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Post by Colin Steward on Jun 21, 2014 18:23:35 GMT
An idea I've had is you take a very famous lyric, for example 'Yesterday', something really well known. You then have to come up with music for that lyric. Not a cover of the song, just the lyric as a new song as if the original song didn't exist.
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Post by timwarner on Jul 8, 2014 18:46:30 GMT
Could we do a task based on a current news story? We could get the news story from the web or from a news paper in the first of the month and have to come up with a song about it. It's the kind of thing that Jake Thakray and, more recently, Mitch Ben have done, though they usually did it for comedic reasons.
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Post by Steeyuv n Clayer on Jul 10, 2014 14:01:22 GMT
How about we are given a monophonic tune, say verse and chorus, and we have to put the chords behind it, and the words in front? Or words can be supplied - it mainly struck me as a harmonisation exercise.
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Post by eddiecustard on Aug 12, 2014 9:43:20 GMT
How about the challenge of writing a cockney knees-up? Chas and Dave, Boiled Beef and Carrots, jellied eels sliding down your arm..
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Post by Rob W on Aug 12, 2014 21:24:23 GMT
I love that idea. Maybe we could spread it slightly and include all other area stereotypes (Irish, Scottish) Just a thought.
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Karl
Junior Member
Posts: 72
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Post by Karl on Aug 14, 2014 9:11:07 GMT
This quote is from Tim's comments on Colin's song from last month - "Very brave to do an entire song without using your first instrument".
This reminded me of an idea I had for a challenge - Writers would declare their first instrument and then write a song not using it at all. I realise that people could cheat but reckon most would be honest. Even if some cheated there could be a rule that the declared first instrument could not appear in the final song.
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Post by Steeyuv n Clayer on Aug 15, 2014 11:34:37 GMT
Dammit I'd miss my ukulele, but I'd make the best of it.
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Post by Colin Steward on Aug 15, 2014 15:14:57 GMT
Technically my first instrument was a comb and tissue paper (before I could afford a kazoo) so that leaves it wide open.
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Post by timwarner on Aug 16, 2014 7:04:54 GMT
In that case, Colin, my first instrument was definitely the piano (and I have a grade 1 certificate to prove it).
Despite this, 'not using first instrument' for me means guitar but would that allow me to use mandolin, bass or ukulele? Either way this would prove an interesting challenge and make us approach it in a slightly different way (which I suppose is the point). I guess I would end up programming everything.
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Post by Steeyuv n Clayer on Sept 6, 2014 8:06:53 GMT
Someone comes up with a sequence of chords - can be labeled 'A section', 'B section', etc - with no hint as to speed, rhythm, instrumentation, lyrics or anything else - and see what we make of it. Extensions allowed but not compulsory, so you might see Cm7 in the list but you wouldn't be given Eb9#11, even if the latter appeared in the final version.
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Post by timwarner on Feb 8, 2015 0:05:46 GMT
I've just come back from a function where I bumped into Karl. Obviously, we talked about the SWC and he mentioned he'd had a conversation where it was suggested we use 'killing' as a theme. This would be the perfect antidote to 'love' month.
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Post by mikegosling on Feb 16, 2015 22:02:41 GMT
Yes Tim, I had that conversation with Karl which went roughly as follows: I, as you probably will have guessed, like Johnny Cash a lot and he did a compilation of songs / greatest hits split into three CDs. They were entitled God, Love and Murder. As you've seen from my output so far, I have a lot of songs in the Love category, a far few in the God category and precisely none in the Murder category. I thought it would be a good challenge (for me especially) to try and write from the viewpoint of a murderer - not something I would naturally try and do!
So yes, I think a "Murder" theme for one month would be an interesting challenge.
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Post by timwarner on Jun 7, 2015 17:14:38 GMT
Part of the idea of the SWC (it seems to me, at least) is to push us all out of any comfort zone. Lots of us struggle over committing a final idea so I wonder if we could dramatically restrict the time available so you have to get on with it.
For instance we could stipulate the song has to be about a story in the news on a specified day (so you couldn't submit something you've already recorded) and it has to be submitted a day/weekend/week later.
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Post by eddiecustard on Jun 15, 2015 22:23:20 GMT
Over the weekend on BBC4 there was a great programme showing duets recorded at the BBC. How about that as a future songwriting task - write a duet?
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Post by philsanderson on Jun 20, 2015 17:47:07 GMT
1. Just checking whether forum is working OK, as I have voted for May, but was strangely unable to post my comments ( update - seems to be OK again...)
2. Does Rob's May entry count as a duet or even as a solo entry?
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Post by Rob W on Jun 21, 2015 20:59:53 GMT
Eddie, I've only just seen your comment but was thinking the very same thing. I'll remember and put it up as a task soon.
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Post by eddiecustard on Jun 22, 2015 11:53:09 GMT
Great. By the way, of the other future tasks suggested on this thread I'm happy to second Tim's news story idea, Mike's mash-up of two genres and Karl's very limited instrumentation idea.
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Post by stephen on Jun 22, 2015 14:33:36 GMT
As a natural user of limited instrumentation, I'm all in favour of that. News story - as long as it's any news story from the day. I already wrote one about the Grexit for Eurovision. How about a power ballad? Or something jazzy? (Personally I'm OK with small doses of old-school bluesy jazz, and sympathize if there are people with allergies.)
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tandg
Junior Member
Posts: 67
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Post by tandg on Jun 22, 2015 21:43:16 GMT
I had three ideas I thought might work: 1. As we all have a connection of some sort, how about we all write a song about Harwich? 2. Write an anthem - you know the sort of thing...."We will rock you", "Hey Jude" 3. Take two lists of descriptive words and pick one from the first list and one from the second. Preferably use a dice to decide! List 1: Psychedelic Unstable
Jagged
Ambient
Spacey
Intense
List 2: Rock
Reggae
Acoustic
Indie
Blues
Electronic
Alternative lists welcome - these are just first thoughts...
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Post by eddiecustard on Jul 5, 2015 23:27:29 GMT
TandG - I'm with you on all three of these ideas, even though I don't know where Harwich is.
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Post by timwarner on Jul 6, 2015 14:02:05 GMT
I really like the idea of selecting headings from a list, using a dice. Good thinking TandG.
A month of songs about Harwich would be interesting. I guess those that are unfamiliar with it will write about it's history, while those of us that live in the near vicinity will probably write about how s**te it is these days.
The thought of listening to lots of anthems is enough to make me think this would be a difficult task to listen to.
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Karl
Junior Member
Posts: 72
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Post by Karl on Aug 27, 2015 9:17:44 GMT
T&G's shaking a dice and choosing from 2 lists idea is great.
Duet sounds like fun too.
I also like the idea of the Murder theme.
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Post by mikegosling on Sept 28, 2015 8:33:47 GMT
What about a "modes of transport" task for next year? Trains, planes, automobiles, boats, bicycles and rollerskates. Transport item should feature in the song title.
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Post by timwarner on Nov 4, 2015 17:10:16 GMT
Okay, it may be something to do with listening to the latest crop of songs (power ballads) but we often seem to frame our songs within a pretty narrow temp range. How about a month were we have a tempo exclusion zone (for example nothing between 80 and 120 bpm).
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Post by timwarner on Nov 18, 2015 15:37:43 GMT
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Post by eddiecustard on Mar 10, 2016 21:29:25 GMT
How about: write a national anthem for England. Some people think we should have Jerusalem or Land of Hope and Glory, but I reckon we could come up with something better.
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Post by Rob W on Mar 10, 2016 22:09:15 GMT
I like that. I'll put it on perhaps to coincide with the expected disappointment of another failed European Championship in June/July?
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Post by Rob W on Mar 13, 2016 8:06:11 GMT
This is really an idea that is still percolating, but after Metal/Prog month, Tim wrote that my song (which is song 2 or 3...or 4, or maybe 5 of a concept album) left him wanting more or at least wanting to find out more about the album from which it could have come.
That rather convoluted intro leads me to wonder whether this is something that we could produce as a side project. The plan would be...
1. We come up with and agree the story (probably through some sort of voting process on each twist and turn.)
2. We divide the story into sections/songs.
3. Each songwriter is given a section to compose and possibly some loose guidance on the type of song that it follows on from/will go into.
4. Once the song is written, it will then go into the central studio (I have no idea where) where the songs will be mixed/re-recorded to give the whole thing a more coherent feel.
As I'm writing this, I'm thinking that it all sounds a bit serious and perhaps a bit too much like hard work but I'd be interested to know if anyone has an opinion. Please feel free to insult me!!
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Post by timwarner on Mar 13, 2016 12:23:59 GMT
Yes, I have an opinion (no surprise there). It could be really fun to decide the story, work on the songs and, potentially, play in collaboration. It would sound like a strange concept album if all the tracks had different singers, entirely different instrumentation and production.
I rather feel sorry for the engineer who would have to make it sound coherent without lots of re-recording.
Perhaps it's an opportunity to meet up and play, once we have the bones of it done?
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Post by eddiecustard on Apr 1, 2016 23:03:24 GMT
This is a great idea, Rob. I'm all for it.
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