Developing A Style

[musicthom]

After a short discussion with a good friend of mine last night, it set me thinking.

I had asked him to listen to a track of mine and he pointed out that you can here an other band ’s sound in it and that’s what started it .

How do we achieve our own sound and I suppose for me ,the bands I listen to have a major influence in what I do musically I have listened to loads of stuff from the police and the specials to kraftwork and Alex Harvey band ,bad company , Billy brags Spy versus spy album still remains one of my fav also I loves Spear of destiny and Sisters of mercy from Queen to loads of pop u2 ,the kooks ,razor light ,James so you can see I kind of crossed over loads of music genre’s

I have to admit that dance music hip hop death metal don’t really do it for me but that’s just me they sell millions so who am I to say

But to get back to my point most of the styles of music I have listened to I do not have the ability to play for now.

But I try to learn every day , experimenting I think is always great to try

You never know what you may write I like to think that there are loads of ingredients to how you develop a recognisable style

Influences are there , quality of gear from your instrument to your effects and voice if you sing

Other significant people that can join your playing on a permanent basis or as a one off can have a influence producers and quality recording for me can make you look at an overall arrangement and production of your music

So for me there is no formula in writing music

What do you think do you agree or disagree ?

[thelevellers]

I think I agree... I can usually hear influences in the music I make, in fact many songs have been written because I had a certain band stuck in my head and tried writing something a bit like them, but usually by the time I'm finished with it I have crammed in lots of my other influences too.

I think it's your particular range of influences that dictates the style and sound you end up with, for example the single biggest influence on my sound is The Offspring, even when I haven't listened to any of their songs in ages (sometimes up to 8 months) I can almost ALWAYS find and example of their sound influencing the music I make. I quite enjoy spotting influences in music, as long as they aren't downright burglaries!

An example would be a song I wrote over the past couple of weeks, which started out as a big fat (intentionally) Rage Against the Machine inspired riff, but as I developed it I added a couple of other parts and fiddled with the original riff a little and suddenly I realised I had written an Offspring style solo/riff to go with it, and a vaguely Kula Shaker esq part. Apart from the initial aim at going Rage style, the other influences have just crept in... If you're lucky (or unlucky) I might actually get around to posting this song in few days, as I now have a new and easier/better way of recording stuff, so I'm quite inspired to do so...

Rohan

[FinnArild]

Everything is influenced by something ever since the first pre-human pursed his lips together and blew.

I think - after a while you get influenced by your own best stuff and develop on that - creating your own style - sorta.

[musicthom]

Everything is influenced by something ever since the first pre-human pursed his lips together and blew.

I think - after a while you get influenced by your own best stuff and develop on that - creating your own style - sorta.

well put finn

[Lazz]

most of the styles of music I have listened to I do not have the ability to play for now.

But I try to learn every day , experimenting I think is always great to try

You never know what you may write I like to think that there are loads of ingredients to how you develop a recognisable style

It just happens.

A friend of mine once told me that style is limitations of technique.

This may seem obvious to some but it took me a while of pondering to get it myself.

I have certain songs where I know absolutely the original source influence - they started as conscious exercises of emulation.

But by the time I finished with them, due to lack of technique, I would defy anyone to make the correct identifcation.

They ended up just sounding like me - and I have long overcome feeling bad about that.

[Nightwolf]

But by the time I finished with them, due to lack of technique, I would defy anyone to make the correct identifcation.

They ended up just sounding like me - and I have long overcome feeling bad about that.

LoL

AMEN BROTHER

[tgrover]

If you dont want to sound like your influences. dont learn how to play their songs

[thelevellers]

Good point tgrover!

That's probably half my 'problem' (I quite like it usually, as long as it doesn't sound 100% like someone else), I learn LOTS of other peoples stuff, although still not that much Offspring considering the effect they have on my sound...

[roxhythe]

Just a thought (maybe). If you don't limit yourself to emulating the style of a particular person, "your style" will eventually become a mix of all your emulations, and will be unique to you.

I've done that, myself. My "heroes" are all people who couldn't sing, and couldn't play guitar very well, but could write, and managed to make it in the music business purely on the strength of their words--Steve Goodman, John Prine, Bob Dylan, Buck Owens, and so on. I'm like them--I can't sing or play guitar worth c**p, either. So I tried to figure out what they were doing that was good, and adapt it to what I wrote. And it's mostly worked. I don't think these days I could be accused of sounding like any of them.

Next step--"Phase Two" if you like--is to take people you haven't a prayer of sounding like, for one reason or another, and try to emulate *them*. I have taken, for instance, an internal rhyming scheme that Avril Lavigne used that I really liked, and adapted it to my stuff--but I write country music. (My daughter was shocked when I did that.) On one of my sleazier religious songs, I deliberately "channeled" Janis Joplin; no, I'll never sound like Janis Joplin (and I don't believe anybody has ever noticed any "echo" of Janis in that song)--but I had a lot of fun with the style.

And now all that, too, is in the mix--Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Janis Joplin, Bill Monroe, Elvis, and Avril Lavigne, and maybe a few others.

Joe

[thelevellers]

I think you might have put your finger on something I couldn't quite phrase right, or think right there... I find when I attempt a song in a particular style it's often only me that can tell it's in there, until I point it out at least... Which makes me smile, I like in jokes