cent dance music or hearing a song that sounds exactly like one of their favorite groups.
This is where we go back and revisit your goals and what you and your band are trying to
accomplish.
When working out your sound, there are a few approaches. One approach is to take
the time to become an educated, accomplished player. Obviously, this is a goal every mu-
sician should strive to reach. A person might be formally educated, self-taught or a com-
bination. They can play all kinds of music and imitate almost any well-known musician,
but actively choose not to do so. They arrange songs, solos, leads and riffs so they ex-
press their musical point-of-view. They add bits of this and that, until it feels right. It’s a
“know it in your gut,” kind of thing. The point is that they have the musical background
and experience to do it and do it right so it becomes something they own. A cover song
isn’t necessarily played note-for-note. It becomes their interpretation of that particular
tune.
Another approach is to not listen to anything else but one’s own music. The idea is to
avoid influences and not become tainted. It’s difficult, at best, to pull this off. Isolation
usually isn’t the best option for a musical career.
Other times, it simply happens by accident or it can be designed, worked on and re-
fined through a conscious effort. Whether you choose to proactively develop a sound or
let it evolve on its own, the idea is to have something unique when all is said and done.
Something that you own, can be identified with you and will resonate with your fans.
Again, it’s often that “in-your-gut,” thing that feels and sounds right with the performer.
Then, those musical accents are repeated in other tunes, ultimately becoming a “style,” or