One Synth Challenge #108: Diodow by HrastProgrammer (Schiing Wins!)

[wagtunes]

Yeah, well you can believe what you want. I know the truth. If Jasinski had made this same track, it would have done better.

The following is around four minutes of googling. If googling more, sure to find more:

Sep 2015: "I'm pretty much done with the OSC." "I won't be entering anymore"

Feb 2016: "I'm done with the OSC."

Jul 2016: "Anyway, that's it from me. And this is my LAST OSC. This month made that decision a no brainer."

Oct 2016: "Hell, I'd be happy finishing middle of the pack month after month. But my constant finishes near the bottom do not make me happy. So I'm removing that element from my life. That's the one thing you don't know about me. When I don't like something, if I can get rid of it, I get rid of it. It's that simple."

Dec 2016: "I am done with this thread and done with the OSCs." "I promise you won't hear another peep from me in the OSC threads. You have my word."

May 2017 "I am SOOOOOOOOO glad to be done with these competitions."

Jul 2017 "I'm glad to finally be done with these. And yes, this is really my last one."

...

On a serious note: what I believe is, your "everyone is against me" routine is a crutch to help you avoid confronting what is lacking in your material and working towards developing a robust skill set that allows you to create more polished material using just one synth. It's so much easier this way.

If you don't want to improve, and instead keep groundhog daying around it in this way, it would be better just to admit the OSC isn't your particular cuppa tea.

Fake admitting it every once in a while isn't the same thing.

Even in this round. It literally went from you purportedly having found the joy of creating, meticulously doing exactly what you want to do, focusing on the material and not caring about the votes, "it finally doesn't matter to me" yada yada... to "this is hell." Like what. What. What? Wagtunes? What what?

What what what.

Going to stop, so full of what.

OMG, I just noticed. YOU were one of the people who gave me a 5.

So what was it, a pity vote? Because obviously if you think my submission was THAT poor, you wouldn't have given me a 5 unless you felt sorry for me.

Man, the irony here is beyond mind blowing. One of the guys who gave me a 5 is getting on my case to make "better entries."

You can't make this stuff up.

But okay, if you REALLY thought it was a 5, why did I STILL end up in the bottom 25%?

I'd love to hear the answer to this.

[Guenon]

And yes, NOW that I've proven my point (after submitting a quality track) I can FINALLY be done with this popularity contest.

No, you are just fortifying that crutch of yours. You submitted a very marginal track that doesn't have any kind of traditional/mainstream appeal. I believe the people who told you they enjoyed the track and commended you most strongly on making it, actually did vote you in the upper figures. The rest didn't.

It's not like you submitted a quality Jasinski-like track (comparing in this way as you brought up the name). You submitted a VERY, very niche track, leveraging certain type of historical genre appeal, appropriately authentically at that, and as such it will appeal to a select few people as strongly as it did. Even as a display of skill or musical/aural taste.

What you are saying is just a continuation of your preferred defense, in the face of your inability to cope with the OSC and the way it has made you confront your own shortcomings.

[Guenon]

So what was it, a pity vote? Because obviously if you think my submission was THAT poor, you wouldn't have given me a 5 unless you felt sorry for me.

As I have repeatedly said, I think your submission was very good. I dig the history of synthesis, old scifi soundtracks, I know the aesthetic, it goes all the way into that. You also must accept it's a very extremely niche entry, and I'm bound to be in the minority with this background here.

[Taron]

Dear Wag,

this is as good a moment as any to quietly retreat, count your blessings, of which you have received more than you could allow yourself to expect and rather celebrate for one heck of a promising leap forward in your personal, musical development.
You don't have to apologize, though I find that you always tend to generate plenty of reason to have to, but just don't dig yourself deeper and deeper into this hole you shouldn't need.
I did not give you pity points, but I also don't think I gave you 5. I think, YOUR SONG should always get exactly the vote it is meant to get. I write this in capital letters, because that is what you almost exclusively confuse: YOUR SONG vs. YOU. I believe, the stronger the musician, the more they know that it's their songs and not their character or being that is being judged. I have to admit, though, I do get a kick out of seeing your name under a song that shows so much spunk and readiness to move forward.

So, don't quote all this, please! Just acknowledge it and think about it.

[aluode]

Congrats all!

Antti

[wagtunes]

So what was it, a pity vote? Because obviously if you think my submission was THAT poor, you wouldn't have given me a 5 unless you felt sorry for me.

As I have repeatedly said, I think your submission was very good. I dig the history of synthesis, old scifi soundtracks, I know the aesthetic, it goes all the way into that. You also must accept it's a very extremely niche entry, and I'm bound to be in the minority with this background here.

If you're saying that the track was good (you gave it a 5) but that I didn't do well because it wasn't a "Jasinski style" track, then what you're saying is that if you don't do a more mainstream style of music, or, more specifically, the kind of music people here relate to, you won't do well.

That has nothing to do with quality. Again, you gave me a 5. It's solely about popularity. What music, in general, appeals to people.

In other words, in order to do well here, you need to sell out. You need to, just like in the damn music business itself (which I hate with a passion) go to the pop charts and do what the top artists are doing. Otherwise, regardless of quality, you won't be successful.

Is that it in a nutshell?

[Guenon]

Ah, as a matter of fact, this is you in 2016, describing how you vote:

Yeah, it's creative sound design but musically it does nothing for me. After 1:30 I was done. I have no idea what's coming next but a minute and a half of sound FX is more than enough for me.

Sorry, but I grew up in the era of "Don't bore us, get to the chorus." Yes, I place more importance on musical composition than showing off what bleeps and bloops you can do with a synth. And that's my prerogative to rank entries based on that criteria. That's why I've scored tracks high that maybe didn't have the best sound design but were musically excellent. Again, I have the right to do that.

Reflect your own words upon your Diodow track. There's great variety in the OSC, and a lot of room for experimentation, but this track of yours was extreme. People don't have to be even close to ^ this conservative, and can still react to it unfavorably. See it as the glorious experiment it was, and then either

a) start pushing out those more polished pieces of music

or

b1) realize you are repeating this bull time after time after a round comes to a close, so better to quit

or

b2) keep on pushing the extreme experiments, and truly get over all this, as in, stop staring at the score while doing so

[Guenon]

That has nothing to do with quality. Again, you gave me a 5. It's solely about popularity. What music, in general, appeals to people.

When you do a track that is THIS extremely niche, even quality can be difficult to perceive. It requires the context. You would have a much stronger argument if your track was even somewhat more non-marginal. Now your argument is just more of the same waving of hands "wahh I can never do well in the OSC because reasons", well oh jeepers Sherlock, you just posted an atonal noise piece in the style of b scifi movies made a lifetime ago

Get real.

[mostlyjustj]

So stoked with the results... The goal I set for myself was to try to place in the middle third in voting, and I tied for 13th out of 20!

Getting my tracks up to a level where they at least 'blend in' with this group... that's a pretty good 'level up' from where I believe I am now in my music-making-abilities!

When I finished my track this month I honestly though it might have a shot of cracking the upper third... but when I listened to the final voting playlist, I knew there wouldn't be a chance. Smaller field and, in my mind, much more impressive songs on average than the month before.... seriously congrats to everyone in this field.

And seriously, thanks for being such a supportive bunch of people! It's not easy for ppl. at my skill level to find a supportive place where my music will be listened to and helped along by others with so much to offer!!

ONE day I'm hoping to start challenging for top spots but I've got LOTS to learn before that day comes, haha

[Guenon]

Whoops!

[Frostline]

So should all that come n the bottom half of scoring have that same attitude?so i am also not liked and all the others?

Yeah I wonder that as well.
It can't possibly be that although some people like my entries each month my work does not usually appeal to the majority of listeners so the vast majority of my entries end up in the bottom half of the rankings.

It also can't possibly be on months where I think I have put together a really strong track that other people have submitted work that was just better.

No, can't be anything like that.

It must be some cabal of shadowy figures conspiring together to suppress the creative genius that is my work.

And I dare anyone to try and tell me different.
Because if you try I'm going to stand here with my hands over my ears while screaming "Nananannanaannaa" Just to "prove" you wrong.
Because I'm an adult not a toddler, and that is how adults "prove" things.

[mostlyjustj]

Whoops!

Doh!

[wagtunes]

Okay, I'm leaving. But before I go, this is my last words and NO, I won't be responding to anymore comments.

When I score a track, I don't pay any attention to the genre. I score it based on the amount of work I think the person put into it. And that's usually very easy to tell. If I scored solely on my musical preference, most of the stuff here would get 1s. But I'm actually one of the higher scores in these things, always above the mean.

Obviously though, some people can't do that. They hear something that isn't "EDM" or "mainstream" or whatever you want to call it and they automatically rate it low, regardless of how much work went into it. That is a fact that can't be denied.

And with that, I am out of here WITHOUT responding to Taron per his request because I have too much respect for him.

Bye

[Guenon]

Okay, I'm leaving. But before I go, this is my last words and NO, I won't be responding to anymore comments.

Cool

When I score a track, I don't pay any attention to the genre. I score it based on the amount of work I think the person put into it.

That's nice to hear, it's very different from what I quoted from you above, however. Also, googling those "this is my last entry", "you have my word", yada yada, "I'm just glad to make music, the votes don't matter" things you have said here over the years, it seems you often say one thing and then do the other. So, yeah, cool. You score the tracks in any way you want mate

Man, the irony here is beyond mind blowing. One of the guys who gave me a 5 is getting on my case to make "better entries."

Generally, your entries are unpolished and barebones, with only the composition being the redeeming factor. You need better skills and more discipline and effort to bring the usual Wags track into a more well-rounded whole. The stock "I compose hundreds of tracks, get outta here" reply doesn't cut over here; this isn't about the amount of musically pleasing compositions, this is about the chops to produce a whole track with just one synth, with composition being one element of it all.

I was thrilled to hear your entry this time around, as it nailed that specific marginal and historical thing, and I voted accordingly. You just need to realize ALSO everything that is said above about the marginality of your entry, the description of even your own voting criteria just a while ago (literally in your own words), and juxtapose that with your entry. And so on.

During my time here, I've come to the conclusion you are usually incapable of viewing these things objectively, however, and you rationalize to the extreme when it comes to critical views on what you are doing, and when someone (anyone) points out how you could actually improve, or how you are contradicting yourself... the defenses that sort of stuff triggers is staggering.

The after-vote Wagtunes Show is also the number one feature sucking the smile and fun out of this stuff when ever a round comes to a close, imo. You literally gave your word at one point you wouldn't be doing this anymore, and yet you do. There's sort of like this silent good faith, "maybe it's different this time around", and I was like that myself again, okayy Wagtunes is back in good spirits, and posted a bold track, everything's cool. And it's still ALWAYS the same bitter whine afterwards. Not seeing the positives, not seeing the feedback as constructive, not actually trying to improve, only bitter "me me, let me prove you there's almonds in my... no wait... wah wah wah (pedal) wah."

Phew.

[HrastProgrammer]

Congratulations to Schiing! Please, contact me by mail (you can find it on my homepage) with your full name and I will send you a registered Tranzistow copy as promised (ensure that you can receive ZIP file of ~10MB via mail).

Congratulations to all other participants as well, really great tracks, all of them. I am really happy to hear the wide range of sounds and music created with this little synthesizer Thank you very much for participating.