Greetings!

Welcome to Ichigo's new contest REINVENT IT! brought to you by DunNotCome, Nyu001 and KaitouKudou. This contest calls for all transcribers and arrangers that want to test their skills in arranging and improvisation and have fun!

We have picked 9 pieces for you to reinvent. Your mission will be to transcribe and arrange one of the tunes as you desire. We encourage you to be as creative as possible. We also ask for a clean and well-notated score as part of transcribers and arrangers duties.

The submitted arrangements will be evaluated by juries who will pick the winner.

The Judging Criterion will be:

- Creativity

- Notation
1. How readable the score is if it was sight-read without prior reading.
2. How appropriate use of scoring technique is used to express the music.

- Playability
1. Is the piece playable and which difficulty does it fall in (Difficulty does not affect grading)
2. Does the piece allow for good expression of the music (Expression = Playability as well)
3. Does the piece leave the player wanting to play the same piece again.

RULES:

1. Bring something new to the chosen piece; add your own flavour and make it unique.

2. The arrangement must not be less than 3 minutes and not longer than 8 minutes.

3. You can draw your musical materials from anywhere, as long as at least one part of the music is from the choice list.

4. Submit only mp3 files. PDF files will only be asked after the deadline is over.

5. The Scores are to be notated in a clean way and submitted as a PDF format.
Here are a few useful guidelines:
1. No notes are to be colliding with each other and must have proper devices to join them together if necessary (Beaming, etc.)
2. No single notes are to be placed more than 3 ledger lines above or below any staves for more than a bar unless necessary.
3. Proper spacing for notes and page margins, and all expression and articulation marks must not collide with each other.

6. Only one entry per member.

7. All entries are to be posted in this thread for submission to the contest.

8. Questions about this contest are to be posted in this thread and not through private messages.

9. Arrangements are to be arranged for Piano Solo.

NOTE: Rules are subject to change as needed.

And please, no copying or act of plagiarism. Appeals can be submitted through PM with the juries.


Winner(s) will have their arrangement posted on Ichigo’s YouTube Channel.

Deadline:

15st July 2012 - 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time (GMT -5:00)

- UPDATE 15th JULY - Deadline has been shifted to the 31st July EST

Cheers!
DunNotCome; KaitouKudou; Nyu001

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EDITS:

30/5/12- Instrumentation will be for Piano Solo.

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LIST OF PIECES/SONGS:

SET A:
Tripshots ft .Hatsune Miku – Nebula
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoLu7c2XZYU&feature=plcp

Jason Paige - Pokémon Opening (English)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfX0tIaExmM

Yuki Iwai - Goof Troop Soundtrack – Illusion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-cRC...feature=relmfu

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SET B:
Taku Iwasaki - Kuroshitsuji S1 OST (Black Box) – To The Memory of Madame Red
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoiSEGuFM_w

Hironobu Kageyama - Dragon Ball Z OP - Cha la head cha la
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrIAR5fguPY

CAVE - Deathsmiles IIX OST – A Shadow Wandering The Ruins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPIDzAMMoVw

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SET C:
Noto Mamiko - Zero No Tsukaima: Princess No Rondo OST - Tsukaima Tachi no Shirabe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMFJ6__9Vq4
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMFJ6__9Vq4)
Styx - Mr. Roboto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcCS8AK6csg

Shiina Ringo - Tsugou no ii karada
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTEyMjM3OTIw.html

-Edit- 1/6/12
Added clauses to the Notation and Playability section, as well as guidelines to Standard Book-Publishing Engraver Format as well as instrumentation.

-Edit- 5/6/2012
Changed Rule #3, now participants can have a more flexible choice of pieces.

Here are a few ideas of what you can do to reinvent a tune:

- Change the chords
- Modify the melody & expand it (Augmentation, Syncopation, you name it!)
- Transpose the tune
- Change the time signature & tempo
- Change the rhythms
- Add counterpoint
- Add transitions
- Work it in a different music style (e.g. samba, tango, jazz, funk, etc)
- Add new thematic material (e.g. intro, outro, solos, melodies, sections, etc)
- Mix more of the thematic material of the other pieces together in your arrangement.
- Et cetera


I hope everyone have an enjoyable experience in this contest!

Haha, this seems really interesting. Though I wonder if anyone is actually participating, as it's been a few days with no response.

By the way, are there any specifications on instrumentation?

I want to participate also in this contest! *o*
But I'm very busy. I don't know if I will do it. T.T Mmmm, if it finishes in July... I'll try.

Woot looks like some response lets keep them going haha.

You might get more interest/response if you allow people to choose what they want to arrange for themselves.

Also, perhaps it would be more accessible for beginners who wanted to give it a try if you gave sheet music they could work from- it's possible to rearrange something direct from score people do it all the time.

Finally the category of playability- by whose standards? If we're talking piano solo (which it sounds to me like you are), then you should try getting Milchh on board who is probably the most advanced pianist on the forum.

Anyway, I might consider it if it was free choice.

Except for the fact that I'm terrible at this, I'm kind of interested in the contest. I have to admit I have no idea what rule #5 means. I only have Notepad 2012. Does that disqualify me?

You might get more interest/response if you allow people to choose what they want to arrange for themselves.

This applies to me.

I was also wondering about the "playability" aspect, too. Do you mean just simply what is possible to play, or do you mean is it somehow challenging (it isn't just a simply-written piece)?

And another thing, I think the score requirement is a bit much, gentlemen. Many people don't have the programs to make good scores, or may not know how to finagle their way around a program to make a score look nice and tidy (even I have trouble making my scores looks absolutely perfect...)

@Milchh @Thorn For playability, it is up to the players, as long as it is playable (certain scoring looks unplayable but is actually playable).
@Milchh The score doesn't have to look absolutely perfect, Book-Publishing Standard Engraver format isn't that strict.

Book-Publishing Format is a standard for most music books and it is actually very simple to follow. Here are guidelines:
1. No notes are to be colliding with each other and must have proper devices to join them together if necessary (Beaming, etc.)
2. No single notes are to be placed more than 3 ledger lines above or below any staves for more than a bar unless necessary.
3. Proper spacing for notes and page margins, and all expression and articulation marks must not collide with each other.

@Thorn I don't think I will be amending the choice pieces rule, as it most likely will give unfair advantages to others who do not have or know of pieces which can be used very freely and flexibly. I know that it is fun to improvise on thematic materials that we like, but for some that do not yet have found their muse, it would be unfair to force them to find their own melody from other pieces and even harsher to make them improvise immediately just after they have found theirs. Thus, I will not be amending the choice pieces. Do note that there is a guideline stating that participants are allowed to take thematic materials from anywhere and include it in their own ways in their arrangement so long as the main theme is their chosen piece in the lists. I don't think I will also provide any sheet musics for these as it would not make sense to post the sheet music for a contest that is meant to test our transcribing and improvising abilities.

@tree_kun No worries, you can still join. I've used Finale Notepad before (In fact, I've first learnt music from it) and I can safely say that it provides satisfactory publishing standards. Furthermore, the scores will only be asked after the deadline is over.

For those using Finale (Notepad, Printmusic, anything Finale), these formats should be already pre-built inside as Finale has settings to ensure that these settings are met.
Sibelius users should not have much of a problem with this too, as I believe these settings are inside. If you require any help on this, feel free to PM me, I will be more than happy to help. The grading on the scoring is based on the overall readability of the sheet music, not on formatting, which are of Standard Engraver Format (As above). It will be graded based on how well the reader can quickly and easily read the music off the score and whether the techniques used to score the music is appropriate or not. I will post up examples of these formattings as soon as I finish taking screenshots of these formattings and grading.

Another question -- Shouldn't there be another requirement that explains how the themes are used in the piece, and when they are used? There's many different ways of incorporating melodies and harmonies together that might go unnoticed... after listening to all of them (except the Styx and Goof Troop... they aren't working) it seems that one could use elements of every chart in one piece.

To be honest, it all seems unnecessarily complicated...

Thorn do have a good point about interest/response/accessibility. Please do reconsider it DunNotCome. Thanks for share your thoughts guys!

I understand the points made by DunNotCome but must admit that I'd be more inclined with a freer choice of source material. Regardless, I might do this if I can balance it with other projects.

We are in the process of changing Rule #3 on allowing freer choice of thematic materials do stay tuned!

*UPDATE - 5/6/2012 - Rule #7 on choice pieces have been changed, there is more flexibility in the pieces now.
For the broken links, we are trying to fix it (Still confirming links). I will update it as soon as I can.

Cheers!
DunNotCome

okay.. i've lurked around here because I wanted to see who is going participate.

I personally think having a limited number of songs to choose from is a good thing. Or at least it's a fair deal, because in the real world it is less likely that we get to choose the piece we want to rearrange. Especially if there is a client involved. Besides... that makes it more challenging, IMO.

I don't know much about arranging scores, but it all sounds like a bunch of excuses to not participate in the contest. Perhaps I'm wrong. But don't get me wrong. As I said earlier, I don't know much about arranging.

The real reason I came here is to tell everyone that I'm going to participate. :D hehe I think it could be fun. I don't know many of these songs, but I have a pretty good idea which song I'm going to pick.

Well...... As a starcraft player would say, "gl hf". I don't play starcraft so I don't get the chance to say that. EVER. so that felt pretty good.

Alright, I think I might give this a try, since I've missed the last transcribing contest.
I'll take the pokemon theme I guess. :P

21 more days to deadline hope everyone is doing well with their arrangements!

okay i think i got something going. now i just gotta tweak it a bit. or just.... i don't know. but i got something.

Piano solo only? Nevermind, dropping out. Good luck to everybody though. :)

After much discussion, we have decided to shift the deadline to the 31st of July 2012 EST. Keep going everyone!

Well fellas... here is mine. I hope you guys will enjoy it

I guess the winner is Ander since he provided the "best" arrangement for this competition? :lol:

YES! finally some recognition. It's so GOOD, KaitouKudou quoted the word BEST. AND he added a question mark out of EXCITEMENT! Do believe me. I do share KK's thrill. :)

Waiting for more contestants to submit theirs if by end of July there is no more contestants submitting then Anders the "Best" arrangement :-)

OK then since the time is up Ander is the "best" arranger for this competition.

Full comments will be up shortly

in that case I would like this to be my final version.

Though it is a good win for me, i don't feel like an olympian when I'm the only one competing :\ you guys watching that though? stupid nbc wouldn't let me watch it online.

but considering everything thanks for listening to my song.

http://soundcloud.com/ander-2/tsukaima

As a "winner" of this competition, may request that when you do put this up on youtube, can you give a full description of what happened? From the purpose of this competition to how no one but I submitted.

Sry for the late reply, I've been having no access to my computer for a long while.

The video will be posted, so we would like to invite Ander our winner to send post up his sheet music in PDF and MIDI.

As winner of this competition, I would like to ask if Ander would like his audio revamped using high quality samples from Ivory VST. Alternatively, you can still stick to your original piano sound. The remade audio will be sent back to you for finalising so that you can check if you are satisfied with the sound.

For the comments, its still in progress as the organisers have been quite busy recently. Nevertheless, look out for the comments soon.

DunNotCome

Maybe could you post some shett of this song you reinvented... thank you very much I'll appreciate it a lot!