The Challenge April 2011

Renesongs · 2011-03-31T13:07:30+00:00

Emotional Music Following on from PeteM's challenge which was broad enough to encourage lots of entries, I'd like to keep things open-ended enough to encourage plenty of people to record something, but at the same time I'd like to have a slightly more specific goal. The theme for this month is to get some emotional content into your music. So, rather than just sitting and noodling or basing everything around a rigid scale or chord progression, try and get the way you're feeling onto your fretboard. I want to hear raw anger in those power chords, or a broken heart in those arpeggios. Or maybe things are going your way? Express some happiness and light in some chimey major chords! To keep things a bit limited and more challenging, you can choose from the following four rough categories: - Defiant frustration - Wistful longing - Forbidden lust - Cheery mischief Hopefully something about at least one of the above has some resonance with you, so take the core feeling and run with it. Your goal is to make your listener feel what you're feeling, but solely through your music! It can be as complex or simple as you want, but the more emotive the better! PS: don't state which option you've based your entry on, let us listeners try and figure it out. ? Entries must be in by 22 April 2011

deefstes

Mine is done and dusted. Well, not quite dusted really. I'd love to add vocals but I've tried that last night through my laptop's internal microphone and I could not have imagined it more horrible if I tried.

So now I'm sitting here with two versions, one which is OK, but only instrumental. The other one with vocals, which convey's the certain emotion much better, but sounds horrible. What to do, what to do ???

G-Man

I know how you feel deefstes, I have 2 versions of an instrumental but I'm not happy with either. Thinking of binning it this month, we shall see...

Warren

If you guys have something, even if you're not 100% happy, why not submit?

I'm never completely happy with my submissions, but you never know how other people will consider your stuff until you post!

G-Man

It's just that I kinda went in reverse with it, I got all the guitar stuff done but now I'm battling to add drums to it, nothing works.(And it sounds as though it's lacking without them) This is like my 3rd or 4th attempt at anything original it's kinda frustrating :-\ :-\

But you're right, maybe I'll post it anyway I just have to fiddle with it some more

Squonk

G-Man wrote It's just that I kinda went in reverse with it, I got all the guitar stuff done but now I'm battling to add drums to it, nothing works.(And it sounds as though it's lacking without them) This is like my 3rd or 4th attempt at anything original it's kinda frustrating :-\ :-\

But you're right, maybe I'll post it anyway I just have to fiddle with it some more

?

I also have this problem, not that good yet to add a drum track, I always have and Idea, then find a drumtrack, and then adapt. Always problems in reverse.
Please submit, your last entry was good stuff

Bob-Dubery

I'm not entirely happy with my entry - I'm satisfied with the composition but not with the particular recording. However, it's uploaded and entered as a "banker". I'm going to make a fresh recording if I get the time, but I figure that a less-than-perfect entry is better than none at all. It still means that I had to conceive the piece, complete it, think about an arrangement, record it. So it's done instead of just floating in the ethers until I forget it. And I've done it.

The recording NEVER matches what you hear in your head, but only you can hear what's in your head.

Seventhson

I am never happy with my entries. bah >☹

deefstes

I'll definitely submit mine but the problem I'm faced with is which one of my two entries to submit. I'd really like to submit one with the vocals because I think the lyrics contribute well towards the theme but the recording I have with the vocals sounds absolutely horrible. The other alternative would be to submit the entry without the vocals which I'm happy with - but which doesn't convey the theme as well as it would with vocals.

Jacquesg4j

Damn I just want month end to come already! I want to hear those entries!

G-Man

Ok, progress!

Should be able to finish tonight. ?

Squonk

Was in my "studio" untill 01:00 AM last night, have a million ideas but nothing emotional ☹

Kalcium

Mine is in!!! ?

G-Man

Squonk wrote Was in my "studio" untill 01:00 AM last night, have a million ideas but nothing emotional ☹

Isn't it weird how that happens? I have another 3 ideas for songs that came about from this challenge. ?

costafonix

I changed my mind and made the time to get mine in too :yup:
hope you like it ?

Dingwall

I have entered this month for the 1st time so looking forward to 'all' feedback.

The problem I have is that I lay down a basic track and then the harder I try to improve it, the worse it ends up sounding so that I end up eventually settling with a version of my initial basic 'raw' track! I kind of went around and around! Then there is the issue of 'great ideas' on day 1 end up sounding rather dull and boring by day 10 and I can't see the light anymore!

Finally I am horribly impatient with recording (too many buttons and options for this simple guitar head!) but hope to improve these skills with this outlet.

Bob-Dubery

Dingwall wrote I have entered this month for the 1st time so looking forward to 'all' feedback.

The problem I have is that I lay down a basic track and then the harder I try to improve it, the worse it ends up sounding so that I end up eventually settling with a version of my initial basic 'raw' track! I kind of went around and around! Then there is the issue of 'great ideas' on day 1 end up sounding rather dull and boring by day 10 and I can't see the light anymore!

That happens to me, so I make lots of saves all the time - saving different versions, so that if I think the latest "improvement" turned out to be a retrograde step I can always go back to the previous version.

Hampshire? I was down there last year June. Do you know North Boarhunt? I saw Martin Simpson playing in the social club there. Excellent player, fine show. I liked the way they say "haitch" down there. I'd start acting dumb to hear them say it. EG "Where are we?"
"Portsmouth"
"How do you spell that?"
"Pee oh ar tee ess emm oh yew tee HAITCH".

Or in a pub
"Can you bring me some brown sauce please?"
"Brown sauce? You mean HAITCH p sauce?

I shouldn't be unkind, we enjoyed our time there a lot. Went to Porstmouth (with a haitch) and saw the HAITCH emm ess Victory. Also went to Broad Ha'penny Down and saw the Hambledon team playing cricket. And there was Martin Simpson...

Dingwall

Funny you mention the HAITCH thing as my English wife comes from the school of pronouncing it 'normal' (dont know how to spell it normal - aich!) and she gets pissed off when people here pronounce it HAITCH. I have almost resorted to pronouncing it HAITCH myself just to annoy her!

I also saw Martin Simpson a few years ago as part of a show called the 4 Martins. Agree he is a good player.

But on the HAITCH subject I still get lots of critisism on how I pronounce certain words and their argument is always "well you are in ENGLAND now and you should learn to speak properly" - like I can't possibly be right coming from Africa! Words such as "May-or" they pronounce "Mair" and "Gary Moo-er" would be pronounced "Gary More". "More" and "Moore" are pronounced the same here!

And thats the educated ones, god only knows what language the chavs speak let alone how they pronounce their words!

Otherwise God save the Queen!

Bob-Dubery

Dingwall wrote But on the HAITCH subject I still get lots of critisism on how I pronounce certain words and their argument is always "well you are in ENGLAND now and you should learn to speak properly" - like I can't possibly be right coming from Africa! Words such as "May-or" they pronounce "Mair" and "Gary Moo-er" would be pronounced "Gary More". "More" and "Moore" are pronounced the same here!

The Queen doesn't say "Phillip, pass one the haitch pee sauce." Even now accents in England vary from region. I'd not heard that "haitch" outside of TV comedy shows before and was quite taken by it. They don't speak like that in East Sussex for example, and that's not far down the road. I don't recall hearing it in Dorset - but then I wasn't asking for HP sauce there either.

Hampshire (with a haitch) is not the totality of England and English, and there is still not a uniform spoken English. Out in rustic Somerset you can still find them as likes to grow apples for zider.

Norman86

The entries have to be in today right?!

Bob-Dubery

Norman86 wrote The entries have to be in today right?!

By whatever time Rene checks his post box tomorrow (he's a blues man, so we know he'll wake up in the morning). So you've got all night. Inspiration came to me quite late, and I have to use a loop station as a recorder right now, so I got a banker entry in but I'm going to shoot for a cleaner second take tonight and hope to get that uploaded in time.

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