Every artist has their musical style and preferences. The best and most unique styles are almost impossible to replicate and some styles are very recognizable. Some styles leave you with a lasting impression throughout your life and may have inspired you for starting your career. Whatever your inspiration, it is important that you retain your musical style and be authentic with it.
By being authentic with your music style and adding your personal touch, you will come to appreciate and love the music that you produce so much more. However, discovering and developing your signature sound is constantly a work in progress and something that has to be continuously refined.
It doesn’t matter whether you are at the top of the charts or a veteran, there is always something new to learn in music and different styles to appreciate. Regardless of which stage you are at in your music career, you will find that you are always on a journey of self-discovery. Here are some of the tips on how to develop your signature sound.
Expand Your Influences
When we grow up there are different music genres, artists, and styles we listen to. These music styles and artists eventually become an indispensable part of our music culture and are influential in our music. When you originally start your music career, you may first find that you are trying to base your music and work off your favorite artist or genre. You could also attempt to mix and blend different music styles and genres to create something that is uniquely yours and amazing. However, your musical journey doesn’t stop there.
There are so many more music styles, genres, and artists to learn about and appreciate. Expanding your influences means that you remain open and humble to continuously learn about different music cultures and different music styles. These styles may not be ones that you fully resonate with or like, but there is always something important which you can pick up and apply to your music. If you only stick to your preferred music style and genre, you may constantly find yourself producing the same music and being stuck with the same ideas.
Expanding your influences helps to bolster your creativity and allows you to come up with fresh ideas which may help to further develop your signature sound. Listen to music and styles that you have never listened to before as these will help to broaden your horizons and spark your creativity.
Constant Innovation
Constant innovation and experimentation are important in music. It is what separates those who have succeeded and have left behind an immortalized legacy and those who do not. Continuously refining and tweaking your musical process will allow you to keep growing as an artist and to develop your signature sound.
It is important to be authentic in your work and implement your unique style across your different works, however, you should always experiment and innovate with new ideas and processes. For example, you may want to add a heavier bass to your music and observe if it improves the sound. The key thing to take note of is not to be afraid of failure and of trying out new things especially in your private recording sessions. This will help you to develop new ways of creating music and develop your signature sound without making the same pieces of music that may become stale.