Composition Challenge #15 - Voting - (GUITAR SOUNDSCAPES!)

Antique_Guitars

Some amazing entries, I find myself voting for the ones I enjoyed most musically rather than the most soundscapey. 

1 point @Grunfeld ;

3 points @Fretwired ;

5 points @Sporky ;

DulcetJones

This is an interesting collection of entries, nice work everybody.  I based my votes on what I perceive to be a soundscape, and applied that to the ones I enjoyed listening to the most.

5 Points - @Grunfeld  - A pleasant drifting, floating feeling, qualities that I consider an achievement when it can be worked into a piece of music(whether you were aware you were doing that or not).

3 Points - @steamabacus - A lot of the same qualities here as I mentioned about Grunfelds entry, I also really liked the washes of sound that seemed to be meshing together as the piece flowed along.

1 Point - @Fretwired - Maybe the most "soundscape" entry in my opinion, I had to really think about my choices here.  
 

stratman3142

Very difficult to choose. It's outside my area of knowledge really, but I'll go for:

5 points @kin ;
3 points @Fretwired ;
1 point @steamabacus ; 

steamabacus

Thanks for the votes chaps.

@Grunfeld - some really interesting thoughts on what constitutes a 'soundscape' - and I'm not just saying that because of the 5 points.



The votes from the Steamy jury ....


3rd  (1 point)  @Fretwired  ; As First Light Breaks
A lovely piece. Has a stillness and coolness (in an emotional sense) that really reminds me of Eno's work.


2nd (3 points)  @Grunfeld  ; The Imperfection of Words
Great title. This one sounds more Frippish (Frippian?). Again, quite a 'cool', haunting vibe with some lovely crispy, crackly bits - yum yum!


1st (5 points)  @kin  ; Who Killed Ambi?
Shaded it into first place as it just 'grabbed' me more emotionally - which is something I like   Well chosen sounds and I like the way the track slowly develops from 'guitary' sounds, through 'synthy' into 'choral' at the end.




Lots of interesting sounds and textures from all entrants - the above three felt the most developed compositionally for me which swung it in their favour.

Honourable mention for @stratman3142  ; - Fell just the wrong side of 'Is it a soundscape?' for me but a lovely piece none the less. Certain phrases really reminded me of Green-era Steve Hillage (which I hope you'll take as a compliment - I'm a big fan of SH)

stratman3142

steamabacus said:

Honourable mention for @stratman3142  ; - Fell just the wrong side of 'Is it a soundscape?' for me but a lovely piece none the less. Certain phrases really reminded me of Green-era Steve Hillage (which I hope you'll take as a compliment - I'm a big fan of SH)

Thanks for the very kind comments.

I can see your point regarding the soundscape thing. I had it in my head I had to do one take with one guitar and no overdubs. So at least it was a useful exercise for me, even if it's not really a soundscape in the strictest sense.

And I've got a better idea of what a soundscape is now

Fretwired

Thanks for the votes .. this is really hard for me. I think I have a winner and then I have at least three tracks I like ... will have another listen later and make a decision.

markv

Nine superb entries, this was a great idea for a challenge. I've listened to these quite a few times now and enjoyed them all. Huge congratulations all round.

That said, there's one very clear winner for me:

5 points @steamabacus - absolutely outstanding, one of the best pieces of music I've heard all year. The melodies are beautiful and affecting, the whole thing is superbly constructed and layered, with lots of wonderful little touches - like all your stuff. It puts me in mind of some of the tracks from Towering Inferno's Kaddish (maybe partly because of the title). This is you on an off day? ;-)

The remaining 2 places were a much more difficult choice.

3 points @kin - some great sounds and a nice sense of development.

1 point @kuryakin85 - menacing and brooding, sets a very definite mood.

Fretwired

After much deliberation and cogitation I have decided to award points as follows:

@kuryakin85 - 5 points .. loved the brooding nature of the track and the way it evolved. You conjured some great tones out of your guitar.

@Grunfeld - 3 points .. a very Enoesque sounding track

@Steamabacus - 1 point .. loved the way you used different layers of sound to make the track

This was the toughest task yet to jusde - a top job from everyone. @stratman3142 - I loved you track and on another day could have given it 5 points - it wasn't enough of a soundscape to my ears.

kin

Five points @steamabacus    Fantastic piece of work, probably my favourite thing of yours so far

 Three points @Grunfeld           Loved it, could listen to this sort of thing for ages

 one point @Fretwired              Really lovely tune

steamabacus

Thanks for the kind words.



I've been writing original music for a long time* and one thing I've learned is that even 'off days' can yield surprising results if you stick with it. I think I've had an 'off' six months actually but the discipline of committing to enter something for these challenges forces me to sit down at the computer and work on something when I don't feel like I have anything musical to give.

Thanks again to @Antique_Guitars ;; for overseeing these challenges.



* The flip side is that I've hardly learned ANY tunes that anyone else might know - I'd be rubbish in a covers band.

Grunfeld

steamabacus said:

I've been writing original music for a long time... The flip side is that I've hardly learned ANY tunes that anyone else might know - I'd be rubbish in a covers band.

I found something similar in a way.  It's like doing one precludes the other.  When I picked up my guitar after a decade or more of neglect I got into writing original music and I did that for about three years doing a piece a month.  Variable quality but some stuff I was happy with for sure.  Then I got back in to playing live and now I play about 50 gigs a year in a covers band -- but in all that time I've barely written anything original. 
In fact this Composition Challenge was the first proper thing since I started gigging.  I enjoyed completing it. 
Cheers all for taking the time to listen and the comments.

Veganic

5 points @Grunfeld ;

3 points @Fretwired ;

1 point @kuryakin85 ;


Confession time:
Mine was done in half an hour.
I made an anvil out of a twist tie and looped it over the D string. It wasn't very effective but I couldn't find a paper clip.

Picked some 'ambient' chords which usually means open chords in the wrong position or chord shapes upside down.

I was thinking a soundscape needs to get away from a regular meter so I recorded two tracks independently hoping to get something interesting.  One track into a looper and I twiddled the knobs on an auto wah and echo until I got a positive feedback loop.

One track was too short but I ran out of time.

kuryakin85

5 points - @Fretwired , Dynamic, mobile and yet stationary enough to be a soundscape. Like being stood still watching an environment move around you.

3 points - @Grunfeld ;Really like the palette, the tones are rad. Just lack a touch of dynamics for me.

1 point - @steamabacus Moves along beautifully, just not as hot on the tonality, something a little too chorus-y for me. Maybe too well produced? (if that makes sense).

p.s. chorus as in the effect not the song part.

Fretwired

Thanks @kuryakin85 and @Veganic

I see voting is now closed. Thanks to everyone who listened to my entry .. :-)

Antique_Guitars

Voting closed