How The Pros Use Curation To Develop Their Style
Music creators — whether you are an artist, songwriter, musician, or producer. — a common challenge that we face is refining our songwriting skills and developing a unique style.
After 8 years in the music scene, I understand the struggle.
The latest trends can seem cool, but there's always pressure to stand out. It's a constant battle between blending in and being unique!
Many music creators exhaust themselves in the pursuit of their unique sound, which is unfortunate because the process can be simpler. A valuable tool lies at your fingertips, likely underutilized, and I will explain its significance shortly.
To improve your music creation process and refine your unique sound, you've already done the first important step - Curation.
Your personal playlist is the best place to look when figuring out your sonic identity or refining your music-making skills. Why? It reflects your unique taste in music on a micro level. In other words, this music catalog contains many elements that you would get inspired by in your music. It's your sonic moodboard.
Today, I'm sharing what to extract from your playlist and straightforward tips on how to access the power it contains. The goal is to help you skyrocket your songwriting skills while developing your unique style.
Let’s dive in.
How To Listen
Here are some of the things that a playlist can teach you about yourself:
Desired rhythms
Songwriting styles
Favorite instruments
Favorite tonal environments
Favorite arrangement techniques
Chord progressions that you enjoy
Distinct styles of instrument playing
2 Easy Steps to Leverage Your Playlist
1) Take notes on different songs using the list above as a reference for things to listen to.
2) Take different elements from your list and combine them to come up with new ideas for yourself.
By following this 2-step process, you'll internalize musical tools for creation while actively using them to generate many new and interesting ideas.
Why This Approach Works
These tips aren’t just pointless activities that I came up with —they’re actions taken by music icons such as Mark Ronson, J Dilla, and QuestLove.
Your playlist is an endless source of inspiration. Embrace this practice to enrich your artistic journey without feeling overwhelmed.
Happy creating!
🧠 Quote of the week
"The most creative people are both making things and curating them." - Creative Quest by Questlove
📔 Book of the week
"Deconstructed Hits - Modern Pop and Hip Hop" by Bobby Owsinski. This a fantastic book. It breaks down the production, arrangement, and songwriting techniques that power some of the biggest pop and hip-hop hits. The analysis in this book is very informative and it teaches you how to analyze songs.
That's all for this week,
Melvin Darrell
