Defining Your Style

This article first appeared in the Songwriters E-Tip.

One of the biggest and most formative reality checks in my life came when I was sixteen years old. I had signed up to attend a summer program at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and the day my Dad dropped me off I was brimming with excitement. Then I walked in the door and saw hundreds of people with guitars in their hands. I knew plenty of people who played guitar, but I had never seen so many in one room, most of them older than I and probably more experienced. (This turned out to be true, but I also came to learn that summer that being surrounded by more skilled and seasoned musicians is possibly the best training any aspiring player can have). Still, that first image of hundreds of guitars and guitarists stayed with me to this day.

Nashville is like that too, for artists, pickers, and writers....practically everyone you meet is either in music or is close to someone who is. Most of those people are good at what they do, and some of them are great. Some start off mediocre but become great, for the very reason I mentioned before: that being surrounded by excellence will force you to either raise the bar or quit. Personally, I'm an advocate for raising the bar, and every one of my students knows how strongly I believe that. The way to meet a challenge is to rise to it, and Nashville offers opportunities for growth everywhere you turn.

So now we have a large group of driven and talented individuals who are all trying to achieve the same or at least similar goals. With such a large pool to draw from, it's almost inevitable that talent and skill, essential as they are, become less important to success simply because of the laws of supply and demand. When everyone is talented, talent as a commodity is plentiful and therefore devalued. This is why so many people stress the networking aspect of building a career: all other things being equal, the person with the best support team and network of contacts has a tremendous advantage.

But with all that said, there's another factor that sometimes gets overlooked. Throughout the history of popular music, there have been performers and songwriters who achieved great success despite the fact that they may not have been the best singer, player, or songwriter. Few people would call Bob Dylan or Mick Jagger a great singer. The Sex Pistols could barely play their instruments. (Some people would say they couldn't play them at all). But these artists made an impact on popular music....through great songwriting talent (Dylan), great charisma and chemistry with bandmates (Jagger), or such pure audaciousness and conviction as to be undeniable (let's face it, the Pistols were not the first punk band but they may very well have been the first one you heard of).

What all these people have in common – and every iconic artist you probably ever heard of – is that they defined themselves and their music in a unique and compelling way. I can't think of a single career artist that didn't have a SOUND, a vibe and a feeling that made you want to listen. And finding your own sound is the way to stand out from the pack.

Let's start with the fact that we are all individuals and no two of us are alike. When it comes to singing or playing an instrument, even those of us with formal training have come to an accommodation between the ideal we studied and the reality of what works on the gig. It's also worth pointing out that a classically-trained performer, while likely to have excellent technique and control, is not encouraged to develop a singular style...after all, in classical music the composer decides what the music is supposed to sound and feel like. In the popular music world, an individual style becomes essential. So the question is, no matter which path you took to get to where you are today, what can you do to REALLY define who you are as an artist?

I want to point out that I'm using “artist” in the broader sense of the word....a person who creates art in some form. I actually heard someone say once that a particular musician was “an artist NOW” because she had recently signed a record deal. This kind of thinking only discourages creativity and perpetuates the myth of the chosen few, in my opinion. To me, an artist is a person who uses the tools and materials they have been given or developed to create something that touches others. A technically accomplished singer or player becomes an artist when they learn how to place all that ability in the service of expressiveness and creativity. A less accomplished singer or player becomes an artist when they learn to make the most of the limited skills they do possess. The common thread is that in either case, one must evaluate and make choices. Be kind to yourself in these evaluations, but be honest about your strengths and limitations. This is where a good teacher can be a tremendous help, as it's often hard to assess ourselves clearly.

Also keep in mind that these assessments are an ongoing, career-long process. Skills can be honed, new vocabulary and techniques can be learned. This is one of the most beautiful things about a creative life....that an open mind never runs out of possibilities. We might say, then, that we proceed along two tracks at once: assessment of the skills we have and how to best apply them, and assessment and development of the skills we want to improve. Every career artist goes through both these processes, and the ones that remain vital are the ones that never stop doing so. There are, of course, business and logistical factors that come into play as well. For example, an artist may choose to record an album as a soloist because they have concluded they can't afford to tour with a band. But again, the application of artistry is in the choices that follow that decision.

It all comes down to a simple idea that I've brought up in many articles and will continue to hammer away at: as we learn to listen and evaluate, we learn how to grow. As we ask questions we find answers. It's so basic that it's easy to lose sight of as we get more and more involved in the complexities of the business. Here's a simple formula:

1. Identify your strengths.
2. Identify what touches or moves you in the work of others.
3. Emulate, but don't imitate. Allow your limitations to create distinctive traits.
4. Never stop asking questions or working to raise the bar.

If you make this process a part of your regular work in writing, performing, and recording, then your development and growth as a distinctive and singular artist will never stop...and neither will you.