Dittos. It kinda changed everything and now I'm in deep. [more inside]
posted by unSane at 8:24 PM - 16 comments

What kind of simple, cheap-ass software is out there right now for a simple, cheap-ass noisemakin' dude like me? [more inside]
posted by metagnathous at 10:22 AM - 3 comments

Any videos of you guys live? Here's ours. [more inside]
posted by unSane at 6:53 PM - 34 comments

Wham bam, thank you ma'am/sir [more inside]
posted by dubold at 2:31 AM - 35 comments

Recent challenges haven't been attracting much interest, and I've been doing it for long enough that I feel a bit burned out. So I suggest that we have a blue sky discussion about what the challenge is/should be, what works and what doesn't, and maybe someone else feels like picking up the torch and running with it? [more inside]
posted by unSane at 7:11 PM - 62 comments

What do I need to know to properly search for a classical guitar? I need to get rid of one of my electrics and get a decent classical guitar. [more inside]
posted by snsranch at 6:16 PM - 4 comments

Sound options via Control Panel [more inside]
posted by Ardiril at 9:12 PM - 3 comments

A couple of years back we had us a time with "The Velvet Underground & Nico". Last year it was "OK Computer". This year, and as a challenge say for "summer" or "fall" (more properly "autumn" but we have to make allowances for the verbal idiosyncracies of our colonial friends) rather than a single month, may I suggest.... [more inside]
posted by Hoops McCann at 1:05 PM - 66 comments

Oops, I did it again. [more inside]
posted by unSane at 3:37 PM - 13 comments

Reinventing The Album: Keeping Releases Relevant in The 21st Century
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:54 AM - 5 comments

Looking for the new sincerity; A super positive collaboration. [more inside]
posted by dobie at 7:45 PM - 2 comments

May's challenge is a mindbender. Cover a song (possibly your own) from one era in the style of an earlier one. Tag your entires 'futurecovers' and 'mefimusicchallenge'. Explanation within. [more inside]
posted by unSane at 7:52 AM - 16 comments

....have my wicked way with yours. The idea here is very simple. Upload the backing track of something you've previously posted to MeFiMu (that's not strictly necessary I guess but it sort of closes the loop) and the challenge is for anyone who fancies it to have a go at writing and recording a new top line/melody and, if you want to go the whole hog, lyric. You could of course try to use the existing lyric but with a new melody - that's even more difficult and may cause the masochists in the community to become moist. Go right ahead and swap stems if you so desire, but that's not essential for this bit of fun. Stating the bleedin' obvious: upload the result when you're done. 'andsome! [more inside]
posted by Hoops McCann at 9:49 AM - 6 comments

I'm gradually trying to wean myself off of a hardware DAW (Yamaha AW2400) and onto a software one (Reaper). With a lot of great help from the estimable unSane I'm now sort of halfway there but am still relying on the (increasingly unstable...gulp) Yam if I need to use microphones. So......what sort of interface should I be using to be able to record mics on Reaper via on my laptop? [more inside]
posted by Hoops McCann at 1:13 PM - 15 comments

Builder is a series with people who build pedals and synths and other musical appliances that I thought y'all might enjoy. [more inside]
posted by sleepy pete at 11:48 AM - 3 comments

Another future challenge idea: ASMR trigger song [more inside]
posted by umbú at 7:29 PM - 12 comments

April's challenge is to play something backwards. It could be a backwards guitar solo, or a song based off the chords of another song played backwards, or a melody played backwards, or ANYTHING. YOU GET IT, RIGHT? Feel free to tease us by not revealing what the source material, if there is any, is. Tags 'backwards' and 'mefimusicchalenge' please.
posted by unSane at 6:59 PM - 4 comments

interesting insight into the creative process [more inside]
posted by Hoops McCann at 12:38 PM - 5 comments

Hey Mefi musicians, here's an interview with the guy who engineered the new David Bowie Record. Now all of you run out and buy a Neve board, OK?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:36 PM - 3 comments

Thanks to Hoots Hoops McCann for this one. March challenge is to record something In a time that is odd to you. [more inside]
posted by unSane at 6:03 PM - 13 comments