Time to cast your vote for our composition contest! A few things:


Please listen to all entries before voting
You may not vote for your own entry. Your vote can be seen by everyone. :-P
Voting ends Saturday, March 24, 2012
OPTIONAL: Comment on the entries! It helps us grow as composers.


Entries:

Victor Seven - "Ich liebe dich" (http://forums.ichigos.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14545&d=1325414395)
Bey-Heart - "Sound Waves Searching For Inspiration" (http://forums.ichigos.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14588&d=1327374156)
DunNotCome - "Glass Reflections" (http://forums.ichigos.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14593&d=1327504339) (SCORE (http://www.mediafire.com/?sqls468pgo2j0mf))
PorscheGTIII - "Rex Tremendae" (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/806642/Rex%20Tremendae%20-%20Master.mp3) (SCORE (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/806642/Rex%20Tremendae%20-%20Final%20Score.pdf))
SolarWinds - "Past Memories" (http://forums.ichigos.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14601&d=1327757061) (SCORE (http://forums.ichigos.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14600&d=1327757000&thumb=1))
Gotank - "Daydream" (http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?n86orpljpk76029)
sagemse - "life" (http://forums.ichigos.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14655&d=1329632486)
KaitouKudou - "Our Time" (http://forums.ichigos.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14657&d=1329733316)

Good Luck to all Entrants!

Victor Seven - "Ich liebe dich"
Very musically correct. I see a study with a bunch of dogtail coated butlers cleaning. Of the same vein, though, I don't feel any real reflection while listening to it. It feels more like a here and now song. However I do like the way how you orchestrated it.

Bey-Heart - "Sound Waves Searching For Inspiration"
It sounds a bit too open at the beginning, and I couldn't really find the theme after you injected the bass line in the piano. I like the complexity you're trying to make with the rhythms, but it needs a bit more structure to identify the melody, counter-melody, and background. If I were to move forward with the piece, I'd work from an atonal angle and continue to spice the rhythms up more, as you have a decent base.

DunNotCome - "Glass Reflections"
Love the tender opening, and also how simple the melody is. I think a bit more freedom with the rhythm would push a lot more emotion into it (but that's forgivable because rubato is hard to do in MIDI music). I can feel how bitter sweet the year in review is with this piece. I do have to say that the repeating bass note at the end needed a bit more dynamics.

PorscheGTIII - "Rex Tremendae"
Nine seconds of silence only works on cue based CDs. I was also reminded of Grandia II and Legend of Zelda while listening to this. They both have similar formats. I'm not particularly fond of the major uglyminor puremajor phrasing. All that said, the music certainly has a soundtrack like feeling to it. I could see it as a background to an adventure cartoon.

SolarWinds - "Past Memories"
Not a fan of the uptight rhythms. They seem a bit jerky. Also there's some odd notes in there that sound a bit off from the cadence you started in. Some work on transitions and you may have something more.

Gotank - "Daydream"
Similar to Porche's piece, but a bit more of my flavor of orchestration and presentation. I really feel some Nobuo Uematsu and Joe Hisaishi inspirations. Really like the ambient fill you bring with this. I do think that your big moments in the piece could be smaller in the beginning and gradually get bigger, pushing towards the climax you made. I had a few moments where I felt like the song was going to end, but it was just an insert for the next phrase.

sagemse - "life"
Didn't like the brass and violin swells. They felt forced. However I like the theme and mode, though it feels a bit rushed at times when you introduce your ideas.

KaitouKudou - "Our Time"
Magical Introduction, poor soloist instrument (Clarinet just doesn't stand out enough for this kind of theme). I would swap it with an Oboe. I do like the piano accompaniment, and its breakdown in the middle. Really jazzy. The drums feel really out of place, or possibly are too loud. Same with the bass line.


Closest to theme: DunNotCome
Best Orchestration: Gotank

My vote: DunNotCome.

You put "Sounds Waves..." It's "Sound Waves..."

You put "Sounds Waves..." It's "Sound Waves..."

Fixed. Sorry!

Question,

I thought the prompt of each song would be posted here.

Question,

I thought the prompt of each song would be posted here.

The prompts are going to be posted once the voting is over. We do not want the prompt to take an influence in the votes and comments of others.

Is it alright if I post the sheet music for my composition here as well??

I really like KK's
You should put lyrics to this.

Life - I really liked the company of the timpani. I would definitely suggest that you go over the dynamics of the piece. It felt like some instruments were too loud compare to the others. I like how you change the mood at one point of the song, but it felt like the mood changed too fast. I didn't have time to really settle and enjoy that nice change. Instead I was forced to discard that nice transition and keep up with the further changes. It is an energetic song.

Past Memories - I can't say I agree with some of the chords. Especially in the beginning. However, judging from your title I was inclined to think it was supposed to distorted. Still... I think you could do better with the chords progression.

Ich Liebe Dich - First... +1 for making me say Ichy Lieby Dick. ,':} The piece is very sounding. I can definitely follow the rhythm without a problem. It also has the winter theme to it. However, I thought it was kinda dull. Maybe it's the limited number of instruments. That doesn't mean it's not good. It's just my taste, that's all.

Daydream - By far the most powerful piece here. My my... the last few minutes were just eruptions of sounds. And I think you did a pretty good job leading there, too. The piano definitely stuck out, even when there were many instruments playing at the same time. Just when I think the song was going to die down it picks it back up with some wonderful chords. I think without that piano backing the instruments, the piece would never have been the same. Very cinematic. It seems like you almost did exactly what you wanted to do, besides some parts at the end. I'm not sure, but I think the volume was a little off.

Glass Reflections - First I was like... Meh... then I was like YES. :D I liked the theme. It was simple yet beautiful. I must say though, I think you could have done more with the melody and harmony. Perhaps more emotions? I don't know. Can't quite put my finger on it.I definitely think you could have played more with the melody. I think you went too safe on this one.

Sound Waves Searching for Inspiration - I definitely enjoyed the introduction. Then there were some chords that I didn't like. It felt kind of restrained. I felt like I wanted to get out of that feeling of contained chords, but you wouldn't let me! You kept me in that mood. I kind of wished you had kept the theme in the introduction longer, and perhaps that would have changed the course of the song.

Rex Tremendae - What can I say about this one...? I thought it was long. That's for one. I thought I was in Blade Runner. Looking for clues in the middle of Metropolis. Seeing something beautiful in the middle of the beat down city. Trickles of rain somehow attempts to wash the city clean. I suppose a dirty city can be poetic, too. Or perhaps it's the clues left by someone mysterious that lead to those fantastic journey. The piece was very soothing and quite powerful at times. Not sure what the title means but if it has anything to do with dinosaurs... I think the city scene can turn into a Jurassic scene any time.... and still maintain the poetic elements.

Our Time - Very lyrical. Perhaps lyrics driven. I can picture a lone singer in the middle of a grass field next to a river during a sunset.... thinking about something. I didn't expect the drum. A reverb drum, that is. I think you should turn down the volume of the drum a little bit. I don't know which threw me off from the pictures I was creating: The reverb or the volume...... I'm leaning towards the volume. The bass was okay. I think it wasn't that complimentary to the drum. I think the drum really did throw me off completely. Couldn't get over it. Nevertheless it was a very nice piece.

Will try to listen to them all tonight and vote.

Hi guys, a brief explanation on the super loud drums. When I was writing this song, I was using headphones for it which has the bass turned pretty low. Even now when I use the headphones to listen to the the balance is just right. I downloaded this at work to listen to it on the speakers there as I no longer use speakers at home and I realized what you guys were talking about. Yes both the bass and the drums are significantly louder than what I hear at home. It was not my intentions. That being said, I'm not trying to make excuses. In all fairness please base your judging on whatever it is you hear using your speakers. The translated lyrics were included in the prompt. I will be uploading a recording of me singing the song on my thread once this competition is over.

Ich liebe dich - Maybe it's because you were one of the first to submit a composition and consequently I've heard this one the most number of times, but I find this piece really catchy. The contrasting textures gives this piece a lot of direction. The occasional use of suspensions and dissonance combined with natural phrasing and harmonic progressions give the piece a very 'familiar' sound, in a positive way. The piece as a whole flows very smoothly between sections and modulates between keys in a pleasing way as well. It's a piece I wouldn't mind listening to for long periods of time.

-I have no experience with string quartets, but it seems that the first violin is a little too 'important' compared to the rest - I can only rarely hear violin 2 and viola parts. The melody feels a little odd at parts (eg. 0:41), but that's probably just personal preference.


Sound Waves Searching for Inspiration - Maybe it's an effect of the computer generated sound lacking expression, but I found it very difficult to 'understand' the piece. The notes all seem to be diatonic to a single key, but combined they do not, for the most part, seem to imply any harmony. The willingness to approach and experiment with this style of 'polyphonic' music is certainly something a lot of composers lack.


Glass Reflections - I like the mood the piece generates, especially with the texture used at 0:52 and 2:12 - an introspective feel. The piece as a whole sounds very natural and fitting of the theme of the contest. I like the use of textual inversion and exploration of the piano's wide range in portions of the piece.

-I feel the piece is a little predictable at times. With a predominantly stepwise melodic line closely conforming to the harmonic progression, completely diatonic harmony and melody, only the changes in texture provide the occasional much needed contrast.


Rex Tremendae - I have a hard time critiquing music of this incidental style, but I think you did some very nice things with the harmony - there's definitely an appreciable move from the minor/diminished sonorities to major. I also like that a tonal center was gradually implied as the piece went on, culminating at 4:14. I like the new woodwind timbres you introduce at 5:10, but wished you could do more with timbres and register in general. The slow unraveling of the piece gives it a very cinematic quality.

-While the piece isn't necessarily melodic, I still think more could be done to emphasize important points in the music (the end for example). The lower registers could have been explored a bit more in the dissonant sections.


Past Memories - I appreciate the way this piece explores non-traditional harmonies. Similar to Glass Reflections, I feel a strength of the piece is its treatment of texture as a means of giving piece movement. The use of dissonance in conjunction with said texture gives me the image of a detective story. The underlying rhythms serves as a central unifying element to the piece.

-Some portions of the piece do not seem deliberate enough - the melody feels like it's lost and wandering at times, and some chord progressions really aren't as effective as they could be (especially towards the end).


Life - I really like the 1:06 shift into minor - it's a much needed bit of contrast. Overall the piece uses a very pleasing and simple set of harmonic progressions, and the texture is pleasant as well for the most part. The melody is easily discernible. I feel that a lot of effort is put into the piece. Good job.

-The melodic material seems to conform a little too closely to the underlying harmonies, thereby lacking independence characteristic of melodies. It's not always a detriment, but I think in this case, the piece as a whole could benefit from having a less 'predictable' melody. Try to explore other 'styles' of orchestration and harmonies as a means of further generating contrast in the piece, and consider giving different instrument groups the melody in order to create a sense of progression and generate interest. On the smaller scale, try to be more deliberate about including cadences, as they give the listener a point of rest while also making the piece feel more structured and lyrical.


Our Time - There are many great things about this piece. I very much enjoyed the 'mellow' section at the beginning and the instrumental interlude. The themes were repeated just the right number of times to get the message across while not coming off as being boring. The melody itself is pleasant as well - I think I enjoyed first few verses even more than the chorus itself, where the latter came off as just a tad predictable. The variety of accompaniment styles you apply with the strings is great, I wish you could emphasize them a little more in the mixing. There's a lot more I could say, in all it seems that you put a lot of effort into the piece, and it definitely shows. Great work!

-I feel the piece is a little 'empty' in the middle registers at times, especially during the chorus - perhaps it could benefit from more strings. Some passages/transitions feel like it could use a slight buildup. Certain sections towards the end made me wish you could modify certain melodic phrases to emphasize the ending in contrast with previous repetitions - this is mostly a personal preference, it's certainly not necessary in this style of music. You definitely made some changes in the accompaniment style throughout the piece, but I feel some of these changes (minus introducing the drum set) were a too subtle and could be emphasized more. On a note about the mixing - I think panning the instruments might help with making the accompaniment lines seem a little more independent. You already seem to be aware of the heavy bass.


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There are merits in a lot of the entries. I think "Rex Tremendae", "Ich liebe dich", and "Our Time" stood out as being the most complete and thoughtful to me. My preference and vote goes to KaitouKudou's "Our Time".


Thanks for the other reviews as well - I'll respond to the comments regarding my piece after all the review come in.

Is it alright if I post the sheet music for my composition here as well??

Sure! Send it to Porsche or me so we can attach it to the first post. Sorry for the delayed answer!


EDIT: Score added!
______

And anyone is allowed to vote! Whenever you are an active member or a lurker!

Hard decision, but I vote for Sound Waves Searching For Inspiration. That intro was so sweet and I could really tell that the piece was searching for inspiration, but in the same sense had the constrained feel to a limited number of cords. The intro felt like it was going to burst into a melodic masterpiece, but the pianist was eventually lost to the fact that he was stuck and still in search for inspiration.

The ending was too abrupt though. If you had faded out with a I-III cord progression or something, that would've completed it. You still have my vote.

Is this still on?? Its past voting period already??

Hello everyone!


The voting process has been extended and now voting ends

Saturday, March 24, 2012.


The poll got closed days before its deadline and no one would have been able to vote in the past days.


We oops and apologize for that!

We oops and apologize for that!

Hahaha. You said "we oops".

Lols the final day

Well, the voting period is over, so I guess this meansa Gotank won. Congratulations Gotank, I really liked your piece! ^^

And thanks to those who criticised my piece, criticism can be a big help sometimes as it showsa you how to improve. Although at least 1 user got what I was aiming towards. ;)

Hmm, any news on what's happening with this?

I didn't get votes. However, I think you critics are very good for me to improve my songs. And some of them have been positive, so I'm very happy. Congratulations, Gotank! It'a very nice piece.

What about the prompts...? I think we also have to vote them.

Very well done Gotank! It's a great victory for there was a lot of good songs along with yours. I am curious as to what each of the contestants' prompts were consist of.

CONGRATULATIONS GOTANK!

And good job everyone! It is nice to see a variety of style here. I hope in someway this contest was helpful to all the contestants.

To our winner, Gotank, we offer you to promote your piece through our youtube's channel. If you are interested, please inbox us with any detail you wish to add.

And here are the Prompt! The missing promtps in this post are the ones I never received in my inbox.


Contestants' Prompt


Victor Seven


I pass a bad year. I'm not so very happy, but I hope the next year all will be better. But sad don't mean nervous... I often feel so calm. I tried to reflect the calm when I am sad and the wish of happy for the next year. I tried to express calm with a happy composition and a calm rhytm. I love strings, it sound is perfect to reflect that. That's why I choose the string quartet. The sound is calm and warm, but sometimes has a little strange changes. That's reflect my uncertain future and my doubts.

I think the best is the sound: is compact, and it sometimes looks like a classic piece. The theme of the song is beautiful, and the chords are good-written, so sounds good. The weak point is my intention to experiment. I always try to do it. Time signature changes or a "strange" measure, trying to express what I think but, changing completly the sound and making the listener get lost. I can't avoid it, I want to know how does sound this or that.

However, in this case, that changes are minimum, so I think the final result is good and people will like the song, changes incluided xD

Bey-Heart


My composition represents the "me" in 2011 because it shows a feeling of joy, or happiness. I was very happy this year, and my friends said that I was just the kinda nice guy they wanted to be friends with. The fast part in the beginning was to show how I was kinda hyper this year. The repeated parts in my composition are to show that I'm hoping 2012 turns out just as good for me as 2011 did. I think the mood I was going for went pretty well in my composition. I was able to obtain that feeling of joy, and achieve in making a part that expresses some hyper-activeness. I think I could have improved the very beginning though. The very beginning sounds fine, but it's pretty empty compared to the rest of the song. I think I could have improved the ending too. All I did at the end was repeat another part of the song with two added notes.

DunNotCome


Glass Reflections
A piano solo composition by myself
Writing Prompt

Thematic materials:

This tune was idealised by the reflection of me onto a glass block, which invokes a dream like, yet a sad feeling, to express the utmost of what I, as a person, have accomplished and what obstacles lies ahead. By looking through the glass block, illusion of me, nonchalant, unable to express feelings, appears. This tune is, therefore, the derivation of these feelings.

Strong Points:

Expression:
The piece has a dream-like feeling, as invoked by the repeated drones (A and D or just A), and can be expressed in the utmost limit.

Difficulty:
This piece is technically easy, but musically challenging, requiring careful phrasing and vocalising of melody to be able to express the most out of it.

Weak Points:

Pedalling:
Due to the nature of this piece, it is very easy for a pianist to play the melody entranced in the background sonority of the drone notes.

Repeated Structures:
This piece is based on one simple melody and allows for very little improvisation. Also, it the sonority of the piece does not change, but the piece ends quickly to prevent over-lengths of mood so as not to bore the listener.

PorscheGTIII


The beginning of last year was hectic for me. I was working on a team building a race car for an international competition while juggling a full load of classes and swimming. It was rough. My composition “Rex Tremende” represents the forgiveness of sin; transforming the uncertainties, chaos, and faults of humanity into a flowing, calm and pure state of enlightenment. Just as my life at the beginning of 2011 was hectic, so too is the beginning of this composition as it is loaded with dissonance and consequentially, tension. Shortly after the beginning dissonance, the mood suddenly changes. The composition seems to sigh, and ponder what was mentioned earlier. Later in the year I reflected on my past actions and vowed change. My year got progressively better. I started graduate school, met my current girlfriend, and found research in a field that I'm interested in. The composition to slowly starts to change as well. The choir sings “Salva me” or “save me” and the sins of the world slowly begin fading. The climax builds and a triumphant tutti section rings out the a powerful message of good news. This is where I picture my life going in 2012. I see a light on the horizon, a calm breeze against my back. It's hope. The composition suddenly transitions into and feels like it's calm and flowing. There's some dissonance, but it's only to be expected. There will always be bumps in the road in our future, but these bumps are not necessarily bad because without times of hardship, there can be no times of joy.

The strong point to my composition is the creative harmonic progressions and use of dissonance. The weak point is the lack of counter-subject.

Gotank


I hope to one day compose professionally and have been studying for the past few years in pursuit of this goal. On one hand I'm somewhat optimistic about the future, but on the other hand I recognize the likely event that this goal may never come to fruition. 'Daydream', in reflection of this mindset, mostly attempts to capture the hopeful mood, while occasionally introducing brief moments of introspection and doubt.

As for the music itself, I think it was a little too ambitious given my current lack of experience for orchestration. A number of sections are too muddy and bottom-heavy due to having many independent lines. The thematic material, which is especially pivotal in this style of music, is not as interesting as it needs to be and while also being too repetitive.

On the positive side, this is by far the most extensive project I've ever undertaken on. Perhaps the most praiseworthy aspect of 'Daydream' is the fact that I saw it all the way to completion.

Thanks,
Gotank

sagemse


When I composed this piece, I thought back to all the major events that happened in the previous year. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the last year was like a stereotypical story. There was a period of time where I was relaxed where I felt nothing could go wrong. Then a wave of problems came. In the end, though, I survived. As I look back now I realize that it wasn’t so bad. At the time however, it was pretty scary. But I digress.

I decided to compose based on my emotions at each of these periods of time. A time when life was good. A time when troubles reared their ugly heads. A time where I managed to pull through and triumph, and the hope I had for the future after the whole ordeal. My goal in the future is to be able to compose like Ryo from Supercell. With that, I present you with this composition I call, “Life”.

Strong point about this composition, I used modulation to change the mood, started from A major and then modulated to 3 other different keys, F sharp minor (relative minor of A major) then A minor and then finally C major (relative major of A minor).

Weak point about this composition, I feel that this composition is rather rushed and not really polished and fine tuned. I only have myself to blame for not spotting this contest earlier. Another reason is because this is my first orchestra piece, I never wrote for orchestra before, I do not really understand the instruments well enough, like which to play together, and which is for harmonizing. I just use trial and error..hopefully I scrape through. And 1 final point, the audio mixing isn't very well done, I still got lots more to learn about it.

beansato.

Thanks Nyu, Porsche, and everyone else for organizing and participating in this contest! There were many great pieces entered into this competition, and I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to engage in such an educational experience.

Congratuations Gotank, was actually quite inspired by your piece :D And I am grateful for all the critics, I will continue to compose and hopefully improve myself. I had fun in this competition too, ill definitely take part if another one is organized :lol:

I uploaded Gotank's entry to Ichigo's Channel!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LmIfafE8RnI

Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LmIfafE8RnI