Feedback for Hooks and Cover Blurb of new Serial: Earworm

Hi there! I think most authors, especially new ones, have run into the problem I have: we write a hundred thousand word story, post it online, and end up getting zero engagement. I try to write stuff I would want to read, but I'm not perfect. There is always a certain desire for validation. Before I go any further I just want to say that feedback is a two-way street. If anyone providing it for me has a similar request please mention it and I'll take a look.

Anyway, for me, I think my biggest problems with getting readers so far have been five-fold:

1. I've been bad at catching readers with my cover blurbs.
2. I've been very bad at writing first chapters that have good intro and outro hooks.
3. I've front-loaded the first chapter with too much terminology/characters which turns people off.
4. My prose does not keep up with worldbuilding (I have been working on this heavily. I've been reading the works of the greats and have tried to pick up what I can even if I'm still nowhere near their level).
5. I have very kind and gentle real life friends who sometimes sugarcoat their opinions on my stuff. Don't get me wrong I think this is a good problem to have and I Iove them to death but it limits my growth somewhat.

With this new story I'm writing, I wanted to see if there's been any improvement in the hookability factor, so I'm posting four segments here to ask these questions:

1. Is the cover blurb catchy? Would someone into dieselpunk, interspecies relations, music theory, and/or a little bit of weird tales be drawn in?
2. Is the opening hook effective? Too purple? Too confusing?
3. Is the outro hook effective? Is it understandable even without the context of the chapter?
4. Is the prose up to snuff or does it undermine any potential in the story?

Cover Blurb:
Earworm 

Terry’s ear has been honed since age six. What he once used to carry a tune on the piano he now uses to pick up non-human speech. Now aboard a skyship, he is the glue that holds its multilingual crew together as they face down an ecological terror.

From nowhere to everywhere, it is a weed that swallows land whole and pits brother against brother for what remains; as toxic as cyanide and as hard to kill as a catchy tune. But like how good music is in the ear of the beholder, one man’s weeds are another man’s garden, and a garden is a sinful thing to trample.

First Chapter Hook:
Chapter 1 - No Man’s Bedding

Terry played his first melody on the eve of boomblight’s crusade of silence, yet he never let the silence fill him. Even as he sat on an unfamiliar bench pressing unfamiliar keys in a lounge hovering thousands of feet in the sky, he still heard those first lessons clearly. Enough to pass on to the creature he shared a bench with.

He wasn’t exactly surprised when the four-armed creature sitting next to him asked to learn his trade. After all, Spot’s own language was an expert composition. It was something Spot had kindly shared with him. Terry was happy to return the favor.

“... So yeah, you get what I’m saying, right? These three notes- that’s C major. These three, G major. Then A minor. Then F major.”

“Like this?”

“Yeah, yeah, not bad. Just uh… See how my fingers go? Spread them out and hit both root notes. Gives it more oomph.”

“Spot does not have as many digits as Terry.”

“You still got four!” 

“Easier to do it this way. Watch.”

Terry couldn’t help but chuckle as Spot used two fingers from two different hands each to play one chord. It wasn’t like he was losing anything.

“Screw it, that works,” Terry shrugged. “Do it again, you got this.”

Outro Hook
“Good,” the admiral nodded, an almost relieved smile on his face. “Very good. Now, I’ve already taken the liberty of instructing your chief engineer to begin payload blending. The only thing left to do is–”

The admiral paused. A bright light filled the bridge.

Then a shockwave struck the hull. 

Everything not nailed down to it was thrown asunder. Coffee cups shattered, Captain Black’s antique telescope was thrown to the floor, and Terry had to catch himself on his console.

Red klaxons blared. An alert siren shrieked. A thunderous boom roared over them, adding to the symphony of agony. Spot covered his ears in pain. The bridge continued to rattle.

Black caught herself on her chair. “Shut that fucking thing off!” 

Gnessia was the only one on the bridge still stable. She flicked a tentacle out, hit a lever, and the siren dimmed. 

Spot was at Terry’s side like a ghost, helping him up. Fear clawed at his heart. 

‘Don’t end it like this for me, Builders!’ 

“Look!” Benny shouted, pointing out the window. 

The Yuletide Truce’s sister ship was ablaze.

End

Thank you again to whoever gives it a lookover. If I can return the favor please throw me a link to your own work and I will give my own feedback within the day.