Mix Challenge

Since your name is new to me @patrlord (although you obviously has been a member since 2020), I thought I'd give you some feedback. Feedback to one participant is what my time restrictions allow and it also corresponds to my own late and humble submission.

First of all: The overall EQ in the opening is very good. Low frequencies with perfect dB, IMO. The singer has a soft voice with very delightful timbre. I hear an “unexpected” chord at 0:40 which fits in very well (I don't have time to investigate what it is, it could be a minor chord but it's probably a chord with four tones in it?). Although the verse doesn't really has hit potential (verses seldom have) I find it a pleasant piece of music to listen to.

When it's time for the chorus, my first spontaneous reaction was that verse and chorus don't really belong together? Or maybe they do? In any case I would have made this song much longer. And my old fashioned taste tells me that where this song ends, after the second chorus, I would have just continued that chorus but changed the beat to some kind of more “traditional” backbeat, instead of this more kind of staccato rhythm (which I because of lack of time can't look closer into, so I don't really know what the drummer and the other musicians do to achieve this staccato feeling.)

You have done a great job here – high scores. Maybe I will try to present some kind of ranking this afternoon / evening. We'll see.

It's the 02nd November 2022, 06:00 (UTC+1/CET) - the Voting Period has officially ended.

All participants have submitted final feedback, we would therefore have 0 disqualification.
Please don't change your votes anymore, thank you.


I've already collected all votes, also prepared both the statistics sheet and the vote results sheet. However, there is a lot to unpack this month, and I would like to address this before I post the results. So please, grant me an extra evening for this topic.

Other than that, I am pleased that the majority of you already ported the game mechanic overhaul. I would love to read your feedback on this adjustment over in the news blog.

Please have an eye on the SWC062 thread



In the meantime, why not check out SWC063 / November 2022 and the "Community Scramble" - Sample Collection thread?

I want to thank everyone for their comments and suggestions. As all points of view are, they are certainly very useful for my improvement.
Many thanks!

GamaGama

I would like to provide some final thoughts before unveiling the Score Sheet and Statistic Sheets.

Let me first thank everyone for joining this month. It's great to see that we finally seem to have a steady participation over 8. However, we can do better still. And I do hope to see an average participation of 15 or even 20 users in the foreseeable future. Remember - the more participants, the more interaction and feedback, the more fun.



Which brings me to the elephant in the room: the game itself, and interpreting the given Theme and Genre.

In October, your task was to create something that would fit the more uplifting "Indie Pop" genre. Unfortunately, not everyone adhered to those given parameters, despite me also providing audio demos (see post #03).

While the topic "interpretation" might always be a point of contingency... and yes, Pop Music is a huge Smorgasbord these days. Part of the reason why I post audio demos, is to not just to get some inspiration, but to also get somewhat "into the ballpark". It is not much of an issue if I'm merely posting a "theme" (because our games have "titles"), and an image, then say "whatever comes to mind, go!". However, it is most important for example with games where you have to create a soundtrack for something, and the "client asks you to" do something specific". In this case, I am also offering a subtle learning experience for certain "real world" scenarios.

Maybe I'm just overwhelming you as participant - this can always be the case as well.



Needless to say, while there were some really interesting productions for SWC062, most of them sadly did not fit the "uplifting" theme, or (modern) Indie Pop. The music in certain cases, yes. Vocals is a completely different topic.

Since we talk about vocals -- while it is not frowned upon to use vocal phrase sample packs (yet), I did not expect to hear one entry that built everything around a couple of phrases, while other participants went the extra mile to write up lyrics, recorded and edited them. Granted, it was still a creative idea, and you did "make music" in the first place. But using (Royalty Free) pre-recorded vocal phrases (lyrics) that literally thousands of users could use for their own productions, where do we draw the line? Something that is fair to all participants involved?

The usage of Vocaloid is also something for debate. Engines like Vocaloid and Emvoice were originally meant to be "placeholder", but there are genres where these can be considered "standalone" (see the Hatsune Miku craze). This is certainly something up to debate (maybe even on Discord).

Please also keep in mind, I make very clear every month that you do not have to add/create/record vocals. You can always create an outstanding instrumental productions that can stand on it's own, and you can receive fair feedback and/or suitable points on the Score Sheet. In fact, the only participant that went this route for SWC062, was KukoBass. And while the mix could have seen some improvements, it saddened me to see this entry so low on the Score Sheet.



Speaking of the Score Sheet:

I am pleased that the overhauled game mechanics have been taken in such a positive manner. We can therefore consider the test-run a success. Although some participants still did a bit more than they needed to (e.g. giving feedback to everyone - wrong communication on my end, my bad!). Slight hiccups here and there, but this all comes with experience as we progress in the coming months.

Still, you will notice some "negative points" on the chart in place of the bonus points for the "Voting Process". Having them or not, did not have any influence. In fact, things are easier to read if this column is used for point deductions. So I think I answered my own question regarding the handling of these bonus points.

@Olli H for example lost -1pts, because he forgot to "reflect" on the game. Technically that would be a disqualification. Then again, he has been giving plenty of additional feedback. Plus we're trying something different this month, so I consider this a fair alternative. The -1pts decrease with @ryanc comes from the fact, that he only mentioned the song titles for the votes, not the participants. Which in turn resulted in extra work for me (now imagine having to dig through 30+ entries!). I could have ignored this, then it would have resulted in a "tied participant calculation", which would have still nested him 4th place. So please, next game you join, please use the participant names.

File consistency wise, I've withdrawn points form @Dear David John and @Arelem, because the files did not use the provided filename templates prior to uploading. And technically, not providing a production longer than 1:30min runtime is also not part of the Rule Set - but @Crosshatched is still a fairly new participant that probably ran into severe time management issues. Yet Crosshatched "joined in the first place", so by removing -1pts, I'll also offer this as fair resolution.

@A Future in Noise is not on the score sheet, since that entry was released after the game has ended. Interesting start, but the WIP leaves a lot to be desired, also regarding the provided parameters on theme and genre. Good luck for next month!





In summary:

Thank you everyone for participating in October. I enjoyed listening to your entries. So much creativity in there. But for the future, maybe just pay a little bit more attention to the game's parameters, and basically everything that can result in bonus points.

See you in SWC063!

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

The winners podium consists of:

1. @patrlord (73 pts)
2. @Olli H (67 pts)
3. @Dear David John (55 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 0 disqualification (due to lack of feedback)
We have 0 withdrawn entries
We have 0 votes after the deadline - therefore -5 points penalty
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: 04-NOV-2022, 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:



Thank you so much for your participation.



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 063 (November 2022) is still in full swing. There is currently no entry.
Please help spread the word!

Thank you everyone !

I have already claimed my prize : your priceless feedback to help me improve the mix, especially your comments on the vocals (pitch / mix balance). I leave the goodies to the other participants.

Thank you as always Mister Fox for the incredibly hard work to make this happen every month ...

I'd like to mention a YouTube channel that has helped me really improve my production skills: Big Z
I have included links to his videos and many others in a mind map that I produced to try to cover all aspects of producing electronic music on my website. Hope this might be of interest ! Any comments on how to improve it are welcome.

Hi Future in Noise,
Thanks for taking the time to give me some feedback. In answer to some of your questions

A Future in Noise wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 01, 2022 11:59 CET

I hear an “unexpected” chord at 0:40 which fits in very well (I don't have time to investigate what it is, it could be a minor chord but it's probably a chord with four tones in it?). Although the verse doesn't really has hit potential (verses seldom have) I find it a pleasant piece of music to listen to.

When it's time for the chorus, my first spontaneous reaction was that verse and chorus don't really belong together? Or maybe they do? In any case I would have made this song much longer. And my old fashioned taste tells me that where this song ends, after the second chorus, I would have just continued that chorus but changed the beat to some kind of more “traditional” backbeat, instead of this more kind of staccato rhythm (which I because of lack of time can't look closer into, so I don't really know what the drummer and the other musicians do to achieve this staccato feeling.)

The chord at 0:40 is an Fmin6 with 4 notes as you say, the minor triad plus an additional 6th interval on top.

The staccato rhythm is achieved with lots of off-beat chords that mostly fall outside of the up or down beats in the bar, so they don't compete with the drum beat. For the rerun of the second chorus I made the bass legato to change the dynamic a bit. The staccato feel is what gives the track its energy, and I deliberately wanted to create a contrast between verse (in the past, the person was afraid, hesitant, lacked confidence) and the chorus (in the present, happier and more confident).

I'll take the ModoBass2

Hello Mister Fox,

I just wanted to offer up where maybe some miscommunication came from (at least on my end), so that maybe it won't happen in the future. I really enjoy doing these every month and wouldn't want to make it frustrating for you.

Mister Fox wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 04, 2022 03:38 CET

Which brings me to the elephant in the room: the game itself, and interpreting the given Theme and Genre.

In October, your task was to create something that would fit the more uplifting "Indie Pop" genre. Unfortunately, not everyone adhered to those given parameters, despite me also providing audio demos (see post #03).

While the topic "interpretation" might always be a point of contingency... and yes, Pop Music is a huge Smorgasbord these days. Part of the reason why I post audio demos, is to not just to get some inspiration, but to also get somewhat "into the ballpark". It is not much of an issue if I'm merely posting a "theme" (because our games have "titles"), and an image, then say "whatever comes to mind, go!". However, it is most important for example with games where you have to create a soundtrack for something, and the "client asks you to" do something specific". In this case, I am also offering a subtle learning experience for certain "real world" scenarios.

Needless to say, while there were some really interesting productions for SWC062, most of them sadly did not fit the "uplifting" theme, or (modern) Indie Pop. The music in certain cases, yes. Vocals is a completely different topic.

After reading your explanation above I can see that I did not interpret the prompt this way. When I saw the different subgenres listed after the Pop, I took it as a for instance, or that those are options to choose from. So Pop, indie pop, and uplifting pop would all be different options to choose from. I will admit that I did not really look into the examples, but that is mostly because I try and avoid that sort of direct influence. It can be difficult for me to separate sometimes which can make my writing a unique song more difficult.

Mister Fox wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 04, 2022 03:38 CET

File consistency wise, I've withdrawn points form @Dear David John and @Arelem, because the files did not use the provided filename templates prior to uploading

Not that it made any difference, but I was sure that I did do this so I just tested, and I did. The file downloads with the same naming as the title on SoundCloud, which I believe is correct (at least I thought it was).

-Arelem

Hello,

My feedback:

Dear David John wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 01, 2022 06:09 CET

EsteveCorbera wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 23, 2022 23:32 CEST

Challenge companions and Mister Fox, Good night!!

...

So here I am excitedly wanting to provide feedback on your stella vocal output and even found myself diving into your Plugins used to get that vocal sound youve achieved....

Either way I loved the track. I am however surprised the vocal is a Sample and there is a clear off-key note on the second "you" . How does that happen? I would love to know genuinely.

You mentioned your structure has changed slightly and I do agree this structure is more "acceptable" but I would stick to your guns with what you also usually produce as there are people like myself that enjoy non-structured (as per commercial consumption) based format.

Still this is one of my top tracks for sure this month.

Hi Dear David John.
The samples I added, I ran them through Reason's own pitch corrector. And then I moved them to change the pitch. This is what you must have found.
Thanks

Mister Fox wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 04, 2022 03:38 CET

Since we talk about vocals -- while it is not frowned upon to use vocal phrase sample packs (yet), I did not expect to hear one entry that built everything around a couple of phrases, while other participants went the extra mile to write up lyrics, recorded and edited them. Granted, it was still a creative idea, and you did "make music" in the first place. But using (Royalty Free) pre-recorded vocal phrases (lyrics) that literally thousands of users could use for their own productions, where do we draw the line? Something that is fair to all participants involved?

Hello Mr. Fox,
I like my subject to create controversy by using voice samples. For me, from a technical point of view, using voices and integrating them into a song was a challenge. I didn't do it to save myself work but to do new tests. But I didn't want to detract from the work of my colleagues who write songs and record them. That I admire them a lot and I envy them because I don't know, yet. That's why I made it very clear in the message details of my presentation and I hope colleagues with their votes and comments have taken this into account.
As I also said around here, what I like most about this challenge is being able to experiment and do new things.

Thanks for your coments!
Gràcies
Esteve