How To Find Musician Friends and Why It Matters

Like many people, musicians who make music alone sometimes face feelings of isolation, which can affect how they play. Human beings are inherently social creatures, and social connections promote overall well-being, which can lead to better music-making and a greater appreciation for music. 

If you're struggling with feelings of loneliness or feel like you're not progressing in your musical journey, it may be time to find musician friends you can jam with. Fortunately, musician friends aren’t hard to find — you just have to know where to look.

Here, we explore the importance of having musician friends and provide some ideas on where to find them, both locally and online. 

The value of having friends who are musicians

Whether you're new to the music scene or have years of experience in the music industry, having musician friends is crucial — and here’s why: 

• They can help you enjoy the social benefits of music.
• They can offer inspiration when you're feeling stuck creatively. 
• They offer opportunities to collaborate or jam together.
• They can provide support, both emotionally and in your career development.
• They can teach you new skills, helping you become a better musician. 
• They expose you to new music styles and genres, which can help you develop a greater appreciation for the art. 
• They can help you find performance gigs. 

Musician friends aren't just important for career development in the music industry — they also help with personal growth. Working with others helps you develop communication, collaboration, and social skills, which you can transfer to your everyday life. 

They can also help you move forward in your music-learning journey by teaching you new techniques. So, whether you're taking up music professionally or as a hobby, it helps to have people around you with a shared interest. 

How to find musician friends locally

If you want to make friends you can meet with in person, your local community is a great place to start. You might just get lucky and find local bands or musicians looking for friends or bandmates with a shared interest in music. Here are some tips to help you find musician friends locally.

Visit local music stores

Local musicians often frequent local music shops to browse new instruments and equipment and interact with fellow music lovers. So it's more than likely you'll run into a few during your visits. Strike up conversations with them to get you started on your friend-making journey. 

Also, regularly check bulletin boards at stores and recording studios for flyers about music meetups or people looking for musicians to jam with. And keep an eye out for events like open mic nights, where you can meet potential friends in relaxed settings. 

Attend music workshops

Many music lovers constantly seek ways to develop their skills or gain new ones, like taking music classes and attending workshops and seminars. You can do the same to learn new skills while growing your music community. 

You can learn about upcoming workshops through local arts centers, community colleges, and music schools, as they often sponsor such events. 

Attend workshops that teach the skills you want to learn and attract the kind of crowd you want to befriend. For example, a vocals seminar is an excellent choice if you want to make more vocalist friends. 

Participate in local music events

What better place to meet new musician friends and strike up conversations than local music events? They create a relaxed environment that is perfect for social interactions and building bonds. Plus, they can offer some inspiration and allow you to see local musicians in their element, especially if they're performing. 

Look for events like local concerts, music festivals, charity music events, and jam sessions. You can learn about these events from local music stores, community centers, and schools. 

How to find musician friends online

Going the online route is an excellent idea, as it allows you to meet local and remote musicians. If you're interested in expanding your music community beyond your immediate location, here are some tips to help you.

Join the right online music communities

Online music communities attract many musicians, making them ideal places for finding potential partners. You can bond over your love for music, share ideas and music-making tips, and even plan collaborations. The key is to find the right community. 

Consider factors like the size of the community, members’ activity levels, community features, and user feedback. Ideally, you should find a platform with many active members to maximize your chances of making friends. Features like chat rooms and forums are also important for seamless communication. 

Trala's community of online violin students ticks all the right boxes for musicians looking to make friends. Our active community of over 400,000 members and a free Discord chat room to facilitate connections. 

Use social media to find connections

With over five billion people using social media today, it's safe to say that social networks are one of the easiest places to find and make friends. Leverage platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook to find people with a shared interest in music and join in on music challenges or collaborations on the platforms to expand your reach. 

For example, you can join music-specific Facebook groups or search for and use Instagram hashtags like #joinmyband and #musicianswanted. You can also use more specific ones like #bassplayer and #guitarist, depending on the type of instrument you play or the kind of musician friends you want to make. 

Music-specific apps like Vampr, BandLab, SoundCloud, and Soundtrap are also a great option. One of the key benefits of these platforms is that they mainly attract musicians, so you may not need to filter your searches as much as you do on general social media platforms. 

Alternatively, you can post ads on classifieds sites like Gumtree and Craigslist. If you do, describe the kind of people you’re looking for, ideal skill levels, and even locations if you want to meet in person. 

Subscribe to musician networking sites

For an even easier time connecting with potential musician friends, consider using musician networking sites, such as Music Gateway and Bandmix. 

They're already tailored to facilitate musician connections, so they attract musicians looking for band members or collaborative projects. This means you'll likely meet people looking for the kind of relationship you want. 

Attend Trala's free community events

Trala offers online violin lessons for people of all ages, but our offerings don’t stop there. Trala's community events can help you meet fellow musicians, get more involved musically with people from all over the world, and learn new skills. The good news is that these events are free for everyone interested — you don't have to be a Trala student or member. 

These events happen at least once a month via Zoom, so you don't even need to leave the comfort of your home. You can find more information about the events online or in Trala’s Discord chat room. 

Tips for making and maintaining musician friendships

Finding band members or musician friends is the easy part — as you've seen, there are numerous places (both locally and online) where you can meet them. The real work lies in making friendships and maintaining them. Luckily, we have you covered. Here are our top tips for making and maintaining musician friendships.

Communicate regularly

Regular communication is a vital part of maintaining new musician friendships. It keeps you at the forefront of your new friends' minds, helps build trust, and fosters an effective working relationship. 

When you find local musician friends, schedule regular meetups to play or listen to music, share ideas, and collaborate on projects. Consider everyone's availability when scheduling your meetups, and respect their schedules by choosing times and dates when they're not committed elsewhere.

You can even leverage shared calendar apps to help remind your musician friends about upcoming meetings, rehearsals, or jam sessions. 

If your musician friends are online, use social media networks and communication platforms like Discord and Zoom to discuss ideas, make music, or check up on each other. The more you communicate, the likelier your friendships are to develop into mutually beneficial partnerships. 

Collaborate on musical projects

Collaboration is one of the best ways to strengthen bonds. It also allows you to "cross-pollinate" each others' audiences, which can help you expand your reach. So don't just message your new musician friends — find ways to work together. Some ways to collaborate include:

• Working together on casual music projects, like making short-form videos for Instagram and TikTok 
• Holding joint music performances to tap into each others' audiences 
• Marketing each others' music on social media platforms 
• Recording singles together
• Remixing already-produced songs
• Helping each other with songwriting and production 

Luckily, you can work on most of these projects online, so you can even collaborate with remote musicians. 

If you decide to collaborate on serious projects, ensure you're a good match first. Ideally, you should have similar goals regarding the shared music project and be willing to offer and accept constructive feedback. Also, discuss royalty splits beforehand to ensure a transparent partnership and prevent future conflicts. 

Support your friends' musical endeavors

Nothing kills musician friendships quicker than one party feeling unappreciated or undervalued. So be sure to support your friends however you can. If you’ve made local friends, show up for them physically by attending their gigs. 

If your friendships are online or you can't attend their performances, promote their music on your social platforms and share tips and ideas to help elevate their music. 

You can even do something as simple as offering moral support through active listening, encouragement, and positive feedback. When you do, they'll likely show up for you too. 

Respect boundaries and commitments

Making music together is undoubtedly fun and beneficial for you and your new friends. So it might be tempting to dedicate most of your time to your newfound friendships. However, this can do more harm than good if you fail to respect your new friends' personal space and commitments. 

Always confirm your friends' availability before scheduling meetups, whether online or in-person, to ensure they don't conflict with other obligations. When you meet, respect each other's time by prioritizing efficiency and punctuality. This can foster healthy, long-lasting friendships. 

Find other like-minded musician friends with Trala

Musician friends can help elevate your music career, expose you to new music, and teach you new skills. You can find them locally by visiting local music stores, attending events, and participating in music workshops. But you can also make friends online by leveraging social networks and resources like Trala. 

With Trala, you have access to a diverse community of expert violin instructors and music enthusiasts from all over the globe with all different tastes and styles. Trala makes it easy for you to connect and collaborate by holding regular free community events via Zoom and providing a Discord chat room where you can engage and make new friends. 

Join the Trala community today to find and interact with other music lovers!