12 Ways to Make Your Music More Interesting

As a musician, you want your music to stand out from the crowd and captivate your listeners. There are many ways to achieve this, but how exactly do you make your music more interesting?

To make music more interesting, musicians can experiment with different musical genres, use unique and unconventional instruments, and incorporate unexpected chord progressions. They can also add dynamic changes and variations and explore new production techniques.

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned musician, these tips will help you take your music to the next level. By making your music more interesting, you’ll be able to captivate your listeners and create a unique sound that sets you apart from the rest. So, if you want to elevate your music and create something truly special, keep reading to learn more about ways to make your music more interesting.

1. Experiment with Different Musical Genres

Exploring different genres can help you expand your horizons and make your music more interesting. Experimenting with different musical genres can inspire you to create something truly unique.

Working with different musical genres lets you incorporate different musical elements into your sound. For example, a rock musician could explore jazz or blues, including improvisation, chord changes, or different instrumentation.

2. Learn Other Instruments

Learning to play a new instrument helps you better understand music. Knowing music enables you to understand how to get creative.

For example, learning to play bass helps you understand rhythm and timing differences if you’re primarily a guitarist. This new perspective can help you write more interesting and complex music.

You can even learn a truly unique instrument, like a hurdy gurdy. You come onto the stage with bagpipes or a theremin, and people will remember you.

3. Collaborate With Other Musicians

Collaborating with other musicians helps you get another musical perspective. Working with others helps you better understand different perspectives.

By working with musicians from different genres, you can learn new approaches to music to incorporate into your work. Collaborations allow you to explore new sounds and styles you might not have considered before.

You can also choose to work with someone from the same genre. Anyone can help you improve your approach to music. The more you work to push that comfort zone, the more creative you’ll get.

4. Ignore Criticism

Experimenting with different music genres can be challenging. It requires an open mind and a willingness to step outside your comfort zone. That openness doesn’t appeal to everyone.

Naturally, You will face criticism from fans or industry professionals who know your old style. But if you’re committed to creating something unique and interesting, experimenting with different genres can be an exciting and rewarding experience.

Many music fans don’t know what they want. As a music fan, I can tell you that for certain. Remember, you aren’t just doing this for the fans. You are doing it for you.

5. Use Unique and Unconventional Instruments

While traditional instruments like the guitar, drums, and piano are staples in many music genres, incorporating more obscure instruments can add a new dimension to your music and make it more interesting.

Unique instruments can give your music a fresh and distinctive sound. It can help you break away from the standard tropes of your genre and create a unique identity for your music. For example, adding a sitar, mandolin, or didgeridoo to a rock or pop song can make a sound that’s both unexpected and captivating.

Using unique instruments can also give your music a cultural or historical context. For example, incorporating traditional African percussion instruments like the djembe or the kalimba can add an authentic cultural element to your music. Similarly, using vintage or rare instruments like a Mellotron or a Marxophone can give your music a nostalgic or historical feel.

6. Incorporate Unexpected Chord Progressions

Music is built on chords and progressions, and incorporating unexpected chord progressions can be a powerful way to make your music more interesting. By breaking away from the traditional chord progressions of your genre, you can create something new and exciting that captivates your listeners.

Unexpected chord progressions can create tension and release in your music. It can develop a sense of surprise and anticipation for the listener, leading to a more engaging and memorable experience.

Incorporating unexpected chord progressions can also help you create a unique sound and style. By breaking away from the traditional progressions of your genre, you can create something that stands out and sets you apart from other musicians. It can also help you create a signature sound that defines your music.

7. Add Dynamic Changes and Variations

Music is a dynamic medium. By varying your music’s tempo, volume, or instrumentation, you can create a more engaging and memorable experience for your listeners.

Incorporating dynamic changes and variations can help you create a more nuanced and complex sound. Adding different instruments, harmonies, or rhythms to your music can create a more layered and textured sound that captures the listener’s attention. You can also use dynamic changes and variations to experiment with different musical genres, giving your music a more diverse and eclectic feel.

Dynamic changes and variations can also help you express different emotions and moods in your music. You can create a reflective mood by slowing down the tempo or adding a more somber melody. Speeding up the tempo or adding a more upbeat tune can create a more joyful or exciting mood.

8. Develop an Interesting Story

The music industry is full of talented musicians known for their great production skills. But these audio engineers and artists also come together to create amazing stories. Thank the creative process and teams behind the music for that.

Some of the greatest stories ever told can be found in rap music. Despite the stereotype that all rap is about “guns and drugs,” musicians like Eminem and Chance the Rapper show us otherwise.

Dynamic, emotional music like this gives us a glimpse into lives we normally wouldn’t see. Stories about urban tragedies, protective dads, or vengeance, all can be told to raise awareness and act as a lesson for future generations.

9. Make Your Song Sound Like It’s Progressing

Some of the world’s favorite songs sound like they are taking you through a journey. Amazing song structures help you feel like you are making progress.

For example, an intro section can be a great way to frame a song. You can return to that feeling in the intro, containing the entire song like a sound sandwich.

Some examples in music production include solos, breakdowns, or repeating the chorus. As long as the music changes, it will feel constantly moving.

Extra Tips Specifically for Making Electronic Music Interesting

Electronic music, like techno or EDM (electronic dance music), is incredibly popular. But, artists who create in this genre are often labeled as talentless hacks.

Of course, programming music takes time and effort. So, calling some musicians discredits their work. But, musicians in electronic genres can fall into some unique traps.

Below, we’ll dig into some tips specific to EDM and related genres.

1. Explore Multiple Instruments and Effects

When making your own music using a digital audio workstation (DAW), it comes with some default synths and effects. You can use these to learn the platform but should work towards finding new and interesting instruments.

Electronic music tends to sound similar from song to song because artists rely on the same instruments. If you’re listening closely, you might be able to identify instruments from FL studio or Ableton. Some artists rely on the same sound effects, either.

You can rely on these instruments, but take some time to make them sound unique. You don’t want to sound like “the next” anything in electronic music.

2. Check Your Equalizer

Equalization, or EQ, is a plugin that helps you change the frequencies of your recordings. Frequencies below 30 Hertz (Hz) can create a muddy sound. An EQ helps you remove this without putting much work into it.

This helps your music stand out by creating a clean and fresh sound. While you might hear dubstep as “filthy music,” this is not what they mean. Instead, an EQ can make your dirty music sound clean (which is confusing).

DAWs do come with some programming that helps with this. For more tips, check search for your DAW and EQ settings.

3. Don’t Overdo it on the Reverb

Reverb is when sound comes out in all directions. In electronic music, it’s the echo sound that provides a bit more depth to your music.

Audio engineers with limited experience love the sound of reverb. You can typically tell this because there’s too much reverb in the track, giving you a somewhat “spacey” feeling. In extreme cases, it sounds like shouting into a cave.

If your music sounds like it was recorded from inside a public restroom, check your reverb. Too much reverb might make your song sound unique but not how you want it to.