2024-MAR-01 Info: Check out Songwriting Competition 079 if you're into "Synthwave" music making.

SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC067 March 2023 - Winners announced

Thematic Songwriting Competition - recurrence: monthly
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juhu
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Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC067 March 2023 - Submissions until 24-03-2023 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#61

Post by juhu »

Mister Fox wrote:
Fri Mar 24, 2023 03:10 CET
please update your initial post with the appropriate links (final version), or explicitly mark your entry as "final entry".
Q: my first version is my only and final version, do I still need to mark it as "final version" somehow?
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SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC067 March 2023 - Submissions until 24-03-2023 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#62

Post by Mister Fox »

If your entry is the first and last one, then there is no need to mark that as final version.

I will scrape through the thread to find all entries, but it would be way, way easier (and less work) for me to find your song in the original post.
becsei_gyorgy
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Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC067 March 2023 - Submissions until 24-03-2023 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#63

Post by becsei_gyorgy »

Hi everyone,

Unfortunately the deadline has come again this month. :cry:
I write "unfortunately" because I started to make something quite late and so far I have a very unmixed, unbalanced song (song skeleton :) ).

Briefly about this month's exercise:
I initially used Scaler 2 for the pad chords. The resulting chord progression became the skeleton of the song.
Because of the style, I didn't want any particularly complicated chord progressions. But I varied the breakdown a bit.
For the breakdown chord progression I also used Scaler 2 (The "suggestion" mode of the prog.)
The following chord progression emerged:
Bbmaj - Dmin/A - Cmaj - Fmaj/C - Gmin/D - Fmaj/C - Bbmaj7 - Dmin/A

I used the Xfer Cthulhu program to create the Diva background arpeggios. (I didn't use Cthulhu much, so this was a learning opportunity)
I made midi chords from the notes of the D minor scale, then I turned on the arpeggio in Cthulhu and played long time with it to make the desired sequence.

The song is far from ready. :smile:
For the atmosphere I imagined a dark line with deeper sounds. Intense, competing instruments, sometimes a bit chaotic background - all part of the concept, but not properly developed yet (but so far it's a bit more chaotic than it needs to be)

• 125 Bpm
• Dmin
• Dm - Bb - Gm - A
Breakdown:
Bbmaj - Dmin/A - Cmaj - Fmaj/C - Gmin/D - Fmaj/C - Bbmaj7 - Dmin/A



Documentation:
► Show Spoiler
Lyrics:
► Show Spoiler
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A Future in Noise
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Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC067 March 2023 - Submissions until 24-03-2023 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#64

Post by A Future in Noise »

The electric guitar did not behave exactly as I had imagined. It's my first one; previously I have stuck to acoustic guitars. I bought this one maybe 2-3 weeks ago.

I used ToneSpace from Mucoder to create the unusual chords. I started out with: Em, Bm, Em etectera, but when I let Tonespce change it, this is what it became: Bsus4/E, Bm, Em, Bsus4, Gsus4, Am, {Bsus4/E}times2, Esus4, Bsus4/F#, Bsus4/E, Bm, Dsus4/G, Esus4/A, {Esus4}times2

The chorus is not fancy at all, in this respect. Not very many questionable chords. But maybe it's catchy, I don't know.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19LkMGg ... share_link

Equipment used:

Electric guitar: BurnOut. Origin: Unclear.

DAW: Reaper

Modo bass, modo drums, ZynAddSubFx, Grand Piano: Addictive Keys.

Independence Free's delay. Two times Reverberate LE and IR files from Samplicity. Tube Amp from Voxengo
Last edited by A Future in Noise on Sat Mar 25, 2023 10:42 CET, edited 1 time in total.
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SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC067 March 2023 - preparation phase

#65

Post by Mister Fox »

It is the 25th March 2023, 00:50 UTC+1/CET - this month's Songwriting Competition has official ended

Apologies for closing this one out so late.


STATISTICS:
  • If I didn't miscount, we have 13 submissions this month (3 entries more than last month, and also 6 more than March 2022)
  • We have 0 submissions after the deadline (as of 25-MAR-2023 00:10 UTC+1/CET)
  • We have 0 submissions that has been disqualified (production released outside of the game's timeframe)
  • We have 2 submissions that has been withdrawn (one counts as entry within the deadline, one has been completely removed and not added to the total entry amount)
  • The "staff balancing vote" add-on rule does not apply
  • "Sole Winners Podium" rule (equal or less than eight participants results in a single winner) does not apply (3-position Winners Podium)


:arrow: How do we go from there?

Over the course of the next (hopefully) 24-48 hours (usually up to 6-12 hours maximum after the game has ended), I'll gather all links into one post and hot-link to that from the first post of the thread. Please, no more changes to your entries, but please do check your links that these entries are accessible and downloadable. We then perform with the final feedback and "public vote" system.


We have 11 official participants. We are adapting the overhauled vote mechanic, as talked about in the following news blog:

Songwriting Competition - game mechanic changes: Voting Process (October 2022 Update)
(Info: I am aware that the Rule Book has not been properly updated yet. Time constraints, apologies for the inconvenience)


Summarized:
 ! Bonus Info
  • Participants can (and must) vote for their Top 5 entries.
  • You're furthermore asked to please reflect on your experience this month (2-3 paragraphs max), what you have learned, what you would like to do different in the future, etc. (personal growth)
  • You are also asked to give feedback to at least five (number: 5) entries that either stood out to you and you would like to provide some additional final thoughts, or where you could provide constructive feedback for possible improvements. To add to the learning experience of our community, it is recommended that these entries are outside of your personal "top entry" voting.
  • Have the chance to get additional bonus points if you decide to invest the time to provide more constructive feedback than the requested minimum. It must be more than just "nice production, please keep up the good work" however. This is to boost more interaction and can balance out your overall points on the score sheet. (get 1 point if you give constructive feedback to 2-3 more people, get 2 points if you give helpful feedback for everyone)
  • The "Voting Process" mechanic is mandatory for all participants, and the only criteria to drop out of the game by not partaking.
  • The overall "Bonus Point" mechanic still applies. Please update your posts with proper production documentation, most notably regarding whom you have collaborated with (as in: proper credits -- not doing so will result in a 2pt deduction on the score sheet at the end of the game). You got until the voting period has ended.
Please cast your vote (not the feedback) in collective form through the "spoiler text" bbcode (button on the WYSIWYG editor that features the orange triangle with an exclamation mark in it). Please use the forum username of the participant to make it easier during the score collection to address what vote belongs to whom.
.

 ⚠ Moderation Message from Mister Fox  
For transparency:

The staff (Mister Fox) will not give feedback to all entries and/or cast a vote this month.

Feedback from non-participants and/or collaborators is highly encouraged (voting not needed!). The same goes for entries after the deadline, or those that sadly do not count for the current running game (even if you've exceeded the deadline, why not post your entry regardless?). Musicians and Engineers are always after constructive criticism. This is what this forum is about.





Have some general feedback? Please provide that here:
Songwriting Competition - General Gossip Thread, or on Discord.



Please have an eye on this thread! :tu:
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SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC067 March 2023 - Voting until 01-APR-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

#66

Post by Mister Fox »

Let us kick off the VOTING PROCESS, which will end on Saturday, 01-APR-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST latest


There is a GLOBAL COUNTDOWN to check for deadlines.
Just follow this link: Global Countdown (on homepage)



Here is the collection of productions from all participants (in hope that I didn't forget anyone). As usual, if you click on the small upwards-arrow right beside the quoted name, you can jump to the original post and read up on the documentation for this production.


.
Arelem wrote:
Sun Mar 12, 2023 21:15 CET
"Apathetic"



WAV: Google Drive playback and download
canese wrote:
Tue Mar 14, 2023 22:54 CET
"Untitled"

MPEG Audio: Dropbox playback and download

STAFF INFO: Unfortunately, entry was never updated.
madmax wrote:
Thu Mar 16, 2023 19:52 CET
"Quadrophenias Dreams"

Mellow Browne wrote:
Sun Mar 19, 2023 22:40 CET
"DeLorean"

WAV: Google Drive playback and download

STAFF INFO: link lead to a folder. I linked to the song directly
OrpheusXL wrote:
Mon Mar 20, 2023 00:26 CET
"The Day When My Heart Broke"



STAFF INFO: Follow-up documentation can be found here
JeroenZuiderwijk wrote:
Tue Mar 21, 2023 01:27 CET
"RockChord"

WAV: OneDrive playback and download
KukoBass wrote:
Tue Mar 21, 2023 17:02 CET
"Wonders"



WAV: Google Drive playback and download
EsteveCorbera wrote:
Wed Mar 22, 2023 00:15 CET
"AI - Clickedu"



BONUS VIDEO:
► Show Spoiler
juhu wrote:
Fri Mar 24, 2023 00:00 CET
"Mirror Image"

WAV: Download from Personal Server
Jorgeelalto wrote:
Fri Mar 24, 2023 10:04 CET
"NotQuite"

WAV: OneDrive playback and download
becsei_gyorgy wrote:
Fri Mar 24, 2023 21:13 CET
"Something To Happen"

A Future in Noise wrote:
Fri Mar 24, 2023 23:47 CET
"TaDigSamman-1"

WAV: Google Drive playback and download
.



WITHDRAWN (not participating - feel free to give feedback, but you sadly can not vote for these entries)

GamaGama wrote:
Mon Mar 13, 2023 17:25 CET
"SadMountain"

WAV 24/96: Google Drive playback and download
MP3_48k: Google Drive playback and download

STAFF INFO: Entry has been withdrawn on request, but is listed as "bonus entry" to showcase what "Band In A Box" can do
.



BONUS ENTRIES (submitted after the deadline - feel free to give feedback, but you sadly can not vote for these entries)


<no bonus entries>
.



:arrow: GAME MECHANIC SUMMARY:
► Show Spoiler


Good luck to all participants! :tu:




If you have an idea for a future Songwriting Competition, please post about this in the theme/genre request page or on Discord.


Post updated: 25-MAR-2023 02:20 UTC+1/CET
juhu
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Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC067 March 2023 - Voting until 01-APR-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

#67

Post by juhu »

1) My feedback to fellow participants:
► Show Spoiler
2) My top 5 votes:
► Show Spoiler
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A Future in Noise
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Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC067 March 2023 - Voting until 01-APR-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

#68

Post by A Future in Noise »

juhu wrote:
Sat Mar 25, 2023 16:54 CET
The electric guitar added during that repeat sounded out-of-tune a bit though. I would really like to hear a finished version of this song some day with improvements applied!
I feel very flattered by the fact that it was possible to give positive feedback on the verse. Personally, I probably like the chorus the most, simply because I think it is quite catchy. But the "out of tune" guitar: it came as a total surprise to me that electric guitars have different properties than acoustic steel string guitars in this respect: if I press the strings all the way down into the fretboard - with force - I simultaneously "bend" the tone, with an electric guitar. One apparently has to learn a new technique? Just press down the strings a little lightly, with the left hand? I will never learn that technique... :shrug:
juhu
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Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC067 March 2023 - Voting until 01-APR-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

#69

Post by juhu »

A Future in Noise wrote:
Sat Mar 25, 2023 17:27 CET
it came as a total surprise to me that electric guitars have different properties than acoustic steel string guitars in this respect: if I press the strings all the way down into the fretboard - with force - I simultaneously "bend" the tone, with an electric guitar. One apparently has to learn a new technique? Just press down the strings a little lightly, with the left hand?
Correct! The fretting fingers should apply just enough force to get a solid tone without pitching up, no more, no less! Just keep practicing with that in mind and it'll become second nature over time.

UPDATE: :idea: additionally, try positioning each fretting finger as close to the fret as possible, just ever so slightly behind the fret, that'll help tremendously!
Last edited by juhu on Sat Mar 25, 2023 18:57 CET, edited 1 time in total.
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SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC067 March 2023 - Voting until 01-APR-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

#70

Post by Mister Fox »

Just a quick heads-up.

I will always assume, that the Top 5 listing order is "1st place to last place" (if no numbering is used) once I collect all votes.

Thank you. :educate:
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