How do I develop a unique sound? I'm getting a lot better at imitating, but everything I make is very derivative. How do I set myself apart?
>>65039389
Imitate more varied stuff at the same time.
There has been nothing new in music since the 50's.
"Innovation" since then has been either through new technology, or through mixing and matching genres/styles/sounds that no one has bothered to as of yet.
try dropping acid
>>65039455
Burial x Amon Tobin. Do you like that idea?
>>65039504
i fucking wish man, been trying to get a hold of psychedelics. not just for music, but for the experience.
>>65039519
Add more influences to the point where it's indistinguishable.
>>65039534
Shrooms are fairly easy to get
>>65039616
he might prefer the kind that doesnt kill you
>>65039572
I see. So basically get a very eclectic source of sounds and synthesize them in your own unique way
>>65039648
Robitussin is everywhere brah
>>65039455
now that you said it its no longer original.
/music
>>65039656
That's how it's done senpai.
>>65039616
i just don't have the connections man. all i've got connections for is shit like weed, lean, xanax, hydrocodone, adderall... everything that's been in rap recently basically
bring the Spector sound from the 60s back
>>65039669
lmao i wouldn't robotrip. i wouldn't do benadryl. i MIGHT do dxm, but that's iffy. OTC just seems so desperate and it seems like intentional overdosing as opposed to a recreational dose of something meant to be psychadelic
Look into what makes other artists unique, and figure out what your "trademark" will be. Every artist worth anything has something about them that makes it obvious who it is.
Aphex Twin has extremely complicated and violent drum patterns and heavy manipulation of sampling
Boards of Canada has sweeping organic sounding synths with an ominous feel to them
Scattle has simpler beat patterns that complexity is generally added between verse sections by layering instead of changing the beat
Carpenter Brut has really aggressive Korg synths that produce a really crunchy sound.
You can go on, but you need to develop a "sound" and it won't happen overnight. Make a lot of complete trash talentless drivel, only through failure will you eventually achieve success.
>>65039736
wall of sound can never live again
>>65039757
someone likes idm and hotline miami
>>65039689
Why would you need connections for lean ?
>>65039757
you know what, i've been thinking about just cranking out as much stuff as possible just to streamline my process and discover useful things. didn't think it was worth it if the end product was shit but when you put it that way it's essential
>>65039776
>>65039736
Creating a wall of sound is incredibly easy in FL Studio and you can tweak each instrument to your liking for greater sonic cohesion
I have some tapes on my backlog i made that would probably qualify as an electronic wall of sound if any one would like to hear
>>65039826
because it's a prescription narcotic just like anything else? i don't even sip often, once every several months if that
>>65039389
Don't imitate, that's a mistake. Just record whatever you feel like recording and see what method of music making you're the most drawn to. The sound comes largely from the method you use to make it.
>>65039869
wall of sound with lots of reverb and varied timber is a lot better in my opinion as opposed to an imitation of an orchestral sound. when you could get orchestral musicians to record back in the day, when the sound was still cutting edge, sure, but now it's cheesy unless done absolutely right (again in my opinion).
>>65039886
I thought codeine cough syrup can be acquired over the counter
>>65039923
cough syrup can not codeine
>>65039932
What ?
experiment and play more, find new stuff you like, stop caring, etc.
>>65039945
not all cough syrup has codeine in it, you can get cough syrup without it over the counter
>>65039906
i imitated to develop my skill in hearing a sound and reproducing it. i like to think that that's a good skill and that some derivation is required and natural due to how ideas and culture spread
>>65039961
>stop caring
that's what's gonna be hardest for me. seems like good advice though
>>65039389
Beats me.
>>65039979
That isn't at all relevant to what I was saying
>>65039983
Maybe, but I personally think it's more fun to just experiment instead of creating exactly what's in your head. I usually end up enjoying sounds that surprised me more than sounds that I planned on making.
>>65040151
No, codeine is not OTC.
>>65040172
you're damn right about that, some of my best moments/breakthroughs have been complete accidents.
>>65039922
The best way to have varied tonal colors IMO is with chord inversions and making 3 instruments play a triad by each of them having a note of the triad (works mostly on strings)
So you could have violin 1 playing a D
cello playing a G flat
Viola playing an A
There you have a D major with 3 different instruments just to finish it
>>65039743
DXM is literally a bottle of max strength Robitussin
>>65039455
>imitate
fast track to sounding like everyone else
OP there is only one way. have confidence in yourself and rigorously reject influence.
if youu truly do not have any ideas; quit now and save yourself the pain. but I imagine you have a lot of ideas, like everyone, but don't have confidence in yourself, and think your ideas are "less than"
the most succesful and innovative bands are just people who went with their dumb ideas instead of trying to supress them and latch on to a trend
>>65039455
Everything is some combination of previous things. Even rock was just reshaped blues music.
Electronic music is largely based on african rhythms.
Yada yada.
If you want to be austistic you can apply this sort of idiot logic to anything.
Nothing new because it's all the same atoms, etc
>>65039389
dont be focused on avoiding sounding derivative, focus on sounding authentic to your own voice. thats about all you can do
>>65039803
Yep, I like a lot of music but that was more relevant to the topic, I could have gone into styles of guitarists and the like but the person seemed more interested in electronic and sequenced stuff.
Hotline Miami got me into synthwave and I really like that it did because Scattle is based as hell and one of my favorite artists now, and Synthwave is one of my favorite genres.
>>65041120
>You're right
>it's still idiot logic
What?
>>65041065
It's what art is dummy. No one has made anything completely original, they build off of others.
>>65041065
Your favorite artists began as imitators.
Imitation is only a starting point.
>>65041505
no they didn't.
don't try to make yourself feel better and project to justify your derivative shit
>>65041550
Nome one truly original artist so I can laugh at you.
learn some angular scales and dissonant time-signatures
>>65041550
I'll join in on the waiting
>>65041597
I'm not that anon, but Richard D. James
>>65041120
>Electronic music is largely based on african rhythms
No.
listen to all kinds of music
stop focusing on trying to be different, keep pursuing the kind of sound that you like and that sound will come
read about music, keep up with current music
>>65044061
>keep up with current music
How would that help ?
>>65039923
Not since the early 90s
>>65043884
The guy is fantastic, but it's not like if we wiped out the history of music he would be doing the same thing he is now. Every artist needs a foundation to build upon.
Harmonically Aphex Twin is very simple, some are like nursery rhymes almost. Simple pleasant Homophonic style pioneered in the classical era.
He mixes that with erratic drumming and some glitch stuff occasionally.
Again, he didn't invent any of this, he's taken it from various sources, mixed it together, and expanded upon it, making it his own.
This shit doesn't just come out of thin air.
>>65044099
To be original you have to know what everyone else is doing to avoid doing it yourself.
>>65044307
That isn't how it works.
>>65044330
Yes it is retard
>>65044413
I'm honestly amazed that you actually think like that
>>65043884
He said himself he was influenced by Prince among other artists.
When you start playing, be aware of what's coming out, and if you hear something that sounds like someone else, stop playing and start again.
lather rinse repeat
>>65044278
>>65044487
influence≠imitation
>>65044564
It does though.
>>65044521
Good luck being that fucking pedantic. You won't even be able to make aboriginal ooga booga bongo music at that rate.
>>65044587
No.
>>65044564
Another arguing the meaning of words argument.
>>65044627
yes.
>>65044674
No.
>>65044700
ye.
>>65044765
No.
>>65044774
y
e
s
.
>>65044816
No.
>>65044975
>>65044816
>>65044774
>>65044765
>>65044700
>>65044674
>>65045016
No.
>Started browsing /mu/ 2 years ago
>Wanted to expand my taste in music so I could play more than generic folk-punk songs
>Now have 100 gigs worth of music stored on a hard drive from a combination of sharethread and RYM finds.
>Still can't play more than generic folk punk
FUUUUCCCKKKKK
Try and influence the way you play your instrument with styles used with different instruments.
Early Hendrix was trying to imitate some famous soul singer with his guitar style.
My guitar style is inspired by the drumming techniques of Brant Bjork and Dale Crover.
Practice more.
Do punk, but with the level of technical skill that is found in only the most accomplished jazz players of all history.
Whatever sounds make you feel uncomfortable, dive into them.
>>65045393
But anon, what if the sound of pornography makes me uncomfortable?
>>65039648
implying shrooms arent literally one of the safest drugs you can get if theyre real
You can spend your time drawing arbitrary lines in the sand like this guy >>65039455 or you can stop worrying about what people will consider "unique" and just play what feels effective to play. If you seriously set about playing music a lot, you will start to recognize when you are on point and when you aren't.
Let's consider how dumb it is to worry about being "unique". To verify the quality of being unique, you would need to have heard every single musician, ever.
just be a good musician
