General Music Chat

I don't know what style of music I play.

On my page I posted a sample of compilation from 11 of my songs, on one mp3 download.
The 1st song is the sampler - I have full versions of other songs posted, (which I'll be deleting; . . . last chance).
Each song is a different style of music. 11 songs: 11 STYLES of music.
. . . I can guess on half of them . . .
.
Thanks, people.
.
BTW, a quick way to get to a profile is to right click the picture at the left, and select "open in a new window."

Hey!!
I took a listen. Nice compilation. I've heard a few of the songs before as you know, but you did a good job of placing them together to flow.
Keep up the great work!!

Nice songs. The compilation idea is great. I'm sure lot's of people only listen to one or two songs of a profile and might not get to here an artists diversity. Your format is more like a true demo.

Style? I'd call it folk music. Folk music borrows from many styles but I would rarely call a jazzy folk song jazz or a bluesey folk song blues. If a songwriter or group played primarily bluesey folk songs I'd probably call it folk blues but when the style is more eclectic the straight up term "folk" seems more appropriate. To me the term rock implies a drumkit or at least some hard driving percussion of some sort. I don't hear that in your tunes. If I walked into a club and listened to those 11 tunes I'd describe you to someone as folk music. That's just me. I'm not trying to define those musical styles in any kind of absolute terms. It's just my perception and definition.

One thing I've learned though is it is beneficial in the music business to have a clear genre to refer to for promotional purposes. Without it clubowners, radio people, booking agents and labels won't know what to do with you. You can push and bend the boundaries of that genre and play your own style but giving everyone a starting point makes your life much easier.

My band in the late eighties and early nineties didn't fit any genre but we went with folk which was definately part of what we did. It opened many doors and suddenly they knew what radio program to put us on and we landed a booking agent that worked with folk groups and we showcased at the Folk Alliance and so on. Now we still played our blues and we still played our gospel. We did what we wanted but choosing to call it something simple helped us achieve more sucsess rhan when we were too broad in our description of ourselves.

There are exceptions and you can defy catogorization and still get gigs. I'm just saying in my experience it makes things harder.

Sorry I was so long winded

Jon

J.R; thanks.
J.N.; good points.
You saw my quandry . . .

If you classify your music as blues, then people who don't like blues probably wouldn't give you a listen. Why not say "here's my music, do you like it?" Even though I'm mainly a bluesman I don't like being categorized as anything. It's sort of like being labeled as a conservative or liberal, it immediately gets a negative response from some people. Later...

If you classify your music as blues, then people who don't like blues probably wouldn't give you a listen. Why not say "here's my music, do you like it?" Even though I'm mainly a bluesman I don't like being categorized as anything. It's sort of like being labeled as a conservative or liberal, it immediately gets a negative response from some people. Later...

I would go along with that. Sometimes classification is not helpful I would imagine. I have gone to listen to a band and see their genre and turn away from it thinking it is not going to be any good. But, when I went to listen to it I found it very good. So, until a record label company grabs you, you may not want to be labeled as blues, folk, heavy metal, alternative, etc...

Sometimes you can't open a door without closing a window.

Yeah, you can't get to 2nd base if you keep one foot on first.
.
When Billy Ray Cyrus tried to get a record deal in Nashville, they said "No. You sound too much like Rock."
He moved out to LA, and tried to get a record deal, and kept hearing, "No, you sound too much like Country."
Well, hell!
He finally got a record deal, as . . himself . . .
.
If you want to sell your songs, you have to market them to the right audience.
Maybe I can market some of my songs as folk, but certainly not all of them . . . I have some songs that shuffle, some that are almost acid (on an acoustic guitar, no less), blues, jazz, whatever . . . some styles of song (like Jaunty Boy) are just plain, well, . . . new . . . different . . .
I like so many very different styles, that I think I'll have to separate them when it comes time to market an album. . . . I have enough songs for 4 albums, btw . . .
When I write a song, if it starts to sound like anything I've heard before, then I change it.
Go to an open mike - you'll hear 10 songs played with G, D, & C.
That's ok for a singer, I guess; but I'm a musician who wants his music to stand on it's own; no vocals, just instrumentals.
I can hear it now, "Yeah - a one man show, and he doesn't even sing?"
Say what you believe, but I've always got a great response playing solo instrumentals.
Yeah, I admit it's not what I had planned on. But I can't find anyone qualified, available, and close enough . . . to join me . . .
On Bandmix I found one bass player; but he lives too far . . .
Everyone else has an excuse . . . you guys know what it's like . . . but it's worse for me, because I'm apparently asking too much of other musicians . . .
s'ok . . .
So - I'm a solo instrumentalist . . .
When I play out, I play only originals, and with no 2 songs being the same style.
I choose the song order/stlye very, very carefully, however . . .
Folk, 'new,' funk, 'new,' 'jazz,' 'new,' rock, boogie . . . whatever.
And people always come up to me afterwards to shake my hand, and say it's refreshing to hear some new stuff, and all . . . whatever . . .
Ok, that's all very well and fine, but . . .
. . . but, when it comes time for these same people to BUY music . . . damn!
What category would they FIND me under?
.
I don't know that there's really a solution here, other than my becoming more prolific, and lumping categories together.
. . .
I am appreciating your input, people.
It's a real big job for one guy . . .
Listen to my songs - I play both the guitar, and the bass. And I do the drum track (when there is one) . . .
Usually, the tracks are kind-of complicated . . . not always, but usually . . . and I do all the recording and mixing . . .
.
. . .yeah . . . it's a lot of work . . . and I don't look like a male model, so I don't have the 'proper image.'
Sheeeee-it.
Some days I just feel like saying 'the hell with it."
But - then, within 2 weeks, I'm playing 2 more brand-new songs . . .
.
I guess I'm only in it for the music, nothing else; and I guess I'm here to stay . . . no matter what 'my style' is . . .

Yeah, I can see why it must be hard man. Finding the right people to gig with is extremely frustrating I would assume. I joined another site when I joined this one, contacted like 10 people in my area. Not one replied. So, it must be a pain in the ass. People are also too picky, so that is a bad combination.

Look though, just stick to playing how you prefer. If we start doing things to please the rest of this world we lose the reason why we became musicians in the first place... That reason is because we love the music we make. You have it hard, I can see that. But, look, if people are coming up to you and saying they love your stuff even though you are a solo musician, then stick to it for now.

Whatever you choose to do with your music career, I wish you luck. Good luck RhythmMan_BluesRockFold.

Peace out, GuitarAnatomy.

That's way cool. Keep doing it AND create some CD's and SELL THEM at your gigs. What a great thing, you don't have to rely on bandmates who get drunk or don't show up. I assume you're enjoying these solo gigs or you wouldn't do them. I think you're on the right track. Don't worry about classifying yourself, you'll eventually have a much broader audience anyway. Keep it up. Later...

Guitaranatomy, Thanks.
For the record, you might want to keep track of the # of contacts you initiate, the # of contacts you converse with AFTER the 1st email, and the # of contacts you meet. You'll see a pattern . . .
On-line; it can take forever. There's a big percentage of people on-line who talk the talk, but when it comes time to meet and put it on the line, all the excuses start flowing.
I've been hitting open mikes in search of talent for the last few months. I have ment some pretty good candidates. I know they're not just talking about it; - and I can tell ahead of time exactly how good they are . . . The trick is to find one who lives close enough, who is confident enough, and who is ready to commit to your style(s) of music.
. . . it's been harder for me, because I need individuals with a wider range and depth of experience. Strangely enough, it appears as if most people are not confident enough. They're not willing to make mistakes in order to learn.
My ratio of email contacts, to meeting them, are about 1 - 14. For every 14 musicians who say they're interested, I only meet about 1.
I have had a few hundred initial email contacts (with & without replies) over the last 3 years or so . . . I have actually met and played with about 15 musicians and female vocalists in the last 3 years.
Consider yourself lucky if you meet one out of 12 . . .
.
fisherman bob,
Yeah, I don't have to rely on bandmates, all right . . . but it sure would be nice to have a bass player with me who could play the other half of the songs I'm playing, People are only hearing 1/2 the song . . . Many of my songs are written with a real 'interesting' bass-line. Take that bass away, and the remaining guitar-part still stands on it's own . . . usually. If the guitar won't stand on it's own as an instrumental, then - the song has to stay home . . . .
And yeah, the gigs are ok.
When it comes to playing out, though, I don't have any personal need for recognition, though.
I have zero need to be idolized. What 'does it' for me is to see how happy the people become when they hear the songs . . .
I'd like to spread more of those good-feelings; this world needs more of that . . .

Guitaranatomy, Thanks.
For the record, you might want to keep track of the # of contacts you initiate, the # of contacts you converse with AFTER the 1st email, and the # of contacts you meet. You'll see a pattern . . .
On-line; it can take forever. There's a big percentage of people on-line who talk the talk, but when it comes time to meet and put it on the line, all the excuses start flowing.
I've been hitting open mikes in search of talent for the last few months. I have ment some pretty good candidates. I know they're not just talking about it; - and I can tell ahead of time exactly how good they are . . . The trick is to find one who lives close enough, who is confident enough, and who is ready to commit to your style(s) of music.
. . . it's been harder for me, because I need individuals with a wider range and depth of experience. Strangely enough, it appears as if most people are not confident enough. They're not willing to make mistakes in order to learn.
My ratio of email contacts, to meeting them, are about 1 - 14. For every 14 musicians who say they're interested, I only meet about 1.
I have had a few hundred initial email contacts (with & without replies) over the last 3 years or so . . . I have actually met and played with about 15 musicians and female vocalists in the last 3 years.
Consider yourself lucky if you meet one out of 12 . . .

Yeah, I can see what you mean. Well, I have contacted 10 so far, so maybe if I do another two that 1 out of 12 will appear! Or I will just stay the sad, lonely, young musician of South Florida.

But - we're different.
You're concentrating on metal, while I do 50 styles . . .
Also, check the ads - I don't know about your local area, but most ads around here are for metal, punk, and 'screamo.'
.
Your success rate should be a lot higher than mine.

I can do that. Thanks.