Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sibyl Shaw. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sibyl, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

My current style of music uses a technique called “looping.” Basically, I record a short segment on my gear and then layer more recordings on top of it. It’s not a new technique by any means, and I learned a lot from watching looping artists I admire online like Marc Rebillet, Kawehi, and Rachel K. Collier. It’s really inspiring seeing so many artists across genres loop in their own unique ways. I’m definitely still learning, too. It seems like everyday I am discovering a new way to use my loopstation, and it inspires me to keep creating. An essential skill that took me a second to figure out was timing. When using an analog looper (rather than a software and MIDI controller setup), the first loop sets the loop length. If you press the button a little early or late, the whole song will have a hiccup rhythmically, and it’s rather off-putting! Getting that right took some practice. Other than that, arrangement is another obstacle to consider. To make the song feel like it has sections or goes somewhere musically is a challenge. When working with loops, especially with just a single loop pedal (like I started out with), making a full song that doesn’t feel like the same thing for 3 to 5 minutes straight is, for me at least, pretty difficult. That’s one of the reasons I upgraded to my current loopstation. It provides more flexibility and variation to the song that keeps it interesting. Honestly though, a lot of my learning was either by watching other people or simply just being curious and pressing buttons!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started my music journey in choir! Wherever I moved to (I lived in 4 states before my 12th birthday) there was always a church or school choir that I’d participate in. Those groups gave me a sense of belonging and helped me not feel like the awkward new kid. (I knew what to do in rehearsal or on stage!) I want my music to be able to do that for others. I want people to be able to come together and feel seen when they hear my songs. I want them to feel like they’re tapping into something bigger than themselves, too, like a kind of mystical power. That’s truly what bonds are: a mystical power connecting people together. I think that’s something the world really needs right now – real connection.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Performing. That’s my favorite part. Getting up on stage and having one ephemeral moment to show everyone what I’ve been working on and working towards. I love that it’s live, and I can’t take anything back. It’s electric and it’s beautiful.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is the idea that nothing happens if you don’t make it happen. Songs don’t just appear out of thin air. They are the product of many people’s efforts, the artist/songwriter(s), the producer(s), the mixing engineer, the mastering engineer, I could go on. I think a lot of non-creatives don’t understand the magnitude of the undertaking to create 1 song, let alone an entire album.

However, many non-creatives and creatives alike don’t understand that hit songs rarely appear out of thin air, too. An artist can’t drop a song and have it become a hit, or go anywhere, really, without a plan to promote it. The reason people know about new music is because they heard about it somewhere. The more people the artist can get to spread the word, the more success the song will see.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sibylshawmusic.com
• Instagram: @sibylshawmusic
• Other: @sibylshaw on Tiktok

Image Credits

Kate Lamendola
Cal Richardson
Kendra Jennings
Lillian Grace