Tune Contest: Evolution (closes 9th October)

Diamond16 · Wed 25/09/2013 19:19:17

Sometimes a musical theme can be so enduring that it doesn't need to be changed, much.

For example, the Mario theme song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCndx_-c_p8

In over 20 years, the melody and the spirit of the song has remained essentially unchanged. This doesn't mean that the track hasn't evolved with the times and the hardware.

Your task:

Take one of your existing compositions and 'evolve' it. You might completely change it or just re-orchestrate it. Whatever you do, the original track and the evolution should sound related. You should include a link to the original track and the new version.

Tracks will be marked on musicality and how well they retain the essence of the original.

You may enter this competition if you have no existing compositions but this will mean you have to write two songs, an original and an evolution.

Entries close on the 9th October and I will announce the winner and give feedback within 48 hours.

Have fun!

m0ds · Tue 01/10/2013 15:29:15

Interesting theme! It's had me thinking for a couple of days

Diamond16 · Thu 03/10/2013 22:04:09

Cool! Looking forward to hearing your entry!

boojiboy · Mon 07/10/2013 06:16:03

Had plans for putting more work into it, but I don't think I'll be able to in the next few days.
This is a track I made last year
Original

and here is the Evolved Version

Arguable which one is better. WARNING the original is very low in volume, don't forget to turn your speakers back down. Sorry it's the only copy I have.

dactylopus · Mon 07/10/2013 06:32:45

Quote from: boojiboy on Mon 07/10/2013 06:16:03
This is a track I made last year
Original

and here is the Evolved Version

That's really well done! The original was already pretty cool, but you've done a good job 'evolving' it.

I was about finished with mine, but I think I'll take the time to tweak it some more now that I see what the competition is like. Still a couple of days left!

boojiboy · Mon 07/10/2013 06:34:54

Thanks. Look forward to hearing yours.

dactylopus · Wed 09/10/2013 08:50:33

Well, I finished my track. I've been having trouble with my Cubase, it was adding a crackle to all of my instruments for some reason. So, I only used Cubase for the drums this time (to avoid the clicking drum issue that happened in the last contest). The rest was directly exported from MuseScore and laid over the drums.

Anyways, without further ado:

The original: Adventure Tune
- This was the first Tune Contest entry, when the objective was to create a tune using only one instrument.

The evolution: Adventure Tune: Evolved
- I pushed the track a little further by adding several instruments and a new section.

This was a lot of fun! Evolution was a good theme! I really enjoyed listening to the progression of the Mario tune as an example, they've done so much with it over the years. I also enjoyed listening to the other entry. I'll say again that boojiboy's track is really cool. Well done! This is the last day, maybe Mods will get a track completed in time for the end. I'd like to hear what he's been thinking up.

m0ds · Wed 09/10/2013 11:41:55

Thanks! I enjoyed listening to the entries so far, and it gave me a kick in the arse to do more than just thinking

I decided to dig up some of my earliest midi's and see if I could still play the melodies from them.

Here's my original piece from around 1998-9, it was the first long tune I made. I spent my Christmas day writing the original haha! I forget the lyrics but it was made for a girl I fancied at the time called Katie

One of the only MIDI's of mine where there are notations within the file. This was the first tune I made that I was really happy with.

http://www.screen7.co.uk/privates/katiechristmas_original.mid

And here's my "evolution" of it, basically my retelling of it today - as I haven't revisited this chord structure/melody since that time I wrote the original. It was a lot of fun to go back and play it

That said, the original was hand programmed, so I was able to do some crazy stuff like super fast drums, you won't find that in the evolved track, as I've had to play it by hand. It's a bit sloppy, not had much time to tweak the instruments it or quantize parts, but nevermind

http://www.screen7.co.uk/privates/katiechristmas.mp3

^ my entry. Below is the MIDI file.
http://www.screen7.co.uk/privates/katiechristmas.mid

dactylopus · Wed 09/10/2013 22:04:07

Mods, that was really nice! I enjoyed the original, it was great on its own. You've got a talent for MIDI programming. The evolution was a nice change. More succinct, while still elaborating on certain elements. Well done!

Still a few hours to see if anyone else wants to participate. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of this contest. It should be interesting!

Diamond16 · Sat 12/10/2013 10:04:31

Right, fantastic job everyone. No song was left unevolved and the results speak for themselves. Saying that, this was an incredibly difficult competition to judge.

Boojiboy - Greta and the Ghoul
The original sounded very Tron-esque and although it was pleasant to listen to it didn't particularly stand out in my opinion. The evolution punches you in the face (in a good way!) at first listen. I love the diminished bridging part at 1.09, very ghoulish and brings in the next section perfectly. You've experimented with some different chords and it has mostly worked in your favour.

Dactylopus - Adventure Tune
Immediately, the tune is far enhanced with addition of the drums and other instruments (limitations of only one instrument hehe). I like how you've added space in the melody part, sounds a lot better. I would of liked to have heard another instrument added in the higher register which you did at the 1 minute mark with the octaves, but perhaps another part adding a bit of harmony to the mix. Overall, a worthy evolution.

Mods â€" Katie Christmas
What an epic piece! I hope she liked it. I like the new instrumentation you've selected and how the piece has an overall grander feel to it now. I also liked how you condensed the piece into all the best bits. The choir needed a shorter attack because it sounds out of time as the volume ramps up. Try to take note of instruments natural limits, the strings sound unnaturally high which was a bit piercing in places. Thought the ending was great.

Overall though, the piece that stuck in my head even when I was away from the computer was Boojiboy's Greta and the Ghoul

Thank you all entrants.

dactylopus · Sat 12/10/2013 11:14:21

Congratulations, boojiboy! It really was a fantastic track, and I debated even entering after listening to it. Nice work!

Diamond16, thanks for your thoughtful feedback. I really appreciate you taking the time to listen and offer analysis, and I hope that it will help me in the future. Thank you. I also appreciate you being so prompt with this contest! Posting the new contest so quickly after the last, and giving us results in a timely manner has been a nice change of pace. We may even get another contest in this month!

Anyways, I've already said it but I think the other entrants did a fantastic job, and I really enjoyed their tracks. I'm looking forward to the next contest, and I hope I'll be able to contribute something that stands out. Either way, it's always fun to participate and be included among such high caliber musicians.

m0ds · Sat 12/10/2013 18:15:54

Well done boojiboy! Gotta admit, I really did enjoy your original piece.

boojiboy · Sun 13/10/2013 09:42:57

Thanks to everyone for the kind word and thank you Diamond16 for the feedback and the victory

I really enjoyed the other submissions.

I'll post the next comp asap! stay tuned.

dactylopus · Mon 14/10/2013 23:57:03

Quote from: boojiboy on Sun 13/10/2013 09:42:57
I'll post the next comp asap! stay tuned.

Awesome! I'm looking forward to it!

Tune Contest: Evolution (closes 9th October)

m0ds

m0ds

m0ds