Developing Your Own Style
Many performers learn their stage craft and their ability to express their vocal or instrumental technique by copying other performers at first, and then adapting what they have learned to develop their own style and presence.
Ray Charles studied Nat King Cole’s style of singing and playing early in his career, but later developed his own intensely personal style which had little in common with Nat King Cole. This is similar to the way students of visual art are taught to copy the works of masters early in their development. By doing this, students learn about color, form, design, balance, etc. as well as technique. However, this is only the first step in the process. The idea is to master the practical elements in order to be able to express your own feelings, ideas and personality through your own work. Copying a Rembrandt or Picasso painting is a valuable exercise for an art student, but it is not an end in itself. So it is with singing and performing. Learn all you can from performers you admire, whether it is their vocal technique, their musicianship or their stagecraft. Study them in detail and work diligently on everything you learn, particularly in the early stages of your development. However, there is no point in slavishly copying any particular person’s style over a long period of time (unless you want to be a comedy act). As your confidence develops along with your personal feeling for the music you are performing, your own style will begin to emerge by itself if you let it. As you practice and perform, notice the things that you feel most intensely about. These are the seeds which will grow into your own vital style if you are true to them and develop them properly.
