Forget About DEFINING YOUR SOUND!

[Shonsteez]

I say forget about trying to define your sound or your style....and instead continue to EXPERIMENT and GROW.

I figure regardless of what tha hell you do with your beats - your still gonna project "YOUR OWN SOUND"...even if your not trying to. So!!... why not keep tryin new things instead of always using that exact same drum kit every time!?...Or that exact same synth every time!?
Instead keep diggin in tha crates or what ever it is that you dig into and pry somethin out that you didnt tha last time, and just roll with it....I bet you that ish will be hot even if you dont know it yet!

How do yall feel about this?




Steezo

 

[Ominous]

Shiiiiiit....I'm to new at this to even say I have a style : )

Everytime I do something its pretty much new for me. I feel you on that one Duece. A lot of people can't handle that though. Take Outkast for example. Andre's always changing, but some people ain't trying to hear it.

 

[Shonsteez]

Funny you said that.
Thats a good example, since it does basically coincide with my topic.

Thats a great example actaully...For instance, I personally have heard tha new outkast and initially thought it was shit. But then i realized that its just on some other shit that i wasnt specifically lookin to expect from our favorite well known outkast crew. I wanted to hear that 'southernplayalistic' type shit, but thats obviously not they were goin for with that one........Point is - AFTER GIVING IT A CHANCE I REALIZED IT WAS ACTUALLY PRETTY GOOD....Furthermore, tha whole album was done quite well and has alot potential - just on a different tip.
Whats really awsome though is that they tried to experiment and do something else with their talent and show their versatility. I personally dont think that this album in any way alters what tha outkast represent either, or for that matter changes who they are, or make them WACK....NO, as a matter a fact i think it makes them BETTER.

 

[Equality 7-2521]

amen to every single thing you wrote in your original post Deuce.

i have been having problems not so much with degfining my sound but moreso defining my methods...so that i can bang out high quality beats quickly and efficiently, without being restricted

word

 

[dacalion]

I can't say that I liked their latest album but I'm NO fan of the dirty south style in general, however I agree with you 100% on simply being yourself and trying new things. I like the idea of defining a certain style (having a particular sound that identifies yourself) but not using the same drum kits, instruments and so on over and over.

--dac

 

[bigdmakintrax]

Well as far as I can say one man's hip hop music isn't always the next man's, if you dig what I say......the genre of hip hop kind of got out of control the last 7or so years with everything that has a beat getting put into the Hip Hop genre....that's what has diluted the craft...but you are right you have to continually experiment with your sounds and techniques, that's how music evolves, the hottest producers have a certain uniqueness in what they do, but all in all you can bet that they have borrowed something that came b4 and had an influential producer and style that they may have tried to emulate but ended up with something hot and new!

 

[berserk]

I'm always using new drum kits, But sometimes i'm samplin the same cd's/tapes/vinyls... Apart from that... I can still tell that the shit is by me... If you understand what I'm saying...

 

[Cold Truth]

wel, as for me.... and i think m ymusic speaks for itself for those that have heard more than a few tracks...

but i think that i continue to break my own molds and just make what i make, because although i have a general approach that i take, i do a lot of different things with my beats, and i am not to concerned with me defining my sound; my sound defines itself, really..... and i think the same can be said for a lot you guys in here. sometimes i use the same sounds. sometimes i dont........

i think innovating has taken to much focus on just making dope music, personally. if its good, its good. period. wether you are reinventing the wheel or adding your own twist to a sound thats already been established, if its good...... its good....... period, end of story.

i dont care if the drum kit is the same, i dont care if that pattern sticks to the usual, straight forward pattern, if it sounds good, make it. i dont care if i am innovative or coming up with that "next" music, i just want to put out quality. what about rock artists? they use the same guitars and basses throught...jazz artists? they use the same horns and pianos and clarinets....... and guess what? they make new music each and every time. the reason being that they have mastered the instrument, not vice versa....

basically, i am just giving my yin to deuces yang, not opposing what he siad, so dont twist it up.... because i agree. but dont forget that good music is good music, period. and thats the truth.

 

[afriquedeluxe]

am wit u on dat 1ne truth. rock music been wit dis distorted guitar 4 time n dey still makin dope music. dis new stuff dats comin out (missy's new album- beats wit hardly ne melodies jus percussion), i aint sure am feelin it, but it mite grow on me. i jus dont feel dis new stuff as much as i feel da stuff say on alicia keys' new album (dat harlem nocturne trck).
i mean bringin new styles out is gd, but i wudnt make a wack beat jus cuz am bringin out sum nxt level originality, i mean id ratha make a dope beat doin wat i usually do , as long as it was nice. dnt get me wrng i do xperiment n dat but if its wack i drop it.

 

[Shonsteez]

As for what you said Truth...I feel that your totally right about if its dope and sounds good, then leave it alone.
Im glad you shined light on tha opposite view.
I just wanted to emphasize on how you shouldnt always feel constricted to only use a limited amount of sounds - and instead try others as well on top of tha ones that already exist, or for that matter - replace them and see what happens.
I dont think theres any way to literally disect tha skelaton of hiphop though - just tha same as rock music.
for example: Hiphop - primarly has evolved from tha kick and snare "boom-bap", some times accompanied by hihats.

I dont think that will ever change though - I think it really cant actually.
Without those simple elements you wouldnt have that traditional crack of tha snare or that deep 808 kick....You obviously need these things for tha most part - its just that you can alway vary what constitutes tha source of these sounds....................Like instead of using that same snare try using another sound thats an equivalant but works to your advantage.........or instead, simply filter tha shit out of that same snare until you arrive at as happy medium.

 

[J-malice]

Originally posted by DueceMade Ent.

I dont think theres any way to literally disect tha skelaton of hiphop though - just tha same as rock music.
for example: Hiphop - primarly has evolved from tha kick and snare "boom-bap", some times accompanied by hihats.

I dont think that will ever change though - I think it really cant actually.
Without those simple elements you wouldnt have that traditional crack of tha snare or that deep 808 kick

o i think its real possible, all it takes is for a big name producer like kayne west, just blaze neptunes, tim to change it up, and get someon like jay-z to flow on it...and there you go hip hop has just officially changed. why? because most of the "average listeners a.k.a. the fans" (the biggest part i hip hop) just ride bandwaggons and follow the Big names. "if its the neptunes then its tite, which is usually tru, but still yall get the point.

 

[Shonsteez]

Good point Malice...

If it werent for tha heavies in tha game things wouldnt be able to change - or at least to tha extent of EFFECTING THA MASSES.

Things can always continue to change on tha under - just not as fast and not nearly as effectively in tha marketing aspect.



Steeze

 

[Equality 7-2521]

good discussion

i just found out what "boom-bap" means lol.

 

[Shonsteez]

Right on MEss...Im glad you found it insightful

 

[berserk]

I think what afrique said had a lot of truth... Lol so did Truth Told... And also J-Malice... Good thread...

 

[Formant024]

I say forget about trying to define your sound or your style....and instead continue to EXPERIMENT and GROW.

Doesn't experimenting lead to growing, thus defining your sound, regardless of what style during the process of discovering music ?
Which actualy just means the same as defining your sound.

 

[Shonsteez]

Ok thats why i said this...

I figure regardless of what tha hell you do with your beats - your still gonna project "YOUR OWN SOUND"...even if your not trying to.

Its really more hypothetical as to making a point of NOT LIMITING yourself to only a certain realm of sounds - NOT specifically that you shouldnt discover what makes you tick musically - more so just that, thats tha point of experimenting and trying new things...you can only improve and get better, as well as expand your musical palet.

Doesn't experimenting lead to growing, thus defining your sound, regardless of what style during the process of discovering music ?

This quote is exactly my point of this thread.

 

[Bigfatheadmole]

as long as i like it and my audience likes it... thats what matters

 

[Shonsteez]

Even though this is starting to stray from tha initial topic now - In retort to your last comment:

I see it in quite tha OPPOSITE way.

I DO care what my audience thinks and if they like what i produce,
but I DONT do it for them - I do it for me. Thats where my music starts...
I do it for me with tha objectivity of me as tha listener - and then i worry about small things like that later.
If people feel me - DOPE....If they dont I aint trippin cuz this music is for me not them in all reality.

 

[Formant024]

Same here, I create what I like and that being influenced by what I've encountered recently in the works or in the field. So I'd be working on flamenco trax with my dad and going to the Jazz sessions at night, with D&B parties in sight for the weeknd. Now what the hell am I going to produce on Sunday? Something that the people would like to hear ? I think after mashing my brains through a few events I don't really care what the audience would like to hear. Mostly I define the target audience after completing a track in order to say if I made it " for them ". I consider it all a personal voyage dedicated to me and my ego and that's as far as I could call myself arrogant. Screw the audience hehe