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The first Song challenge of 2016 - with a twist!

Action/Fight themed challenge - interpretation is now also part the creative process. From duelling banjos, a backing track for a action scene in a movie or pre-fight music for a professional boxer. Basically, whatever you can imagine!

Genre : anything goes, even country.

The twist : You are encouraged to collaborate with anyone (gfsa or other), on any track, in any way (but you don't have to.)

Original compositions.
Max 4 instruments.
Max 2 minutes (or less).


When entering, please send through :
  • GFSA username(s)
  • Track title
  • Category (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced)
  • Blurb - Optional. Though it may be useful to let us know what kinda action your track is about and with whom you collaborated?
  • Sumission attached as a mp3
Email to v8v8v8@gmail.com by midnite on Sunday, 20th March , with GFSA somewhere in the email's title.
    hey meron ? . cool, great stuff. glad that the 'in house' discussions yielded some results ? .
      :applause: :woohoo:

      Great!! This sound like a good challenge, and pretty wide i.t.o interpretation. It's gonna be fun.

      I don't have anyone whom I can collaborate with here at home, so if any GFSA member wants to team up, please let me know. ? (no hard feelings if you don't)

      * excitedly leaves the room pondering a chord progression...

        nick_D01 wrote: hey meron ? . cool, great stuff. glad that the 'in house' discussions yielded some results ? .
        We'll see, we'll see - I reckon the entries are the measurements of a successful result (or not)...

        My intention behind the collaboration is two fold : 1. Helps keep the motivation up if you have a agreement between peeps. 2. You'll have to think about the roles each collaborator could perform.

        I have a feeling I'm going to be a bit busy this month to work my own track - so, I'll start the collaborations by offering myself up as either : Producer or session muso.

        Producer = the kinda crits you'd get after your track is entered, except now it's part of the process of creating the track.
        Session muso = You have a idea and a need a part/instrument performance.

        I reckon there are many potential roles : Composition (instrumental/lyrics), tracking (recording/engineering), mixing/mastering, production. It might help to assign roles or not - entirely up to you!
          My own theme and yet I can't come up with a damn thing :-[
            Tell me bout it tokyo. Feels like an easy topic right? Errrr... uhm... not so much.
              wern101 wrote: Tell me bout it tokyo. Feels like an easy topic right? Errrr... uhm... not so much.
              Haha yeah now imagine being told, "So we've got this movie, its called [insert legendary movie here] and we need you to write to score for it. Go!"

              That pressure...

                TokyoP0P wrote: My own theme and yet I can't come up with a damn thing :-[
                wern101 wrote: Tell me bout it tokyo. Feels like an easy topic right? Errrr... uhm... not so much.
                ...could be worse, STud might not have gotten us to widen up the topic to include "action" ?

                I'm thinking psych up music for a boxer, something they'd walk into the ring with. That'd be easy... :-\
                  I have an idea. But if I will be able to pull it off, is another matter. Between work, the regular guitar lesson exercises and life, there is not much time to perfect this. Especially since I will need to do some high gain squeals, and only recently managed to get it right every now and then.
                    Meron Rigas wrote: I'm thinking psych up music for a boxer, something they'd walk into the ring with. That'd be easy... :-\
                    yeah, that'd be easy. Lol.

                    Oh my word. How do I get myself into these things. Weird how one just gets completely blocked eh? And I agree with Hasie, between work and schedules I don't have any time. [pulls hair out in a fit of rage]

                    Let's all become buskers...
                      I reckon the trick is to just ignore the challenge, just jam for the sake of jamming and somewhere along the line a light bulb will turn on whilst popping popcorn or whatever and the riffs unravel from there. They often come when you're not really trying.
                        Or maybe I'm just saying that to throw people off track.

                        Maybe this month the game gets reeeal dirty.

                        Maybe I spill some oil on the track and watch fellas skid out of control.

                        Maybe its Maybelline.

                        But probably not...
                          TokyoP0P wrote: Or maybe I'm just saying that to throw people off track.

                          Maybe this month the game gets reeeal dirty.

                          Maybe I spill some oil on the track and watch fellas skid out of control.

                          Maybe its Maybelline.

                          But probably not...
                          Maybe you are born with it.... LMAO!!

                          I see right through you. Tricksy little hobbit! Your idea is actually a good one. Just play!!
                          Hasie wrote: I have an idea. But if I will be able to pull it off, is another matter. Between work, the regular guitar lesson exercises and life, there is not much time to perfect this. Especially since I will need to do some high gain squeals, and only recently managed to get it right every now and then.
                          I have only once gotten those squeals, and I have no idea how I did it. Hasie, do share your wisdom dear sir.

                          Now...where did I put that plectrum....
                            It is difficult to explain how in much detail, as I struggle to get it done.
                            All I know is, only a small bit of the the plectrum should be visible when holding it. As you play the string with the plectrum, the fleshy bit on the outside of your thumb must touch the string softly and that creates the squeal.


                              Tnx Hasie. I would never have guessed that this is how its done. Pretty cool.... and he has got a very serious guitar face!! ☺
                                The video may have mentioned this but this is my 2c on squealing.

                                I would say a very, perhaps the most important part of squealing is to attack the string downward into and across (like 10 o'clock) with the thin edge of the plectrum first as appose to using the flat surface of the plectrum.

                                Then the muting effect of the tip or side of your thumb is the last part.

                                If you nail the attack of the string right, its almost impossible for you thumb not to touch, so rather than sit around and obsessing about having your thumb touch the string, attack the string correcting with the pick and the thumb will naturally follow.



                                  wern101 wrote:
                                  Meron Rigas wrote: I'm thinking psych up music for a boxer, something they'd walk into the ring with. That'd be easy... :-\
                                  yeah, that'd be easy. Lol.

                                  Oh my word. How do I get myself into these things. Weird how one just gets completely blocked eh? And I agree with Hasie, between work and schedules I don't have any time. [pulls hair out in a fit of rage]
                                  Super easy! Once you got a chuggy metal riff and some squeals down... ?

                                  The vid on pinch harmonics was pretty useful, I'd have liked to have seen it 20 years ago! Use the bridge humbucker, fresh strings and a stiff pick when starting out. When playing a pinch I noticed that the way I pick the note changes slightly from a normal picking motion.

                                  It's tricky to describe in words : The pick position relative to the strings changes slightly (exactly as Tokyo describes). I pick a bit harder, using a deliberate motion of the pick playing through the string - as the pick goes through the string, (and you've rolled the picking motion as the vid mentioned - I noticed that during the rolling motion, I'm straightening my thumb to follow the pick through the string) - the pick is naturally followed by the side of the thumb which brushes the string creating the squeal. The thumb applies a kinda deft touch - similar to what you'd need to get 5/7/12th fret harmonics on open strings.

                                    you said what about walk in music? ?