Great leaders don’t have one leadership style, they use a variety of styles. That is something one of my doctoral professors said in a lecture several years back and it hit me. You may be thinking, what does that have to do with music? It is surprisingly applicable in a similar way. Leadership is not static. What is needed of a leader, what is required of a leader, and how to lead people changes drastically depending on the situation, the context, maybe even the time and the season.

The same is often true of great musicians. Every musician (horn players, guitarists, vocalists, even drummers) has a sound. This sound may be completely natural and as simple as the natural sound that comes out of your instrument the way you blow or the way you set your embouchure on a wind instrument. It could be the way you pluck the strings and the way that the guitar sounds coming out of your amp. Drummers may have a distinct sound the way that they feel the beat, the way the divide their 8h notes, and of course, how they tune their drums (Tony Williams loved a pentatonic sound for his kit). Vocalists have a natural voice, unfiltered, unaltered, that just comes out when they sing.

That is your sound, your voice, and it is yours. We won’t take it from you or tell you it’s wrong. And at TIA we are committed to helping you hone that voice or sound, loving it, appreciating it, getting comfortable with it, and making music with it in confidence. At the same time, if you are willing—and we hope you are, we would like to challenge you to consider how different sounds and voices can be developed and used just like a great leader adapts their style to fit the unique needs of an organization, the individuals they lead, and other contextual matters.

Let me give you an example: as a trumpet player I worked hard in college to develop a warm, dark, almost breathy at times sound that I wanted to truly sound like a singing voice. At least that was my intent, can’t say I have accomplished it. But I certainly have a distinct sound. That is the sound that now, naturally comes out of my horn. It is developed for sure. It didn’t just happen overnight, but it is my sound. If someone asks me to play in a pop music environment in a horn section though (like trumpet, trombone, sax, think Tower of Power or something), I will likely raw from a different sound. I will opt for a much more clear, brassy, pop-lead trumpet kind of sound. That would be my choice. It doesn’t mean it is not me, it doesn’t change my personal voice or sound. It would be me, as a musician, choosing to draw from a different sound for that context. Think of it like a golfer choosing a different club for a specific shot, or a mechanic choosing a different tool.

Developing different tools and sounds can be an incredible asset and a lot of fun to develop. And remember, they never take away from who you are. In fact, I would argue, they make you a better musician, one that doesn’t just have one sound, but one that uses a variety of sounds.