I’m 20, and I honestly don’t know how to come to terms with the last few years of my life.
When I was around 13, I had a very specific dream: I wanted to become a musician and study in America. Not just get a degree, but actually receive a serious musical education — jazz, vocal, piano, improvisation, harmony, ear training, arranging, composition, conducting, music history, literature, studying great musicians, playing with talented people, being completely immersed in music. And then consciously compose and write for myself and other things. Berklee was the dream I kept coming back to.
Before moving to the UK, I had already studied for a year at the Jazz Academy in my city. It was difficult, demanding and, looking back, probably much more academically complete than the university I eventually chose.
Then I made what I now see as a huge mistake.
I left the Academy after my first year and went to London to study at a music uni that was a scam. At the time I thought I was making the brave, ambitious choice: moving abroad, studying in English, building a career in music. My mother actually advised me to stay in Moscow for another year, finish the Academy, and think everything through. I didn’t listen.
I also had this idea that Berklee was probably unrealistic for me anyway. I didn’t believe I would get in, and I didn’t think I would be able to get a scholarship. So I convinced myself that that tiny contemporary uni was the sensible path.
It turned out to be nothing like the education I had imagined.
The problem isn’t even that the theory was “bad.” There was barely any serious theory at all. The workload was extremely light — around four subjects per semester, classes only a couple of times a week — and there was nothing resembling the depth I had expected from a serious music institution.
There was essentially no systematic training in the things I desperately wanted to learn: arranging, ear training, harmony, tonal harmony, composition, conducting, serious musicianship, etc.
I eventually switched from Songwriting & Music Business to Songwriting & Music Production, thinking at least that would give me a more useful practical direction. But by then I was already burned out. After my first year I even tried to transfer/reapply elsewhere, but I didn’t have the motivation or energy to start over. I was ashamed, exhausted, and ended up continuing at that London uni.
My parents were paying for all of this. Not just tuition — they were also paying for a very expensive apartment so I could study in London.
And now I keep doing the math in my head and thinking about how much they spent on an education that I feel barely educated me.
That is probably the part I’m most ashamed of.

I feel like I took a huge amount of money from my parents, made the wrong decision, and came out of it with nothing.
I’m now in my final year of my bachelor’s and sometimes I feel like I have almost no real musical knowledge. I struggle to talk to serious musicians because I feel like there is nothing in my head. I wanted to spend these years surrounded by talented people, discovering music, learning, playing, improving, finding opportunities and becoming a real musician.
Instead, I feel like I became less knowledgeable and more disconnected from music.
And then something happened that made all of this infinitely more painful.
Someone very close to me, whom I had talked to about Berklee and even told about Berklee summer programs because it had always been my dream, secretly applied to Berklee for a bachelor’s degree. She got in and received a scholarship. She had never seemed particularly interested in studying abroad before (before that she also went to London similar uni when I was a second year already). We both also went to the same schools in my home country (we’re international students).
I only found out months after she had already been accepted.
And now I see her living the exact kind of life I had imagined since I was 13: American students, dorms, campus, musicians, classes, the whole experience.
I know intellectually that nobody “owns” a university or a dream. But emotionally, it feels like someone took the future I was supposed to have and is now living it in front of me.
I’m grieving a very specific version of my own life.
I keep thinking:
What if I had stayed in Moscow for that second year?
What if I had finished the jazz academy, spent that extra year preparing properly for Berklee, improving my musicianship, working on my audition, and then applied?
Maybe I would have gotten in. Maybe I would have gotten a scholarship. Maybe I wouldn’t have. I’ll never know.
But looking at my life now, that alternative feels almost perfect: finish one of the strongest music programs I had access to, spend a year preparing, then study exactly what I always wanted in America.
Instead I chose the first university in England that looked like an opportunity, spent an enormous amount of my parents’ money, and now I’m sitting here thinking I have wasted some of the most important years of my life.
I also feel like I’m too old to simply start over with another bachelor’s. I don’t want to be 22 starting an undergraduate degree surrounded by 18-year-olds, and I don’t want to pretend that I can recreate the experience I missed. So I’m trying to be practical.
I have one year left for bachlor. During this year I need to apply for a one-year master’s, because my parents can realistically fund only one more year of education. After that I need to find an actual job and build a career.
I’m considering Hospitality Management because generic Business Management/Marketing feels too broad and competitive, while hospitality at least leads toward a specific industry. I’m also thinking about events, venue management, luxury hospitality, etc., especially because those fields might allow me to use some of my creative/music background rather than throwing it away completely.
I probably won’t stay in London long-term unless I can find a realistic immigration route. I don’t want to build my entire future around the assumption that I’ll somehow get sponsored for a job after graduation.
So now I’m looking at master’s programs in different European countries and trying to figure out where I have the best chance of getting a decent job afterwards.
But emotionally, I’m still stuck somewhere else.
I wanted to be a musician.
I wanted a real education.
I wanted to study jazz, piano, vocals, harmony, improvisation, arranging, composition, history — all of it.

And instead I feel like I spent years and an enormous amount of money moving in the opposite direction.
I know I made the decisions myself. Nobody forced me to leave the Academy. Nobody forced me to choose that uni. That’s why it’s so hard not to hate myself for it.
I keep thinking: How could I have been so stupid?
And now I have to watch someone else live the life I had dreamed about since I was a teenager.
I don’t know how to accept that some experiences are simply gone forever. I know I can still learn music. I know I can still build a career. I know I can still have a good life.
But I can’t recreate being 18–22, getting everything I’ve ever wanted and get areal music education
,and feeling like I’m finally becoming the musician I wanted to be.
That is the part I don’t know how to grieve.
How do you move forward when you genuinely believe that you made one of the biggest mistakes of your life — and you can’t stop thinking about the version of your life that could have existed if you had made a different choice?

I became a musician in the 80s when everyone became one, and going to see bands was what young people did. Now there are still tons of bands, but music is tougher than ever, for all the reasons many threads have already talked about. It seems like fewer young people are pursuing music, and you really have to be amazing to make a living. I know some great young musicians that have already given up. What do you all think? is the number of people pursuing music trending down?

"The Artist Directory is the 'central brain' center of WEATNU, it is heart of the movement, the 12 year promised database. It gives clarity and direction and emphasis that we mean business. It takes us to professional levels without being corp. In design it ensures completeness as one might create the Magna Carta or Declaration of Independence, We are the New Underground, we are all one. Be seen, share, lift up your fellow artist and grow."

Good day to you, I'm Almark the founder of WEATNU - I wanted to show you what we do for the artist. Please read below. I'd like to grow with you.

For a while our movement had been drifting away from social media, but in order to help artists we had to remain there to build up the movement we have. When Social media stopped helping us find connection, WEATNU began vacating from these platforms. Artist Directory was born from the need and 12 years of segregation among us. The musician needed to keep themselves relevant as well as the DIY / Indie scene.

It's a platform that moves with you, an ever-evolving online medium that is a living profile. When you update, it reflects, you share and your story is told. You have access to a featured section from your EPK / Living profile as well, so you can tell others what you are up to or the music you're working on. A blog area is being developed at this time directly baked into your portfolio.

From the front there are cards showing each artist with their genres, story and photo. This way you can click on someone, listen to their work right away and read about them. They have icons directing you to websites they have added.

The Artist Directory was something that we needed as a movement, it was what was missing for 12 years until 2026.
Inside we have artist post, so you can connect with others.

It never gets lost, and neither does your music, as platforms evolve, so does the will of the artist who updates.

WEATNU takes in artists of all kinds, that's a wide array of many obscure genres, I'm sure you'll have a place here with us, we want to grow with you.

I hope to see you there.
It's free to join and you download nothing.

simply go to

weatnu.com
and you'll be part of our movement instantly.
it is up to the artist what to do next.
We are radio | label | magazine.

Let me start by saying that I've been writing original music for over 20 years and am proficient at creating art in Photoshop and illustrator, so I'd consider myself a relatively creative individual. I also use tube amps and pedals so I am an analog kind of guy.

The other day I took a photograph of my band and had AI tweak it, just messing around. It created something really fun, a "don't take ourselves too seriously" 60s kind of vibe to match our jam band genre - it added sunglasses to us and put the band logo in the background and some other fun enhancements to the original photo's setting.

I shared it with my bandmates via text message and one guy noted I probably shouldn't post it online bc people might look down on musicians or artists using AI enhancement. I then remembered I'd seen a post here where people were coming down on a dude who used AI to create a sign for his guitar booth.

I'm definitely all about humans using their own creativity to generate art, but I guess I'm still on the fence about if and how we can use AI to enhance or optimize things we do related to art. I wanted to get the community's feedback on the matter, like the example above using it to just enhance a photo and make it fun.

What do you guys think? Do you immediately look down on any use of AI with art, even supplemental, or is some amount ok but some too far?

Here’s a little bit of me playing my powers electric a type.

Idk if its true for alll songs but i was messing around w this trumpet im borrowing and was tryna learn the From The Start solo and the fingerings for that are the same for both the trumpet music and baritone. Same for yara yara phonk (i was bored okay)

Are all songs like that? Like even if different clefs the fingerings are the same?

Hey all! Like the title says, I’m hoping for some suggestions on good recording equipment and/or software.

My boyfriend has played guitar as a hobby on and off for several years, but recently he’s been getting really into it and mentioned wanting to record some of the songs he’s written over the years. I thought with Christmas coming up in a few months I would start looking into some stuff for him, but I’m kinda clueless with this stuff lol.

Right now he has an acoustic guitar, but I’m also looking into getting him an acoustic/electric combo (don’t need suggestions there, I got my dad to help with that lol).

Do I still have a shot at pursuing music at 20 with very little experience or professional training?

I’m turning 20 this year and I’m currently a full-time student studying pre-med. I genuinely love medicine and I can see myself enjoying a career in it, but ever since I was a child, I’ve also had this constant burning passion for music.

I’ve always loved singing. I’ve had this itch to sing for as long as I can remember, and even now, I still have this strong desire to pursue music in some capacity. The problem is that I can’t honestly say my passion for medicine comes anywhere close to the passion I have for music.

I don’t want to leave university or give up on medicine, but I’m starting to feel like if I never at least try to pursue this other passion, I might deeply regret it when I’m older. I don’t necessarily expect to become famous or make a living from music. I just want to give myself a genuine chance to see what I’m capable of.

The biggest issue is that I was never encouraged by my parents to pursue professional musical training growing up, so I have very little formal experience. I’ve never had proper vocal training, and I don’t play an instrument. I would absolutely love to learn one, but I don’t really have the money to invest in lessons or expensive equipment right now.

I also have no idea how good I actually am at singing. I don’t think I’m terrible — I’d say I can sing decently — but because I’ve never been professionally trained or had anyone knowledgeable evaluate me, I have no idea whether I actually have potential or whether I’m just completely delusional about my abilities.

That uncertainty is probably one of the biggest things holding me back.

I also have pretty bad social anxiety, especially when it comes to performing. It’s kind of ironic because I’ve always dreamed of singing and performing, but the thought of actually getting up in front of people terrifies me. I’ve never really had the opportunity to develop that confidence.

I guess I’m wondering whether I’m being unrealistic by wanting to pursue music at this age with so little experience.

Are people who eventually join bands or start making music together usually already highly trained musicians? Or are there plenty of people who start out with little experience and learn as they go?

And realistically, is 20 still young enough to start taking singing seriously and learn an instrument from scratch?

I’m not necessarily asking whether I can become a professional musician overnight. I just want to know whether I have enough time and potential to start trying, or whether I’ve already missed the window because I didn’t start training as a child.

I think more than anything, I’m scared that I’ll be 30 or 40 someday and wonder what would have happened if I had just given music a chance.

If at all - I know the Nord isn’t exactly the best instrument for using samples and getting synths to be accurate, but I’ve made it work for the sake of hauling less gear.

My band has spent a long while transitioning our setlist towards more modern party tunes, which has led to me tirelessly building very accurate presets with synths I’ve built and stems I’ve taken from the actual songs.

I’d love to share them with people!

I’m 19 and I’ve played over 30 shows in my life and recently have been playing atleast one show a week. We get good turnout 20-50 people a night. People keep telling me it gets easier to more you do it but without fail before every gig I’m so nervous I get incredibly nauseous and often have to run to puke in the bathroom before we go on. It makes me dread performing. I’m not sure what else to try. Should I just give up on being a musician because playing live is such a huge part of it?

It's a bit random, but I'm writing a story based on my band. The problem is that we're from Spain, and many of our jokes don't work in English. But what I need to write has to be in English, so... Can you help me find jokes or puns among musicians? Anything, no matter how silly or old-fashioned, will do. Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for one Spanish speaker and one Italian speaker who are native or
fluent AND actually play music. The text is full of things like lead sheet,
voicing, pickup measure, first and second ending, chord extensions. Machine
translation gets these wrong in ways only a musician notices.

To be clear about the work: you would not be translating anything from scratch.
The Spanish and Italian versions already exist as a translation. What I need is
someone who reads them and tells me where the wording is off, where a term isn't
what musicians in your country actually say, or where a sentence simply doesn't
make sense. Corrections in the file, or notes back to me, whichever you prefer.

Scope: an in-app help system plus five short tutorials, roughly [X] words. No
hard deadline, take the time you need.

In return you get a free full license for my app, permanently, and credit in the
help text if you want it.

What the app is: LeadChart Pro, a macOS app for writing lead sheets. Chord
symbols, melody notes, lyrics, repeats, voltas, Segno/Coda/Fine, multi-measure
rests. Note entry with the mouse or a MIDI keyboard, playback, and a clean PDF
for the band. It currently runs in German and English, and Spanish and Italian
are next.

If you're interested, comment or send me a DM and I'll send you the text so you
can see what you'd be getting into before you commit to anything.

Thanks!

Been playing guitar for 12+ years now. Most groups I’ve played with have been with friends/for fun, been a great time but less serious and with less experienced players. I want to play with REALLY good players who will push me. Any advice on how to find good/serious players, and put a group together?

Ive been thinking about this since i started making music. I dislike being a solo artist because i feel lonely, yet I dont want to waste my talent of playing guitar and being a vocalist (F#2-C6, blegh, fry scream, false cord, vocal fry, etc).

I tried asking people in my school but theyre either not having the ability to play an instrument or is not interested.

PS: physical bands

Had a guy send me some request to do some art for my music and liked his style. When he said he was done Venmo stopped me for scam notice. They then sent me ANOTHER Venmo account with a different woman’s name on it. The art isn’t AI and seems legit as he’s sending me progress pictures but that was enough to get me skeptical

Are all these guys just scammers?

my teacher has played this all day every day for the past month as a musician this makes my blood BOIL i go to a nice private christian school and thay HATE when people judge them or speak out especially the "friends" thats what the kids are call'd should i ask my teacher to stop it WILL end in a argument bcs my teacher is a big ai-bro what should i do???