Sad Boy music maker Noah Henderson (University of San Diego, 2022) launched his music career with a couple of Christmas singles in December 2020. While developing his sound and making music outside of his favorite holiday, Henderson is enjoying the journey of creating music he loves.
Getting Started
Growing up, Henderson learned to play the guitar from his dad and uncle. He slowly started to fall in love with music. He taught himself how to play more than ten instruments over the years, including guitar, piano, cello, drums, bass, ukulele, banjo, among others, by watching videos on YouTube.
He wanted to make his own music and develop his sound. Henderson set his sights on recording and producing. Again, he turned to YouTube to learn about the process.
“I bought a computer and started learning how to record, and I taught myself how to do everything so I could make music I like,” Henderson said.
Henderson has been recording and producing music for the past five years for other people while keeping his music on the back burner. It wasn’t until this year that he finally took some time to work on music for himself.
“It’s a lot easier to make other people’s music than it is your own. While mixing and engineering for other people, I was able to learn skills to be able to make music myself without a lot of help.” Henderson said.
Writing and Recording
Henderson believes music is a collaborative effort. Having close friends and other musicians to bounce ideas off of is vital in his writing process. “Whenever I make music, I try to collaborate as much as possible because everybody brings a different kind of flavor to writing and creativity to the table,” Henderson said.
While developing his sound, Henderson drew inspiration from Jon Bellion and Lauv because of the way they create and compose their songs. He also draws lyrical inspiration from Coldplay. “I’m still exploring and finding my sound. My sound is pop with a bit of somberness with a sad boy type vibe, at least for now.”
As a musician and music lover, it was hard for Henderson not to compare himself to other musicians when he first started.
“My biggest hurdle was realizing that the music I wanted to make was not going to sound like songs on the radio without practice,” Henderson said. “I stopped comparing my music to commercially produced things and just started running with it. This change in thinking allowed me to grow as a musician.”
Christmas Singles
Henderson released his new Christmas song “I’m Coming Home” on December 10, 2020, marking his debut in the music industry. One week later, he released his second Christmas song, “I Wish You Were Here with Me.”
As someone who loves Christmas, it was easy for Henderson to get into the holiday spirit back in October when he was composing the songs. He wanted his first singles to be about his friends and own life experiences and wanted these songs based around a holiday he loves so much.
“I’m Coming Home” was inspired by that feeling of going back home for the holidays with that special someone in mind and the hope that you might see them around Christmas. It’s meant to bring some hope to people during the holiday season because, for a lot of people, Christmas can sometimes be lonely,” Henderson said. “My second single, “I Wish You Were Here with Me,” was inspired by a friend who lost a significant other on Christmas. It’s hard to sum up the pain of losing a loved one, especially around the holidays, but this song was my expression of that grief for a friend and turned out to be a beautiful track.”
Henderson received a lot of positive feedback from his first two singles from friends, family and chapter brothers. Since these songs were the first music he publicly shared, some people were surprised how good the songs were. “I got a lot of texts and DMs saying ‘I knew you made music, but this is a real song.’” Henderson said. “I felt a little more validated, and it was a huge boost of confidence for what I had planned for my new music.”
Marketing Music
While getting music out to streaming platforms is now easier than ever, building a fan base and marketing your music is much harder. Henderson has to wear many hats when promoting his music. He has to be a photographer, videographer and social media manager.
“As an independent artist, I am blessed to have a sense for technology. To be able to edit my videos, shoot everything, post it to social media is really gratifying but a whole lot of work,” Henderson said. “I don’t think most of my listeners and followers on social media realize I’m doing all the creative by myself. Doing it myself does allow me to be authentic and deliberate with what I create.”
Next Steps
Putting out an EP or full album is something that Henderson would love to do, but he wants to grow his listeners and graduate before committing to a sizeable, cohesive project.
After the release of his latest single, “Mine,” on March 5, Henderson has plans to put out more “sad boy” music with some upbeat songs, as well.
“I have three or four songs I’m working on with a few other artists. One of which I’m looking to get out soon,” Henderson said. “My plan is to hopefully get out a song or two a month for the rest of the year, so I can keep attracting some listeners and growing my fan base.”