Best city for musicians?

[riccaliolio]

Hallo zusammen!

(Apologies if I will write this post in English. I am not yet very comfortable with my German. Feel free to reply in German, though.)

I was fortunate enough to get a new well-paying job that allows me to work remotely anywhere within Germany. I am planning to just stay in my current city during my Probezeit while also looking for a new place to move to.

I professionally work in the IT industry but I am still holding on to some of my musician dreams. So now I am thinking if I should pursue these dreams in my current city (Osnabrück) or should I move to a more musician-friendly city? If moving, where?

Here are my personal musician goals:
* Compose songs, or at least write bass lines for other compositions
* Be part of a commercially-released record
* Perform live
* All of the above either as a permanent member of a band or just sessioning

Thank you in advance!

 

[MS-SPO]

Hi riccaliolio,

it may depend on the genre you prefer.

However, Hamburg seems to be a kind of melting pot. It's proud to have hosted The Beatles, Santana, El Jarreau and the like almost half a century ago. Young Johann Sebastian Bach stayed a while in the Lüneburg area, Hamburg, Celle, which may explain some classical trends in that area still today.

Jan Delay is a contemporary contrast, based in Hamburg as far as I know. He had gigs with Udo Lindenberg, who lives in a Hamburg Hotel. And Hamburg has a kind of left-wing anrachical scene, which you may have witnessed during the G20-summit 2 years ago in a non-musical fashion.

As far as I know Berlin has an interesting music scene as well. So will other cities. Availability of record studios may or may not be part of your answer.

You can be on stage probably almost anywhere ... if you don't have high goals. As far as I know more prestigous gigs will probably be more in the southern part of Germany. E.g. there is a high ranked annual Jazz Festival in Burghausen (Bayern).

Best, Michael

 

[riccaliolio]

Thanks for the response! I can play most genres and I have no real preferences so far... Well maybe except genres requiring "extreme" dedication like classical, high-level jazz, or black metal.

Hamburg and Berlin are indeed the top two cities swirling in my head right now. Aside from the jazz festival in Bayern, is there a city in the south with a music scene comparable to Hamburg and/or Berlin?

Yes, I understand it's actually easy to get a gig almost anywhere especially for a bassist which is true for my experience. But what I have trouble with is finding really high-quality gigs in my current city.

 

[Bassyst]

I guess, English is welcome here .

Berlin is pretty tough. The place is crowded with semiproffesional bands and the people of Berlin avoid small gigs as it's even hard to follow all top acts. The Berliner has too much opportunities and not enough small communities.

Additionally Berlin becomes more expensive day by day. Bands may not be able to find rehearsal rooms and small locations (which offer gigs for unknown bands) are closing down.

But one thing speaks in favour of Berlin. The musicians are pretty international and you might easily find other people with the same international background and goals. At least there are tons of musicians in the town.

Good luck!

 

[MS-SPO]

But what I have trouble with is finding really high-quality gigs in my current city.

Ok. Here's an other track besides replies from this forum.

Look for music schools or universities for professional music education, both locally and in high-profile school locations. E.g. in Hamburg it could be https://theschool.de/ . Try making contact with both students and teachers there and talk about your plans. I'm sure, you'll get valuable advice, and perhaps a track towards your dream band.

The purpose of such contacts is making contact in a concentration spot of where you are heading. You'll find matches in ambition, experience and fun.

Best, Michael

 

[riccaliolio]

I guess, English is welcome here .

Berlin is pretty tough.

Thank you very much for the insights about Berlin!

Ok. Here's an other track besides replies from this forum.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Stollenfiddler]

Highest density for musicians is: Treppendorf!

 

[riccaliolio]

I just went to Google Maps and there seems to be a ton of places called Treppendorf. LOL!

 

[peter55]

Just to explain: Treppendorf is the home town of "Thomann", our biggest Sponsor and one of the biggest dealers for musical instruments in europe

 

[riccaliolio]

Ah yeah I know about Thomann but not about where they are. :-D

 

[Martinson]

You may also want to have a look at the Ruhrgebiet in the middle of Germany. Here you have a lot of towns sitting close together. Specifically I would look at Dortmund, Bochum, Essen (Home of the Folkwang University of Arts https://www.folkwang-uni.de/en/home/musik/). Also Düsseldorf and Cologne are not far away from here.

 

[riccaliolio]

Thanks for the inputs, @Martinson! But would you be able to expound on why these cities? I understand that any big city will actually be good for musicians but that's basically my dilemma: Which big city then?

 

[Martinson]

Hey @riccaliolio there's a big music scene in the whole area just because it is a big area. As mentioned due to the Folkwang University of Arts you will find a lot of artists of all different genres here. Bochum as well is the German home of the musical Starlight Express, Oberhausen hosts the musical Bat Out Of Hell, you will find a lot of venues in the whole area as each town in the Ruhrgebiet area surely offers several ones. And for the Metal Heads: the mastermind of Rage, Peavy Wagner, lives in Herne, Axel Rudi Pell lives in Bochum...
The Dutch border is not far away and short after the border Angus Young from AC/DC lives there from time to time...it is said that he occasionally was seen in the Centro (one of the biggest shopping malls in Germany) in Oberhausen. In Dortmund is the Archive Of Popular Music In The Ruhrgebiet...
I assume these are many reasons to have a closer look to this area. Hope it helps.

 

[riccaliolio]

Dankeschön, @Martinson!