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

SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC064 December 2022 - Winners announced

Thematic Songwriting Competition - recurrence: monthly
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A Future in Noise
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Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC064 December 2022 - Voting until 03-JAN-2022 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#31

Post by A Future in Noise »

”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.”

OK: My experience this (/the previous) month is that some gaslighting occurred. Luckily it doesn't happen very often. Apart from that: I (almost) always try to find chord progressions, musical arrangements, melodies and lyrics/words/phrases that distinguishes the song I'm working with from other songs, to make it a potential hit song, for the charts. (For people like me born in the 60s.) This is (almost) always my main effort, and this means I would never waste any energy, when the song is finished (if it ever gets finished), on listening in various different speakers https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PeUCuV ... share_link , afterwards. I simply don't see it as my job, I don't have enough energy, and there is also a limit as to how many times I can listen to my own pieces of music. I don't want to listen to any of my songs so many times that I begin to hate it. This is a song writing competition, after all.

I have been told, though, that maybe I should try to develop, as composer, and write something more modern / up to date. And I often say the same thing to myself. This month's competition, where it will almost be necessary to use synths, could be on option to do that. In this context: I've been creating dozens of wavetables. Especially the sound from the electric drill I provided was fun to use. I have at least 10 Wts from it; the shape of their wave forms varies very much. A very easy way to get use of them, is to simply use the Surge synth's presets, and change/switch/swap the WT originally used and use one of my own, instead. Ideally, of course, I'd like to “construct” patches of my own, and I'll try to to that. But it's a matter of time, and as far as I can see it should be in accordance with the rules to just change/switch/swap WT (?).

That's all (three paragraphs).

Feedback and voting:

KukoBass: Well, like you have pointed out yourself, your singing skills are not fully developed yet. Despite of this I liked your song. It has got potential. I liked the entire instrumentation / mix and the way the different parts succeed each other.

colorado weeks: I think I would have eq:d the funky guitar a little bit brighter. It sounds a bit … I don't know what word to use … hollow? Vox seems to be perfect, in that respect. You (/I) immediately like this track. Good idea with the 3:12 (synth-) strings. Maybe after the sax solo, you could have ended there. The final “my plans are out the window”, sung in the same way as before, feels like one time too much.

Arelem: A moving / atmospheric piece of music. Variation, even in terms of dynamics. The deep firm bass that comes in at 0:21 is well balanced. But I wonder one thing: that hand clap? It sounds exactly the same throughout the whole song. Why? I think it would be very interesting to listen to a version where you simply have removed the synthetic, totally “dead”, hand clap. It's fully possible everyone would say (even me) that something is missing. But we don't know that yet.
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Last edited by A Future in Noise on Mon Jan 02, 2023 08:32 CET, edited 3 times in total.
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SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC064 December 2022 - Voting until 03-JAN-2022 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#32

Post by Mister Fox »

In fairness to everyone participating, kindly please stick to given rules, @A Future in Noise, thanks.
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Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC064 December 2022 - Voting until 03-JAN-2022 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#33

Post by A Future in Noise »

Mister Fox wrote:
Mon Jan 02, 2023 04:19 CET
In fairness to everyone participating, kindly please stick to given rules, @A Future in Noise, thanks.
Correction made, so I'm sticking to the rules. I will also, very soon, speicify what equipment I have used, and then write my biography.
Dear David John

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC064 December 2022 - Voting until 03-JAN-2022 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#34

Post by Dear David John »

What did I get as an out-take from this round:
Well that question is one I would prefer to correctly answer over a whiskey on the rocks and maybe even some cheap narcotics, BUT seeing as though I don't have either of the two, I will make it quick and simple.
I learnt that music remains art. This needs to be remembered always. It cannot be boxed in or confined to categories. It will inherently (if done with sincerity) go the way it wants. It will follow its own path which will inevitably frustrate the writer. Its that frustration, that inner anger which refuses to understand "why the drums just don't fit". Its that artistic turmoil that truly strengthens one as a musician/artist/producer/singer/songwriter.

Here's a challenge of my own for ALL OF YOU!!
I challenge you to, before you hit the first note, strum the first string or crash the first cymbal... Go back and read old comments and feedbacks. And actually understand what's being said and make a point of correcting, to the best of your ability, what was said previously could be fixed or done differently. BECAUSE some of these tracks have implored the VERY thing I mentioned previously as being room for change/improvement and you just take away my will to provide feedback if I am honest with yo, so I will do it as I see fit and points can be deducted as need be as I have never done this for points or praise anyway.

Feedback:
"Out The Window" CW
You just never seize to amaze me. Its very gratifying actually. This track is beautiful and also just a fkn vibe! If I had to crit it wouldn't be so much of a crit because I essentially am asking for more of you. There's alot of room for more adlibs and one shots that you could start looking into now that you are where you are. Like the simple repetition of the word "bolder" and stuff like that. Its a fun world to climb in to and I look forward to hearing you do just that. ACE track doll!

1. Arelem
2. Colorado Weeks
3. Esteve Corbera
4. EKVelika
5. OllieH


Also I will be stepping out of the SWC for a undetermined amount of time to focus on an EP launch which is becoming for of a fking headache then anything else. Please look after each other and Mr Fox and STOP GIVING HIM SO MUCH CRAP <removed>
Stay Creative . Stay Aware.


 ⚠ Moderation Message from Mister Fox  
EDIT 05-JAN-2023:
Removed unnecessary insult. Please refrain from doing that, and maybe tone down with the swearing as well. Thank you.
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SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC064 December 2022 - Voting until 03-JAN-2022 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#35

Post by Mister Fox »

A friendly reminder:
We're in the final 24 hours to submit your feedback and cast your vote.


Please check post #24 regarding the feedback and voting mechanic. Please don't let yourself be put at a disadvantage by not participating (fully). The Songwriting Competition lives from the given feedback towards each other.

Outside feedback is welcome, of course.
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Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC064 December 2022 - Voting until 03-JAN-2022 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#36

Post by becsei_gyorgy »

Happy New Year to all!

My experience:
I think December was quite busy for everyone.
I'm glad some of you have been able to make some good songs during this time of time pressure.

Usually for me, every month when I enter a competition, the first few days (up to 2 weeks) are spent researching and learning ("how to" videos, descriptions etc). Especially if there is a genre (style) I don't know much about that month.
Although I usually need a framework and more rigid instructions and have little preference for "free genre" competitions, this time, with the festive preparations and end of year rush, it was good to have an inspiring image as the theme and no genre restrictions.

So I made a song with simple instrumentation, using instruments that I had used several times before for songwriting. Except the new Synth V Pro: this was my first attempt to write my own full English lyrics and the first vocal track of my life in Synth V pro was also the song that was born. And I was happy that I finished it quite quickly (usually compared to myself).

Unfortunately, due to lack of time during the holidays, I didn't check on the progress of the competition later, and I only listened to the finished songs in the new year.

The new feedback system:
Last time, when I tried the new rating system, I missed writing about each song, even if only very briefly.
I think every song deserves it, even if it's not all good things to write about it, or even if it's only mentioned very briefly in praise.
So I thought I would write 1-2 words about each song.
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Votes:
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SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC064 December 2022 - results in preparation

#37

Post by Mister Fox »

It's the 04th January 2023, 06:20 (UTC+1/CET) - the Voting Period has officially ended.

Sadly, not all participants have submitted final feedback, we would therefore have 1 disqualification.
We also have one feedback post that didn't provide the requested minimum.

I will send out another newsletter/message to those particular participants (@EKVelika), give you until the end of Wednesday, 04-JAN-2022 as per the rule book on the voting process ("overtime mechanic"). If there is a feedback and a vote by the participant in question, only -5 points will be deducted from the scoresheet. Else, sadly a disqualification. I will not alter the Winners Podium.


Once I have this feedback as well, I will post the results within 2-3 days and take "late feedback" into consideration.
(this is not an automated process)


Please have an eye on this thread :educate:
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SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC064 December 2022 - Winners announced

#38

Post by Mister Fox »

Ladies and Gentlemen, here are the results of Songwriting Competition 61

:arrow: The winners podium consists of:
  1. @colorado weeks (71 pts)
  2. @Olli H (62 pts)
  3. @becsei_gyorgy (61 pts)

Apologies for the waiting time, this is not an automated process.

<4 participant rule is not in use (staff comments and votes, my vote would count as bonus)
We have 1 disqualification (due to lack of feedback)
We have 0 withdrawn entries
We have 1 user that didn't give full feedback - therefore -5 points penalty (@Dear David John)
We have 0 users that tied
  • no (more) users that tied
"Sole (License) Winner" rule does not apply - 3-position Winners Podium (>= 9 participants prior to the deadline)


STATISTICS SHEET:
Overview of Submissions (PDF - updated: 05-JAN-2023, full sheet)

 ! Bonus Info
Short info:
I am using Wavelab 10 for batch analysis, then I manually port the CSV export to a Microsoft Excel/Open Office Calc sheet with custom layout (this is not an automated process).

As pointed out in this post from SWC047 / July, Wavelab has different tolerances for dBTP max analysis compared to tools like iZotope RX, Youlean Loudness Meter, NUGEN Audio VisLM, etc. To find a common ground, I've implemented "allowed tolerances" (just like with the Mix Challenge). These are based upon allowed offsets mentioned in the white papers for EBU R128 and ITU-R BS.1770-4. Since no measurement tool is the same, to be on the save side, please export at -14,1 LUFS ILk max, and -1,1 dBTP max.

As usual, I did list/analyze alternative releases (MP3s and FLAC). If you've submitted your entry in multiple file formats, the statistic sheet 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. In this case, FLAC and MP3 are merely for information purposes.



Here are the results as chart in image form:
Image


Thank you so much for your participation. :clap:

 ⚠ Moderation Message from Mister Fox  
INFORMATION:
We're still testing the new feedback and voting mechanic as announced in October 2022. I noticed some possible shortcomings still, and will address this for year 2023. Thank you for the feedback.

For transparency sake:
There was a -5pt deduction for @Dear David John for not giving feedback to everyone. Another -2pt deduction was towards @A Future in Noise, since he didn't submit a production longer than 1:30min. He participated in the first place, so please take this penalty as a learning experience. The point deductions have no influence on the overall score - and I consider it to be a fair compromise for the overall learning experience.

Unfortunately, @EKVelika didn't provide final feedback, neither a final vote. This entry is therefore sadly disqualified.

For future games, please no more borderline stabs towards each other. I will call you out, aggressively edit or delete your post, and in worst cases even disqualify you from the current game. This is a community about making music, not getting into petty fights. Please rather put this energy into creativity and sharing knowledge. Thank you.


:arrow: License selection:

We'll now perform with the usual. Selecting licenses is handled in public. Please select one license/company out of the pool (in order of the winners podium) and mention it in this thread, then (important) please get in touch with me (via PM) with your full name, email address and your license selection.

As usual - you're not forced to pick up anything. You can pass and therefore offer more to select for the next person in line (if there is a spot existing / not available for "sole winner" mechanic). Just let all participants/winners/the staff know in a timely manner (within 5 days). Once one company has been selected, it's out of the pool for the next person on the podium.



I re-open the field for talking some more about each others' productions. If things drift a bit too off-topic, please use the General Gossip thread, or Discord.



See you in in the next challenge!


Songwriting Competition 065 (January 2023) is still in full swing. There is currently no entry.
Spread the word as much as you can - turn "Community Scramble (2023)" into one of the best games we've seen on the platform! :headphones:
colorado weeks
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Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC064 December 2022 - Winners announced

#39

Post by colorado weeks »

uhhh wow. this was a pleasant surprise to wake up to! thanks to everyone for their feedback. i had a great time doing SWC, and i hope the stars will align again in my schedule to allow me to do this again. you all are a great group of songwriters and i've learned so much in this past month from all of you!

i'm interested in picking up a copy of Luftrum Lunaris 2! thanks again!
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Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC064 December 2022 - Winners announced

#40

Post by KukoBass »

Many thanks to Mr. Fox for this month's competition. The theme was fun, and it was very interesting for me to see the different kinds of music which were inspired by this prompt.
Congrats to the winners and thanks to all the participants for the kind feedback.
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