SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC068 April 2023 - Winners announced

[Mister Fox]

Hello and welcome to the Songwriting Competition 068 - April 2023



BEFORE WE GET STARTED:

• Please consult the official and very simple "Rules and Guidelines" (TL;DR version) for the Songwriting Competition regarding principles of the game, it's engaging game mechanics (allowed editing/re-submission of your entry until the deadline has been reached) and upload/submission guidelines.
• The general idea of this game is to "...just make music", to also challenge yourself by stepping a bit out of your comfort zone, and take a dip at realms you've never worked in before. Instrumentals are just as welcome as productions with vocals.
• The Genre and "Premise" of this months challenge can be found in in post #002
• Filename Template (NEW): SWC068__ArtistName__TrackName.wav and/or .mp3

Read more about this month's competition further down below. And if you got any question, please also reach out on Discord.



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SONGWRITING COMPETITION THREAD INDEX

Post #001 -- Introduction post and index for the various stages of the Songwriting Competition. Will be updated as we progress
Post #002 -- Submission Period: General Information, Source Material, Sponsors
Post #003 -- Cheat Sheet: A couple of examples / audio demos for this month's challenge (limited if genre is "free to select")
Post #038 -- Voting: Summarized entries and start of voting process
Post #067 -- Results: Results of the Songwriting Competition

[Mister Fox]

CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION

Time Frame: Saturday, 01st April 2023 to Monday, 24th April 2023 (24 days)

Challenge submission will end on 24-APR-2023, 23:59 UTC+2/CEST (Germany) - until further notice.

Want to find out if you're still within the deadline, please either consult the Global Countdown (dedicated page), or the countdown on the landing site. There will also be short reminders on Social Media and on Discord. Does the game time frame feel too long? Why not set a personal shorter one of 5-7 days absolute max to push yourself to focus on the essentials, then use the rest of the time to ask for feedback and possible refinements.



SONGWRITING THEME: "Postcards" (Picture Theme)
GENRE: free to select



Image Source: Pixabay (via Pexels), released under Creative Commons CC0



A few word about this month's theme:

We're having a "Picture Theme" this month.

There will be no extensive brief with twists and turns. Please have a look, get inspired by both the image and the theme, let your mind wander for a bit. Then start writing.


EDIT 12-APR-2023 -- a short explanation of the concept of this month's game:

The general idea is to draw inspiration from the picture. However do not solely fixate on that particular photo and it's details alone. Rather focus on the "overarching concept". It could be plain postcards with short conversations, it could be souvenirs, it could be something from a beloved person which carries a lot of memories.

How you interpret that photo and the given theme, is up to you.
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Your task for this Songwriting Competition:
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This month, you can create a production in any music genre you feel like.

You set your own parameters and limitations, e.g. style and genre, melodic questions and counter arguments. As long as you don't exceed 10 minutes of runtime, neither have endless padded out repetition. Please keep us listeners engaged. And as usual - vocals are optional. Don't feel pressured to provide any.


Just make music!
And I hope you'll have fun this month.

Songwriting Rule Summary / Add-On Rules:

► Show Spoiler

• create a production fitting to the given theme, genre and general premise
• you can use any tool that is at your disposal (samples, virtual instruments and/or real instruments)
• IMPORTANT: if you use non-licensed material (as in: non royalty free material from sample CDs, etc), give full credit to the source material
• for newcomers: no finished productions that have already been released outside of the time frame of the current Songwriting Competition (Spotify, iTunes, Bandcamp, etc), no cover versions or remixes, no ripped acapella's -- please only showcase your own new and original content
• do not go higher than -14,0 LUFS ILk/-1,00 dBTP in terms of perceived loudness (mastering). Music doesn't have to be squashed to bits in order to be impactful
• name your files properly prior to uploading and make the production downloadable. If you opt to present your entry through SoundCloud, the forum can also convert your links into a Soundcloud player through the [soundcloud] BBCode from the text editor (orange square with a white cloud in it)
• ADD-ON RULES:
  • Filename Template: SWC068__ArtistName__TrackName.wav and/or .mp3
  • <no (additional) add-on rules specified>

For a full set of rules, please consult the Official Rules and Guidelines (most notably Rule Book - post #6). If you got any questions regarding the game mechanics or similar, please either utilize the SWC - Gossip and Discussion thread, or reach out through Discord.

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LICENSE SPONSORS (Bonus Prizes):

A huge thank you goes to our very generous License Sponsors for this month's game. Those being (in alphabetical order):

Cherry Audio, Ghostwave Audio, Hollow Sun, Hornet Plugins, IK Multimedia, JRR Sounds, kv331 audio, Luftrum, Musiclab, Rekkerd Sounds, satyatunes - Sound / Graphic Design, and Tone2.


A detailed list of offerings can be found in the following information block.

► Show Spoiler

Available Bonus Prizes for Songwriting Challenge participants:

Note: All licenses are NFR (Not-For-Resale), except where noted.
Changes to available prices on short notice may be possible and will be announced separately.


RECURRING LICENSE SPONSORSHIP:


Cherry Audio is kind enough to give away one license of Voltage Modular Ignite, plus either a license of "Year One Collection" or "Year Two Collection"
License will turn into NFR
More info on Cherry Audio: https://cherryaudio.com



IK Multimedia is kind enough to give away one license of MODO BASS 2 to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on IK Multimedia: https://www.ikmultimedia.com



Musiclab is kind enough to donate any 1 guitar of your choice to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Musiclab: https://www.musiclab.com



Tone2 is kind enough to donate a license of Saurus3 to the winner (until further notice)
License will turn into NFR
More info on Tone2: https://tone2.com



kv331 audio is kind enough to give away a bundle of either SynthMaster 1+2 Bundle, or a freely selectable set of 3 SynthMaster Expansions
License will not turn into NFR, you need to have a kv311 audio user account in order to pick up Expansions
More info on kv331 audio: https://www.kv331audio.com



JRR Sounds is kind enough to give away any-1 sound sets or sample set of winner's choice (exception: Bundles)
More info on JRR Sounds: https://www.jrrshop.com/jrr-sounds



Luftrum is kind enough to give away either a license of Lunaris 2, a license of Bioscape, or any two sound sets of winner's choice
License will turn into NFR
More info on Luftrum: https://www.luftrum.com/



Rekkerd Sounds is kind enough to give away 1 sound set of winners choice (exception: Krezie EDM and Neurofunk Vol. 1)
License will turn into NFR
More info on Rekkerd Sounds: https://sounds.rekkerd.org/



Ghostwave Audio (Vincent Bastiat) is kind enough to donate any 2 sound sets to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Ghostwave Audio: https://ghostwaveaudio.com



Hollow Sun is kind to donate one license of "Music Laboratory Machines - The Suite I" to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Hollow Sun: http://www.hollowsun.com



Hornet Plugins is kind enough to give away one license from the depicted tools (see image) to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Hornet Plugins: https://www.hornetplugins.com



Sound / Graphic Designer, and honorary Mix Challenge staff satYatunes is donating one commercial product of winner's choice (until further notice)
More info on satYatune's page: https://satyatunes.com/



THANKS FOR THE DONATIONS!
And also a thank you to all former contributors as well.

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Good luck to all participants.
And most importantly, have fun!

[Mister Fox]

AUDIO EXAMPLES:
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Articles and Info Pages:

A great starting point is the "Addendum"/Supplementary thread for the Songwriting Competition
Songwriting Competition - Addendum: Music Maps and BPM Charts

Since the genre this month is "free to select", there are no clear pointers




Music examples (selection for inspiration, 00 videos):

No music examples available this month. But I can always recommend to enter random genre search words either into Youtube, Spotify or whatever music streaming services you prefer using.
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Please also check in with the following threads in the the Gear Talk sub-forum, if you're on the look-out for new tools:
Places to fuel your GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) (the starting point if you're in need of audio tools -- from free to affordable).


if you're new to/need help with songwriting - please check out the following tools:

► Show Spoiler

ScalerPlugin Pty Ltd - Scaler 2 (collaboration w/Plugin Boutique, currently the most comprehensive chord/harmony tool out there)
Xfer Records - Cthulhu
W.A. Production - InstaChord and InstaScale
CodeFN42 - Chordz (Transition is also recommended, if you want more experimental/generative MIDI, free, Windows only)
trackbout - Ripchord (free/open-source MIDI chord generator, think Xfer Records Cthulhu, but simplified)
Fabrizio Poce / J74 - Progressive ("Max4Life" is needed, Ableton Live bound)

Please note, that a lot of DAW also have Harmony Theory and/or Chord Generation tools built in. Please consult the manual of your go-to software for more information.

More tools of the trade

► Show Spoiler

Need a good starter kit of free instruments?

Instruments:
AKAI - MPC Beats (limited to 1 instance, 8 MIDI + 2 Audio tracks, but can be used as VSTi in any other DAW)
Apisonic Labs - Speedrum (a "spiritual successor" to One Small Clue POISE, Lite version available)
Big Fish Audio - Momentum (a free and powerful WAV/AIFF loop mangler)
IK Multimedia - MODO DRUM CS (one drum kit)
Rayzoon - Jamstix (an amazing drummer brain)
IK Multimedia - MODO BASS 2 CS (one e-bass)
Spitfire Audio - LABS
Spitfire Audio - BBC Symphonic Orchestra Discover
Pianobook - started by Spitfire Audio's co-founder Christian Henson, offers many free/affordable sample sets
Orchestral Tools - SINEfactory
Vienna Symphonic Library - the "HELLO Free Instruments" series (offering an Orchestra, Piano, Small Percussion and more)
kv331 audio - Synthmaster Player (the free version comes with over 600 presets!)
Cherry Audio - Voltage Modular Nucleus ("entry level" to Modular Synthesis, usable as plugin or instrument)
DISTRHO - Cardinal (a proper open-source variant of VCV Rack, plugin variants available)
Surge Synth Team - Surge-XT (a free and open source hybrid synthesizer)
Matt Tytel - Vital (spectral warping wavetable synth, a free "basic" version is available)
VSTBuzz - Freebie Collection page, plenty of good material to find there (often Native Instrument Kontakt bound)
Sonic Charge - Cyclone (Yamaha TX16W/Typhoon sampler)
CWItech - TX16Wx Software Sampler (If you want a highly powerful Soundfont2 loader / sampler)

Please do remember, our kind License Provider Musiclab also offer 30 day trial versions of their virtual guitar range.

More recommendation for free/affordable tools can be found at the #audio-tech-deals section on our Discord server.

UPDATED: 31-MAR-2023 05:10 UTC+2, updated 11-APR-2023 06:50 UTC+2

[A Future in Noise]

Hi, I just thoght that I might reveal my strange nickmame: Hereit is. Not everyone has heard this record. I'm totally out of of inspiration. Maybe better tomorrow who knows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj_8oRKubpk

[Mister Fox]

A friendly reminder:
Including today, 14 days left to submit your production.

So far, we have 0 entries -- and barely any game interaction.



If you want to access the extended game mechanics of the Songwriting Competition (asking for feedback during production), please try to release your first edits within the next 7 days to have enough time to get possible feedback (if needed/wanted) and continue to work on your song.

And to those sitting on the fence - please don't feel scared off and think "the bar is set too high, I will never make it" - set yourself a shorter private deadline. Just make music, submit your entry, join the conversation. See where this goes.

By joining, you're already a winner. The rest is bonus.

[A Future in Noise]

The postcard above is (obviously) the one I was inspired by.

Equipment used:

Electric guitar: BurnOut. (Origin: Unclear.) Acoustic guitar: Cort AD 810.

DAW: REAPER

Modo bass, modo drums, NI Kontakt Player Organ, Blue3 Organ.

Some other free drumsamples from the Internet imported into Shortcircuit.

NadIR cabinet from Ignite amps with IR-files from the internet (Ampeg V4-B Custom 4x12, mtg-2).

Independence Free delay and low cut filter. Two times Reverberate LE and IR files from Samplicity. Tube Amp from Voxengo. Hybrit ampsim from Le Pou. JS transient controller.

EQ: ReaEQ (Cockos) and TR5 EQ-81 (IK Multimedia)

What's Expected From Me

Verse1:
I admit, a bad habit
trying to get it all
to simply grab it
run and never fall
they made me feel small

Verse2:
Some champagne and a limo
it was my only call
when me and Timo
met outside the mall
an evening that ...
[Prechorus]
fall
an event to be forgotten
to remember?

Chorus1:
Just outside my window
they are playing
somehow I feel it's against the law
still it happens
every day
I wonder what's expected from me?

Verse3:
I have a foot shackle, baby
but I'm rather tall
I think that maybe
I'll make it to the hall
so no Summer ...
[Prechorus]
Ball
masquerades are not my business
I'm (much) too honest!

Chorus2:
Just outside my window
they are playing
somehow I feel it's against the law
still it happens
every day
and
I know what was expected ...

Bridge:
… from me
Maybe I will get released
soon
surely
my name will be carved
in a stone

[Chorus (instrumental)]

[_StillBorn]

Super stupid question but havent attended one of these before.

Is this the picture, I am to get inspiration from? Or is it any postcard(s)?

[A Future in Noise]

Is this the picture, I am to get inspiration from? Or is it any postcard(s)?

[The Exponent]

I have the same doubt as @_StillBorn. What's the theme? Is it this particular postcard picture or the word "postcards"?

[The Exponent]

These words came to me very quickly. No more than five minutes. The only problem is that I don't really know what the lyrics is about. Maybe it will become clear when I write (have to) write the lyrics for the verses (which don't even exist musically yet).

My main question: Is the lyrics for the chorus OK, or is it too weird?

I like the snippet you've posted! It doesn't sound weird at all, it flows well. Please do finish it, looking forward to it