It's time for - Challenge #14 -!

[rbowser-]

Sean, who organizes the Challenge events, and I, agree that it's time for Something Completely Different with round #14.

As winner of Challenge 13, it's my job to post a theme for people to orchestrate and arrange for the next round.

Since we've had some especially quirky themes for the last two rounds, Sean and I decided it'd be fun to offer up a very simple theme which is even >GASP!< diatonic!

Here's the theme - a 16 bar melody in 3/4 time which is in a traditional folk mold. I have it in the key of C so it's obvious at a glance that the theme is diatonic. But entrants must feel free to shift it to any key they desire.

And here's the MIDI file set to the GM Piano patch:

#14 MIDI

Here's Sean's Challenge archives and guidelines:

The Challenges Info

NOTES: As always, the theme can be orchestrated in any way you want. It's in 3/4 as written, but the time signature could be changed to 4/4, or anything you want.

This simple theme could be the melody for a song, it could be arranged as a lush Romantic style, in various cinematic styles, German Brass Band, but could also be so completely deconstructed as to be the basis for an atonal piece - The sky's the limit.

I want to make sure that participants don't feel they have to be stuck with the most obvious chord structure for this. It's a handful of notes which can be presented in ANY manner you want. Any key, any time signature, any style.

One of the few guidelines is that the entries be "a few minutes long." There's no specific length required, but past experience has shown that it can probably hurt a piece if it's much more than 3 minutes in length.

Sean will be posting any specifics he wants on this thread - I can say that the preparation period is usually about a month, and then a new voting thread is started after all the entries have been collected by Sean. We plan on including a specific cut-off date for the voting, so there's no confusion over that.

Some people didn't feel they could do very much musically with the last few themes - Hopefully this humble, diatonic melody will inspire them to join in this time.

Have fun--That's an order!

Randy B.
(rbowser)

[wrayer]

Oh, I hate three-four. I would never write anything in three-four. Oh, my challenge melody was in three-four. Stike that last comment. (I'm just teasing.) Can't wait to sink my teeth into this Randy. Just one question, what does diatonic mean ( )!

Orders recieved and I am on my way to the basement to decompose.

[rbowser-]

Hi, Bill "Wrayer" - winner of Challenge #10. It's good to see that out of 78 hits so far on this thread, that at least one brave soul has stepped forward to publicly announce throwing his hat into the ring with the new Challenge.

Go forth and "decompose"--!

Randy B.
(rbowser)

[SeanHannifin]

Many thanks Randy for the fun new theme!!

How does Sunday, August 19th (4 weeks from your posting) sound as the deadline?

Please send entries to seanthebest@gmail.com as usual.

Hmmm... can't think of much else to say, except, as Randy mentioned, remember to check out the guidelines if you haven't before.

Best of luck to everyone who decides to enter... let's keep making the voting really hard.

[robmanderson]

I'm in. I'll get started this week!

[rbowser-]

Thank you, Sean - And that's good news, Rob, glad you're diving in!

Randy B.
(rbowser)

[RichR]

Hmmm.... 3/4

Who can do it and not make it into a waltz?

I'll try

[truckermusic]

Randy
i am going to try as well.................However my computer is in the middle of a meltdown...........not quiet sure of what it is just yet but I am going to try to get it up and running tonite and will be joining you guys in themix.........so to speak

Cliff

[rbowser-]

Great, RichR - Glad to see you'll be doing something with this.

Sounds like you want to try changing the time signature? I think it's a great starting point - Just now I hummed to myself an up-tempo 4/4 version which would work well for the basis of a Jazz number.

But I hope someone does a full tilt waltz with it, and at a slower tempo it could be a bucolic movie underscoring cue - And etc. Naturally I hope people don't feel hemmed in by the straight forwardness of the melody in this posted pure form.

Cliff "Truckermusic" - Oh no! What's going on with your computer? Hope it isn't too over-whelming a problem, because it'd be great to have you joining in on a Challenge again!

Randy B.
(rbowser)

[Larry G. Alexander]

Do you allow olde fahrtes to enter?

Larry