The Challenge March 2011

Renesongs · 2011-03-01T22:05:06+00:00

Do What You Like All entries in by 23rd of March 2011. Any questions?

FruitarGeek

Yes. But having said that, it's all very subjective. Im more likely to vote for someone who plays Jazz, Country, Reggae etc as opposed to Metal or something (and no disrespect to the metal fans, I used to be a huge one, just not so much now)

Also, the ranking system may be difficult as well.

PeteM

FruitarGeek wrote Yes. But having said that, it's all very subjective. Im more likely to vote for someone who plays Jazz, Country, Reggae etc as opposed to Metal or something (and no disrespect to the metal fans, I used to be a huge one, just not so much now)

Also, the ranking system may be difficult as well.

You guys are complicating it.
Even under a 'tight' brief people vote subjectively. The people who enter put themselves into B, I or A categories. Just listen to the entries and vote and comment... simple as that.
IMHO winning is not the primary motivation behind the Challenge... it's in the doing and hopefully getting constructive feedback.

deefstes

PeteM wrote Look past all the baggage that boeremusiek carries and you'll discover that's it's just music...

Would someone perhaps care to compare boeremusiek, rap and metal for us. Surely they're all the same ?

In fact, rumour has it that both Hitler and Bootsie Collins listened to boeremusiek.

evolucian

FruitarGeek wrote Yes. But having said that, it's all very subjective. Im more likely to vote for someone who plays Jazz, Country, Reggae etc as opposed to Metal or something (and no disrespect to the metal fans, I used to be a huge one, just not so much now)

Also, the ranking system may be difficult as well.

You musical racist you...

PeteM

deefstes wrote
PeteM wrote Look past all the baggage that boeremusiek carries and you'll discover that's it's just music...
Would someone perhaps care to compare boeremusiek, rap and metal for us. Surely they're all the same ?

Why compare?... open your mind... listen and enjoy. 8)

dee

I do have something in mind. I just need to find a bagpipe midi or VST though...

AlanRatcliffe

dee wrote I do have something in mind. I just need to find a bagpipe midi or VST though...

I shudder to think... ? Any GM/GS softsynth will have pipes - mostly at least a little iffy, but usually at least serviceable. Otherwise look at Ethnosphere - I was using it recently for hammered dulcimers and there's some very interesting instruments in that - including pipes (with a separate patch for the chanter).

dee

Haha, it's not what you think. ?

Thanks, I will look at Ethnospere. I did Google a few other alternatives that I will have a go at.

Renesongs

Totally off topic but I went to the Ethnosphere website - ouch I don't believe that in this day and age a company trying to business on the internet would go for such a poorly designed and eligible website ☹

Warren

Can I throw a spanner in here?

Now that we have a month to do the comp, I'm feeling like I'd really like to push past that 1 minute boundary. Previously, I thought the one minute mark worked well within the confines of a week's worth of prep, but now I'm feeling like I want to do something a bit more epic: more build-up, some vocals maybe etc. and it's tough to really squeeze that into a minute.

Thoughts?

costafonix

Warren wrote Can I throw a spanner in here?

Now that we have a month to do the comp, I'm feeling like I'd really like to push past that 1 minute boundary. Previously, I thought the one minute mark worked well within the confines of a week's worth of prep, but now I'm feeling like I want to do something a bit more epic: more build-up, some vocals maybe etc. and it's tough to really squeeze that into a minute.

Thoughts?

yeh I agree with you Warren, even 30 seconds more would make a huge difference,,,

PeteM

I reckon if you haven't captured the attention of your audience within 30 seconds, no amount of padding will make any difference.
My last entry was 35 secs. ?

AlanRatcliffe

The four instrument limitation helps level the playing field (and makes you get really creative if you want more sounds - left to my own devices there will be 16 tracks of guitar alone :-[). It also forces you to break down the composition to the basic ideas, which are what counts. More tracks than that and you start with textural and reinforcement tracks, which gives the more pro recordists an unfair advantage IMO.

Time limitation makes you work a little harder to get something meaningful going (it is a challenge in both name and nature after all), but also makes it easier for those trying something new to come up with an entry. Just as importantly, it keeps the file sizes small so more people will be able to download them to listen and vote (especially as the voting happens near the end of the month, when caps are rapidly being approached).

The limitations can (and have been) set aside for specific comps (like the birthday comp, which was unlimited), or made even stricter (IIRC, the Arabic ringtone comp had a 30 second limit).

costafonix

ok ,,, hahah ? it was worth a shot ,,,,
cool I'm looking forward to it anyway ?

Bob-Dubery

There are many art forms that impose limitations. EG Haiku or the Sonnet. It's not a bad thing actually - the constraints can work for you because they force you to distill the message (verbal or musical) so that it fits within the time limit or structural limit. So you strip away all the padding and cut straight to the chase.

Especially in this particular competition. Pete has clearly set things up so that it's less about technique and great soloing and more about good musical ideas.

Warren

Well, my reasoning is this:

I've started on my entry, but I've immediately realised that it's going to be a full song. So I want to do the song first and foremost, and it will be the full thing with choruses, bridges, maybe a key change etc. So, I'd like to enter the challenge but I want to finish the song first and foremost. Maybe I can cut it down for the challenge entry...

I dunno. Maybe considering how open ended this challenge is already, it's a good idea to keep all the other rules strictly enforced.

costafonix

Warren wrote Well, my reasoning is this:

I've started on my entry, but I've immediately realised that it's going to be a full song. So I want to do the song first and foremost, and it will be the full thing with choruses, bridges, maybe a key change etc. So, I'd like to enter the challenge but I want to finish the song first and foremost. Maybe I can cut it down for the challenge entry...

I dunno. Maybe considering how open ended this challenge is already, it's a good idea to keep all the other rules strictly enforced.

I hear you,,,,, I find my intros alone are so long,, that just about chews up all the time,,, but as Alan said,,its the challenge,,

X-rated Bob wrote There are many art forms that impose limitations. EG Haiku or the Sonnet. It's not a bad thing actually - the constraints can work for you because they force you to distill the message (verbal or musical) so that it fits within the time limit or structural limit. So you strip away all the padding and cut straight to the chase.

Especially in this particular competition. Pete has clearly set things up so that it's less about technique and great soloing and more about good musical ideas.

true,,

deefstes

OK, so I just sat down and recorded a little something and, only when I finished, do I notice that my calculations were slightly off and it is 1:05 long. How strict is this 1 min rule? Am I going to have to record the whole thing again?

AlanRatcliffe

No. I reckon a few seconds are fine. Good to get into the habit of planning for time though, because there are certain things where time is critical (ad jingles movie soundtracks, etc.).

A few pointers:
- Trim silence off the beginning and ends off your mixed piece of music to shorten the time.

- If the last note is sustained, consider a quick volume fade out to shave a few seconds off.

- 120BPM is your friend when you are working to time. At a tempo of 120BPM in 4/4 time, 1 minute is exactly 30 bars long and each beat is a half second and each bar is two seconds long. Knowing this helps you plan your piece of music to a time. Also, working at 120BPM has another benefit - it's the tempo that feels most comfortable for most listeners as it's exactly double the average heart rate (dance music typically pushes it a little - to 126 or 128 - to up the excitement).

- Fadeouts are usually done over two bars so if you plan for 30 bars of 4/4 it leaves you with 28 bars (another nice number as it's also divisible by four).

RobK

Alan Ratcliffe wrote Also, working at 120BPM has another benefit - it's the tempo that feels most comfortable for most listeners as it's exactly double the average heart rate (dance music typically pushes it a little - to 126 or 128 - to up the excitement).

One learns something new every day ?

« Previous Page Next Page »