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Music Contest #8 - Hive Soundtrack

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Hive Sountrack
Create a glorious piece to be featured as official soundtrack of the videos uploaded to The Hive Workshop's YouTube Channel, with no musical genre restrictions.

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  • All submissions will be considered released under public domain.
  • No submission may violate any of the site and contest rules.
  • Your submission may not be started/made before the official launch of the contest.
  • You must post at least 1 WIP (Work-In-Progress) before the deadline so your final work can be verified as your own.
    • The WIP must include a screenshot of your worksheet.
  • Judges may not participate.
  • Teamwork is not allowed.
  • Long periods of silence are not allowed.
  • Entries consisting of a single instrument soloing won't be allowed.
  • Minimum length is 1 minute, there is no maximum length (please keep it reasonable).
  • Any method of music production is allowed, including sequencers, virtual instruments, sound samples and standard recording.
  • Though sampling is allowed, it must be within reason:
    • If you use an instrument sound sample for a Sampling VSI (basically if you just use the sound for the instrument, and make it play your music) you must provide the source of the sound, be it a website or an individual.
    • Sampling copyrighted material without the consent of the owner is illegal and will not be tolerated.
    • You may use Royalty free sound samples.
    • The final song must be at least 75% of your writing - In essence, you can use a royalty free drum loop (or other form of sampled material) in your song, but if you chose to you must create enough of the other material or use in such a way that it can be said that you wrote 75% of the song. Samples of instruments are simply to be used for a sequencer (like building a drum line out of specific drums or using a pitch altering sampler to make a melody out of a sound sample from an instrument) are exempt from the 75% rule.
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  • First Place: 40 reputation points and your entry on the award icon
  • Second Place: 25 reputation points and an award icon
  • Third Place: 15 reputation points and an award icon
  • Participants: 5 reputation points
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ThemeHow well does it demonstrate the feeling of the theme/15
Creativity/OriginalityHow original is the piece? How creative are you with the theme/instruments/etc./10
ProductionBasically, how well does it flow? Are accents used to good effect? Do overall levels make sense? etc./10
CompositionHow well is it composed? Do the key changes make sense?/15
  • 75 % of the winner shall be determined by the contest's appointed judge(s).
  • 25 % of the winner shall be determined by the results of a public poll.
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  • The contest shall begin on 12th September, 2017 and conclude on 23rd October, 2017, GMT.
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  • Some free resources that can get you started:

    • Audacity: Free Audio recording program - though you have to start a new track every time you record (cut and paste across tracks to deal with this), this handy audio program has nearly no latency (non-noticeable) and is a great start for people recording actual instruments.
    • ModPlug Tracker: A tracker composing program. Pretty easy to use and powerful. Doesn't come with very many instruments although more are easy to get.
    • NoteWorthy Composer: Another composing program that relies heavily on sheet music.
    • FL Studio (formerly known as Fruity Loops): Another powerful composer. Has a bit of a steep learning curve and also is not free but there is a trial version you can use.
    • Switch Audio Converter: Free audio file changing program - can convert to less commenly used audio file types like RAW's and Orggis Vorbis along with the big ones like MP3's (Can convert iTunes locked format too).
    • Psycle: A free sequencer type program - similar to Mod Plug. Has a bit of a learning curve, though it's pretty powerful when used correctly.
    • Mp3 Direct Cut: Simplistic audio editing program that allows you to edit Mp3 directly, from their original file (don't forget to back up the original).
    • Krystal Audio Engine: Similar to Audacity, though this program is tooled more towards people editing or mixing music - recording can generate some terrible latency. (Essentially its more powerful then Audacity, but much more difficult to record a sound directly to it)
    • Hammerhead Rythm Station: A free drum machine that has built in sounds geared towards Electronica and Dance music. Also supports importing your own drum sounds via userbanks (some userbanks are provided on the site) and the entire sound library can be edited if you get more advanced with it - Drum parts can be exported as wav's and then used in your music. You will want to use Switch Audio engine if you plan on importing your own sounds as it only supports the RAW format.
    • Guitar Pro 5 - A popular Tab program that is capable of producing MIDI works. When used with the RSE plugins it can produce some realistic guitar/bass/drum parts. There is a trial version that allows for 15 days free - RSE can't be used in the trial version
    • Acoustica Beatcraft a drum machine that works similarly to Hammerhead but with more power (like the ability to use triplets). The free trial can be downloaded multiple times
    • FamiTracker: Sequencer for producing old school Nes/Famicon music. Music made from this can be played on an actual NES or Famicon (if you happen to know how to transfer such works to a game cartridge)
    • Suggest some more!
    • Another one could be Tux Guitar which is a MIDI based program like Guitar Pro with a much more simpler interface: .:: TuxGuitar ::. Open Source Tablature Editor :: TuxGuitar

    Additionally, this page can help some new composers to create better music if they don't have any good workstation to work on:

    The 10 Best Free DAWs Available - RouteNote Blog

    SAVIHost – Standalone VST host for Windows
    Ohm Studio - this might be paid by now.

    Download Free Digital Audio Workstation plug-in: Podium Free by Zynewave its in the DAW list but i feel its better than most options,FL Studio is good but not being able to save a project is a big minus
    Komplete : Samplers : Kontakt 5 Player | Products Very good and comes with a bunch of good stuff already,plus just googling ''Free Kontakt player libraries'' and you'll find a lot of stuff no doubt
    Ultimate List of Free Kontakt Libraries A list of free libraries for kontakt.Be aware though,not all kontakt libraries will play on the kontakt player,some will play in demo mode as they require the full kontakt version,others will play normally
    bigcat Instruments This guy makes a lot of good stuff for kontakt,free.
 
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Count me in. I neglected to deliver on the last one given medical circumstances but now I'm ready and good to go. In fact, I've already jumped ahead and started working on a song.
 
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To compensate for my lack of activity last contest, have a WIP.

Hive wip untitled

But then I forgot to take a screenshot right after I rendered that. After a fair bit later, the picture shows what I have so far a couple of hours after the first render. Still far far from what I plan for it to sound like.

DXWrtjM.png
 
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To compensate for my lack of activity last contest, have a WIP.

Hive wip untitled

But then I forgot to take a screenshot right after I rendered that. After a fair bit later, the picture shows what I have so far a couple of hours after the first render. Still far far from what I plan for it to sound like.

DXWrtjM.png

Sound quality is there, but it sounds kind of odd. I don't think the synth fits with the dramatic choiral part. Maybe it should be more gristly?



@AditTechno sounds good, but I was expecting something after the first phrase. Like a drop or some build up. Looking forward to hearing the finished product.


#stillnoidea what Hive soundtrack means Q__Q

Gonna look forward to the rest of the entries for inspiration xD
 
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There's the first WIP, just a loop for now, but it'll be a basis for the rest of the music.
I'm not sure how to make a strong snare sound :<

Anyway, i'm quite enthusiastic with all of these creations !


You could try fiddling with a Multi Compressor (banded compressor if you have one) and some EQ. Snares tend to be middle range right for the sharpness?

I've never been good with snare sounds myself :(

MTDRUM Kit or something is a good free drum vst
 
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Hey guys, until last contest, posting a screenshot of your worksheet wasn't required, right. Well in this contest it's in the rules:

Rules said:
You must post at least 1 WIP (Work-In-Progress) before the deadline so your final work can be verified as your own.
  • The WIP must include a screenshot of your worksheet.

I just updated the entries table, and added a column of who already posted a screenshot, to help keep track of it.

Most importantly, nice WIPs so far :D

For those who don't know what to do, checking what we've been using in the previous videos might be useful. Or maybe giving a look at other channels and seeing what kind of music they use.
 
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My second WiP, added a 2nd part, i've got issues with the brass instruments :|
I recorded my own whistling and looped it :> It make a pretty render with a bit of reverb eheheh
I really enjoyed the melody and the feeling you built from the middle onwards. It felt inspiring, yet light hearted. And yes, the brass was sounding funny and underwhelming haha. Better give a look at that. Nice wip nonetheless!

The orchestra sounds great. The composition built a happy, intriguing/magical atmosphere, like it was taken from those early Harry Potter movies. Does not stand out too much now, though.

I've made some mixing there, and extended the duration.
Yeah cool WIP! I like how it sounds contagiating and moving. I think it would benefit a lot from a bass or some boost in the low frequencies to give it a punch. And I'm not sure I'm into the timbre/tone of that main melody instrument. It sounds too 8-bit compared to the rest, or maybe too piecing high... or maybe it's just me.

To compensate for my lack of activity last contest, have a WIP.

Hive wip untitled

But then I forgot to take a screenshot right after I rendered that. After a fair bit later, the picture shows what I have so far a couple of hours after the first render. Still far far from what I plan for it to sound like.
Quality-wise it sounds great, the composition is energic and even overwhelming, but I guess that's your intention, right? Expecting the final entry!
 
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Quality-wise it sounds great, the composition is energetic and even overwhelming, but I guess that's your intention, right? Expecting the final entry!

Yep. I'm almost done with it. I just need to find time to add some last bits here and there. Maybe some Timpani/Taiko build up. Maybe extend it a bit with a simple bridge before the solo. But given what I have already, I have enough to make a 30 second intro should my song gets chosen or something.
 
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Bump

Entry: AditTechno - Sand Shifting

Here's my entry. This is useful for "outro" and "credits", or a part which is actually the end of a video like "Watch other videos" or anything that ends the video.

Drumloop comes from Cymatics Free Downloads Vault

I might edit this, and I will add a screenshot in the meantime.
 

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  • AditTechno - Sand Shifting.mp3
    5.3 MB · Views: 269
Level 28
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Just a reminder that contestants must upload a screenshot of their worksheet to have a valid entry, and most of you guys didn't:

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ParticipantWIPScreenshotFinal
AditTechnoClickNoSand Shifting
StringStormClickYes Unyielding
GhostOfPastClickNoClick
DevineClickNoClick
NightStalkerClickYesClick
BrambleclawClickNoClick

Is it too late to sign up? I wanna try actually delivering a piece this time.
There's no such thing as "it's too late to sign up" if you can deliver in time. So go for it!

I have a question. If we have submitted the entry, are we allowed to go silent for long or until the contest ends?
Yes yes, no problem with that.
 
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lost all my FL Studio flps now I don't know how to take a screenshot. But still I maintained the FL Studio so maybe I'll only make just the beginning of it.
o: indeed that's not good. The screenshot thing is merely to prove that you're capable of writing such a piece as your entry, so it must be enough if you can manage to remake the beginning of it.

I must yield, my worthy opponents, for I have better things to do!!!
I'm hereby offering to be a judge as well.
<3
Oh that's a shame. But I can't hide the fact that I'm gladly accepting about the judge offer hehe.
 
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Greetings again, people!

This is my final entry with which I participate, called ''War of Salvation''. It features guitar played personally by me with ambient volcano sounds.
Hope you enjoy it.
 

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  • War of Salvation.mp3
    2.8 MB · Views: 201
  • In GoldWave Screenshot.png
    In GoldWave Screenshot.png
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Level 28
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Nice entries people. This is gonna be a close match.

Updated the entries table, hopefully I didn't miss anyone:
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ParticipantWIPScreenshotFinal
AditTechnoClickYesSand Shifting
StringStormClickYes Unyielding
GhostOfPastClickNoClick
NightStalkerClickYesClick
BrambleclawClickYesClick
SvetliClickYesWar of Salvation

@GhostOfPast you still need to post a screenshot of your worksheet to validate your entry.
@Brambleclaw is this post your final entry? Congrats for the impressive track btw. Sometimes I wished the melody went for some more exciting phrase, as NightStalker said. However I partially disagree with him, I personally won't enjoy your track going more tense than it is right now =P
 
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I had the same thought (tension), but my implementation is useless. My entry actually makes me feel really uncomfortable :/ and I have no idea what I should do to the horn part to fix it xD
 
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