BEING DIFFERENT WITH YOUR MUSIC

Music is one of the most powerful things ever created! Contained within it are precise boundaries as well as limitless possibilities that work together simultaneously. I’m excited already but to stay focused on today’s topic, we will take a look at what this has to do with you being free in music and not bound! Now some of you may be thinking…..”What do you mean bound, I am free! I create the music I wanna when I wanna and how I wanna!”, but please, before you x out the tab, let me explain. Now first off I’ll say that I am fully aware that this article may not be for everybody, but the concepts in it are good for even the most confident artists to keep in mind. So, if you think you stand, then take heed lest you fall! Lol….”for real tho”…. See, there are so many people making great music, but the real them is waiting yet to be heard! This is true for even the most renown artists who have huge record deals. Others have learned various genres to the T and that is OK. However, with all of they have attained mastering various styles (Jazz, EDM, Trap, or whatever) they have yet to develop their own way of approaching music! Remember, the innovative minds that pioneered the various genres where people who swam upstream and did something different! They used what skills they had, conquering their insecurities (at least enough to step out) and many of the classic sounds we love today have been engraved into not only history, but our lives. They chose to be different! Are you struggling to find your sound? Have you been a carbon copy cat of all the producers and artists you have heard on the radio or You Tube? Are you trying way too hard to be yourself with how you make music? Well then I wrote this for you. Let’s look at a few things.

When it comes to our own music, we often tend to look to what is trending in the mainstream for inspiration. I’m not saying all trends are bad but they have their pros and cons. On one hand you can learn a lot about songwriting, song structure, beat composition, mix approaches, audio quality, what is trending, and the list goes on. However, one other hand this rush of information and the awe we are left in after listening can leave us feeling discouraged about our own music. We often don’t know how to take what we have learned and apply it without conforming to something that is not truly us! We become victims of the trend whether old or new! Trends and fads change daily, so here are somethings to ask yourself, “Have I become a victim of the trends I see and hear every day? Have I been pressured by a trend to compromise who I was created to be? Am I in jail inside myself musically? Am I afraid EVERYONE will reject the real me because SOME people in my life feel I’m corny or won’t make it?” Oh and two more,” Does following the trend actually have me trending?” Here’s the biggie! When the trend changes will you be left behind until you, “Get with da timez again bruh or guuuurl?” This is pure torment and in my opinion, these are some ways that both music and people are being seriously abused by what I call the trend expectation! Break free in Yashuah (Jesus) name!!!!!!!

There are so many people who are trying so hard to be different in their music. Others don’t know what sound fits them yet, so they explore. This can be ok for a while at first and maybe even periodically to progress or even totally reinvent your sound. See, trends happen, they will continue to come and go in one way or another. However, there is a way to stay relevantly fresh and still be unique! However, if money and mere acceptance is your focus, then you will not TRULY fulfill your purpose, because you cannot please everyone! Also, people who prostitute their gift lose in the end! In the END! Any success from compromise will last only for a season whether that season be short or long. I have learned it is important to check your motives? It is ok to make a living, but an honest one is best. So, why dishonestly set goals to be like anyone else? Is it too hard to be different? Well, I got news for ya if this is your struggle! Here is the secret!

"YOU DON’T HAVE TO TRY SO HARD TO BE DIFFERENT………WHY?......BECAUSE……….. YOU ALREADY ARE DIFFERENT!"

Yes, you already are, you were created by GOD Himself that way and He wants to delight in what He originally created! I’m an advocate for learning new things and diving deep into the intricacies of your craft. At the same time, I had to learn through the years by many mistakes that sometime we search all over life looking for something that is already right within us! We waste time, tap out resources and even destroy relationships chasing a sound that is already in us. We often have heard it but WON’T thankfully embrace it. See, this is not the music’s issue, it is an issue of the mind and soul! Yes it is already in you! Sometimes we never connect with those things that are within us because we fail to acknowledge and connect to the One Who created us. That’s right you already are different and there are people waiting to hear what you have to say and play! Dare to be different! No need to follow every trend. First you must be patient with yourself and learn about what God placed in you. No need to be hasty. Take the time to invest life into this that way when a trend or trial arises you won’t be flustered or easily moved. Your music is the sound of your life seen or unseen. Music changes because our lives do, just let it be a natural transformation when yours does. Maybe you will be the next one to come forth with an innovation that inspires us all, who knows, anything can happen, right? I hope this article has helped you in some way. If so, please feel free to join our mailing list. I would be happy to hear from you as well. Thank you for your time.