Tune contest 11th Dec - 21st Dec - we have a winner!

mysticjim · Mon 11/12/2006 19:14:16

Hey people!

Without further ado, here is the new tune contest!

I've elected to go with the title 'Baddie Theme.'

In films and a lot of computer games, whenever the baddie is introduced, or if he kills a major character, or does anything remotely evil, etc, his actions are underpinned by a recurring theme tune to heighten the effect.

Perhaps one of the most notable examples is the Imperial March in Starwars, which always pops up before the Vader does anything nasty!

A bad guy theme can also vary depending on the action - say, if your bad guy is merely lurking or stalking around, then it might be subdued, but if he's violently inflicting a horrible death on a group of victims, then the music will probably be loud, aggressive and dramatic.Ã,Â You can do a subdued or dramatic theme, or even you could mutate one into the other.Ã,Â

I'll not impose to many restrictive rules on this - I'd like there to be one definative and distinctive melody line/phrase that sums the character up, and probably pops up a few times during the composition, but you're not limited to just sticking to it, you can explore other areas then reprise it further on.Ã,Â Above all, there must be a clear sinister undercurrent running at all times.Ã,Â

There's big scope for the instrumentation on this, obviously, Starwars went for the full orchestra approach, villians in Bond movies often get creepy guitar accompanyment, but almost any instrument can be made to sound sinister if you experiment.Ã,Â

Finally, when you post your tune, it might be fun if you tell us what sort of baddie you imagine you're describing with it.Ã,Â

Here's the prizes...

1st. The Gold Baddie - Who will probably be the most evil creature in the known universe!

2nd. The Silver Baddie - Close, but not quite evil enough.

3rd. The Bronze Baddie - Still pretty damn evil, but not in the same league as the above.

Good luck dudes!

Jaws · Mon 11/12/2006 21:20:16

I'm signing up for this

I sat infront of the keyboard* a full hour and ahalf trying out ideas .. (*read: big rectangular ting with white and black thingies on it - not the letter and numbers kind) unfortunately everthing i tried ended up not working, it either sounded too cheerful or became something totally diffrent when adding the second intstrument.

The fact that I'm a self-thought guitar player instead of a piano player might have something to do with it too.
No real clue how to play the piano .. I'm making it up as I go along.
('I have the melody in my head, now where are the keys that corespond with it I wonder', he thought to himself)

Anyway ... I'll keep trying. I'm really looking forward to hearing what the board members can do though..
I haven't been on these boards in a long time so inspire me dudes and dudettes!

mysticjim · Mon 11/12/2006 21:57:11

Howdy Jaws,

As a fellow self-taught guitarist, I empathise.

I'd say this contest is probably a little more difficult than it sounds, it can be approached from many angles.

Myself, I reckon I would start by envisaging the baddie I was trying to represent, maybe even draw a sketch or something. Alternatively, maybe trying random bits of music over an existing movie with the sound muted, trying to capture some essence of the characters on screen.

With regards to the instruments, sometimes a tune needs a vast array of instrumentation, sometimes the whole thing can be perfectly summed up on one - big is good, but sometimes less is more.

The one thing I'd be almost willing to bet on is that a dark, minor key might be essential. Possibly?

As I said, these are just my thoughts, its not really an issue as I'm not allowed to enter as its my competition! None of the above are rules, just open suggestions. A clever musician will make their own rules...

At the end of the competition, I'll be primarily judging it on the feelings the tunes inspire rather than how technical or vast or impressive they are.

Good luck everyone

deFineLicht · Mon 11/12/2006 22:33:04

It was fun participate in a tune contest, so I'll do it again. However, this week I got a lot of test in my school, so I decided to leave my contribution to the contest now. That means that my tune isn't that good and well-worked as I wanted it to be, but I thought "What the heck, the more participants, the more glory to the winner".

So here's ma song: http://www.uppit.com/N56HZ

I thought about a lonely and misunderstood man who in rage avenges upon the whole world.
He is not evil itself, just lonely, that's why I put in a kinda postive part too.

//Ed

mysticjim · Mon 11/12/2006 23:49:16

Hello Ed,

Well done mate, good to have an early response.Ã,Â Hopefully lots of others will follow.Ã,Â

I'll do a full write-up at the end on all of the tunes that get submited.

many thanks

Jaws · Tue 12/12/2006 14:33:20

deFineLicht: Nice man .... I tried two piano keys with synths in the back and the melody on top ... I couldn't get it too work propperly .. I'm glad I didn't because it would have sounded very much like this, and that would have made us both look bad

But you have inspired me to try something diffrent .. thanks man.

Btw. what synths do you use?

mysticjim: Thanks for the tips

I might try figuring out the tune on the guitar first .. might save me abit of floundering time.

deFineLicht · Tue 12/12/2006 17:30:06

Hehe, yes that would look bad

, it will be interesting to hear what you come up with instead...

About the synths, sorry my english isn't very good, do you mean what different instrumentsounds I use in my music program or do you mean what kind of electric piano I record with?

Jaws · Tue 12/12/2006 22:52:37

I ment the vsti's you used

I should have said software instruments

I use Edirol Orchestral for my strings, horns and woodwinds. And some various other free ones for diffrent stuff ... you don't have a good bass guitar vsti do you?
I've been looking for a while now, and I can't seem to find anything that sounds good.

maaark · Wed 13/12/2006 13:35:45

Quote from: Jaws on Tue 12/12/2006 22:52:37
I ment the vsti's you used I should have said software instruments

I use Edirol Orchestral for my strings, horns and woodwinds. And some various other free ones for diffrent stuff ... you don't have a good bass guitar vsti do you?
I've been looking for a while now, and I can't seem to find anything that sounds good.

buy a bass guitar! that's what I did... I'm a guitar player and bought a very simple 120 dollar bass guitar to get some bass tracks down... great purchase.
If you play guitar then it's really something to consider.

deFineLicht · Wed 13/12/2006 15:50:09

Quote from: Jaws on Tue 12/12/2006 22:52:37
I ment the vsti's you used I should have said software instruments

I use Edirol Orchestral for my strings, horns and woodwinds. And some various other free ones for diffrent stuff ... you don't have a good bass guitar vsti do you?
I've been looking for a while now, and I can't seem to find anything that sounds good.

Ah, ok

Well I'm on a mac so I probably won't be able to help you. I use the program Garage Band wich is included when you buy the computer. The most of the instruments are included in the program from the start, and also you could get some updates.

I find this program complete for my purposes. I'm able to record and do some mixing in the program, and it's pretty easy to use.

Jaws · Wed 13/12/2006 16:13:59

Quote from: maaark on Wed 13/12/2006 13:35:45
buy a bass guitar! that's what I did... I'm a guitar player and bought a very simple 120 dollar bass guitar to get some bass tracks down... great purchase.
If you play guitar then it's really something to consider.

Hey man

I have a bass guitar .. but it tricky to record and get the right sound .. I use it when I'm recording songs and such but a vsti with diffrent bass types and sounds would really make it easier.

btw. do you have that guitar in you avatar? I love that type of guitar .. I just bought an Epi Dot, great guitar

deFineLicht: Ok, thanks anyway

Nikolas · Wed 13/12/2006 17:05:13

A long time AGS member, called Geoffkhan (aka Greg Schlaepfer, aka GregJazz), has made a number of basses, most of which are exceptional! And really cheap!

http://www.manytone.com/

Spam post over.

thomasregin · Wed 13/12/2006 18:17:30

Quote from: Jaws on Wed 13/12/2006 16:13:59
Hey manÃ,Â I have a bass guitar .. but it tricky to record and get the right sound .. I use it when I'm recording songs and such but a vsti with diffrent bass types and sounds would really make it easier.

Jaws,

You need a bass preamp to get the "right" sound on your bass recordings. If you just plug your bass directly into your sound card you can't get the sound your are looking for without extensive use of compression-plugin's such as Waves' ultramaximizer or RComp etc.. And even then the sound won't be top-notch. The only way to go is to record through a preamp..

/tom..

Jaws · Wed 13/12/2006 19:11:29

Quote from: Nikolas on Wed 13/12/2006 17:05:13
A long time AGS member, called Geoffkhan (aka Greg Schlaepfer, aka GregJazz), has made a number of basses, most of which are exceptional! And really cheap!

http://www.manytone.com/

Spam post over.

Hey

I knew Greg was a talented bassplayer, but I didn't know he made vsti's .. thanks man:) This looks very cool, and I would like to support him by purchasing a vasti or two - but my budget for this is minimal. Zero infact .. i was hoping anyone knew about some free vsti that was usable.

thomasregin: Hey man

I allways use a mixer or a mic'ed amp when recording, but I have a cheap bass so its still tricky to get the perfect bass sound. So a vsti with diffrent bass sounds and styles (jazz, rock, metal etc.) would make it alot easier

Thanks though

maaark · Thu 14/12/2006 06:41:24

Quote from: Jaws on Wed 13/12/2006 16:13:59
Quote from: maaark on Wed 13/12/2006 13:35:45
buy a bass guitar! that's what I did... I'm a guitar player and bought a very simple 120 dollar bass guitar to get some bass tracks down... great purchase.
If you play guitar then it's really something to consider.

Hey manÃ,Â I have a bass guitar .. but it tricky to record and get the right sound .. I use it when I'm recording songs and such but a vsti with diffrent bass types and sounds would really make it easier.

btw. do you have that guitar in you avatar? I love that type of guitar .. I just bought an Epi Dot, great guitarÃ,Â

deFineLicht: Ok, thanks anyway

Yup, I own the Ibanez AS73 TCRÃ,Â

Bought it in San Francisco while visiting the states.
Great guitarÃ,Â

The Epi Dot, also.

oracle · Thu 14/12/2006 09:51:01

hi im new here but i think i will have a go at this one sounds interesting

oracle · Thu 14/12/2006 12:40:43

heres my piece

http://download.yousendit.com/08A4D40519579368

bit ov a rush job as dont have much time

hope you like it

rob

Jaws · Thu 14/12/2006 17:37:25

oracle: Sounds cool man ... what synths did you use. (Could be cool to know which instruments and\or softsynths\vsti's everybody made their tunes with)

I spent two hours (with my guitar this time) today trying to come up with something ... I had two ideas wich by some bizarre twist became westermy\cowboy thingies when recorded. Neither very original or perticularly evil sounding .. So i'll have to keep trying tomorrow ... I'm kicking myself for not coming up with something original .. I used to think of little evil medlodies all the time a year back when I was trying to write positive stuff.. but now when I need evil, all I can make is happy stuff .. Oh the irony.

oracle · Thu 14/12/2006 18:21:25

hi jaws

i use reason 3.0 all the sounds are made useing the synths in the program

ps: try and make something happy and it might sound evil lol

Nikolas · Thu 14/12/2006 18:36:19

Just to pimp Gregs VSTs a tad more...

His basses cost around 20-30$ each (talking about the Ultimate Bass Kit and the magnificent Upright Bass). It's not that they're expensive or anything.

Anyways... wish I had time to enter this comp, it looks most promising.

(Love all the entrys and the new memebers here! Amazing stuff!)