Finding your characteristic sound could be something challenging. I wanted to write some thoughts about “finding your sound/style”.
1 – Don’t look for it.
Many producers get stuck in the never-ending cycle of improvement because they focus too much on “finding their style”. I’ve had some conversations with bigger and emblematic artists of the house scene at events and most of the time they told me that their style was found due to accidents. This means that they started using a particular percussion as a lead, some heavy electro house leads with future bounce basses, just to realize that it actually sounded good. Think about that next time you are producing : your iconic touches in your productions just happen thanks to you trying a lot of different things.
2 – Make music. A lot.
Finding your sound or style also comes when you simply produce a lot of music. What producers also have to understand is that “having your sound/style” also comes down to you arranging your tracks in particular ways. If you constantly produce music, you’ll eventually obtain your way of specifically constructing your breakdowns, how you put certain claps,… More generally, the more you practice something, the more progress you do.
3 – Export a .zip file of your projects
And place it in your library. That way, you can see what samples you use and you don’t have to look every time for new samples. Besides being a time-saver, it’s also a cool way to build your sound.
4 – Learn sound design
A simple tip yet kind of embed the past ones; this is a great way of finding your sound. By combining your sound design skills, with the “don’t look for it” and the “make music, a lot” tip, you got here a pretty solid foundation into finding your sound. Now the work is up to you! :D
What do you think about those points? Do you think I forgot something? Let us know!