What is your musical "style"?

Hey all,

I’m just a bit curious as to people’s individual style of composing and any features of your works that you can recognize as inherently “your style.” As I’ve been trying to work toward getting more of my music into the commercial market, I’ve started to have some doubts again as to the direction I should go.

What I mean is that, after browsing through music on some different libraries websites, while not all of it sounds the same, of course, there is a lot that seem to focus toward the trailer or hybrid types of arrangements. I, on the other hand, still seem to have better success at writing more older sounding, more traditional Hollywood types of pieces, and I’m recognizing that this is more my individual “style,” but, this isn’t a style I am hearing anywhere on libraries sites.

For those of you who have written for libraries already and have music out there, what is your take? Do you write in a style that is what you find in these libraries, or do you just write whatever comes to your mind and put it out there regardless? Do you know of any libraries that may be looking for the style of music that I’m good at?

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I went through this exact thing. Two years ago. Wrote 10 library pieces, trying to “give the market what (I thought) it wanted.” Got rejected 10 times, and I knew my 10 pieces weren’t quite a fit. They still had Everett DNA in them. I couldn’t get rid of it.

I decided that if I’m going to get rejected a lot ANYWAY, I’m damn sure going to at least be true to myself.

Never again tried to write to the market. Best decision ever. Enjoying working on my second feature, a short, a YouTube project and more.

Not making big money yet, but finally making more than zero.

Matt, you know what kind of composer I am. Cut from similar cloth as you. Old school, lots of melody, Williams, Silvestri, etc. work from the piano first. I am happy with who I am, and happy to leave the trailer and soundscape stuff to people who can do it better than I can.

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Thanks for that Everett. I find that I’m more a cinematic composer and yeah, like you definitely more toward that old school Williams film score sound. It’s just not what I’m finding on library sites. It doesn’t mean they won’t accept this style, but I just don’t have the time for doing freelance projects, so I’m going the library route so I can write when I get time.

I’d just like to know who might be looking for our style of music. I’ll need to do some more research m.

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I should say, my style keeps getting in the way and instead of writing something more like, Jeremy Soule’s Skyrim soundtrack, you know, 2000’s ish video games, it always comes across as more 1940s-50s Hollywood.

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Hi Matt, for many years I went searching for the golden ring and while I’ve been pretty successful in terms of earning decent coin through the performance side of the house, I have not had much luck with supporting myself with my writing and recording. I currently have about 75 numbers published through AudioSparx Alliance and Repost (SoundCloud). Some of those numbers have ended up on a few compilation albums and are scattered across iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, etc. however the gush of funding hasn’t yet come. However, I am with Everett. I create what I create and share it with whomever would like to listen. Once in a while I get a note from someone who will let me know that one of tunes I have created have touched them and that is much more meaningful to me. I am content with making a ripple rather than a tsunami and am happy to be a channel for the muse.

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Thanks Stuart. I like that approach as well. I’m in it for the love of music and love of setting it to visual art rather than love of money. But, setting my music to visual art like films or games ends up being mostly a commercial endeavor, so I’m trying to find ways to get my music out there with the style I’m most comfortable with without having to go the “corporate” or “trailer” music route that I’m not real good at.

I’m just better at the moment at the classic type of film music which is not something you can just send your stuff onto :wink:

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Sometimes you get advices on what to write but I find that impossible. I have to write what wants to come out. Otherwise it just gets a mess. Except when doing an assignment.

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That’s how I feel, though I have a lot to get out :grin: I just went through my entire catalog of finished and in-the-works pieces and the overwhelming majority of them have bigs hints at that Golden Age sound and I’m just finding it hard to see where it might fit in.

I originally got back into composing after listening to the SoulCalibur V soundtrack, so I think that’s where my main modern influence comes from–Junichi Nakatsuru is the main composer for those games and they have lots of that Golden Age style to them (Japanese composers just seem to excel at this style) and then growing up with all the great John Williams movie themes…

I write what I write, but since I feel a great accomplishment for me would be to have my music used for film or games, I’m just trying to figure out if the music that is “me” could have a place somewhere.

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If you ask me I think it has a place. 7 billion people some must think the same.