We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ty Ellenbogen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ty, looking forward to hearing all of your stories 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.

I think of my creative journey thus far as containing two parts: learning how to be a musician and learning how to be an artist. Growing up, I played guitar, drums, and saxophone (in addition to performing as a vocalist) for seven years before I ever wrote music of my own. I spent this time practicing scales over and over again, transcribing my favorite songs, and studying music theory. I also took on a ton of gigs playing cover songs and started to hone my skills as a performer. I fell in love with music during this time and developed the foundation that informs what I do now as a creator.

Learning to write songs of my own was a much different process for me. It took a lot of soul-searching, people-watching, connecting with others, and appreciating all forms of art (including cinema and literature). More than anything, I’ve learned that being an artist is about being human. Getting in touch with the things that make me feel the most deeply has become a part of my craft in itself. The way I see it, the more wells of inspiration I draw from, the easier it becomes to create something meaningful of my own.

I also think it’s important to recognize that I’ll never be finished “learning my craft.” Everything I’ve mentioned are things I still work on today and will continue to do so for as long as I live. As a musician, I’ll always explore new ways to approach my instruments and as an artist, I’ll always look for new ways to communicate my message through song. Music as a medium is constantly changing—it’s the gift that keeps on giving!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

As a whole, I’m a pop / R&B artist who combines old soul with new pop. But I’m also a little bit of everything in between: singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist. I’d say my artistry is a blend of my musicianship and emotional depth; I want my music to hit hard and my lyrics to hit even harder.

Like I mentioned earlier, I come from a diverse musical background as a multi-instrumentalist, and spent a lot of that time exploring jazz as a saxophonist before I ever decided to become a recording artist. I think that’s what initially got me into R&B music as a listener—it takes a lot of the harmonic complexity I love about jazz and makes it more accessible.

As someone who feels things very deeply, lyricism is also extremely important to me. It’s such a powerful way to capture the human experience and address the topics people are usually scared to talk about. My favorite songs are often the ones that put to words feelings I never even knew I had, as if the artist was somehow able to see a part of me I couldn’t even see myself. When I started writing music, it became an outlet for me to process those kinds of feelings. Songwriting gives me a place to express my emotions in their most raw form instead of bottling them up. It’s like the saying that “music is cheaper than therapy.” There really is some truth to that.

I’ve been putting out music for the past three years now, including my debut EP ‘Day by Day,’ which I released this past February. It’s a six-song project that I produced myself, and it contains a blend of old-school soul, trap-R&B, electronic dance music, and more. It’s the culmination of more than a year’s work and I’m really proud of it. I hope you can all connect with something on the project!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I find that being on the giving end of music is one of the most rewarding experiences ever. Music has always served as the soundtrack to my life— it’s been there to celebrate with me in my most joyful moments, console me in my lowest, and provide an escape from reality when I need it most. In a way, I’ve always felt that I developed a sort of friendship with my favorite artists; their stories and emotions come through in their music and serve as a reminder that I’m never alone.

As an artist, this is the kind of friendship I want to extend to my listeners. I want people to feel seen in my lyrics and be moved by my music in the same way that my favorite artists have moved me. Most of all, I want my music to become a soundtrack for people to live their lives to. I want nothing more than for someone to hear one of my songs and say “Hey, this reminds me of that time…”

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

My peers! For so long, I thought being completely independent was the cool thing to do. I took pride in the fact that I was the only set of hands to touch my music— I was the sole songwriter, instrumentalist, producer, mixing engineer, you name it— but I’ve grown to realize I had it all wrong. Music is meant to be shared, and there are so many talented people out there to let into your creative process. Just because you can do everything yourself doesn’t mean you should. That’s a lesson that took me a long time to learn.

There are so many reasons why collaboration is important. It can introduce you to new creative perspectives, allow you to combine everyone’s strengths, and provide a support network that holds you accountable when the process doesn’t come easy. Plus, it’s just more fun to make music with friends!

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.tyellenbogen.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tyellenbogen/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tyellenbogenmusic
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ty-ellenbogen-a15959236
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tyellenbogen?lang=en

Image Credits
Kenzie Leigh, Stacy Sideris, Jackson Ditty