Learn Guitar your way with a TakeLessons expert

By David H. - Portland Guitar Teacher

Portland is a great city for music. Whether you are just getting started taking guitar lessons in Portland or are a seasoned pro, the independent music scene is growing rapidly and people are moving from all over the world to take part in the music scene here. There are almost unlimited small venues for music as well as large venues to play. The best way to get into the scene here is to attend a few open mic nights, which you can find online or in papers like the Willamette Week. You will have the opportunity to sign up and then play for a small period of time. The purpose of these open mic nights is to get comfortable playing on stage and making connections with other people in the music scene. You shouldn’t be worried about starting at the bottom. You can then move up to playing shows at larger venues.

Social media is also a great way to see what’s going on in the music scene. You can see who knows who, and get a list of venues for acts that are similar to you. Then can then start approaching these venues and see what it would take to book a show there. You can also network with acts that you might fit well on a bill with. Get a demo recording of your music online and start adding people, then pay attention to what comments they leave and which songs get played and how much. You can use companies like CDbaby to get your music on iTunes and Amazon MP3 so people who are interested in your music can purchase it. Even if sales are low at first, having your music available for sale is a very important step on many levels.

I hope you find these tips helpful as you begin your musical journey taking guitar lessons in Portland!