How To Become a Musician In Nigeria
Do you want to become a musician: in this blogspot, you’re going learn how to become one. I have list others important things you need to knows no one have talk about. So let get started.
1. Choose a Music Stage Name.
Since you want to be a musician, you need to have a stage name people will call you. So how to come up with an artist name.
Follow this steps I’m about to show you:
Use Your Biological Name.
You can use your biological name your parents give you as your music stage name.
This methods is not new, there are alot popular musician that are using their biological name. For example, Justin bieber, Olamide, uses their biological name as their music stage name. If you feel comfortable to use your name, go for it. There is no crime using it.
Brainstorm Music Name
Another form to come up with music stage name is to brainstorm any name even though it doesn’t make sense. Most of our musician names don’t have meaning. For example, sypro, e.t.c.
Choose a Name No Artist Has used.
Before you settle for a name, ensure that the new have not be taken.
Why is it necessary, let me explain it to you. If you use for examples, wizkid has stage name, if I type your name in Google, YouTube, or any other platform the person that first find the music name will be in the first results, having all the fans and views while your own struggle in the down page.
To know if the name is available, visit social Media platform or use search engine like Google, type in the name.
If the name have being used, find another one that is haven’t been used.
Use a Simple Music Name.
Put it in mind that need your music name has to be so simple, easy to spell, and pronounce.
If your name is challenging, it will be hard to say it which can negatively affect your music career. Imagine artists names is “tuklxzytr”
Can you pronounce it, No because the name is so hard. Too long name can be complicated some ways, so try to make your music name short from six words to ten words.
Remember : Before you settle down for any stage name, the name have to be simpe, and haven’t be used by others upcoming or established musician. Visit search engine like Google to find if the name have being used.
2. Developing Music Skills
1: Learn Some Musical instruments.
Music instruments can help your music creativity. You should at least learn one piece of music equipment to learn.These are musical instruments to learn.
- Piano / Keyboard.
- Guitar.
- Saxophone.
- Flute.
- Saxophone
- Trumpet
- Percussion
- Acoustic guitar
- Violent
- Cello
- Ukulele
We prefers you learning keyboard, because if you want to become a music producer to produce your own music inroder to reduced expense, learnings will help the journey more easy, you’ll be able to play Afro chords or others kinds of chords.
Improve and Treat Your Vocal.
A good Vocal can play important rules in music. Train your vocals to enhance your music quality.
How to improve your vocal?
- Sing everyday.
- Sing popular music every day to improve your vocals.
- Take a deep breath whenever you want to sing.
- Take your time to find the best posture that’ll make you sing perfectly well.
- Drink a lot of water to help your vocals, also have water with you whenever you’re singing and doing rehearsal.
- Avoid hard substances, like smoking, drinking alcohol. For example, taking cigarettes can cause toxins in your throat.
- Avoid stress before singing.
- Take about 8 or more hours of sleep.
- Eat well nutritious food. For example, meat and white meat help the voice.
- Find any voice learning app or tutorial to improve your vocals.
- Record yourself singing to find out the area you’re good or not in order to improve. To record yourself you can use mono app or bandlap
- Even if your voice is not that good, don’t let that discourage you. Keep practicing on a regular basis to improve your vocals.
- Whenever you want to sing, do it with full confidence, doing this will help to improve your vocals.
- If your voice is in bad condition, meet your doctor for treatment. Your voice needs to be good so your music can sound better.
- Talk to your music producer to help you put effect of your voice. So handy.
Learn Music Theory.
Music theory will unveil many things in music. Take your time to learn music theory.
There are many blogs in the internet that have already teach people music theories for free. Check YouTube or Google search for music theory tutorial.
Get an Ear Training.
Learn to train your ear so to detect beat and melodies, very vital for someone that want to become musician in Nigeria. It’ll help you kill beat than singing offbeat.
Learn To Write Good Songs.
If your music is not quality compared to those in the music industry, whenever people listen to it, they won’t like it and share the song with their friends and family.
The next time they come across it, won’t bother to listen to it, thinking it is the same as the former one.
Practice, practice, practice, how to write quality song from scratch.
Whenever you want to record a song in a studio, be sure that the song is a good (industry standards)
It is hard to know if a song you write is good enough but there are few tricks to know quality music.
What is this quality music?
- Music with your own unique pattern.
- The lyrics are not cheap and well written.
- Music that has a meaning, as an upcoming artist, this is when people will be interested to listen to you.
- Song that related to human life like, relationship, poverty, faith e.t.c.
3. Work With Good Music Producer.
If your song is good but the music producer don’t know how to take vocal well, create beat, or mix and master a song. Your song well bad at the end of the day.
To avoid all this happening to you, find producer that’s knowns his job well to get better results.
If you want to figure out if the music producer is good. Ask them for their past work, if you love what you listen to that tell you yours will be good also.
4. Sing With Confidence Always
Those who song with confident mind sing more better.
Learn to be confident whenever you want to record in music studio. Learn the music lyrics offhead before reaching studio, you can use app like bandlap to record scratch to plan how the music is going to be, so when you’re in studio you will record it perfectly well.
5. Don’t Give Room For Error When Record.
Whenever you recording song in studio, if you find some parts is not making sense to you, don’t overlook it.
Retake that part. If the part don’t make sense those who listen to it will also not like it.
If your music producer tell you to retake some part, don’t be offended but agree with them, they know what they are hearing.
Although not all the time they are right. Analyze the case to know whether they are wrong or right. That part of the process to become a musician in Nigeria.
6. Dress Like a Musician.
As someone who wants to be a musician in Nigeria, you need to cultivate the habit of dressing like them to promote yourself.
You can’t claim to be a musician and you’re dressing like pig. Dressing like pig won’t let reflection of an artist display on you, people won’t take you seriously, rather insulting in your front or back.
No one likes to share ugly artists in their social media feeds or make it their phone wallpaper.
If you’re dressing like a superstar, people will see you has a musician and respect you.
Since I said you should dress like a musician, don’t spend all your money on expensive designer, go for affordable attractive clothes. But make sure those cloths are not what is common outside, have you see wizkid and the rest put on popular cloths we see in street, no right. If you want to buy cloths, avoid clothes with too much of design or advertisements on the front, this way atleast your cloths will appear unique and not too common.
Then choose a unique style of dressing people should know you for. However, it is not all about dressing appropriately, you also need to practice personal hygiene.
7. Create Social Media Accounts.
You need to have a social media presence to get fans, promote your song. Every top musicians have their social page, Don jazzy, WizKid, Seyi vibes, and the rest have theirs.
For example, this is Donjazzy Instagram official page.
So open one all the following social accounts.
- X formerly known as Twitter.
- YouTube channel.
They are free…
You can do research to find more…
7. Put Your Music Distribution Platform.
To get discovered, earn money, and connect with fans you need to put your song on music distribution platforms
However, there are different music distribution platforms out there to join.
- Distro kids ( paid )
- Ditto ( paid )
- Routenote ( Free & Paid )
Note: This music distribution platform will pay you whenever people listen to your song
8. Perform in Free and Paid Shows.
Attend shows in your location and other places to get people to know you.
Though it’s not going to make you immediately famous but can help to get fan’s, followers on social media handles, or get help or link up. Most musicians in Nigeria are discovered on local stage.
9. Live Where People Love Music.
The best place to live is where people love music. For example, in Lagos people love and support those who want to become a musician in Nigeria.
If you’re living in local community move out to city where music is appreciated to get discovered.
10. Promote Your Song on Various Platforms.
If you record song, you need to promote it like there is no tomorrow. That is the only strategy that can make you a famous musician.
Even there is no essense of dropping too much song down when you have not yet promoted the first song effectively.
If recording countless music works, alot will have become famous.
In fact, that how it also look when you create a blog, i will ensure i try my best to produce quality article and promote the blogpost to get people to see and read it, if not the blogpost will be waiting there unread.
11. Work With other Upcoming Musicians.
Even if you’re famous or not working with other upcoming musicians in Nigeria will help you reach many people you never thought to.
Drop down pride, meet your fellow upcoming musician to meet more audiences. Zinolesky is an example, in is earlier days he collaborate with so many upcoming artists like him, but at the end of the day, he is the one we all know today.
Most upcoming artists settle for the fans around their area, it’s good though but it’s not a wise thing to do.
You shouldn’t be comfortable with your area fans. Those who are outside will love you more and spread your work, if your street discovered that your song is trending outside they will start respecting you so much and love to pay for show.
12. Promote Your Song on Social Media.
Promote your song on social media, you will get people who will be interested to listen to your music.
Join musicians page to connect with people with the same feather.
Try to get your music on radio, you will get listener and attract record label.
13. Ask For Music Feedback.
Those around you ask them what they think about your song.
If they don’t like some part.
Don’t be angry….
Instead improve in that area.
You should only ask those you have a good relationship with.
14. Keep Writing Songs.
If you don’t have to only write song when you’re famous.
Big mistake upcoming artist make, when they are finally in music industry they run out of song idea.
While waiting for the day you will get famous, keep writing songs in a safe place you can access later on. For example, Google doc.
At the moment whether the song makes sense or keep writing has the inspiration comes your mind, no one can tell which of them is going to be a hit song that will change the face of your career.
Doing this will help you comfortably choose the perfect song among the list and also help you remain constantly active when you’re in the music industry because you already have song to sing to your fan’s. Back to back hit.
15. Become a Music Producer
As a musicians, if you have the chance, you should learn music producer, this are what most musicians do this days.
They use it to reduce spending much in their music career because to become a musician in Nigeria consume a lot of money.
If you end up be a music producer, you can create music in the way you want and release anytime. Â
16. Have a Side hustle To Support Your Music Career.
To become musician in Nigeria is sweet, but is something that you cannot just claim I will become one easily, only if you have a proper planning on ground that will guide you.
You need money to keep supporting your music career and survive to do important things in your life, let say Godfobid you didn’t make it to the music industry.
You won’t still regret it at the end because you have something to fall to and have achieved so much in your life.
To get money you have to work, especially something that will not hold you down in a spot.
A musician doesn’t need something that’ll place them in a place, it kills the music career.
Their business idea and online business that can fetch you money. You need money to always help yourself in recording music.
17. Keep Praying and Working.
When you check upcoming artists there are millions of them and no one can tell who will be signed to a record label or get famous.
Alot of people believe on prayer that it has changed their life.
Bring out what you need to happen in your music career and pray about it according to your religion’s. And also don’t wait for record label to sign you, we have millions of upcoming artists in Nigeria and new one’s rising, record labels can’t sign all of them at time which is a real fact. So go out and build your empire more to get famous.
18. Don’t Quit
While pursuing music, it can take time to get noticed by people.
Some people it take them years to get famous, why some it take them 4 years to get notice.
You don’t know your time, don’t give up when you face challenge. After all it not going harm you.
This is how you can become a musician in Nigeria, if you have any question you can ask me under the comment section.
