SONGWRITING COMPETITION - What theme / genre would you like to see next?

[Arelem]

I wasn't really thinking of anything that specific. Just kind of a broad, no 4/4. I suppose that could be a bit too open. Maybe prog rock could be a good one. I'm not familiar with the genre though I would have to do some research for that one.

[Astronaught]

A chiptune song with a theme, as simple as that

[Mister Fox]

Just some quick feedback.


@Arelem -- we had SWCs that aren't your typical 4/4 beats before. Like SWC052/December 2021 (Ballroom Dance), or SWC022/June 2019 (AI enhanced composing), technically even the "Psychedelic Rock" based SWC (SWC042/February 2021) could have gone that route.

I can try to do a specific "time measure" limited game at some point. But there is really no limit if you want to do 3/4, 7/8, even 12/8 or something in a regular game.



@Astronaught -- I like the idea, but won't make any promises on a game in the imminent future. Apologies for the inconvenience.

[JeroenZuiderwijk]

What I would like is to do a challenge exactly the opposite of this month challenge. Everybody gets the same standard chordprogression but the musicstyle is free to decide. i think it is realy interesting to hear the different approaches with the same starting point. It could be as simple as a standard C Em G D chord progression.

Jeroen

[Mister Fox]

Interesting idea for a possible future game in that general realm, @JeroenZuiderwijk.

That leaves one question for me: should this also provide a corresponding melody line on top, or not?

[StoryGirlOz]

Has there been a comp round for ambient electronica yet? Could be an opportunity for synth-heads and acousmatic practitioners to flex their chops?

[Mister Fox]

We actually scratched the surface a couple of times with MC074 (October 2023 / idea to create a more ambient mood) or the games in May (MC069 / May 2023 and MC057 / May 2022), which had more focus on electronic music. We also had two "Chill-Out" inspired games with SWC031 (March 2020, "Take a break") and SWC048 (August 2021, "Breathing Space"). Funny enough, SWC047 (July 2021, "Video Game Soundtrack" based game) had the request to create more "ambient heavy" music that would work in a sci-fi grand strategy video game.


However, a definite set genre like "Ambient Electronica" has not been the case so far.

Please also see the Songwriting Competition Statistics Page (which also lists all themes/genres from recent years).


This might also be because of the topic of "interpretation" (which has been a thing for debate in recent years), finding suitable source material for inspiration, etc. This often also resulted in "I'm not good in this genre, so why even join?!" (or worse: fulfilling an explicit request, and then nobody joined in the first place). It's not easy to find a balance, to create an interesting game for everyone, while still having high participation.

This is where the "Picture Theme" type games come in. You can interpret the material how you seem fit.
Just be creative, and make music in the first place.


But I will keep this on the map.
The plethora of notes on my desk still list some interesting topics / genres for possible future games.

[Elcubano]

A challenge “to compose in the style of” eg: NIN , the Cure, Black sabath etc....

[PonySho]

Hi Mister Fox. Here are some ideas for songwriting challenge IDEAS.

1. Write a song/music piece with a chorus hook line based on "this" melody. A simple piano melody is provided to participants.
2. Write a song/music piece based on these chorus lyrics. The lyrics are provided.
3. Write a song/music piece based on this story idea. The story is provided.
4. Write a song/music piece based on a current news theme.
5. Write a song/music piece based on a short movie clip. A short 5 - 10-second video clip is provided.
6. The 'write a song based on a photo' is powerful method that you've already done. AND this can work well with other image types like patterns and surrealistic paintings.

I hope that's useful.