SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC091 March 2025 - Submissions until 24-MAR-2025 23:59 UTC+1/CET

[Mister Fox]

Hello and welcome to the Songwriting Competition 091 - March 2025



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, "Premise" and Rules Summary for this months challenge can always be found in in post #002

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



.
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 #000 -- Voting: Summarized entries and start of voting process
Post #000 -- Results: Results of the Songwriting Competition

[Mister Fox]

CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION

Time Frame: Saturday, 01st March 2025 to Monday, 24th March 2025 (24 days)

Challenge submission will end on 24-MAR-2025, 23:59 UTC+1/CET (Germany) - until further notice.

The current game deadlines can be found on the Global Countdown page and on the landing site. Short reminders will also be sent out via the newsletter, social media and Discord. Does the game time frame feel too long? Why not set yourself a personal shorter one of 5-7 days. Push yourself to focus on the essentials, then use the rest of the time to ask for feedback and possible refinements.



SONGWRITING THEME: "I offer you a chord (progression)" (Special Task Challenge)
GENRE: free to select



Image Source: iStock, photo by puhimec



A few word about this month's theme:

In recent years, the focus of the songwriting game in March has been on "special tasks". This year will be no different. However, the idea behind it not only goes way back, it it has also been a recurring request.

On that behalf... "I offer you a chord (progression)"
.



Your task for this Songwriting Competition:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This month, you can create a production in any music genre you feel like.

The twist -- the song must be built upon the provided 16-bar chord sequence (progression), which is in the key of F Lydian and is available in MIDI form. However, there are also screenshots of the chords with the corresponding Roman numerals.


You can find the source material for "SWC091 / March 2025" here, and again further down below:
SWC091 Source Material - on the Mix Challenge server (0,68 MB, regular ZIP)


Some minimal Ground Rules:

• you must built your production upon the given chord progression
• you are allowed to simplify the chords, change the inversion, slightly modulate for certain sections of the song (e.g. Chorus or Bridge), have something in different octaves and such - as long as the song key and the main chords remain intact

If you are not (that) well versed in harmony theory (nobody can know everything), then this game also offers the opportunity to look at tools you may already have at your disposal, or to test new equipment (see the Helper Tools section of the SWC Addendum megathread). Experiment, try something new.


I'm looking forward to what you come up with!

Songwriting Rule Summary:

► Show Spoiler

Summary:

• 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), exceptions apply regarding vocal sample usage and certain songwriting tools)
• 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 of other artists, no ripped acapella's -- please only showcase your own new and original content (you are allowed to "remix yourself", recreate an old project, etc)
• 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:

• you must use the provided source material
• <no (additional) add-on rules specified>

Filename Template: SWC091__ArtistName__TrackName.wav or .mp3

• example: SWC091__MisterFox__ColorOfTheSky.wav
• example: SWC091__Mister_Fox__Color_of_the_sky.wav

Please also try to provide only one file format (ideally the highest quality possible).


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

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Source Files:

SWC091 Source Material - on the Mix Challenge server (0,68 MB, regular ZIP)

The provided files were packed using normal ZIP compression (Deflate, Ultra). This format should work on all operating systems and does not require any special tools to extract. If you have problems extracting the files, please make sure that your OS apps are up-to-date!


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


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"
Licenses 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 Saurus4 to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Tone2: https://tone2.com



kv331 audio is kind enough to either give away a SynthMaster 1+2 Bundle, or a freely selectable set of 3 SynthMaster Expansions
Licenses 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 any one license of winner's choice, alternatively any-2 licenses "Custom Bundle" with a total value less than 20 EUR MSRP
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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

[Mister Fox]

AUDIO EXAMPLES:
---------------------

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

!	Bonus Info
	To those being confused with abbreviations... Cm = C min = C minor Cmaj = C major And for our German participants: Dur = major (Modus major / cantus durus) -- from latin: durus, "hard" Moll = minor (Modus minor / cantus mollis) -- from latin: mollis, "soft"

Music examples (selection for inspiration, 00 videos):

No music examples available this month. However, I can always recommend to enter random genre search words either on YouTube, Spotify or other music streaming services you prefer using.
.



If you're new to songwriting, or you are in need for new helper tools, instruments, samples or presets -- please check out the following:

Songwriting Competition - Addendum: Tools to help with songwriting (outsourced megathread)


BONUS INFO FOR SWC091:
Check out the Helper Tools section in post #002 of the megathread. If you are not well versed in harmony theory, these tools can help you build upon the given source material.

The thread is updated / expanded at irregular intervals.


.
UPDATED: 28-FEB-2025 00:05 UTC+1, updated 00-MAR-2025 00:00 UTC+1

[EsteveCorbera]

Great idea. I like it!!

Esteve

[Chasey24]

Greetings Mr. Fox,

I hope everyone in the community is well. I have a couple of questions about this month's theme.

1. Does this chord progression have to stay in the same timing as presented in the MIDI files? In other words, for section 1, the Fmaj chord is 2 beats, Gmaj: 2 beats, Amin: 3beats, etc.

2. In the ground rules, it mentions, "slightly modulate for certain sections of the song (e.g. Chorus or Bridge)". Does "modulate" in this instance mean we can change keys or change some of the chords?

Sincerely,
Chasey24

[Mister Fox]

Let me try to answer this...

1. Does this chord progression have to stay in the same timing as presented in the MIDI files? In other words, for section 1, the Fmaj chord is 2 beats, Gmaj: 2 beats, Amin: 3beats, etc.

Yes -- as this is the main challenge here. You got a chord progression, and a certain basis structure already. You need to build upon that.

You can of course speed the whole pattern up, or slow it down. Create "phrases" so that it's not just straight chords, you can use a different inversion to have a better transition from the first F maj chord to the second chord G Maj. Naturally, you can also add your own bass lines, melody, counter melody, bridge sections, etc.

But else... you have to keep the chord structure intact.

2. In the ground rules, it mentions, "slightly modulate for certain sections of the song (e.g. Chorus or Bridge)". Does "modulate" in this instance mean we can change keys or change some of the chords?

Since I'm not that versed in harmony theory myself (my expertise is in a different realm), I might not be able to answer this in a suitable manner. Basically, "modulating" is shifting the song key to a different one. For example for a chorus, or an intro, or a dramatic section, an outro, etc.

Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is a bit of an extreme example, since the song starts at Bb min then "modulates upwards" to Ab Maj for most of the song. But this is "modulation". Another example would the The Beatles with "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" which is (for the intro and verse) in the key of A, then modulates to the key of G Maj for the Chorus, then goes back down to the key of A again.

If you want to go that sophisticated, go ahead. However, the "core" is still the Key of F (Lydian mode) - and it should be like that for most of the song. What you build around that, is up to you.



BONUS CONTENT:

Here is a video on the topic by "PianoTV"
PianoTV - 12 Amazing Key Changes/Modulations in Pop Music (2016)

The algorithm might then forward you to something like the videos from Rick Beato. For example:
Rick Beato - Music Theory Lecture: How To Use Modulations Part 1 (2017)
Rick Beato - Music Theory Lecture: How To Use Modulations Part 2 (2017)

Or you might land on some more complicated content, like with Chopin...
En blanc et noir - How Chopin Approaches a Harmonic Climax / Chromatic Mediants / Ger6+ (2024)

[i-dont-like-mixing]

Hey,

Here's my track: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K-dr3A ... sp=sharing

At first when listening to the original chords I was going toward some sort of traditional instruments, folk style, then I started playing with synth', then everything ended up in electro-pop boom chaak, cause I'm too lazy and that was easier.

Everything is ITB on headphone.

[juhu]

...ended up in electro-pop boom chaak.

Hey, nice track but for some reason sounds over-the-top distorted on my system, wondering whether you were going for heavy distortion intentionally or whether it might be some kind of technical fluke?

[alphageeks]

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/02d4azt2 ... crhcg&dl=0

Nice to meet you.
I'm not from an English-speaking country, so I can't read English and am participating using a translation tool.
I may be going against the rules, and it's my first time here so I don't know what to do, but I hope you'll be kind to me.

[i-dont-like-mixing]

...ended up in electro-pop boom chaak.

Hey, nice track but for some reason sounds over-the-top distorted on my system, wondering whether you were going for heavy distortion intentionally or whether it might be some kind of technical fluke?

Thanks, some of it is on purpose and some of it is me trying to reach the specs for the contest, the right panned lead synth sound less harsh in the original.

Thank you for listening