Songwriting Competition?

[john]

Hi Guys

Neo has suggested a monthly song contest on the boards....

We're not sure what form this should take....

So, please, your thoughts and opinions are needed.

Cheers

John

[Boff]

I think you could have themes, kind of like before, but not always topics. You could have a month for i. e country, next month could be a certain song structure or rhyming schemes. There could be certain feelings etc.

[Guest Mason]

You could do it by genre, I find that different genres have different lyrical ground. So doing it that way would help you judge it a bit more, otherwise you may have something pop sounding 'I love you' vs something metal 'I pick a sharper blade to handle this new disease', which may be hard to quantify. Im sure you get my point.

Is there going to be a prize?

[neoism]

Is there going to be a prize?

yeah..reward would be crit/analysis of the song by experienced board members..a total post mortom

[Nightwolf]

Here at Songstuff we are Blessed to have Writers at all levels of the game. My fear is that a competition might cause some hard feelings, with Writers like MP on the boards, I for one would bee hesitant to post my against one of his

How about we reinstitute the "Songwriting Challenge"?

[Boff]

How about we reinstitute the "Songwriting Challenge"?

Ah, I thought that was the idea. How about Songwriting Challenge with something like a mentioning if someone did something unusual or very good?

[TaoMannaDon]

Hi Guys

Neo has suggested a monthly song contest on the boards....

We're not sure what form this should take....

So, please, your thoughts and opinions are needed.

Cheers

John

You can gleen my opinion of contests in the first line of my signature. I'm sure many will think it's a good idea. Why not make a list of both good and bad things about contests and see if, on the whole, it is a positive or negative thing.

I won't enter or vote in the contest. It goes against my reason for participating on the forum. Each songwriter is at their own stage of development. Pitting them one against the other doesn't seem beneficial to me.

If you can come up with a process that gets a lot of people involved and everybody comes out of the process a better writer, then count me in.

Keep writing,

Don

[Steve]

How about making it more of a workshop? Maybe take a newspaper article each month, and then writing a song based on that. But instead of voting for a winner, you could discuss the various merits of elements of each song!

[McnaughtonPark]

Writers like MP on the boards, I for one would bee hesitant to post my against one of his

I don't know what to say, I'm so amused.

Sometime during the competition, could we have a colaborating month where one musician and one lyricist could work together?

And, could someone post a song with no music, just singing? I think if the thing wasn't judged in a competition manner and as Steve suggested, a merit base, one could still be judged on melody and lyrical content.

[Venus]

The upside is that a contest would actually spark more compositions/more music/more collaborations/just plain more of everything, which is what we all need.

The downside is that a better production will win over a better song-natural selection of music biz 101.

[TaoMannaDon]

How about making it more of a workshop? Maybe take a newspaper article each month, and then writing a song based on that. But instead of voting for a winner, you could discuss the various merits of elements of each song!

I think you have the kernel of a good idea:

A workshop? Yes, if enough people get interested.

Pick a subject for everyone to write a lyric about? Yes, but probably not a current event and certainly not about politics or religion.

No winners or losers? Yes!

We discuss the various merits of elements of each song? Yes, provided the discussion and the writers responses stay constructive and provided the goal is and remains that all participants improve their writing skills.

Something like this would interest me. I would certainly participate in the discussion on the merits of various elements of the songs in the workshop. Perhaps one requirement might be that the writer label each lyrical section (verse, bridge, chorus) so that the discussion can accurately include proper content for each section.

To enhance the "workshop" atmosphere other requirements might be considered. Perhaps both the subject and the lyrical structure (ABAB, ABABCB, AABA) be set by the workshop leader (after an open discussion with forum members).

Can a workshop like this attract enough members? Can the final result always be improved writing skills? Design a workshop with a Yes" to both questions and you got something good. The main thing is to ....

Keep writing,

Don

[roxhythe]

Don, I like that idea.

Joe

[john]

Hey

We had workshops before, with some patchy success, and writing on a topic, also with patchy success. In part I think that's because the site crew go through times when we as volunteers all have a shed load on our plate and finding time for all that needs done means that some things have suffered, particularly things that have had a luke warm response.

We are all here to improve and to help each other improve. Exchange ideas, give each other comments. The site crew just try to make it happen, or at least help to make it happen.

With that in mind, we are just the same as you guys. Members taking time to run this site we hope to all our benefit.

I think if this starts it will take some effort, and realistically we have to work out how the ideas can work to their best and be pragmatic. Does this need the staff to run? Are other site members willing to help take on some or all responsibility for running/arranging/promoting the workshops? Without that effort, and with the number of site crew we have, I can't help but think that it will be vulnerable in those periods.

Personally I think workshops are a great idea. Very beneficial for writers, and is in part why we do these discussion groups (you could run the workshops in the same way... build interesting and relevant topics and coordinate in the shoutbox/PA system).

On another level, when, like all the site crew, I have limited time to spend on improving this site as a rounded resource for musicians and writers, I don't want to waste any of that time if it can be avoided. So for me to do this I would have to believe that this is something you guys are really behind and committed to. That you will help keep it going as much as the site crew, if not more so. To be honest without real activity on lyric/song reviews it will mean some effort to bring in people to make the workshops really work at their best. If the workshops are not very active, people wont do them. If the reviews boards aren't active I doubt many will even look at the workshops. Yes there are plenty of people interested in getting help with their lyrics but fewer interested in helping others, and even fewer still who are willing to do so when they think that it requires real effort or that their effort will be wasted by the lack of response from others.

So in a nutshell, if we want to make this work, it is down to you guys to help make it happen. Not bitching, I've long ago set my irks aside, just being pragmatic and I think you guys deserve to know what the problems are and be part of the solution or not by your own actions.

My comments are general comments. I know some of you do help where you can, and we have some very loyal members who have been through thick and thin with this site. The main reason people stop coming here is due to activity level, and the type of activity that is going on. I think this could be a real value add for our members, but then I thought that before..... I guess one difference is that before we tried to hide the efforts and availability of site crew, trying to solve issues and promote the site and its features without laying it on the membership too much. Perhaps not fair to have done so, and with hindsight it has done us all no favors.

So a new day a new page...

Just my two cents.

cheers

John