16 Feb
Developing Your Musical Voice
Mastering anything requires practice and dedication. It also demands a disciplined mindset and plenty of persistence. Mastery is a commendable goal, rarely achieved but it is also difficult to define.
Mastery is achieved when the technical challenges have been overcome, the stylistic requirements are fully understood and a command of the instrument has been acquired to a level where a refined ability to express a depth of feeling and individuality has been achieved.
Musical mastery may be one of the primary goals of a serious musician but developing a unique voice is an equally worthy pursuit. Wherever you are on your musical journey you can begin to nurture a distinctive and recognisable musical voice.
Developing our musical individuality is an important part of self expression and communication. Self expression is an intrinsic part of all art forms and of being human. There is beauty in our commonalities but we can also celebrate our remarkable differences as expressive beings. As we become more aware and attuned to the idea of music being a vehicle for self expression we can start to identify more with our own musical personality. We can begin to edit, alter and shape it.
To begin to establish our own voice as musicians we need to be able to recognize, access and project our individuality through our instrument within the structure of our art form. An identifiable sound is something truly worth striving for. The rewards are available to all of us if we just allow ourselves the opportunity. Here is a list of a few simple but effective methods that can help you to start developing your musical identity.
1. Record yourself regularly.
Insight & Development:
There’s nothing quite like recording yourself to help develop your sound. It will reveal elements of your playing that you were not aware of both good and bad. It’s great for your overall development
Enhanced Creativity:
Recording yourself allows you to sift through your ideas and recall the ones that you like. This sifting process heIps you to keep track of the creative process. When was a student I had to borrow a four track tape recorder and batch of cheap microphones to achieve this. Today it’s so easy with smartphones and Ipads there’s really no reason not to do this.
2. When you do something that you like, do it again.
Try to capture ideas that sound good and repeat them. Play them many times so that you can shape, perfect and remember them. You can do this by playing over a song, a chord progression or a loop. This creates a structure for you to work within. It also helps you to focus more easily on the ideas and motifs as they reveal themselves. Alternatively you can simply work on your ideas by yourself with just a click or no backing at all.
3. Construct your own rhythms, fills, beats, short solos and either record them or write them down.
Invention:
Developing a sound requires innovation and invention. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. You can craft your individual sound by consciously constructing your own musical ideas. This is similar to point 2 but now your mission is to create original and meaningful musical excerpts.
Constructing ideas:
Fills, beats and various other short phrases or solos can be constructed note for note to achieve great additions to your original musical arsenal.
4. Listen to other musicians and try to identify what makes them different.
Listening to other musicians is a major part of how we learn to play music because music is an aural experience. Absorbing the musical language of others helps us to build our style and originality. It is a pathway to stylistic recognition and can spark ideas about how you want to sound. It will also help you to refine your listening skills.
5. Emulate other musicians.
Emulating other musicians is an essential part of your musical development. Copying allows you to understand what other musicians do. You can rework the ideas into something more original. As you advance you will be more able to capture the essence of players that you admire whilst maintaining your individuality.
6. Don’t be afraid to come up with bad ideas.
Playing bad ideas isn’t the most enjoyable experience but its essential. Sounding bad is part of the process of your deveopment as a musician. Bad ideas will pave the way for the better ideas. It’s a bit like sifting through garbage to find the gems. Sometimes you won’t find anything but other times you will strike gold. Good ideas can be crafted in the same way a sculpture is carved from a lump of wood. You can start with a rough piece of material and gradually chip away at until you reveal the hidden form. You need to allow your ideas time to shape themselves.
7. Only play what you hear.
Playing only what you hear means allowing your musical mind to dictate your ideas. This also means that you will start making a direct connection between what you think musically and what you express on your instrument. If you play what you hear when you play in a group your ideas will relate more musically to what they are playing.
8. Learn to relax and focus
Staying relaxed and focused can be hard to do. The fact is that the more relaxed you are the more in control you will feel and the clearer your mind will be. Being free from tension and staying focused is essential to getting the best out of your abilities. This allows you to stay in the moment without distractions. It will also enable a more enjoyable experience..
9. Play along to recorded music
This is one of the most important things that you can do. Playing to music will enhance your overall musicianship and your individual voice. Additionally this gives you a ready made and realistic format within which to practise your instrument. It can also help you to absorb some of the important characteristics of your favourite musicians into your own playing.
10. Playing with people.
There is nothing quite like playing music with real people. Aside from the joy of creating music with others it is the perfect opportunity to put your musical skills into action. Interacting and responding to other musicians whether it’s a highly arranged song or a more improvisational setting creates the vehicle for your musicality to reveal itself.