The Pitfall of Finding ‘Your Sound’ (And Why You’re Overthinking It)

The Pitfall of Finding ‘Your Sound’ (And Why You’re Overthinking It)

Alright, let’s talk about the never-ending obsession with finding “your sound.” You know, that magical, one-of-a-kind sonic fingerprint that will make the world recognize your music the moment it plays. The thing every music forum, tutorial, and self-proclaimed expert tells you that you absolutely need before you can call yourself a real artist.

Here’s the truth: that obsession is keeping you stuck. Chasing ‘your sound’ like it’s some mythical creature only guarantees one thing—you’ll never actually finish music.

The ‘Originality’ Trap

A lot of producers get caught up in this ridiculous belief that they need to make everything from scratch for their music to be truly “theirs.” No presets, no samples, no templates—just raw, untouched creativity pouring straight from their souls into their DAWs.

That’s like deciding you can’t cook unless you grow your own wheat for flour, churn your own butter, and handcraft a wood-burning stove before you even start making bread. Meanwhile, other producers are out here whipping up gourmet meals in half the time using the ingredients available to them.

There’s a meme that perfectly captures this mindset: “If you didn’t skin the goat yourself to make the drum, is it even your music?” It’s funny because it’s true—some people really act like if you didn’t sample your own foley, build every synth from an empty wavetable, and mix with analog gear you soldered together yourself, then your track is somehow less ‘authentic.’

Nobody Cares How You Made It

Seriously, no one listening to your music gives a f*ck if you synthesized every kick drum from sine waves or used a sample pack. They care if it slaps. They care if it makes them feel something. They care if they want to play it again.

Some of the most legendary artists in history have used presets, samples, and templates. Hans Zimmer? Uses sample libraries. Skrillex? Uses presets. Literally everyone in hip-hop? Sampling other records. And guess what? They all have a distinct sound because they focus on what they’re making, not just how they’re making it.

Your Sound Isn’t in the Tools, It’s in the Decisions

Your sound isn’t about whether you use a stock Ableton synth or some $500 analog gear. It’s about how you use what you have. Your sound comes from your choices—what samples you pick, how you layer things, what melodies resonate with you, what groove feels right.

It’s in the imperfections, the happy accidents, the little details that you keep doing in every track without even realizing it. But you’ll never discover those if you spend all your time worrying about whether your track is ‘unique’ enough.

Stop Romanticizing the Struggle

There’s this toxic idea floating around that true artistry requires suffering. That if you’re not breaking your back over every little detail, you’re not a real musician. That making music has to be some purist, painstaking process for it to be valid.

Screw that. Great music can come from hard work, but it can also come from efficiency. From making things easier for yourself. From using tools that help rather than hinder.

Stop trying to reinvent the wheel every time you open your DAW. Work smarter, not harder. If using a sample speeds up your process, use it. If a preset fits the vibe, tweak it and move on. If a template helps you finish a track, great—because a finished track is always better than a perfect one that never gets released.

The Only Way to Find Your Sound is to Make More Music

You don’t find ‘your sound’ by sitting around thinking about it. You don’t find it by endlessly tweaking the same track for months. You find it by making a sh*tload of music, trying different things, and figuring out what you naturally gravitate towards.

Your sound is something that emerges over time. It’s not a thing you go searching for—it’s something that finds you, but only if you’re actually creating.

So, let go of the idea that you need to do everything from scratch to be original. Stop overcomplicating the process. Use the tools, use the samples, use the presets. Make more, stress less, and let ‘your sound’ take care of itself.

Now go make something. And no, you don’t have to skin a goat first.