How do you find your own unique sound as an electronic dance music producer

roblskater

New member
I have always been told to just keep on producing and always be experimenting to find your own sound... thats all i have been doing and have gotten no where closer to finding my own sound. Ive made some sweet tracks but i just don't like them because they sound like other peoples work and i want to be different. I love several different genres inside dance music (house, deep house, electro house, progressive house, trance, melbourne bounce, trap, dub step, jersey club, hybrids, ect...) and thats all i have been making. But i'm not completely sure what genre i should tackle and find my own unique sound through that genre.

So, my questions..... how do i find what genre i want to spend my time making? and what if i love to make dub step and suck at it, but then hate producing house music but i am great at it? should i just go after what i am good at, or what i love to make? also what are the best ways to find my own unique sound, as well as putting down whats going inside my head, into my daw.

i would greatly appreciate anyones input on any of these questions.

thanks.

-Rob Leyton
 
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Haha, second thread this week where someones asking other people how they can be unique. It doesnt work like that man.

And we cant tell you what path you should take or what you want to make. If you like dub step and want to make it but suck at it...then get better at it.. If you dont like making house but are good at it. Stop making house! Or keep making it and dont complain that you hate it because its your choice. Matt Lange doesnt like house at all but thats how he has built a following.

Create your own sound by ditching pre sets and learning synthesis. And it wouldnt hurt to shy away from Massive, Sylenth, etc.. Im not even gonna tell you what synths I use because they are absolutely incredible and cheap and I still havent heard of one other person who uses this VST package in the EDM online community. Don't want them to catch on! Because the Pre sets are all gold too, yet no one uses them. More for meeee. :sing:
 
just produce whatever genre youre in the mood to at the time, you dont have to stick to any in particular. somedays i might do trance while others it can be chilled stuff or fast stuff. as for getting sounds check sites like kvr and learn a bit of synthesis to start making your own presets
 
Usually the people who have an unique & interesting sound also have influences from far beyond the genres they're making (or inventing).
 
i think you can worry too much about stuff like this to be honest. just make what you want too and what you love and see what happens. no one can be truly unique anyway - all the notes on a keyboard and chords on a guitar have been played already a long time ago. express yourself as NWA would say and you'll be fine
 
I miss the days when producers didn't make artistic decisions by consensus.
You just went to work and made what you made and that became your style. Imagine Dilla or Pete Rock on a forum asking some of the questions y'all be asking on here. Help me choose my producer name. Help me figure out how to sound unique. Will I get sued if I use a sample on some bummy ass mixtape no one will hear? How do I sample? Should I sample?

Can't you guys think for yourselves?
 
I miss the days when producers didn't make artistic decisions by consensus.

Those days are over if they were ever even here. Markets too saturated these days. There is too much good music out there, its just a given you should have good music. Now every things about marketing tactics more than its about your music, and marketing is data collection.

Id bet everything that they had the same approach back then, there just werent any forums to do it on.

What do you think the artists managers and agents were doing? Same goes for every big act there is today.

The only way to screw up with getting the publics opinion is by not doing it at all. Asking how to be unique is a little broad though, not much is gonna come of that.

This is all assuming your goal is commercial success.
 
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Most people that post these threads really want advice on how to hide their sources better.
In other words copy the same amount, but from more varied sources.

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The truth is, you need to be able to listen to yourself.
Music production can be defined as a particular sound placed when.
Your judgements about those two aspects decide what kind of artist you are ---- and sometimes if you are considered one by others.

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The first question: What tempo should my song be?
You pick 122 bpms because 'I read somewhere that's the traditional speed of a house record'
You pick 140 bpms because you read somewhere that - that is a popular tempo for dubshyt.

You have just created your first box. Your first limitation. Your first judgement that is not coming from you. You just lost a little bit of you in your production.
You'll continue that with every other decision - drum sounds, bass sounds...patterns...arrangement....on and on until you have a perfect song that sounds like everything else and anyone could have made it. Nothing original or nothing that identifies it as YOURS.

And then you swing the opposite and do things JUST BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE IS DOING THEM.
And you forget a very important ingredient: MAKE SURE IT WORKS IN ITS CONTEXT.

Making a dance tune? Make sure people want to dance to it and don't worry about- if it sounds like every other dance tune. etc...

Perfect balance is knowing WHAT needs to be said and being able to say it in your own voice.
To do that, you need to truly understand what makes a genre or idea or mood work and what you have to contribute that is fresh and original.
And you may honestly have nothing to say that hasn't been said before.

What most accept as original is
-saying what is currently being said louder and clearer.
-saying what has been said before but isn't being said RIGHT NOW.
-saying what has been said before, with a modern (your era) twist. [same idea, new name]
-saying the opposite of what everyone else is saying

-------------------------
This is a long process and journey of self-development.
And I wouldn't ever expect to be widely accepted. Great if it happens but don't bank on it.
Part of the point of not fitting in is not fitting in.
 
Those days are over if they were ever even here. Markets too saturated these days. There is too much good music out there, its just a given you should have good music. Now every things about marketing tactics more than its about your music, and marketing is data collection.

Id bet everything that they had the same approach back then, there just werent any forums to do it on.

What do you think the artists managers and agents were doing? Same goes for every big act there is today.

The only way to screw up with getting the publics opinion is by not doing it at all. Asking how to be unique is a little broad though, not much is gonna come of that.
I wasn't talking about markets and whatnot, I was referring to the creative process and the (lack of) reasonable decision-making skills these new internet-bred guys have as opposed to years ago when you just had yourself and maybe a small pool of people to rely on.
Procedural questions are what this forum is meant for, its why we tolerate people like Dennis1990 because he is asking (lots) of questions that other forum members can learn from. But someone asking shit like "how do I be unique" deserves to be roasted. I was a beginner once, but there are some things a person should "naturally" figure out as a part of their immersion in the creative arts.
 
If finding your own sound is what you really want, you need to first figure out what actually inspired you to become a producer. What are your favorite songs? What do they have in common? How would you make them better? It could take years to find your niche.

You can't legitimately find your own sound if there's no passion involved though. Don't make the mistake of comparing someone else's distinct sound of producing to yours unless they were your initial inspiration. My .02

Cheers!
 
The problem with being unique is that, for a while, people will mock you relentlessly. They'll ignore you, because they'll think there's something wrong with your music. Look at the charts - there are very, very few unique artists, and when they come around they tend to have the piss ripped out of them. Five, ten years later everybody is copying them.

So the first thing - ignore other people. Secondly, listen to a tonne of music. Be extremely self-critical. The problem is that there are lots of unique artists who are also pretty rubbish; they're full of themselves and don't realise it. Looking back through history, most of the unique artists that lasted more than a few years began their career replicating generic pop music, and then they got bored; it's the same with visual artists and filmmakers etc. They start off using their talent to copy the mainstream, and then they get bored.

I mean, Harry Partch was unique. The Last Poets were pretty out-there. Partch died poor and no-one ever copied him, and although his works survives it will never had wide appeal. The Last Poets... well, they never made any money either. Massive influence. Do you really want to start off unique?
 
Make music like you're a 6 year old! Vis a vis, have fun and experiment.
 
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