How to Find Your Sound As An Artist (14 moves)
Whether you believe it or not, you’re unique. You’re different. You have an artist identity and a unique sound. Your vibe is yours and no one else can replicate that.
But sometimes, it’s hard to see it — or rather, it’s hard to hear it. But trust me, unless you’re an AI, it’s there.
So this is my guide on how to find your sound as an artist.
Now let’s do this!
Is Music Ever Truly Original?
“Good artists copy; great artists steal.”
Your originality has its sources in others who came before you.
But that doesn’t mean we’re all just running around stealing each other’s umami. You always add your own twist (naturally…eventually).
Because even the way you cover a song is subtly different.
Still, things gets muddy. We believe artistic mastery and innovation require complete uniqueness and originality. Otherwise, we’re some type of creative fraud.
But the truth is, we’re always building off of someone else’s work, furthering the collective story. We’re adding our character to the plot and connecting new dots in new ways.
We’re writing followup chapters to books that came before us.
You may start a new story. But retelling an old one in a new way is cool too.
And like that paradox about the chicken and the egg, it’s hard to tell who was first sometimes.
But at the end of the creative day, I say who cares.
Chances are, you’re more original than you realize. And if not, it’s just part of the exciting journey of discovering your musical authenticity.
Find Your Artist Sound (14 kick-ass tips)
1. Start With You
Who are you? Describe each of these aspects of yourself:
Personality
Habits
Beliefs
Social circles
Passions
Skills
Experiences
Once you have a little more clarity about yourself, you can expand things into your creative life.
So, who are you as an artist? Consider these questions:
Who are your influences and why?
How would I describe my sound?
What’s one unique aspect of my sound?
How do I want to be perceived?
How do my personality, habits, beliefs, social circle, passions, skills and experiences influence my sound?
Artistic self awareness is the ability to honestly know yourself and your goals with clarity and confidence.
It takes some patience, but it’s worth it. Everything starts and ends with you.
Explore more:
➤ Find Your Artist Identity
2. Think Beyond Sound
“What makes you unique as an artist isn’t always about your sound.”
The things that make us different (outside of music) can be what makes us sound different.
For example, I like to travel. So using travel themes or sounds are one way I like to define my unique sound.
The trick is in figuring out how to translate your unique interests or quirks into musical points of interest.
So what parts of your life could you turn into sounds, stories or musical elements?
Think beyond and discover unique ways to craft your sonic profile.
3. Lean Into Your Strengths
Your authentic sound as an artist is a reflection of many things. But your strengths play a big role.
The things you do best come easily and are more likely to put you in a creative flow state. It’s in this sweet spot where discovering your sound gets easier.
So play to your strengths and outsource your weaknesses (or schedule daily practice time to get better).
Your strengths can be natural proclivities, which are connected to your unique sound as an artist.
4. Pay Attention to Spontaneity
Musical spontaneity is a precursor to flow state and a hint about what comes natural for you — what makes you different.
I think most of my favorite songs were when I was lost in the moment and I stumbled onto it randomly.
This may seem like a haphazard strategy (stumbling around until you find a good melody), but this is a pretty common songwriting strategy and a great way to discover your sound.
And one way to tap into this is by embracing spontaneity. That requires taking swift action when inspiration strikes.
It’s not always possible (if you’re work or school or driving, for example), but don’t let these moment pass without at least recording a voice memo of ideas.
Spontaneity has amazing things if you act on it.
5. Tinker
Finding your sound as an artist requires testing and exploration — so tinker.
Play around and test everything without judgment. Pay attention to what resonates with you — double down on those things.
And when I say tinker, I mean going way beyond your main instrument.
We have access to endless free sound libraries, digital instruments, plugins and effects — we can create any sound imaginable.
So be a musical explorer and stay curious. Play around with new tools and software and plugins. Find strange sounds and unique instruments.
Discover your voice through experimentation.
6. Create (at scale)
“The more you make music, the more you’ll discover what your unique sound is. It’s only natural.”
Songwriting at scale is the way to get better and develop your sound.
This follows the quantity over quality principle — creating a high volume of things makes you better and improves your chances of creating something epic.
Plus, when you focus on volume, you stress less about quality (or finding your sound) and are more likely to relax and just have fun.
Creating at scale can show you songwriting patterns, habits and tendencies about your style. These are hints about your sonic profile.
So make lots of stuff and forget about quality (or finishing). Just see what comes out. Then step away and review everything.
7. Listen to New Artists
New art creates new inspiration. So expand your playlists.
As musicians, we’re constantly borrowing ideas from other artists. We listen more actively and feel creatively energized.
New music inspires new ideas and motivation.
This fresh motivation is the perfect ingredient for discovering or fine-tuning your own sound.
For example, you know when you’re listening to a song and you can’t help but think “I would've done that part differently…”
That’s a hint about your unique sound and style. This happens more often when listening to new artists since you’ve don’t know the artist’s style or M.O.
So find to new musicians and pay attention to how they affect you and the ideas they inspire.
8. Take A Music Detox
On the opposite side of listening to more music, try listening to no music.
Stepping away adds clarity and boosts creativity.
Every time I take break from guitar or songwriting (even just a few days), I come back with a ton of fresh ideas, renewed energy and a spark that wasn’t there before.
You can use this to work on your unique sound.
Detoxing from music gives you objectivity. It’s like resetting your songwriting habits back to their default state — you know, who you are as an artist without social media and external influences.
It’s hard to find your sound when your voice is being drowned out by trends, algorithms and ‘best practices’.
So step away and forget about it all. Enjoy some silence and let your brain and subconscious reset itself.
When you come back, see what comes out.
9. Sharpen Your Intuition Skills
Musical intuition is the ability to listen to your gut and instincts when writing. It requires a heightened sense of self and present awareness.
As humans, we’re naturally intuitive. But it’s like a muscle that needs to be exercised. I think most artists practice intuition naturally, but adding some more intention to things helps a lot.
Your intuition is your authenticity. So you can use it to better understand your natural sound as an artist.
Here are a few ways I like to hone my musical intuition:
Meditation
Journaling
Staying aware
Practice mindfulness
Explore more:
➤ How to do Intuitive Songwriting
10. Try to Be Someone Else (+ fail)
“Failing at trying to be someone else is a fantastic way to discover who you are as an artist…”
It’s really hard to copy someone 100% without adding your own style into the mix. So copying another artist (but failing at it) is an awesome way to uncover what makes you different.
For this, you can do cover songs or try recreating your favorite songs as a full production (trying to be as close as possible to the original song).
Or, you can try finishing a song you’ve never heard before. Here, you can listen to the intro and first verse, but then hit pause.
Then, finish the song in your own way.
Once you’ve finished writing your version of the song, go back and listen to the rest of the song. Compare the two versions and take note of what stands out as unique and jarringly different.
This can be a clue to your unique sound.
11. Visualize It
Visualization can be incredibly useful. There’s even research showing the power of mental practice in music.
Our mind’s ability to mentally practice music and visualize finished products can help us create better and higher quality projects.
So imagine your goals and who you want to be as a musical artist. What are you wearing? Where are you playing shows? Who are you collabing with?
And most importantly, what do you sound like?
Now create that future image.
12. Take More Creative Risks
Creativity isn’t always pretty, smooth or comfortable.
It requires vulnerability and tinkering. And epic creative works usually require a little bit of risk-taking. The confidence to go against the grain, break some rules and look awkward is a skill.
So take risks. Try new things. And get uncomfortable. You never know what you’ll discover.
You just might stumble upon that unique sound you’ve looking for.
Explore more:
➤ How to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
13. Get Feedback
We don’t always see (or hear) what’s right in front of us. So outside feedback can help a lot.
Feedback can be painful, but also eye opening. It’s always surprising to hear how people perceive my own music and creative projects.
It can add a lot of clarity and inspiration for how you sound to others and what aspects you should double down on.
So share your music and ask for feedback from different people.
Of course, at the end of the day, do what you want, but fresh insights can definitely help you develop your sound profile.
14. Gamify Your Songwriting
“Gamification adds gaming elements (like challenges and rewards) to your songwriting. And it works.”
Gamification is an awesome way to build new skills, improve your discipline and grow as an artist.
I did a daily songwriting challenge in 2023 and it definitely helped me (re)discover my sound and become more self aware about who I am as a musician.
There are tons of songwriting challenges too.
For example, you can:
Do a songwriting challenge
Turning a harsh sound into a soothing banger
Use a timer to add urgency
Use an instrument you’ve never used before
Remember, if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.
Later ✌️
You have a unique sound as an artist. You just need to discover it.
We naturally infuse our personalities, experiences and style into the music we make. With practice and intention, you’ll inevitably find your voice.
But in the meantime, you can speed things along by listening to new artists, creating at scale, experimenting and becoming more intuitive and self aware.
Just stay patient though. As long as you keep showing up, you’ll find your voice.
