What is the new composer challenge?
We are making a production/library album of music to underscore our weekly Sunday vlog. This will be an opportunity for you to hone your compositional skills, work to a brief, with an unusual ensemble of players and an even more unusual set of tools to make them with.
We started (or re-started) the Vlog at the beginning of January this year and felt it was time to create an album of music to use as underscore. That’s where you come in. For those whose tracks make it through, this library is going to be played 100% live by a band of brilliant professionals at a renowned studio later in the year.
For those interested, we would like you to create a single piece of music as part of a challenge where we have a new novel way of totally levelling the playing field so we all get to hear how our composer chops are shaping up, not just how good or experienced you are at using computers to make music. In this way, we make things as fair as possible to all.
EVERYONE, with no exception is going to be using the exact same sound-set to make their submissions and ALL submissions must be accompanied by a MIDI file that matches the audio sent. So, no fancy libraries, no fancy production work, reverbs, sparkle and pixie-producer dust. We’re working on a completely level playing field with a tiny sample library designed for this project that anyone can use and download for FREE. It won’t sound pretty, but that is the point… You will be judged purely on the quality of the composition, how you have arranged it for the band, the idea behind it and the spirit in which you have written it. This doesn’t mean it has to be complex in composition or harmonic content (although it can be if you want). It doesn’t mean loads of notes (although there can be if you want). All we need from you is an audio file of your composition and a MIDI file we can check it against and we will guide you through the entire process.
What will the prize be?
Whilst these challenges are designed to create a fertile ground for experience, experimentation, collaboration and a good dose of personal comfort zone transgression we also all like incentives! This is where the “most ambitious” aspect of the challenge comes into play. For 8 chosen winners, you will have a live band record your track 100% acoustically. We will be streaming live the sessions and everyone who has tracks being recorded will have the opportunity to produce and work with the musicians via this stream. For one winner however, we will pay for you to travel here to Scotland to attend the session in-person.
The 8 winning names will be placed in a hat, we will chose one at random who will get to attend their session in person. Wherever you are in the world. Accommodation, expenses and all travel costs paid.
Ooh, that sounds scary I’ve never worked with a live band before, especially one I haven’t met!
Fear not… We are here to hold your hand whilst we’re throwing you in the deep end. What you don’t know already we will help you with before this process ends.
YOU DON’T NEED TO KNOW HOW TO READ MUSIC, ORCHESTRATE, COPY OR TRANSPOSE TO TAKE PART. WE WILL BE FILLING IN ANY GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE OR EXPERIENCE YOU FEEL YOU MAY HAVE.
OK so here we go, here’s how to take part and how it will work, some basic rules, guidelines etc.
To take part you will first need to download the Summer Challenge sample pack from our friends at pianobook.co.uk: https://www.pianobook.co.uk/packs/summer-challenge-26/
You will be writing for the following band:
Drum Kit (kick, snare, hihat, cymbals, toms)
Stand Up (double) Bass
Bass Clarinet (doubling Bb clarinet)
Piano / Keys (a choice of piano, electric piano, clavinet)
French Horn
String Quartet (2 x violins, viola, cello)
The Brief:
We will need a variety of music to underscore our weekly vlog. Possible uses.
• travelling about
• things going wrong becoming chaotic
• things going wrong and we become sad
• reflective and poignant moments
• strident motivating moments
• tense moments, time ticking, will they won’t they
• landscapes, urban, country, studios
We will need the piece to be at least 1 minute 30 seconds (so 90seconds minimum) but not more than 2 minutes (120 seconds).
You must use at least 3 of the six instrument groups listed above. So no solo piano pieces, no strings only pieces. If you’re using the string quartet you must have at least 3 of the four players play at some point during your composition.
The clarinet is doubling which means the player can play EITHER the bass clarinet or Bb clarinet (what we know as a standard clarinet) so cannot play both at the same time. HOWEVER, you can write for both within the same composition provided you give them enough time to put the instrument down and pick up the other. A bar/measure/4beats is usually ample unless you’re working at a very fast tempo.
The same applies to keys, one player, one instrument at a time, leave a bar to switch instruments if you want them to.
Each instrument Group counts as one of your 3. So if you use clarinet and bass clarinet that will = 1, electric piano and clavinet, that = 1, 3 of the string players that will = 1.
We have made the sample set within the natural ranges of the instruments so please don’t transpose or tune the instruments because they players won’t be able to play.
When you’re writing bear in mind that they will be sight-reading and that all the musicians will be playing everything in single takes all together. So, writing a bass part that would make Charlie Mingus sweat will not deliver the best results! This is our fight against AI slop, bring back the magic of live music played well and recorded excellently!
Entries close at 11:59 BST on the 30th August we will not accept submissions thereafter.
Entries should be made using the submission form on this page which will be added when the challenge officially opens. One submission per person and we will simply not accept any submissions without both an audio file (WAV, AIF, MP3) and MIDI file (.mid).
To prepare your MIDI file simply merge all regions/clips/instances that sit on each track. Make sure each region is named according to the same preset name that you have used. Make sure any transpositions you have applied are “normalised” (merging regions usually takes care of this) Make sure you have selected all regions/clips/instances and export as a single MIDI file.
GO HERE FOR A VERY BRIEF TUTORIAL ON MIDI FILES AND HOW TO PREP FOR THIS CHALLENGE
We will announce the winner(s) live on the Crow Hill workshop.
Can I use my own sounds, I don’t like these and mine are better?
Yes but with a very big NO! You can use whatever you want to write with but what you send us HAS to use the sounds we’ve provided with a MIDI file that matches the audio. So if you don’t like our sounds use your own to write/composer/arrange with then simply replace them with the Summer Challenge sounds before preparing your audio and MIDI file.
Can I give you extra sounds to layer in with the live players?
No. This will be a 100% live library we’re making. No tuning, no snapping to grids, no overdubs, over-tracks, double tracks or tracking etc.
I can’t get my demo to sound any good, I don’t stand a chance surely!
Don’t worry! The people judging this can hear past a bad sounding demo. We’re are listening to what notes you’ve written, in what order, how you’ve distributed amongst the players not how much reverb or pixie dust you’ve thrown on the track. If its a great composition, it will rise to the top and our team of judges will spot it.
Can I do a cover version or re-work an existing piece?
We are judging you on your compositional abilities. Whilst interesting use of the instruments is very much part of our judging process, we want original pieces not in part but whole. Even if you’re using something in public domain a bit of Mozart for example, this will invalidate your entry.
What happens after I submit my audio and MIDI file?
By submitting your composition, you will enable us to use it on our YouTube channel. We will endeavour to credit your composition every time it is used both onscreen and in the video description with a link of your choice to your website/preferred social media profile.
If it is a success in a year’s time, we will do this all again to refresh our library. If you don’t make it this time treat it as a wonderful opportunity to work out of your comfort zone to brief, to a deadline and the opportunity to meet others who are all in the same boat.
Between now and closing date, we will be making a number of short videos to help you on your way. Once the competition is closed and we have chosen our winners, we will document the full process of recording the tracks on our YouTube channel. Keep across this process by subscribing to our mailing list HERE and our YouTube channels HERE and HERE
You have all summer to attend to this. Give yourself time to be inspired, to slap some ideas, leave them, come back to them. Get friends to judge them for you. Does it hold interest. Try and be original and the best way to do this is to play to your weaknesses as much as your strengths (who was it who said “style is defined by your shortcomings”?). But most of all enjoy it. Setting yourself these odd challenges is not something we’re inclined to do, so let us conjure them up for you. We want to discover new talent as much as the rest of the world does so throw caution to the wind. We are all friends here. No one will criticise, point and laugh. There is no consequence to you not “succeeding here”. You have an opportunity to take risks and make a right old plonker out of everyone who has doubted you or feels you should conform into some form of previously established straight jacket of artistic expectation. If the magic happens, the hairs on your arm goes up, go with it! A brilliant composition or idea can and most-often will come in a flash. The time spent thinking about it, seeking inspiration and cultural sustenance is the time invested in this challenge. If it takes you seconds to conceive that is no measure of the work required. However, if you spend hours tailoring the piece to your aspirational hopes of whatever your concept is hats off to you for that too. The only guarantee of failure with these things is non-participation. So, give it a go and spread your wings!!!
…and good luck.
The Crow Hill team.
xxx