Key Takeaway
There are two main ways to get Music Discs: getting a Skeleton (or Stray) to kill a Creeper or finding them in the Chests of naturally generated structures. The only exception to this is Music Disc 5, which you need to assemble from Disc Fragments you find in the Chests of Ancient Cities.
There are no record stores in Minecraft, so you won’t be able to pick up Music Discs that easily. However, there are ways to acquire these 15 melodic collectibles without cheating. Although, these methods can be pretty dangerous.
Table Of Contents
How to Get Mobs to Drop Music Discs
You can get 12 out of the 15 total Music Discs in a relatively straightforward manner. The only ones you can’t get this way are “Pigstep”, “Otherside” and “5”. Put simply: you need to get a Skeleton (or a Stray) to kill a Creeper. While this is conceptually easy to grasp, actually getting this to happen can be tricky.
Thankfully, there are many strategies you can try to kill a Creeper via Skeleton or Stray. With that said, all these tactics fall into three main categories: winging it, trapping mobs, and automation.
Strategy #1 – Winging It
Firstly, you can try things out without any setup. Head out at night and run around to get mobs to spawn. Following this, once you’ve spotted both a Creeper and a Skeleton (or Stray), you’ll need to help the ranged mob line up a shot.
To do this, your best bet is to draw the Creeper into the firing path of the ranged mob. Since both Creepers and ranged foes will actively target you, you should be able to walk around until the Creeper is between you and the Skeleton or Stray. With luck, the next time the ranged mob fires a shot, it should hit the Creeper instead of you.
Unfortunately, it will take more than one shot to take down a Creeper. Creepers have 10 Hearts of health—which is a fair deal higher than the damage output of the mentioned ranged mobs. Furthermore, a Creeper will aggro on mobs that attack it, so you’ll need to punch the Creeper to get it to follow you again.
On Normal Difficulty, a Skeleton’s ranged attacks will do somewhere between half a Heart to two Hearts of damage. Somewhat similarly, the ranged attacks of Strays only deal between one and a half to two and a half Hearts of damage. Furthermore, the distance to their target matters, as farther targets will take less damage.
With this in mind, it can take up to seven shots for a Skeleton to take down a Creeper. And that’s if the Skeleton lands every shot. You’d have a better time getting a Stray to kill a Creeper, as they hit a bit harder. However, Strays only spawn in frigidly cold biomes (Frozen River, Snowy Plains, Ice Spikes, Frozen Ocean (Bedrock Edition only), and Deep Frozen Ocean (Bedrock Edition only)).
Strategy #2 – Trapping Mobs
Alternatively, you can help Skeletons line up their shots better by trapping it and a Creeper in some holding cells. There are many different variations of what you can do here, however, there are some simple steps you can follow to ensure you setup up a functional trap.
- Make each cell two blocks high so that mobs can’t jump
- Put a Pressure Plate in the center of each cell that is connected to Pistons below that raise blocks on all four sides around the Pressure Plate
- Use Redstone to connect a Lever to a Piston above the cell meant to hold the Skeleton that will push a block of Tinted Glass onto it
After you’ve set up your holding cells, wait until night falls. You’ll want to trap a Skeleton or Stray first. Since such mobs love to strafe and run away from you, your best bet to trap one is to lead it towards the cell that has the Tinted Glass. After you trap a ranged mob, hit the Lever to push the Tinted Glass block onto it. This will prevent it from burning up when the sun rises but won’t suffocate it.
Next, trap a Creeper. Since Creepers don’t take damage from sunlight, you can trap one during the day. Just make sure that you temporarily wall in the Skeleton so that it doesn’t shoot you as you’re leading the Creeper into the open cell. Creepers always walk towards you in a straight line, so tricking one into the remaining holding cell should be easy.
Then, un-wall the Skeleton and stand so that the Creeper is directly between you and the ranged mob. After a few shots, the Creeper will go down and drop a Music Disc. Rinse and repeat.
Strategy #3 – Automation
To automate Music Disc farming, you can combine Strategy #2 with a gravity-based XP farm. This kind of XP farm involves you building a large platform about 20 blocks above the ground and placing flowing water all around it to push mobs down a central shaft. The mob will take nearly-lethal fall damage and will be one hit from death.
Conversely from how you’d normally build such an XP farm, make sure sunlight can illuminate the inside. Allow night to fall so that mobs spawn and then let the sunrise burn away all mobs except for Creepers.
Next, place a trio of holding cells around the bottom of the shaft. First, build a central cell directly beneath the shaft where the Creepers will drop into.
Afterward, build a holding cell to lure a Skeleton into (make sure to protect the Skeleton with Tinted Glass so that it doesn’t burn in sunlight). Lastly, line up a third—but larger—cell. The Creeper’s holding cell needs to be directly between the Skeleton’s cell and the larger cell.
In the large cell, spawn an Iron Golem. Skeletons will automatically try to attack Iron Golems, so you’re using one as bait to trigger Skeleton attacks here. However, since there will be a Creeper between the Iron Golem and Skeleton, the Skeleton’s shots will hit the Creeper instead of the Iron Golem.
Finally, place a Hopper beneath the Creeper’s cell and a large Chest beneath the Hopper. This will suck the Music Discs into the Chest for safe storage.
When you’ve got things all set up, simply stand somewhere nearby (in a safe room of some sort) and go AFK for a while. When you come back, you should have tons of Music Discs and Gunpowder.
Getting Music Discs (And Disc Fragments) From Chests
In the Java Edition of the game, you can get four kinds of Music Discs from Chests: “13”, “Cat”, “Otherside”, and “Pigstep”. And, in the Bedrock Edition, you can get six of them this way: “13”, “Cat”, “Otherside”, “Pigstep”, “Mellohi”, and “Wait”. The Chests that can have such items inside are found within naturally generated structures and in Buried Treasure.
Which Locations Have Music Discs as Chest Loot
| Music Disc Name | Type of Structure | Java or Bedrock Edition |
|---|---|---|
| 13 |
| Both |
| Cat |
| Both |
| Otherside |
| Both, but cannot be found in Dungeons in the Bedrock Edition |
| Pigstep |
| Both |
| Mellohi |
| Bedrock Edition only |
| Wait |
| Bedrock Edition only |
Where to Find Disc Fragments
Similar to the above-mentioned Music Discs, you can find Disc Fragments in the Chests of a naturally generated structure—but only a single kind. Disc Fragments can only be found in the Chests of Ancient Cities.
You’ll need nine Disc Fragments to craft “Music Disc 5”. To do so, place the nine Disc Fragments on every slot of a Crafting Table to make one Music Disc 5.
What Music Discs Do
So far, the only function of Music Discs is to play songs. Each Disc has a unique track that ranges from relaxing to ominous—or sometimes both. To play a Music Disc, you’ll need to insert them into a Jukebox. Although, only one Disc can be played at a time per Jukebox.
To make a Jukebox, place a Diamond on the centermost slot of a Crafting Table before completely surrounding it with eight Wooden Planks of any kind. This recipe will give you one Jukebox. Afterward, place the Jukebox and you’ll be able to play any Music Disc you want.
