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The music in Minecraft has been hailed as some of the best in the world of video games, and for good reason - the fantastic work of C418 is renowned for its iconic, comfortable feel. It's not easy to make gorgeous, memorable tunes for a game that's so slow-paced and has players spending hours upon hours building their creations. The music should be uplifting and unique, but not too loud and distracting.

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The same treatment is also extended to Minecraft's mysterious music discs. These special and rare items come in several varieties and each has its own unique tune, some of which are remarkably pleasant to listen to. While music discs aren't a necessity in the game, they're a cool collectible item that adds a bit extra into the RPG survival side of the game. If you're looking to collect them all, here's how to do it.

Updated October 27, 2021 by Matthew Pentleton: Minecraft continues to receive exciting new updates, and 1.18 brings a new music disc to the game - Lena Raine's brand new track "otherside". This guide will tell you everything you need to know about it - where to find "otherside", what it sounds like, and more.

Furthermore, as Minecraft continues to evolve, more and more becomes possible. Music discs can actually be farmed, so if you're interested in learning how to get music discs in Minecraft using a farm to obtain as many as you like, that will all be outlined below.

Finding A Music Disc

Minecraft Dungeon

In the Java version of the game, only two locations can yield music discs as loot. The regular mob dungeons that spawn randomly around the world will have a chance of holding a music disc, which can be "13" or "cat".

Minecraft Woodland Mansion

Woodland Mansions are another location with many chests where "13" and "cat" can spawn. There are more chests here, but the mobs inhabiting the Mansion are also more dangerous, so it's high-risk high-reward.

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Minecraft Bastion Remnant Stronghold Altar Chest

The 1.16 Nether Update saw Lena Raine join the world of Minecraft, and her music fit the game perfectly. Among her tracks was a music disc. "Pigstep" is obtainable from the Nether's Bastion Remnants, with just a 5% chance to spawn inside a chest there. In 1.18, her second music disc was added; "otherside" can be found as a very rare spawn in Dungeon chests, or in the altar chests in Strongholds.

Minecraft Buried Treasure

Those playing on the Bedrock Edition have a few more options. In addition to "13", "cat", "otherside", and "pigstep" (which are found the same way as in Java Edition), players can also discover the music discs "mellohi" and "wait" inside of buried treasure chests.

Creeper Music Discs

Minecraft Creeper

If you want the rest of the discs, you'll have to get them from a Creeper. A Creeper must be killed by the arrow of a Skeleton or Stray, which will make it drop a random music disc. For this to be possible, it's important that the Skeleton deals the killing blow on the Creeper.

Minecraft Creeper And Skeleton

To make things easier, you can hit a Creeper a few times with a weak sword to lower its health. In order to attract a Skeleton, walk close to one and then position yourself so that the Skeleton has to shoot the Creeper instead of you.

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Minecraft Music Disc On Floor

This takes a lot of skill and practice to pull off since you need to manage two mobs running after you. Make sure you have a shield with you, as well as a good enchanted bow so you can easily attract the Skeleton again if you move too far away from it. If you did everything correctly, the Creeper will drop a music disc at random - anything other than "pigstep" or "otherside".

Music Disc Farming

Minecraft Music Disc Farm Drops

If all of that sounds like a lot of work, you'll be glad to hear there is another way to obtain every disc. It's possible to farm music discs, and while a bit of work is needed to set the farm up, once it's running, you'll have music discs on tap. Here's how to build a music disc farm in Minecraft:

Minecraft Music Disc Skeleton Farm

You'll need to locate a Skeleton dungeon and create water streams below the spawner to ferry the Skeletons into one place as if you were building an XP grinder. Instead of killing the Skeletons where they end up, however, you're going to implement a minecart system so you can transport one whenever you need to. For some optional bonuses, you can farm bones and arrows by adding a hopper below the Skeletons (mobs start to die when there are 25 or more on the same block, so leave the spawner running long enough and you'll have plenty). If you want to minimize Skeleton buildup for the sake of better Creeper rates, you can add a toggle for Skeleton spawning with some redstone lamps. There's a cap on the number of mobs that can exist at any one time, so a lot of Skeletons sitting around means fewer Creepers can spawn in total.

Minecraft Music Disc Farm

Once your Skeleton dungeon is all set up, you'll need to build the area you're transporting Skeletons to. A glass tunnel with a 1x1 space through the center should work, with deeper spaces for Skeletons and Creepers to stand. Think of it as a window through which the Skeleton will see you and hit the Creepers.

Minecraft Music Disc Creeper Farm

Once you've set up your tunnel, decide where you want Creepers to be, and place a hopper below it. Above that hopper, create a drop of 21 blocks, which is just enough to leave Creepers on half a heart of health after the fall - perfect for the Skeleton to finish them off. This isn't essential, since ultimately the Skeleton can shoot them multiple times, but it'll help speed things up a lot. Above the hole, build a Creeper farm. There are a lot of ways to do this, so find one that works for you and construct it, then ferry the Creepers it spits out into your 21-block pit.

Minecraft Music Disc Farm Creeper Drops

Once you've done that, you're good to go! Creepers will fall down the hole, and once they do, you can summon a Skeleton from the spawner. Stand in front of your tunnel to bait the Skeleton into shooting the Creepers, and you'll have as many music discs as you could ever want. A cool bonus is that in addition to the aforementioned arrows and bones, you'll get plenty of gunpowder too.

Using A Jukebox

Minecraft Crafting Jukebox

Music discs need to be placed inside a jukebox to be listened to. Jukeboxes are not cheap blocks to craft, as they require one diamond each. That being said, they're a nice addition to an already fancy home that has almost anything and everything. To craft one, place eight wooden planks of any kind inside the crafting grid, with one diamond at the center.

Minecraft Jukebox

Jukeboxes don't need to be powered with redstone. Place one down anywhere, and while holding a music disc in your right hand, right-click on the jukebox to put the disc in and play it. The game will show a message on the screen that tells you which disc is currently being played. Jukeboxes are pretty loud and can be heard from fairly far away.

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Minecraft Jukebox Redstone Signal

While the jukebox is being used, it can give a redstone output; when connected to a comparator, it will emit signals of varying strength depending on the disc being played. On Java Edition, as of 1.18, the signal strengths are as follows:

Disc

Signal Strength

"13"

1

"cat"

2

"blocks"

3

"chirp"

4

"far"

5

"mall"

6

"mellohi"

7

"stal"

8

"strad"

9

"ward"

10

"11"

11

"wait"

12

"pigstep"

13

"otherside"

14

On Bedrock Edition, it's the same except for the fact that "otherside" will have a signal strength of 15, and prior to 1.18, "pigstep" had a signal strength of 15. Additionally, on Bedrock edition, a jukebox will output a signal strength of 15 without a comparator if it's playing a disc. While they may seem useless at first, these mechanics could make for some cool music-themed contraptions, such as a door that requires the correct disc as a key to open, or a machine to replay a disc once it finishes.

Every Music Disc in Minecraft

Minecraft Music Discs C418 13 11 Wait Mellohi Mall Blocks Chirp Stall Cat Far Strad Ward Lena Raine Pigstep Otherside Jukebox

It's difficult to describe the musical style of each disc. What's for certain is that they are all extremely unique, perhaps best described as somewhat bizarre and otherworldly. Some have taken genuine inspiration from real-world music and sound closer to regular music than others. There are even musical references within some of the discs. Here's a list of every disc along with some information about what they sound like, when they were added, and who composed them.

Minecraft Music Discs 1
  • "13" by C418: added in alpha 1.0.14, this track is more ambient than musical, it sounds closer to the ambient cave sounds of the game than a melodic tune.
  • "cat" by C418: this is a more melodic tune, without any rhyme or reason, until the actual drums begin after a short interlude. It was added in alpha 1.0.14.
  • "blocks" by C418: one of many to be added in Java 1.0.0, this tune sounds almost like a song from a retro game, with strong percussion.
  • "chirp" by C418: this disc begins with a sample of Mattel's Bossa Nova Style Program Disc from 1970, and was also added in 1.0.0.

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Minecraft Music Discs C418 far mall mellohi stal strad ward
  • "far" by C418: another 1.0.0 addition, "far" is closer to "cat" in style; it has a melody but sounds a bit more like the original "Minecraft" style.
  • "mall" by C418: an extremely calming song with a slow pace, this is the fourth tune added in 1.0.0, though like seven of the others from this update, it wasn't actually obtainable until 1.1, which is when Creepers began dropping them.
  • "mellohi" by C418: yet another of the 1.0.0 discs, like "chirp", "mellohi" has a distinct vintage music sound that's closer to real-world music than Minecraft's signature musical style.
  • "stal" by C418: very much a jazz piece of music, with strong bass and saxophone included, "stal" was also added in 1.0.0.
  • "strad" by C418: brought to Minecraft in 1.0.0, one of the most popular pieces, "strad" is very dreamy, melodic, and almost tropical due to the use of a steelpan.
  • "ward" by C418: a darker tune that goes from sampling Chopin's Funeral March to an electronic, Minecraft-style retro game sound, "ward" is the penultimate 1.0.0 disc.
Minecraft Music Discs C418 Lena Raine 11 wait otherside pigstep
  • "11" by C418: This is the most bizarre of all the discs, it has no music, and appears to be simply an unsettling recording of a man running from someone, or something. While it was added in 1.0.0, the texture of "11" was changed in 1.14. Furthermore, unlike the rest of the 1.0.0 discs which became available in 1.1, "11" wasn't obtainable in Survival until 1.4.4.
  • "wait" by C418: close to "strad" in style, "wait" has a happy and dreamy melody. The music file for this track was added to the game with the nine 1.0.0 discs, titled "where are we now", but it didn't get an actual disc until it was renamed to "wait" and made obtainable in 1.4.4
  • "otherside" by Lena Raine: added in 1.18, "otherside" is an upbeat track with some dubstep elements, making heavy use of a catchy repeating synth melody.
  • "pigstep" Lena Raine: a unique music disc, "pigstep" sounds unlike any of the others, with a somewhat hip-hop style and a sound reminiscent of and old radio. It was added in 1.16.

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