2024-MAR-01 Info: Check out Songwriting Competition 079 if you're into "Synthwave" music making.

SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC070 June 2023 - Winners announced

Thematic Songwriting Competition - recurrence: monthly
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Mister Fox
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SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC070 June 2023 - Winners announced

#1

Post by Mister Fox »

Hello and welcome to the Songwriting Competition 070 - June 2023



:information_source: 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 and "Premise" of this months challenge can be found in in post #002
  • Filename Template (NEW): SWC070__ArtistName__TrackName.wav or .mp3
Read more about this month's competition further down below. And if you got any question, please also reach out on Discord.



.
:arrow_right: 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 #028 -- Voting: Summarized entries and start of voting process
Post #043 -- Results: Results of the Songwriting Competition
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SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC070 June 2023 - Submissions until 24-JUN-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

#2

Post by Mister Fox »

CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION

Time Frame: Thursday, 01st June 2023 to Saturday, 24th June 2023 (24 days)

Challenge submission will end on 24-JUN-2023, 23:59 UTC+2/CEST (Germany) - until further notice.

Want to find out if you're still within the deadline, please either consult the Global Countdown (dedicated page), or the countdown on the landing site. There will also be short reminders on Social Media and on Discord. Does the game time frame feel too long? Why not set a personal shorter one of 5-7 days absolute max to push yourself to focus on the essentials, then use the rest of the time to ask for feedback and possible refinements. :idea:



SONGWRITING THEME: "Arts and Crafts"
GENRE: free to select


Image
Image Source: Pixabay (via Pexels), released under Creative Commons CC0



A few word about this month's theme:
Staff (Mister Fox) wrote: When I'm in a bit of a slump and need to relax, I then to browse YouTube and always seem to end up with craft videos. Most notably: DIY woodworking, diorama crafting (including 3D printing) and guitar making videos.

While back in Bob Ross' times (painting showcase/tutorials), there was barely any background music, if music at all. These days with all kinds of DIY and crafts videos, you have background music of a wide variety. Ranging from the good old uplifting Glockenspiel/Ukulele/Clapping combo, to acoustic music, to instrumental pop/rock, but hip-hop/lo-fi music that is more on the chill side of things.


And this is where you come in:
Imagine you have been contracted to write a song for an arts and crafts time-lapse at a length of 2:30min to 3:30min. Something that "supports" what is being presented on screen.

Examples: doing artwork, doing gardening work/creating a flower arrangement, sewing a nice dress, building a diorama, woodworking, repairs, maybe even cooking, etc. Think of something you'd enjoy watching, and then create "production music" for it.
.



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

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

The task should be focusing on "showcasing a product (in the making)" during a time-lapse. Certain genres might not work, and vocals (with lyrics) might be distracting. Although the occasional background choir, or the good old "oh oh oh!"'s could do the trick. Overall, the production should be instrumental.


Have fun making music this month! :headphones:


Songwriting Rule Summary / Add-On Rules:
► Show Spoiler

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


:arrow_right: 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
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good luck to all participants.
And most importantly, have fun!
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SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC070 June 2023 - Submissions until 24-JUN-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

#3

Post by 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




Music examples (selection for inspiration, 02 pages):
► Show Spoiler
.



Please also check in with the following threads in the the Gear Talk sub-forum, if you're on the look-out for new tools:
Places to fuel your GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) (the starting point if you're in need of audio tools -- from free to affordable).


if you're new to/need help with songwriting - please check out the following tools:
► Show Spoiler

More tools of the trade
► Show Spoiler


UPDATED: 31-MAY-2023 20:10 UTC+2, updated 00-JUN-2023 00:00 UTC+2
Arelem
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Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC070 June 2023 - Submissions until 24-JUN-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

#4

Post by Arelem »

Hello All,

Here is my track for this month's competition. I tend to get bored with 'background' tracks so I wanted to have the song changing every couple of bars, but I also wanted it to follow some kind of standard song structure rather than something more free-form. In this case, the song kind of goes for a verse-chorus-verse-chorus but with different elements add or taken away each time.



Details:
► Show Spoiler
Last edited by Arelem on Sat Jun 24, 2023 20:50 CEST, edited 1 time in total.
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SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC070 June 2023 - Submissions until 24-JUN-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

#5

Post by Mister Fox »

A friendly reminder:
Including today, 14 days left to submit your production.

So far, we have 1 entry -- but barely any game interaction.



If you want to access the extended game mechanics of the Songwriting Competition (asking for feedback during production), please try to release your first edits within the next 7 days to have enough time to get possible feedback (if needed/wanted) and continue to work on your song.

To those sitting on the fence - please don't feel scared off and think "the bar is set too high, I will never make it" - set yourself a shorter private deadline. Just make music, submit your entry, join the conversation. See where this goes.

By joining, you're already a winner. The rest is bonus. :tu:
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WIP

#6

Post by JeroenZuiderwijk »

Hi all,

I was thinking for some background music with an arts/crafts video that it should be a repeating theme with not too much variation and a very cheesy ambient synth sound ;-)

To de-cheese it a bit (you know...make i t less cheesy...) I created a powerfull beat to make it more interesting for me to listen to.

Making the beat was much fun using Renoise, just playing with different breaks and feel. The chords and melody are the result of jamming with the beat and feel where it needed to go.

This is a WIP version. Maybe I will add some stuff or work more on the mix. I feel the low end of the mix is a bit too heavy. Any thoughts on that would we welcome.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ahp8xH6KRIfbggtGnbD ... l?e=VlSjGU

Cheers,

Jeroen
Last edited by JeroenZuiderwijk on Fri Jun 23, 2023 22:04 CEST, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC070 June 2023 - Submissions until 24-JUN-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

#7

Post by KukoBass »

Hello everybody,

this is my entry for this month. The song is best heard on instant repeat as a loop. :phones:

(Edit: Final Version)


The WAV version is here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vun3wG ... drive_link

DAW: Ableton Live 11

Bass: IK Multimedia Modo Bass 2, "Studio Upright"-preset
Ableton Color Limiter and Utility

Drums: IK Mulitimedia Modo Drums "Studio"-preset and "Panama"-Grooves
Ableton Compressor on "Gentle Squeeze"-preset

Guitars: Applied Acoustic Systems Strum 2 "LatinVibes"-pack and "Cortes"-presets
Ableton Color Limiter

Percussion: Ableton Drum Rack "Shaker & Macaras"-preset
Ableton EQ Eight

Strings:
Native Instruments Session Strings Pro 2 "Modern Cello"-preset x 2
Frozen Plain Phoenix Mirage "Old School Strings"-preset
Softube Saturation Knob

Trumpet: Native Instruments Session Horns Pro "Trumpet 1" and "Trumpet 2"-presets
Ableton Utility on both and Auto Pan on Trumpet 2

Master Bus:
Hornet Plugins ThirtyOne MK2-EQ
TBProAudio Isol8 to check for problematic frequencies
Audified MixChecker to check for problems on different listening devices
brainworx bx_masterdeck True Peak to make all below 120 Hz mono, to adjust the loudness and the stereo wideness
LUveler64 to limit the song to the target levels
SPL HawkEye to check for problems with the loudness and the stereo field
YouLean Loudness Meter 2 to check the loudness of the song
Hornet VHS to correct the used headphones while mixing (turned off for the final rendering of the song)
Last edited by KukoBass on Tue Jun 20, 2023 20:57 CEST, edited 2 times in total.
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SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC070 June 2023 - Submissions until 24-JUN-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

#8

Post by Mister Fox »

A friendly reminder:
Including today, 7 days left to submit your production.

So far, we have 3 entries -- with unfortunately barely any interaction.



If you want to access the extended game mechanics of the Songwriting Competition (asking for feedback during production), please try to release your first edits within the next 3 days to have enough time to get possible feedback (if needed/wanted) and continue to work on your song. Please also remember, vocals are not mandatory -- instrumentals are just as welcome.

And to those sitting on the fence - please don't feel scared off and think "the bar is set too high, I will never make it" - set yourself a shorter private deadline. Just make music, submit your entry, join the conversation. See where this goes.

By joining, you're already a winner. The rest is bonus. :tu:
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Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC070 June 2023 - Submissions until 24-JUN-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

#9

Post by KukoBass »

JeroenZuiderwijk wrote:
Tue Jun 13, 2023 22:11 CEST
To de-cheese it a bit (you know...make i t less cheesy...) I created a powerfull beat to make it more interesting for me to listen to.
...
This is a WIP version. Maybe I will add some stuff or work more on the mix. I feel the low end of the mix is a bit too heavy. Any thoughts on that would we welcome.
I don't know about the low end, but I was irritated by the distortion (or is it a bitcrush?) on the kick sound.
And I noticed that the song has almost no stereo effects except for the reverb on the keyboard chords.
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Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC070 June 2023 - Submissions until 24-JUN-2023 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

#10

Post by JeroenZuiderwijk »

KukoBass wrote:
Mon Jun 19, 2023 17:18 CEST
JeroenZuiderwijk wrote:
Tue Jun 13, 2023 22:11 CEST
To de-cheese it a bit (you know...make i t less cheesy...) I created a powerfull beat to make it more interesting for me to listen to.
...
This is a WIP version. Maybe I will add some stuff or work more on the mix. I feel the low end of the mix is a bit too heavy. Any thoughts on that would we welcome.
I don't know about the low end, but I was irritated by the distortion (or is it a bitcrush?) on the kick sound.
And I noticed that the song has almost no stereo effects except for the reverb on the keyboard chords.
Thanks for the feedback. The distorded kick was something of an experiment. In my final version maybe i replace it for someting else. About the stereo-effects....good suggestion, I see what I can do about it.
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