SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC058 June 2022 - Winners announced

[Mellow Browne]

Hey there,

here is my submission for the contest:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QHDmcS ... sp=sharing

I´m not sure if I will have the time to make a final mix, but I will give some more information about the process tomorrow.

Stay tuned!

[Olli H]

My submission

Olli H: Take The Garbage Out

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19ViwUf ... VGpeq/view

This month's theme was "spring cleaning." So, it was quite natural to me to create a bit corny song. The pair who sings the song, is unable to create any real changes in their life, so they'll be singing the same song for the rest of their life. They kind of enjoy quarreling with each other. And of course I added some room and possibility to interpret the whole thing as a process of mental cleaning.

My jazz submission is heavily inspired by jazz guitarist Charlie Christian (1916-1942). He played also in Benny Goodman sextet. I hope there's enough speed for this month's theme (200 BPM). Charlie Christian influenced heavily forthcoming bebop and rock'n'roll instrumentalists. Even today he's quite influential.

Although it may spoil the whole song, I couldn't resist adding the waltz-tempo intro. I actually like it, but I guess that the real reason for it is that I just wanted to study how to make a transition from slow waltz to high-speed 4/4. The classical trick seems to be that the waltz part should be about 2/3 of the high-speed part. So in this case (2*200 BPM)/3 ≈ 133 BPM.

As there was a suggestion to "spice up things with kitchen utensils", I decided to add some sounds from the cleaning tools, but not as foley effects but rather as instruments among other's. I wish they blend naturally with real instruments, and you don't notice where they are. Dust broom was a bit difficult to play musically, but I managed to use it also in quick part.

I tried to add some doses of controlled chaos. At least there are many multi-layered parts where each instrument plays different parts. Also the leading role changes quite quickly. I think they together created enough of mess. But still I didn't want to create clutter, but preferred to have some sort of focus points for ear to naturally follow.

Horns are played in with guitar. As I wanted to preserve improvisational feeling, I recorded many loops of each instrument parts, and then chose the best ones for this song. Chosen parts I converted to midi. And of course I had to do some editing to emphasize each instruments natural nuances. I'm not that happy with Native Instruments horns, but as I don't happen to have those expensive alternatives, I had to go with them. But I'm still quite happy with the results.



SOUNDS
Drums: SSD
Double Bass: Trilian with added home made samples
Acoustic and electric guitars: real
Tuba, saxophone, trombone, klarinet, trumpet: NI
Vocal place holders: me and me

Percussive samples: home made
- dust broom
- brushing the kitchen sink
- window cleaning spray bottle

[Mellow Browne]

So, here is the final mix of my submission:

"Falling In Love With Jazzmin"

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QHDmcS ... sp=sharing

I used Scaler for the chord progression, it´s the preset "Jazz 5" because I didn´t want to take too much time to come up with an idea. So I looped the chord progression using Kontakt and went for that straight jazzy piano sound and I also added the percussion elements to get that "latin vibe".
I played the drums myself on my Roland TD 17 KVX and used the sounds from the module, and yes, I know there are some timing issues, but I didn´t want to "cheat" so I did not edit the midi tracks, I just started playing the drums a few months ago, so it´s not perfect. I only made one take and was very happy with that but I didn´t know how to arrange a jazz song, so I just played what I was feeling and built the arrangement around my take, so this is the "chaotic" part of my submission. I know, it´s very simple and only 90 BPM, but it was still hard for me to play the drums at this tempo.
I also used my Yamaha bass for the first part, I really wanted that "live performance" feeling.
The rest of the arrangement and instrumentation was just my feeling of what I had in mind when thinking about Jazz.
The second part is just an upright bass from Logic Pro X sampler.

What I used:

Drums: Roland TD 17 module played live. It has no multiple output, just simple stereo, so I had to record every single midi track at once.
Bass: Yamaha bass + upright bass from Logic Pro Sampler
Piano and e-Piano: NI Kontakt
Percussion: NI Kontakt + Xpand!2
Marimba and Vibraphone: Logic Pro Sampler
Flute: Logic Pro Sampler
Trumpet: Orchestral Companion Brass

[Mister Fox]

A friendly reminder:
We're in the final 24 hours to submit your production.



Please get your production ready and submitted (through the forum) today.
And to make it easier for me to create the collection post, please update your initial post with the appropriate links. Thank you.

[EsteveCorbera]

Challenge mates and Mister Fox, Good afternoon !!

I present my topic for this month's challenge.
The famous singer Joana Parabarà has returned to give concerts. This time he is giving a concert in an intimate hall on the outskirts of the city. People are waiting. They want to see and hear the famous singer again. It will be an impressive live performance that only the most select group of guests will be able to hear. You are lucky to be able to enjoy this evening.

I hope you like it more this time

Thanks mates.



(translated with google)

Equipment:
DAW:
Reason 12

Instruments:
ID8 Instrument Device
Reason Rack Extension J Chris Griffin Virtual Audience

Other instruments outside of Reason:
Sonivox ClassicBass
AIR Music Tech Velvet

Utilities:
SongWish reMIDI 2
HoRNet Plugins HoRNet SongKey MK3


Effects:
RV7000 MkII Advanced Reverb
The Echo
Neptune Pitch Adjuster & Voice Synth

Players:
Scales & Chords

Samples:
Deep Jazz House Vocals

Other effects outside of Reason:
Plugin-alliance Unfiltered Audio Bass-Mint
Waves Vitamin Sonic Enhancer
Waves Renaissance Vox
Waves Vitamin Sonic Enhancer

Other tools:
iZotope Ozone 9
Plugin Alliance SPL HawEye

[VCA-089]

FLAC: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HmvynR ... sp=sharing
MP3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Xn8B-q ... sp=sharing

I know very little about jazz. It's kinda hard to get into music that people spend years learning in the university. I have listened a few records a while ago, but mostly I was inspired by some intricate fusion-jazz tracks fro recent one synth challenge. This entry is more like a "loose interpretation" than a thoughout composition.

I was looking for more modern jazz/fusion sound. I also tried to create a suitable performance for a quartet: drummer, bassist and two keyboard players (one for grand piano and one for synths/electric piano).

The chaotic and rushed feel is kinda normal to me when it comes to producing music last hour before deadline. I tried to experiment with some odd timing, tempo changes and crazy solos. I also not pretty sure what key/mode this song is, everything is done intuitively by ear.

Instruments and techniques:

1. The drums is one of the standard drum kits in FL Studio.
2. The bass is Ample Sound "ABP Lite II".
3. The electric piano is AAS "Lounge Lizard Session".
4. The grand piano is a Stineway preset in FL Studio's "FLEX".
5. The synth pad is Martin Lauders "PG-8X".
6. The synth solo is U-He's "Repro-1".
7. The birds in the intro is from "Sounds of Life" sample pack from Ocean Swift.

Produced in FL Studio 20.9.2.

Technical details:

► Show Spoiler

Generators:

x1 FPC
x1 Ample Sound "ABP Lite II"
x1 AAS "Lounge Lizard Session"
x1 FLEX
x1 Martin Lauders "PG-8X"
x1 U-He "Repro-1"

Native effects:

x1 Balance
x1 Parametric EQ 2
x1 Stereo Enhancer
x1 dB Meter
x1 Wave Candy

VST effects:

x11 AdHd "Leveling Tool"
x15 TDR & VoS "Slick EQ GE"
x2 VoS "epicVerb"
x1 U-He "ColourCopy"

Master chain:

TDR Nova
TDR Limiter №6 GE

Total:

x6 Generators
x36 Effects
x22 MIDI Patterns
x18 Mixer Tracks
x2 Audio Clips
x9 Automation Clips

phpBB [media]

[Mister Fox]

It is the 25th June 2022, 1:05 UTC+2/CEST - this month's Songwriting Competition has official ended


STATISTICS:

• If I didn't miscount, we have 7 submissions this month (2 entries less than last month, and also 2 more than June 2021)
• We have 0 submissions after the deadline (as of 25-JUN-2022 1:05 UTC+2/CEST)
• We have 0 submissions that has been disqualified (production released outside of the game's timeframe)
• We have 0 submissions that have been withdrawn (but counts as entry within the deadline)
• The "staff balancing vote" add-on rule does not apply (I might add final words regardless / step in if there are ties)
• "Sole Winners Podium" rule (equal or less than eight participants results in a single winner) does apply (1-position Winners Podium)

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 downloadable. We then perform with the final feedback and "public vote" system.


We have 7 participants. That means that each participant can vote for 6 tracks, the staff will will not cast a balance vote, unless there is a tie that can't be broken (or if it would add a bit more spin to the game).

Please take note of the Rules and Guidelines (see post #7) on giving feedback (mandatory for all participants). Even if you already gave feedback prior to the deadline, please offer some final encouraging words, and maybe give some additional tips for possible improvements on the way. The only main criteria to drop out of the game, is if you do not participate.

Please cast your vote in collective form through the "spoiler text" bbcode. Please use the forum username of the participant to make it easier during the score collection to address what vote belongs to whom. To get an idea how this usually works, please take a look at the last two Songwriting Competition for how your feedback and vote could look like:

SWC057 - Song Collection and follow-up
SWC056 - Song Collection and follow-up



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!

[Mister Fox]

Let us kick off the VOTING PROCESS, which will end on Friday, 01-JUL-2022 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.


.

"The Saint And The Sinner"



BONUS VIDEO:

► Show Spoiler

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"Spring2022"

WAV_44k_24 version: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C_6mV9 ... sp=sharing
MP3_320: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FW_a-x ... sp=sharing

"TheCleaner"



WAV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cbcxU3 ... sp=sharing

"Take The Garbage Out"

WAV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19ViwUf ... VGpeq/view

"Falling In Love With Jazzmin"

WAV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QHDmcS ... sp=sharing

"Jazz En Directe"

"Two Days Before Summer"



FLAC: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HmvynR ... sp=sharing
MP3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Xn8B-q ... sp=sharing

BONUS VIDEO:

► Show Spoiler

phpBB [media]

.



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


<no bonus entries>
.


Please consult the Rules and Guidelines (see post #7) on how your vote could look like. And to make it simple for me for counting the votes - please use the forum usernames in your listing. Thank you!

SWC058 participants giving feedback to each other (to every participant) is mandatory. If you've collaborated with somebody, then only the one doing the main entry needs to give feedback and vote (everything else is bonus). Ideally, please focus on the "overall experience", and what you think could be improved in a future release of this production (technical or even instrumentation), maybe even provide the occasional tip for mixing. Please be open minded, objective and constructive.


INFORMATION: If you've submitted your entry in multiple file formats, the statistic sheet (posted alongside the results) will focus on the uncompressed material first (WAV), then FLAC, then MP3. The higher the quality, the less possible loss on bonus points for "Loudness Specs" due to offsets introduced by a used CODEC.


Good luck to all participants!




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

[VCA-089]

I've added YouTube video to my submission post...

[Olli H]

"The client" asked a composition that is
- jazz song
- with hi-speed
- theme: "spring cleaning"
- includes some sort of chaos

To be a jazz song, I quess it should have
- jazzy groove
- improvisational elements

And typically jazz improvisations happens around
- some composed theme

So, from this list I used following criterias when I was thinking the feedback and the points.

Composed theme
Jazzy groove
Hi-speed
Improvisational elements
Chaotical elements
Overall comments
Other values

I left out the theme, because it was too difficult for me to evaluate if the "cleaning theme" was musically expressed.



==============

KukoBass

The opening piano (5 s) is a bit uncertain, but after that starts this month's best riff. Very cool. But at the same time it's so dominant that your song gets prisoned by this riff. Later the trumpet comes in and tries to take the leading role, but without succeeding in it. Listening attention stays firmly in that organ riff. Even though I'd like to listen what other instruments do. Check the Pink Panther Theme Song. It has a similar extremely dominant riff. But that riff is taken down as the verse ends, and other instruments can freely improvise around that main theme. And later it comes back.

Your drummer surely knows his stuff. Great jazz drums with hi-hat-beat and nice syncopation hits with the snare here and there. Just perfect. Maybe a bit slow tempo for this competition. As the drums are stereo, they give nice modern sound for this small jazz ensemble.

I was expecting the organ player to go wild in some part, but unfortunately he/she stays rigidly in the main riff. So, also his playing seems to be prisoned by the main riff.

The piano doesn't swing with the rest of the band. It feels as if the player feels uncertain of what to play.


==============

MellowBrowne

Cool starting rhythm. Jungle jazz about to start. But after some time that rhythm starts to feel a bit too dominating. After some time, as a constant background it doesn't feel jazz at all.

I feel that around 1.00 some musical changes should come. So, song needs more variations.

Around 1.40 cymbals give more jazzy feeling. But around here the cool starting rhythm starts to feel a bit annoying. Maybe you could add another more relaxed drum pattern along with that more demanding pattern. Switching between them could give nice relaxed listening experience.

My overall feeling is that his more like a cool experimental backing track where the main instrument is purposely muted. Ie. the listener should add the improvisational lines.


==============

VCA-089

I had a mixed feeling with this one. First I didn't get it at all, but after a couple of listenings I started to feel that it's actually pretty good. Maybe with even more listening rounds I might have found some new levels.

Overall feeling is jazzy to me, with an interesting electro-twist in it. Well, at the same time it was slightly distracting. As a jazz listener one expects the emphasis to be on the interpretation side. The sonic character of the first lead instrument (that zembalo-like sound) didn't feel so expressive from the players point of view. Maybe that sound was more suitable to some supporting background role. The next distorted instrument had a much more expressive sound.

Overall listening feeling was that the song is maybe slightly lacking in structure. It was a bit difficult to distinguish the parts. Maybe the chords playing piano felt too static, or even mouse-written. But then came the superb ending with tempo change. And that was something. After that I realized that you should have shown similar relaxed musical virtuosity also in the first part of the song. The ending part flows naturally musically, while the starting part has some sort of theoretical stagnation in it.

In your previous submissions I have heard some sonic superskills from you. To my ears, this one didn't have similar sonic levels, but on the other hand the ending showed you have also musical virtuosity within you. If in your forthcoming submissions you manage to put them out at the same time, you'll surely be creating something very unique.



==============

becseigyorgy

This one is clearly the one with ambitions and many levels. There are nice changes of mood. Full of ideas. Separate piano part. Marimba comes in just in the right time, etc.

After that great horn intro, starts a drum part, little like Benny Goodman's "Sing, Sing, Sing" with wild rhythms. It creates a nice feeling that something is about to come.

After some time the drums start to feel too dominating, and maybe too monotonic or too looping. Sonically, maybe those drums could be 5 metres from the listener, with more room sound and less transients. Check that Benny Goodman's drum riff. Every now and then those drums go back to more relaxed swing. And when they come back, they give the needed energy lift at that moment. The same trick might work here. That way you would provide more wow-effects to the listener.

Horns starting around 1.00 feel a bit like mechanic machine. Around here there are some groove problems. As if the horns or marimba is playing straight 8-parts while other instruments are more in a swing feel.

Somewhere around 2.00 my attention gets lost. Your band changes into the improvisational mode. As if everybody forgets the song. It gets a bit chaotic. Well, that was asked in the competiton task, but maybe it could be more musical chaos?

Some irrelevant comments. In the opening part the trumpet's vibrato like effect feels a little mechanic on/off effect. If you can automate some ease-in-ease-out feeling to it, it would be more natural.
Also some horn parts feel sonically quite synthetic.

But overall excellent. I would say: forget the competition theme and the jazz, and let your musical instinct dominate the direction for this song. You'll end up with a great and wholly coherent song.


==============

EsteveCorbera

This clearly has the best jazz improvisation feelings of this month provided by the piano player. Very nice and 100% jazz lines there. Well done!

There's a nice jazzy chord progression but at the same time this song feels to lack the main theme. It's never introduced, for also the singer goes directly to improvisational tricks. Actually that "yabba dabba doo" -singin starts to feel a bit annoying after certain time, for without the main theme it starts to feel irrelevant mouth playing, not like an improvisation around the main theme.

The pianist has a clear vision what jazz is. But that creates a big contrast with the drummer. As if the drummer brought only the ride cymbal and forgot to take the rest of the kit with him/her. Most of the time he/she plays just steady 1/4 notes with the ride cymbal. So, no swing at all there. Later another drummer comes in, but he plays only simple hits with the hi-hat. Maybe these drummers were picked randomly from the audience as a part of the live show. But that pianist surely rescues the show. Despite the drummers, the feeling is still very jazz.



==============

GamaGama


Great main theme you have here. You surely have an ear for nice melody lines and supporting chord changes. But after about 30 seconds I start to miss the next phase or the next mode of your song. And it never comes.

But anyway, I love that guitar playing. Nice double notes. But at the same time, as the song moves on, that guitar playing somewhat stagnates the song. I'm longing for the improvisational moments. Maybe there should be parts where guitarist does some single note runs. Well, I know that Chet Atkins style is not one of the easiest, but listen to how he smoothly changes from steady harmonized simple beats to free and flowing single note picking.

Drums are well done, but a bit slow tempo for this months competition

Bass feels overcompressed. Maybe the problem is in the sample library, but still it feels as if the noise of the strings is pumped up by the compressor.

But then comes that cool "trumpet". Now the true jazz starts. And now comes in the brave part of this month. My attention level rose up immediately. That was the surprise I'll remember the best afterwards from this month's submissions. Idea: how about first singing some "cool improvised guitar fills", and after that try to find a way to play them note-by-note and with the same attitude with your guitar.

► Show Spoiler

1. (10 pts) - becseigyorgy
2. (9 pts) - VCA-089
3. (8 pts) - GamaGama
4. (7 pts) - EsteveCorbera
5. (6 pts) - KukoBass
6. (5 pts) - MellowBrowne