since i don't want to hijack every songwriting related competition / challenge thread here on KVR, I decided to start a dedicated thread in the Music Cafe... telling you about the Songwriting Competition over on the Mix Challenge community page.
Image Source: Youtube, screenshot of Helmsdrums "Improvised Jam Session" on Youtube, released under Youtube Standard License
What is the Songwriting Competition (or SWC in short)?
The Songwriting Competition (SWC in short) is a monthly recurring friendly competition. At the start of each month, you're given a theme and in some cases even a genre. You then have 24 days to create a production with whatever tools you have at your disposal. The game starts on each 1st of the month, and ends on the 24th at 11:59pm Central European Time (Germany, to be precise).
Wait a minute, this sounds awfully similar to the KVR Music Cafe Songwriting Competition?!
You're not wrong. The game is indeed heavily inspired by the KVR MCSC, but also by other competitions from all over the web. There is a twist however, and that is to give mandatory feedback to each other, while casting your vote in the process. If you're not doing that, your entry is disqualified.
The basic idea of this competition is not to show off, being forced to constantly give your A game, but to create something in the first place. Then spark a conversation between the participants and the bystanders, what was good, what could be improved upon, etc. In other words: interaction and the so often desired feedback. The icing on the cake, is having a chance to win free tools/samples/synths as bonus.
Sounds interesting - how long as this been going on?
Since September 2017. As of the time stamp of this post, we're 14 months into the game and are running SWC014. But as with every community, we would love to see more participation. The more contestants, the more feedback, the more fun.
What are the general themes?
There is no definite plot thread. It's just what comes to mind to the staff, the Patrons of the community or the participants. So far we tackled topics like Scary Stories on Halloween, Fete de la Musique (in collaboration with the KVR MCSC), Cyberpunk / SciFi, dedicated Metal and Techno months each. And in September 2018, we covered the topic "Mental Health". There are more interesting topics to come that I'll be sure you'll definitely like.
Interesting, so what are the rules?
Super simplified:
- check the Mix Challenge forum on the 1st of the month for the theme and desired genre
- then start to create a production with whatever tools are at your disposal, collaborate with as many people as you want - as long as the production has been made "recently" / for this game
- make your entry downloadable and present it on the Mix Challenge forum
- once the submission period has ended, grab all productions and listen to each entry
- then give feedback (this is mandatory) to your top 10 contestants (for the time being) and also rank them in order (1st Place = 10 points, 2nd Place = 9 Points, etc)
- after the feedback and voting period has ended, wait for the score sheet and cross your fingers to maybe even land on the Winners Podium
Did I pique your interest? If so, then head over to the Mix Challenge homepage and take a closer look. Joining is absolutely free. And if you like it over there, please do spread the word on social media.
More on:
https://mix-challenge.com
Thank you for your time.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I try to answer them ASAP.
