September Composition Competition!

[charic]

Well I spoke about this a while back, a monthly composition competition. A picture will be posted by the previous months winner to act as inspiration for that months piece. The piece should be no more than 5 minutes long and should be composed and recorded in the same month as the piece in question.

To be clear, any instruments / sounds can be used although copyright should be followed for obvious reasons. Also Basschat T&C's should be followed within the actual recording so :

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All the boring blurb out of the way but if you have any further questions about the T&C's feel free to message me

I'm hoping we can put together a cd once a year of the competition is through with all of the winners throughout the year on it. Voting will be carried out through poll...

So without further ado, the first picture (I searched September )



All entries to be in by the 23rd September (one week of voting to follow)

Happy composing!

[charic]

Am I to assume that you're all too busy to post as you're pulling allnighters working on your tunes?

[paul_5]

Alright - I'm in. I'll start tonight.

[xilddx]

What sort of picture is that?! I can't write an edgy song about carp fishing!!

[charic]

Well win this won and you can pick the next picture

[lowdown]

It might not be Carp fishing - It could be a lake where a mass murderer dumps his grizzly work.
Bernard Herrmann string time...


Garry

[xgsjx]

Has the song got to relate to the pic?

I'll try & see what I can do.

[charic]

Relate...ish it's basically the idea of writing to a subject but that seemed like a much harder contraint when a picture has all the relevant information there.

Have fun with it

[charic]

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1346579766' post='1790674']
It might not be Carp fishing - It could be a lake where a mass murderer dumps his grizzly work.
Bernard Herrmann string time...


Garry
[/quote]

If you can make it fit then feel free

[xgsjx]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1346661816' post='1791533']
Relate...ish it's basically the idea of writing to a subject but that seemed like a much harder contraint when a picture has all the relevant information there.

Have fun with it
[/quote]

So hazy water with trees.

Might be an idea to pop a link to this in OT or General discussion for those who don't scroll down the forum often?

Edited September 3, 2012 by xgsjx

[charic]

Not a bad thought

[Skol303]

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1346313418' post='1787692']
What sort of picture is that?! I can't write an edgy song about carp fishing!!
[/quote]

Me neither!

Love the idea of a monthly composition compo; I'm just not sure about using photography as a means of 'inspiration'. Although I suppose it's early days and future photos might be a little less serene (it is a nice photo, btw).

I'll be listening intently to the entries, although doubt I'll submit anything myself. My own music is 99% electronic (i.e. bass synths, not guitars) so it probably wouldn't fit so well with the 'spirit' of the competition - this being primarily a forum for bass of the stringed variety, after all

Competitions like this are very common on electronic music sites, so it's a great idea to introduce something similar here. Could perhaps even spice it up in future by arranging a few prizes donated by sponsors - ? Just an idea.

Looking forward to hearing what folks come up with!

Edited September 3, 2012 by Skol303

[charic]

I'll probably be using mostly reason as I've been a keyboard player for a lot longer than I've been a bass player.

I have to admit I went for a more "serene" option as my own comfort zone is metal and didn't want to seem biased

PS. The photo isn't mine, I knicked it from DeviantArt

[xilddx]

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1346677941' post='1791797']
Me neither!

Love the idea of a monthly composition compo; I'm just not sure about using photography as a means of 'inspiration'. Although I suppose it's early days and future photos might be a little less serene (it is a nice photo, btw).

I'll be listening intently to the entries, although doubt I'll submit anything myself. My own music is 99% electronic (i.e. bass synths, not guitars) so it probably wouldn't fit so well with the 'spirit' of the competition - this being primarily a forum for bass of the stringed variety, after all

Competitions like this are very common on electronic music sites, so it's a great idea to introduce something similar here. Could perhaps even spice it up in future by arranging a few prizes donated by sponsors - ? Just an idea.

Looking forward to hearing what folks come up with!
[/quote]

This is about composition though and to my mind if it doesn't need bass there's no need to put it in.

So go for it!

[charic]

I've not started mine yet but I'm starting of thinking along the lines of an epic/fantasy type score

[xilddx]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1346678118' post='1791802']
I'll probably be using mostly reason as I've been a keyboard player for a lot longer than I've been a bass player.

I have to admit I went for a more "serene" option as my own comfort zone is metal and didn't want to seem biased

PS. The photo isn't mine, I knicked it from DeviantArt
[/quote]

Yeah, it's a bit chavivaldi that photo Does anyone actually write 'serene' music other than Richard Clayderman?

Does each month's winner get to choose the theme for the next month, like in the photography competition? I hope so.

Thanks Charic, if I can find the time, I'll do something.

[charic]

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1346679622' post='1791832']
Yeah, it's a bit chavivaldi that photo Does anyone actually write 'serene' music other than Richard Clayderman?

Does each month's winner get to choose the theme for the next month, like in the photography competition? I hope so.

Thanks Charic, if I can find the time, I'll do something.
[/quote]

Yep the next theme is picked by the winner aswell as the "inpiration" be it a photo / short video (remember not everyone will be able to sync audio/video so it has to be inspiration only) or "other" (although audio should probably be avoided).

[xgsjx]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1346679504' post='1791830']
I've not started mine yet but I'm starting of thinking along the lines of an epic/fantasy type score
[/quote]

I'm thinking Happy Hardcore myself.

[Skol303]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1346678118' post='1791802']
I'll probably be using mostly reason as I've been a keyboard player for a lot longer than I've been a bass player.[/quote]

I use Reason too; love it. Currently trying to avoid spending a fortune on the new Rack Extensions (virtual GAS!).

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1346679404' post='1791828']
This is about composition though and to my mind if it doesn't need bass there's no need to put it in. So go for it! [/quote]

Good point sliddx! And there's me trying to wriggle out of it

Can't promise anything but if I can squeeze the time in around juggling work and Skol Jnr (15 months old and a right handful) then I may well be tempted to have a go.

[RockfordStone]

so how "polished" do our compositions have to be? or is it just the vibe we are aiming at and not a full produced masterpiece

[charic]

That's down to the voters Rob :-)

I don't think anyone is expecting perfection in a month though :-)

[bobbass4k]

Sounds like a very cool idea , currently I'm thinking ambient guitar noodling with big nasty fuzzed out riff at the end, then again I'm always thinking that.

Where do we stand on sampling? I like to use audio snippets from films and the like on my ambient stuff (because I'm a big pretentious hipster at heart). I'm not really up on the legality of it but as I recall it's fine as long as you credit it, but of course it's up to BC.

[charic]

[quote name='bobbass4k' timestamp='1346758121' post='1792680']
Sounds like a very cool idea , currently I'm thinking ambient guitar noodling with big nasty fuzzed out riff at the end, then again I'm always thinking that.

Where do we stand on sampling? I like to use audio snippets from films and the like on my ambient stuff (because I'm a big pretentious hipster at heart). I'm not really up on the legality of it but as I recall it's fine as long as you credit it, but of course it's up to BC.
[/quote]

I would say try to keep sampling to a minimum personally, although realistically it's down to the voters to decide.

There is a legal amount you are able to sample (I think 10 seconds) but I can't find it atm.

[Skol303]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1346758621' post='1792692']There is a legal amount you are able to sample (I think 10 seconds) but I can't find it atm.
[/quote]

Nah, there's no 'legal amount' I'm sorry to say... the rules are basically that you need formal approval from the copyright holder(s) if you want to include [u]any[/u] samples of other people's music in your own work.

That's the legal standpoint and it obviously applies primarily to music you intend to release commercially. When it comes to remixes, mashups and music for 'personal consumption' the rules get a bit more hazy. Strictly-speaking it's still a breach of copyright, but it's not something that anybody would pursue through the courts (unless the sample is being used in a commercial project, as mentioned). The worst you'd face is a 'cease and desist' notice' or similar. But even that would be a very rare thing to happen.

There's a gazillion amateur productions online that borrow samples from commercial releases (mine included) - sites like SoundCloud are chock full of 'em. However... while it's generally 'ok' for individuals to upload and share their own non-commercial works, I'm not sure where a site like Basschat would stand in essentially hosting such material. SoundCloud and others get away with it, but I wouldn't necessarily take that to mean all websites are safe in doing so.

My advice would be to take a leaf out of the rulebook of most remix competitions and state that entrants must ensure they have copyright permission for use of all sounds/samples and that any breach of copyright is the responsibility of individual entrants, not Basschat. This obviously doesn't preclude non-copyrighted samples (e.g. those available under Creative Commons license), which are always fine even in commercial releases.

PS: as a quick aside, it might be worth using the Basschat SoundCloud group as a place for people to upload their entries:

http://soundcloud.com/groups/basschat

... or even set up a new group just for these competitions?

[charic]

I would say the existing group wouldn't be a bad idea. No reason why everyone else shouldn't have a listen . Could even use the picture of the month as the song "picture"