On the writing forum I'm posting at, there are people creating collaborative stories. A few people take turns adding to the story. (One's got finished and a few people and I are editing this into a novel - currently about 171.000 words)

So, I wondered whether this could be done on a composition forum with a composition. Here's how it goes:

I'll start it off by posting a (very) small section.

Anybody who feels inspired can add to it, and post the enhanced version. You can add another layer. You can make it longer. You can do both.

If you decide to work on the piece, please post that you do, so nobody else takes the piece and works on it, too, because then we'd end up with multiple version (which is not a bad thing, but can get confusing really quickly!).

When you're done, you re-post it and wait for others to pick it up.

Even if this never gets finished, it could be an interesting experience. :)

hahaha . . madmazda started something like this months ago, but it didn't get too far =T

I started to add another couple of bars onto the end, but my sibelius kept crashing... :hunter: time to troubleshoot the 'varmit...
i will have something soon though

Hope you don't mind if I add 4 bars in advance then...

sounds fun, i think ill have a go at it when theres a little more to the song already.

I added a few staves hopefully I didnt wreck the whole thing to much. :heh:
??wait... Was I suppose to wait for mystery editor :huh: ?? crap I think I threw off the whole process X_X ..If I did just ignore whatever I added. ^.^

Hey, don't worry about me. just remember not to screw things up too much, or the song just plain wont work. sounds pretty good so far.

Also, could people write what they used to actually make the MIDI, such as Anvil Studio or, in my case, Sibelius, so there can at least be a little bit of continuity?

Look, i'm sorry. I wrote a long part, but everything is screwing up, so i'm gonna have to sit this one out. go ahead and write before me, i'll just watch how this goes.

Looks fun. :P

Okay, I'm adding some stuff now. Gimme a few minutes.

Hey, this is taking shape. Sounds great! ^_^

Only quibble I've got is: my own stuff sounds kind of thin, now... :heh: I'll see whether I can push that up some time (but don't have time now).

Looking forward to your contribution Stefan. Keep it coming. :D

Mystery Editor, I'm curous about what you wrote, too. Perhaps, you could post it anyway? Re-name it to "this is an alternate universe" or something? :think: I hate to think music that exists goes to waste...

Eh. This is harder than I thought. :doh:

Managed to do four bars anyway.

Great work, it's hard isn't? I have trouble adding stuff my own work...

You're all so talented!

***

Oh, and I've found the thread Al mentioned, it's here (http://forums.ichigos.com/index.php?showtopic=1769&st=0&hl=)

It's worth checking out. :)

ok, i'll post what i've done as soon as i can extract it. smart sibelius with stupid viruses...

Update: I managed to get it working again, but there was a little that had to be cut for it to work. Sorry, this is the best i could extract! It doesn't have the rest of the song beforehand, that was the main part that luckily got lost...

Here, I've appended the part for you. Also, I added a cadence part to smooth the transition - hope you don't mind :whistle:.

Woah! I think you were having the same trouble that I was when I tried to add my part of the song onto the end. Something went really out of time, or, I don't know what. It sounds like the same problem that I had, which means it's probably not just my computer...

I managed to fix it up, but thanks to spc1st, it actually worked! Plus the cadence fits just fine in my opinion. Thanks again!

Although I can't contribute to this project, I just wanted to say that it sounds very impressive so far ^^

Great piece Mystery Composer! (glad you posted it, that shouldn't have been lost. :) )

I've just had a closer look at what we have so far. Basically a d-minor scale (with chords from all three minor scales), with a few interesting excursions and modulations. Cohesion accomplished by harmony, rhythm and instruments.

I've played it to my Mom and let her guess how many people had a go at it. She couldn't really make a guess, but was surprised to learn that it was 5 people.

^_^

It is sounding pretty good. If no one posts with a new part in the next couple of days, i'll have one in reserve, just to keep things moving.

Here's my addition. I hope no one else was planning to post one... @_@

Thats fine, very nice work! But has anyone else noticed that the BPM has completely steadied out at 120BPM for the whole song? And I think it would help if people would say what they used to make it. I know i'm ranting, but i'm done now

I like the new addition, Jolly Green. Nice Mood change :)

***

About the BPM; I'm using Logic Fun, and I don't know how to do different speeds. That's actually an interesting problem I haven't thought of; the only solution I can think of is setting 120 BPM as the standard speed; I do think what's there sounds nice at that speed.

If that's still a problem, perhaps someone more knowledgeable with midi can set the speed for individual parts?

Ideas?

What parts did you want the speed to change, because I could probably do it.

I could do it, but then there is the problem that some of my parts kinda, well die

Actually, I'm fine the way it is. It's just something I hadn't thought of. :)

Alright. Should we make a rule that the rest of the song has to be at 120BPM?

Sure. And how about a name?

hmm... thats a good point... how about delevopents of life?

Developments of Life is a nice title. (It's named "Hope this grows", because I hoped that it grew... hehe, I'm not good with titles... :heh: )

Also agree with setting speed standard to 120.

Ok, its set then

Alright! Developments of Life! I can't wait to hear the next part! XD

And if you think about it, "Developments of Life" is somewhat related to "Hope This Grows" XD Er, that is, if you're into metaphors and such, yeah ._. don't mind me ^^

right... who wants to do the next part? i might, but i wont have time for a while

Am I allowed to do it twice in a row? If so, I'd be happy to.

I was wondering the same thing. mabye just keep one in the ranks, and if anyone doesn't post one, just do it. I'm kinda busy with an RP mission, and i have school, so yeah

I like the idea, and the song is great so far! :D At its current state, it can be continuous right now. From right at the end to the beginning. So this piece is practically complete! XD For a videogame, it would be.

If only it was possible for me to do this... (I can't even put my compositions on the computer! -_- )

Would it be possible for you to post sheet music? Then one of us could do the midi (you'll hear it first, of course, before it's implemented.)

I don't want to mess this up :lol: but good luck guys, sounds great so far :)

Originally posted by Dawnstorm@Jun 29 2005, 07:55 PM
Would it be possible for you to post sheet music? Then one of us could do the midi (you'll hear it first, of course, before it's implemented.)
I can't do that, either. -_-

<s>If no one else is working on it right now, I could do another addition. :)</s>

EDIT: Okay, here&#39;s another one. Hope you don&#39;t mind me making use of an empty channel to add a piano part. :heh: (If not, feel free to disregard it)

Wait - we are allowed to contribute more than once, aren&#39;t we? :unsure:

That&#39;s a gorgeous addition&#33; :D

Anything goes, this is about creativity.


Originally posted by Zucriy Amsuna
I can&#39;t do that, either.

Well... then you&#39;re welcome to... listen. ^_^

(&#39;Cos I can&#39;t think of any other solution. -_- )

It is sounding good. I cant wait to see where it goes&#33; (i feel so lazy not adding anything to it, though...)

Does anyone mind if I do the next part?

Go ahead&#33;

Just a short addition by me. I think you&#39;ll notice that the composition has turned from a minor key to a major key, from despair to prospering. It really is like developments of life in a way. It starts out as dark and imposing. But it eventually flourishes into a piece with grace and beauty. Such is a being&#39;s journey through life, gathering wisdom and character as it grows. Don&#39;t mind me though, I think about it too much. I hope you like my new part and the direction the song has taken. ^_^

ALRIGHT&#33;&#33;&#33; This is getting better and better. Does anyone else see a finale coming up?

A finale already? Let&#39;s make it grow to at least 10 minutes. :torch:

I know, but it just seems like the right kind of thing. We could have movements, like a sonata, but interesting :P

A sonata would be better to do with 3-4 people. Everyone composes a movement that differs in style, rhythm and melody, but is held together by subject and style.

I agree that it should be done by only 3 or 4 people, but then where would be the variety? I meant more in the sense that it had different movements in the different styles, as opposed to how a sonata in actually written

i want to try but i dont think it would be good enough

I know how you feel, Badgerglue. Listen to the first two bars; their mine. Everything that comes after is soo much better. I din&#39;t dare add anything anymore either, but I&#39;m learning a lot in this thread.

I wonder wether the timid among us (You, I, Matt Chan, and the occasional lurker(?)) should just give it a go (I, for one, wouldn&#39;t mind if the talent in here would work it over so it sounds better or fits better)?

Hehe...

Well, though I also hope this keeps going for a bit more, this addition has a sort of a conclusion, if no one wants to add on anymore.

I guess no one wants to add anymore. That&#39;s a shame. Whatever happened to wanting it to last 10 minutes long? Do I have to add another part to get it going again? Feedback please, people.

i want to add another part, but i&#39;m busy at the moment. i&#39;ll see if i can keep it going. i&#39;m sure there are others out there that just don&#39;t know about it

EDIT: it would be good if you could add a part in as well

I like the new part.

Wouldn&#39;t worry too much if people are taking breaks, just push it to the top when it threatens to disappear and be patient. :)

I doubt I&#39;ll add something myself; this piece has gone way above my composition abilities. ^_^

ok, i&#39;ll think about adding onto it. no one minds the risk that the previous parts may possibly kill themselves a little?

Maybe you should look into your whole Sibelius situation. To me, it souns very buggy and unpredictable. I&#39;ve never used it myself, so I don&#39;t know what you could possibly do about it. :heh:

nah, it works heaps well, but it likes to change the parts and so they are in range. but it think someone else has already done that buggering up thing that was happening, even by accident, so there wouldn&#39;t be a change if i did a new part. i&#39;ll see what i can do, assignment due in 3 days, and i&#39;m only half way through my sonata&#33;

Hi, just chiming in to say that I&#39;ve saved all attachments to my hard-drive. When the conversion is through (see Gand&#39;s sticky post), I&#39;ll repost them. While, technically, all we really need is the last file, it would be nice to have a "complete" thread. I think...

i have them all saved as well, i think, so people can re-edit their posts and attach them again later :)

I just tried to append all the files, and realised I can't edit other people's post. Of course. I'm not a mod... :heh:

What we really need is the last one, though. :)

Well, here it is. :P I can't add anything right now; I'm away from my own computer.

Wow. The first 1 and a half minutes really sounds like a banjo-kazooie song! Stylin'! The sound quality of the instruments would be too much for my music writing program to handle. :( (In other words if I put something in there, you'd get rubbish sounding instruments.)

Wow. The first 1 and a half minutes really sounds like a banjo-kazooie song! Stylin'! The sound quality of the instruments would be too much for my music writing program to handle. :( (In other words if I put something in there, you'd get rubbish sounding instruments.)

I don't understand... Midi is just a set of instructions; the sound quality depends on your soundcard and possible software synthesiser. I doubt you'd mess anything up.

Why not try and see how it goes? :)

Wow. The first 1 and a half minutes really sounds like a banjo-kazooie song! Stylin'!
That's exactly what I was thinking. It was Dawnstorm who came up with the initial melody, and I thought it was excellent. You should stop belittling your obvious nack for music, Dawnstorm, and consider adding more! B)

I'll try it when I come back from holiday if I have time. ^_^

I think i want to work on it too! instead of changing the time, can i just use some math to figure out the modified note values in order to create the illusion of a time change? or would that still count as a time change?

You should stop belittling your obvious nack for music, Dawnstorm, and consider adding more! B)

Hehe, thanks, perhaps you're right.

Although, I don't really think I'm belittleing my nack for music. I think I'm good at harmony, and okay with melody and rhythm. But I find it terribly difficult make intricate arrangements; and I have little sense for transitions, endings, that kind of thing...

So, I have no problem starting off something like this. Coming up with something simple, yet interesting, I think, is my strength. But expanding on it, and varying it isn't so much a speciality of mine (look at my composition thread, and you'll know what I'm talking about :heh: ). Actually, one of the hidden reason why I started this thread is that I might learn more about that. I'm not disappointed. :D

Perhaps, I'll give it a try when I feel comfortable enough with my skills.


I'll try it when I come back from holiday if I have time.
^_^


I think i want to work on it too! instead of changing the time, can i just use some math to figure out the modified note values in order to create the illusion of a time change? or would that still count as a time change?

That should work, I think, as long as you end up at a bar. :)

Q: are you talking aboute actual note values (up to 1/32) or perhaps about midi-noteavalues (up to a 1/240)? The latter would be way too complicated I feel; in that case I think you could just try inserting a time change (but don't forget to change it back to the standard 120.00 at the end of your part).

***

*Looking forward to new additions, and starting to think about one myself...***

^_^

Would it be ok if i started on the next movement, or do we want to continue with this one?

I don't really care, as long as you add something. This topic's been dead for a while now.

true. i'll start work on it