I always meet people who insist on isolating themselves to only one or two genres of music. Then they wonder why their playing is so bland.

What they don’t know is this: opening up to every genre of music possible is one of the most beneficial things you could ever do for yourself as a musician.

Now let me make something clear. This DOES NOT mean that you have to love every genre of music. However,  doing so would make the value from it extract much easier for you. What this DOES mean, on the other hand is that you can reach into your creativity and find things in even the most degraded genres of music that can give you the most original elements to your playing. Maybe we’re talking about that style of rhythm you’ve been looking for all along, or even that combination of melodies and lyrical ideas that take your music to a whole new level.

Over the years, I have been exposed to a number of genre’s and have found things within each of them that I can appreciate and relate to in one way or another. In this way, I have allowed myself to implement these things from each genre into my own ideas and form my sound into something more customized and unique.

For now, I am only going to mention the three most general and well-known genre’s out there. In the future, you can expect more elaboration with ideas of how to take  more specific sub-genre’s and even foreign genre’s and extract abundant value from them for your own sound.

Rock

For someone such a guitarist, rock is usually the root of  inspiration.  However, for those who write for other genre’s such as pop and rap, rock can be a main source or an alterior source of musical ideas.

There have been many songs under rap and pop that have made it strait to the top of the charts because of certain very catchy elements taken from rock.

If country is what you play, then rock is definitely a suggested source for play since country is naturally rooted in rock and blues. Some of the most popular rock songs ever released have taken notes from rap, pop, and even country. Take Linkin Park for instance. There is no secret to why they became as successful as they did in the world of music.

Rap

Rap is usually a very controversial topic when it comes to how much value can be derived from it. People who do not listen to rap will naturally say it is a very degraded, useless and music-less genre. However, after the exposure I have had around various rap artists, I have discovered what makes certain songs in rap void of value and what elements make other songs an a real inspiration to the world of music as a whole.

Rap is often described by an absence of all music elements except beat, bass, and lyrics that give the listener nothing new than what they’ve already heard from a dozen other songs. There is nothing special about the rhythm and beat, and the bass is too low to even make out unless your bumping with just the right system.

What I have discovered out of the better songs are  elements such as piano melody, guitars, violens, and some  simple background chorus, combined with lyrics that actually get the listener to ponder about themselves and/or society from a perspective that has not yet been taken.

Think about what rap songs you have heard that hold each of these characteristics. What rap songs have you heard that take pages from the sounds of rock? What about from country? What if rap more often took these elements and used them? What if they not only used them but actually evolved how they used them to create a whole new sound and angle to the message their songs give?

Country

The most valuable aspect to a country song is the ability to pick the listeners up in a positive light with major chords and stories of what they love out of life, or on the other hand, dip the listener into a balled of blues.

Due to its musical perspective, country is very melody oriented, probably more than most all other genre’s. However, country tends to stick so strictly to its southern blues roots that the audience is more isolated to the lower classes of society who more readily relate to the stories told and the catchy melodies.

But what if a country player chose to take notes from rap in terms of its style of beat and rhythm? What if instead of keeping the twang-ish sound all of the time, instead implementing the strait sound of rock-like vocals? I don’t mean screaming and roaring, but simply vocals without the country accent. Would you as a non-country listener feel more or less connected to them without the accent masking their message? What effect would all this have on a country player’s audience base? Would it not spread it out and actually pull some people into appreciating  country even if a little?

The Result

I have heard metal bands use tribal beats and awe every listener who doesn’t even listen to neither metal nor tribal music. I have heard rap artists implement melodies into their songs that have inspired rock artists to turn a new leaf to their sound, and use vocals and lyrics that have the power to turn entire gang ridden neighborhoods into a more intelligent and considerate community. I have heard country stars widen their field and express a heavier, strait forward side of themselves by loosing the accent and even implementing distortion into some of their guitar riffs.

Evolve Your Sound!

The idea is not that you are injecting an actual genre into your music. The idea is that you are finding something in any certain genre that can add something to your own music to give it more life, whether it be a certain method of rhythm or beat, or some background slide guitar to add atmosphere.

What if you don’t like a certain characteristic to country or rap? Maybe you don’t like it, not because of how it sounds merely by itself, but rather how it is normally implemented into songs of its normal genre. What if you took that element and used it in a way to change its effect in a song?

Create Your Own Genre!

The opportunity to re-create what you (and many others) once disliked about any element in other songs into something much more appealing to you and your audience is limitless when you simply open up and allow yourself to try new things. As a result, you could very well create a brand new genre in itself and become huge instantly – all because you chose to open up your mind and try new things.

What do you think?

Now I’m curious to hear your thoughts on the concept of using these methods to shape your own sound. What kind of suggestions might you add here?