They call it, “Your Sound”.
It’s something you know you need. It’s thrown around as a buzzword by labels and marketers. It’s also the most important piece of being a musician. Live or electronic.
It’s what sets you apart and have people actually notice you. But the question is, how do you find it?
Whether you’re a new producer or have been doing this for years, it’s something that you will constantly be searching for.
You’re worried you’ll just sound like everyone else out there and you won’t get noticed unless you come up with something SO CRAZY and UNIQUE that you’ll change the landscape of music forever.
I’ve been there. I’ve jumped around so many genres that I didn’t know where to begin. When I first started, I thought I wanted to create the most unique thing imaginable.
You might have experienced that as well.
You found an artist or genre you loved so much and you thought about how you resonate with this. And that this guy or girl or band or producer has such a unique sound.
That excitement then leads to frustration once you start creating your own stuff and before you know it, you’ve hit that wall. You know you need to come up with your own sound but are scared you can’t be as unique as your favorites.
When I first started producing, all I wanted to do was make was dubstep. I wanted to be as crazy as skrillex, with all those nasty growls, but I got frustrated since I couldn’t make it sound unique. I was scared I was just copying. This went on for YEARS, I bounced from genre to genre and I couldn’t come up with something unique still.
Everything had all been done and worst of all. All of it felt fake. But I finally broke through that.
Having gone through this I’ve personally discovered how an artist finds their sound and truth is, it’s not about finding a unique sound; it’s about finding YOUR sound.
I’ve found mine – here’s how to find yours.
Step 1: Dig Deep
First, think about your favorite genres or artists.
Now, think about your life, growing up & listening to music, have any of these genres or artists impacted you profoundly?
This is the most involved step. It’s what you’re listening to. What you’re inspired by. Think about everything. The MULTIPLE genres that you really enjoy.
I grew up listening to alot of alternative music.
Pop punk, emo and a little bit of metal were the soundtrack to my youth.
Out of all those styles, the one that truly resonated with me was pop punk. It still does.
It’s how I met some of my closest friends, it inspired to learn guitar and sing.
I also lived in small town canada and hated it. These are songs that got me through it and gave me those dreams of getting out of that town.
As I grew up, I discovered other genres. Stuff like Jazz, Pop and Hip Hop.
Then came EDM and all its sub genres began creeping into my life as I saw the boundaries writing music digitally could break. I became obsessed with the energy and sounds.
Remember, these are just my genres and for you, they can be anything. Legit, I have a friend who is passionate about K Pop.
As long as a genre or artist has made a profound impact for you, it’s relevant. Did it help you through hard times? Did it make you feel something? Did you get goosebumps the first time you heard it? You’ll find that genre that you know inside and out. This will be your favorite.
And there will be other genres that you enjoy but not as deeply as your favorites. These will be your “guilty pleasure”.
That’s just human nature. Especially as a musician, I’m sure you appreciate more than just your ‘favorite’ genre.T here’s no such thing as someone who only listens to one type of music and if someone claims that, they are probably lying.
Think about it, some genres aren’t considered “guilty pleasures” for nothing. These ‘guilty pleasures’ are also important, and will play a major role in the next steps…
Step 2: Now study each of your favorites and pick one.
It’s time to listen to each genre.
You’re listening for what makes it UNIQUE?
Immerse yourself and don’t forget to take notes.
You’ll want to refer back to these later when you are in step 3.
Some things to look for are. What are the stereotypes of each genre? What are its characteristic elements?
What excites you about that specific genre?
Pick the genre that excites you the most and STICK TO IT. This is where you’ll start to develop your sound.
Step 3: Start producing that genre! 3 songs max – just so you don’t get stuck.
The idea here is to just START producing. You’re going to want to take all that studying and begin making songs (LOTS) that hits on all of the characteristics of your base genre.
Is it dubstep? Keep the project at 150 BPM and structure the track the way your favourite producer does. Make sure you’ve got a fat snare and a sub bass for all your growls.
Is it Progressive house? 128 BPM, big chords and lots of filters and sweeps.
Is it Trap? SPAM THE “DAMN SON” SAMPLE. Easy, right?
The idea right now is to replicate.
Don’t focus too much on adding some kind of “game changing” element to it.
We’ll get to that later. For now, you’re going to copy it.
Don’t be afraid of that.
In fact, when Skrillex wrote Scary Monsters, all he was trying to do was copy Noisia.
Despite trying to copy you will NATURALLY add your own flare to the genre just by continuously producing it.
Step 3: Time to experiment. Mix and match. Copy and replace.
Once you’ve got a few songs of your favorite genre under your belt, you’ll have a good idea of what elements make it that specific genre.
You’ll now start to slowly shift and replace elements of that genre to make it your own.
Remember when I talked about finding your “guilty pleasure” genres?
These can be a goldmine for when you take your copies and look for something to replace.
As you begin to produce more songs in your base genre, start thinking about what elements of other genres can you incorporate?
Can you change the intro to a dubstep song to make it more melodic?
Should you be adding big epic synths instead of wobbly bass?
Do you start singing overtop of it? Are you illenium?
This is where YOUR sound will begin to take shape.
You need to look within yourself and pull inspiration from your past. This way. it will feel real.
If you think about it, most “unique” genres are just weird combinations or different takes on what’s established.
Dubstep is slow Drum and Bass.
EDM Trap is rap without the lyrics.
Hybrid is dubstep mixed with trap.
Future Bass is trap with big melodic synths instead of dirty rhythms.
Lil Peep is emo and hip hop trap.
These descriptions might not even be accurate anymore because of how quickly music evolves. The main thing is these combinations have to come from a genuine place.
This will take patience + time.
90% of the time you try something incorporating a guilty pleasure it’s probably not going to work. It’s going to sound cheesy or lame.
Don’t get frustrated, this is part of the process.
Keep at it. If something’s not working scrap it, take a break, and start another one.
Don’t get too hung up on one idea if it isn’t working (this goes for a lot of production).
This part may take months. You’ll create, re-create, and re-analyze but eventually something will work, and you’ll hit …
Step 4: The Click
You’ll find the one or two guilty pleasures that work with your favorite genre and it will sound like YOU.
Your sound will come from the YEARS you’ve spent working/dreaming about music.
Maybe from the good times, maybe from the bad.
You’ve been inspired by other artists and sounds.
Some from your favorite genre, some from the weird Tibetan music you heard on a video game once.
But like I mentioned earlier, what matters is that it’s GENUINE.
It’s real. Music has always been an expression of yourself so why not dig deep within to find it.
Forget about chasing trends. This is you. This is Your Sound. You’ve Found it!
Now don’t stop producing.