It’s almost that time of year! If you haven’t already finished holiday shopping for your musician friends, then you can always head over to sites like Giftlab to see how their personalized gift ideas can inspire you to get one of the best presents your musician friend will ever receive. Maybe something to do with their favourite song perhaps. These days you can get Spotify Music Glass Art for a keepsake of their favourite music and something that will remind them of their passion and achievements. But if you want to keep your options open, here are a few ideas to help you check of your shopping list.

Note: Some of these links are affiliate links, and AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU, Teen Jazz will make a small commission from a number of the products on this page. It’s an easy way to support our site and help keep us up and running.

A Ticket Stub Diary

Many musicians love going out to see live music as much as they love the opportunity to get to perform it. Get your musician friend a ticket stub diary so they can organize mementos from their favorite nights out. These can be used to collect tickets from their own shows or to shows they attended as an audience member. Check out the Ticket Stub Diary.

Music Lessons

For musicians still in the early stages of musical development, lessons can help a great deal. You can check out music tutors for various instruments and music skills at places like Wyzant, but we’ve also recommended a few more places here.

A Scratch of Map

One of the best things about being a musician other than the music (imho) is the fact that we often get opportunities to travel. I love being on the road and traveling to new places. If your musician friends are anything like me, they may love this scratch map. Check the out.

Music Mixtape Doormat

This AKF Shop Decorative Mixtape Cassette Funny Retro Vintage Doormats Welcome Mats Entrance Mat Floor Mat Door Mat Rug Indoor/Outdoor/Front Door/Bathroom Mats Rugs for Home/Office/Bedroom Neoprene Rubber Non Slip Backing Machine Washable (23.6″x15.7″,L x W) is customizable and is a fun gift to give your musician friend.

External Storage Device (or a Dropbox Subscription)

Most musicians are constantly writing or recording music and so having backups of all of their handwork is an absolute must! Get them a USB key or a hard drive or even get them a subscription to Dropbox. Many musicians may also need a place to back up their music collection since most of us are “collecting” digitally now.

Upcycled Records: Bowls or Bracelet Cuff

This Vinyl Album Record Bowl – “Rock Essentials” Genre
is a pretty neat decorative item. The labels are protected so you do not have to worry about them being damaged. The upcycled Vinyl Record Cuff Bracelet is adorable. They are created by the same designer as the bowls.

Besides these record bowls, there are several gift items that you can actually make using old vinyl records. Worthy vinyl themed examples include wall-hanging wine racks, cupcake stand, vinyl record bookends or a record hat & coat rack for that matter. You will of course need some old records and some DIY accessories and fasteners like metal rods, screws, washers, and small hooks. Purchase the items from local hardware stores or source them online from supply portals like TradeFix Direct–it’s entirely up to you.

Remember, handmade gifts are a unique way of telling your receiver that they are special.

USB Keyboard

The M-Audio Keyboard is the standard go-to midi keyboard, but if you want to get fancy, the ARTURIAmidi keyboard is beautiful. If they already have a midi keyboard, you can always go for the travel size option (M-Audio Travel Size Midi Keyboard), plus it’s more affordable.

USB Microphone

For the musician who is just starting to record, this is great option if they’re using software like garageband on pc. It gives them an easy way to record and get started. You can get a pretty affordable option here with the Audio-Technica ATR2500-USB Microphone, but you can take it a step up with this one (Audio-Technica AT2020 USB Microphone) from Audio Technica. Blue USB Microphones also have some pretty great reviews on Amazon.

You can never have enough of these

Korg TM50BK Instrument Tuner and Metronome, Black For some reason I seem to either misplace or wear out my tuners so I think it’s time to invest in a new one (or two or three). I’m a fan of the basic Korg tuners and it’s pretty neat that this one also has a built in metranome.

Get them new music

Musicians can be pretty picky about the music that they listen to so it’s a safer bet to get them a gift card from one of their preferred music vendors: Amazon Gift Cards | iTunes

Shameless Plug #1: The Album Checklist

Our book, The Album Checklist, is a great guide and workbook to help you or your musician friends help plan and budget your next (or first) album. It takes you step-by-step through the planning process all the way to post-release marketing and promotion. It has a nice collection of worksheets to help you keep organized too. Details here.

Shameless Plug #2: Kenkase Reedcases and Guitar Pick Cases

My dad has a pretty cool business where he handcrafts wood reed and guitar pick cases with tons of customizable options. You can get different sizes (like 5 reeds or 10 reeds), stone inlays, initials, wood combinations, felt colors, wood inlays, etc. It’s a great option for your musician friends and it’s totally personalized. Details here.

Shameless Plug #3: Holiday Music

Okay, I know, I’m pushing it with 3 plugs, but I promise this is the last one! I’ve released a holiday album and you can pick up a copy of it here (Signed) or get it digitally on iTunes, Amazon, Bandcamp or CDBaby. We also recommend this album.

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Published by Shannon Kennedy

Shannon Kennedy is a vocalist and saxophonist living in Southern California. She is author of "The Album Checklist" and the founder of Teen Jazz. She has been contributing articles to music magaizines and websites since 2004.