The time to connect with your friends:

Experience music in a whole new way.

If there was ever a time to maintain your connections, it’s now. You’re working from home, surviving through the semester at school, quarantining in your room. In a sense, you’ve become an island.

Among the slew of issues that comes along with this is becoming stagnant — specifically, in your music. People are, more than ever, listening to their familiar comfort songs instead of branching out. You don’t have your friends to share songs with as you’re sitting on the couch, floor, bed, etc. That kind of boredom, the in-person kind, is a breeding ground for new music in the background. It’s a place for sharing.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t share new music right now. The musical experience starts with your music apps and online playlists. It’s easy to share this with others.

And here are a few ways to do this.

1. Create playlists for each other.

A playlist created for someone else is an intimate experience, both in the creation and the listening.

You have to take into consideration both the songs they like, and the songs you think they will. You search far and wide, pulling both songs you know and (hopefully) new songs that you find while wandering around on the internet for new sounds.

This is how DJs find new music. Follow suit.

Of course, listening to a playlist made for you is also a great way to find new music. It’s also a way to connect from afar — a way to tell someone else how you see them, and know how they view you.

2. Listen to music live.

You can always hop onto a live chat and swap songs back and forth.

Put songs on a queue, listen to a constructed playlist online (I personally like Chill Nation playlists), or just pick songs as you go along.

3. Screen share for a visual experience.

Connect through visuals as well as audio with a trippy music visualizer.

Combine your music with an audio visualizer and share the experience of watching a desktop app react to your music. Desktop apps like SYQEL: The music visualizer can be attached to your own playlists, so you can get that personal music experience while having a beautiful visual one.

Your friends are out there. So is their music.

Don’t let your musical tastes get stale. Don’t let your friends keep all their finds to themselves.

Connect with them online. Because you are not alone.