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Tune Contest #5 - Medieval

jit

Joined: Mar 04 2009

I wanted to pick something not too demanding but not too broad either. So the kind of music I want is a MEDIEVAL THEME.

Criteria:

- Original
- At least 1 minute long
- Can be live or electronic(or both)
- Has to sound "medieval" (duhhhh)

Simple enough? Whether you want to construct a romantic ballad between lovers, an epic symphony of a kingdom, medieval metal battle music, neo-classical guitar piece, a classic 8-bit tune, a tale of a knight's redemption, etc. is up to you.

*Crossing fingers on a lot of participants*

I believe next Friday is adequate time for everyone to compose a piece. So I'll set the next due date to the end of Friday start of Saturday when it hits MIDNIGHT March 5 Eastern Time. Good Luck to all. (deadline can be extended if need be)

Submitted on Tue, 02/22/2011 - 00:02

ohoh, nice gets his armor

RexLeRouge

IMPACTO

Joined: Aug 15 2008

ohoh, nice

*gets his armor*

Submitted on Tue, 02/22/2011 - 02:46

so, um, to be clear: are you

xuwawa

god of empty NES

Location: san antonio -ish

Joined: Apr 22 2009

so, um, to be clear:
are you looking for one styled as if it came out of the medieval period?
or just one that sounds "dark ages-y"?

i figure it's the latter but... with this one i started by saying, "cool", then i started over-thinking it, i'm sure, and started worrying about lute tunings and lack of thirds...

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Submitted on Tue, 02/22/2011 - 07:34

gets his bard costum

hashel

Location: Liège (Belgium)

Joined: Mar 04 2008

*gets his bard costum*

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I do VGM covers and stuff at https://www.youtube.com/c/hashel

Submitted on Tue, 02/22/2011 - 08:43

Re: so, um, to be clear: are you

jit

Joined: Mar 04 2009

xuwawa said

so, um, to be clear:
are you looking for one styled as if it came out of the medieval period?
or just one that sounds "dark ages-y"?

i figure it's the latter but... with this one i started by saying, "cool", then i started over-thinking it, i'm sure, and started worrying about lute tunings and lack of thirds...

Don't overthink it. I just checked on wiki and I believe the Dark Ages and the Renaissance were part of the medieval timeline. I guess a good rule of thumb is that if your song sounds like it can be put in a Zelda game then it works for me.

Submitted on Tue, 02/22/2011 - 10:24

*checks iPod for medieval

zen03y

CATFOOD

Location: Lynn, MA

Joined: Jun 20 2009

*checks iPod for medieval sounding music*
Harpsichord and Final Fantasy IX? Deal. Actually I can't wait to use this Sibelius software. It's confusing for me.

EDIT: I wish it involved guitar notation rather than the frets...

EDIT2: I give up with all these VSTs thingies. :( Back to GP i guess

Submitted on Tue, 02/22/2011 - 19:12

Re: so, um, to be clear: are you

amz181

Joined: Oct 07 2008

jit said

xuwawa said

so, um, to be clear:
are you looking for one styled as if it came out of the medieval period?
or just one that sounds "dark ages-y"?

i figure it's the latter but... with this one i started by saying, "cool", then i started over-thinking it, i'm sure, and started worrying about lute tunings and lack of thirds...

Don't overthink it. I just checked on wiki and I believe the Dark Ages and the Renaissance were part of the medieval timeline. I guess a good rule of thumb is that if your song sounds like it can be put in a Zelda game then it works for me.

Dark ages preceded the middle ages, and the renaissance happened afterwards.

Also, i have a question, which might have been what xuwawa asked. Are we making something that sounds like it came for the period, or can it be like something you'd here in a film set in medieval times? Or does it not matter.

EDIT: dont worry, i just saw your zelda analogy :P

Submitted on Tue, 02/22/2011 - 18:11

Re: so, um, to be clear: are you

Jacob31593

Location: Tampa, FL

Joined: Jan 04 2009

amz181 said

Dark ages preceded the middle ages, and the renaissance happened afterwards.

no XD

the medieval period contains both the dark ages and the renaissance

the medieval age is 500-1500
the "dark ages" are generally seen as being the years 500-1000 (or the early middle ages)

the renaissance is 1300-1400~ (late middle ages)

what you are referring to are the high middle ages, the period where the european peoples abandoned the feudal/manor system and began to form the first real nations since the fall of the western roman empire

Submitted on Tue, 02/22/2011 - 19:38

Re: so, um, to be clear: are you

jit

Joined: Mar 04 2009

lololol leave it to me to make a contest the confuses everyone and makes a thread that sparks a debate about history

amz181 said

Also, i have a question, which might have been what xuwawa asked. Are we making something that sounds like it came for the period, or can it be like something you'd here in a film set in medieval times? Or does it not matter.

EDIT: dont worry, i just saw your zelda analogy :P

Exactly with the Zelda thing. You could do both. And zen, my inspiration for this theme came from looking at my PS classics on my PS3 I have and looked at FF9 followed by one of my personal favorites FF Tactics.

Zen, if you need help with VST's or your DAW, let me know maybe I can help out. I have used Garageband, Reason, Logic Pro, FL Studios, and Pro Tools but I have never used Sibelius. I'm sure there are similarities though. But remember that Guitar Pro/Powertab is perfectly capable of producing a good midi.

If there are any questions at all that need clarifying, please ask. It certainly doesn't hurt.

Submitted on Tue, 02/22/2011 - 21:00

You guys over think this

Kabukibear

Happy Strumming!

Location: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Joined: Mar 22 2007

You guys over think this stuff, sheesh!

Submitted on Wed, 02/23/2011 - 07:16

Re: so, um, to be clear: are you

amz181

Joined: Oct 07 2008

Jacob31593 said

amz181 said

Dark ages preceded the middle ages, and the renaissance happened afterwards.

no XD

the medieval period contains both the dark ages and the renaissance

the medieval age is 500-1500
the "dark ages" are generally seen as being the years 500-1000 (or the early middle ages)

the renaissance is 1300-1400~ (late middle ages)

what you are referring to are the high middle ages, the period where the european peoples abandoned the feudal/manor system and began to form the first real nations since the fall of the western roman empire

Your time frame for the renaissance is wrong, the renaissance took place between the 1400s and 1600s (arguably the 1300s aswell, but that was isolated to italy, and occured in the later section of it). I think you are making the mistake of thinking 1500s = 15th century, because it doesnt, 1400s = 15th century.

The renaissance is used almost unilaterally to describe the end of the middle ages and the transition to the modern era, there will obviously be a tiny overlap, as with any historical period, but the periods are completely distinct. Where are you getting your info from?

The dark ages admittedly have a more broad interpretation. I use it in a more literal sense. The phrase describes the fall of the roman empire and the loss of their art/literature/technology/etc... and this definition doesnt apply to pretty much any of the medieval age, and only to a couple of centuries after the fall of rome. As the Turks managed to retrieve many Roman and Greek works, and quickly entered a golden age of enlightenment and discovery (and expansion). So the term doesnt really apply.

Submitted on Wed, 02/23/2011 - 07:34

Re: so, um, to be clear: are you

Jacob31593

Location: Tampa, FL

Joined: Jan 04 2009

Your time frame for the renaissance is wrong, the renaissance took place between the 1400s and 1600s (arguably the 1300s aswell, but that was isolated to italy, and occured in the later section of it).

arguably the 1200s as well ;)
using "it was isolated to italy" as a point is kind of stupid. though true, if it hadnt started in florence then it probably wouldnt have had much success spreading outward :)
yes i was wrong to end it at the 1400s, i wasnt sure so i put the ~ there, my source of information was only my memory

The renaissance is used almost unilaterally to describe the end of the middle ages and the transition to the modern era, there will obviously be a tiny overlap, as with any historical period, but the periods are completely distinct. Where are you getting your info from?

i was only trying to make the contest seem clearer by simplifying things. while the term renaissance is used a lot of the time to describe the early modern era, i am one of the many people who believe it more accurate to apply the word renaissance a little earlier. here to save me time on explaining this is a wikipedia article i just found http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_of_the_12th_century

The dark ages admittedly have a more broad interpretation. I use it in a more literal sense. The phrase describes the fall of the roman empire and the loss of their art/literature/technology/etc... and this definition doesnt apply to pretty much any of the medieval age, and only to a couple of centuries after the fall of rome. As the Turks managed to retrieve many Roman and Greek works, and quickly entered a golden age of enlightenment and discovery (and expansion). So the term doesnt really apply.

i have participated in many a debate about the accuracy of the term "dark ages". while the muslim world sure was having a blast with their astronomy and such during this time, europe was a giant shit hole. many people think that its ok to use the muslim accomplishments during this period to try to say the dark ages werent that dark at all. these people are the same ones who dont realize that the term only applies to the european world anyway, its application is to describe what was going on there and only there. you seem to know quite a bit about history already so im not going to type up all the reasons the dark ages are rightfully called just that

i also know how centuries work, i've known ever since the show "sherlock holmes in the 22nd century" :D

Submitted on Wed, 02/23/2011 - 08:12

Thank you, jit! I think I'll

zen03y

CATFOOD

Location: Lynn, MA

Joined: Jun 20 2009

Thank you, jit! I think I'll just stick to the beginner's tools.

PS i suck at history. Mythology is so much more interesting, considering it doesn't need to make sense.

Submitted on Wed, 02/23/2011 - 12:22

Re: You guys over think this

jit

Joined: Mar 04 2009

Leave your history lessons at school. It's time to get crackin on some composing.

Submitted on Wed, 02/23/2011 - 13:04

Oh, jit! "I never let school

musenji

Joined: Feb 02 2010

Oh, jit!

"I never let school interfere with my education." -Mark Twain

:D Learning about stuff on our own is the best! Maybe a split thread is in order, though?

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And then I realized that the chord progression from Chrono Cross's Another World is the same progression as the chorus from Peace of Mind by Boston, and life was never quite the same.

Submitted on Wed, 02/23/2011 - 21:02

+1 musenji :-)

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

+1 musenji :-)

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Auriplane!!

Submitted on Wed, 02/23/2011 - 22:34

I went to a restaurant that

xuwawa

god of empty NES

Location: san antonio -ish

Joined: Apr 22 2009

I went to a restaurant that serves "breakfast at any time". So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.

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Submitted on Fri, 02/25/2011 - 20:56

Don't give up, your next joke

hashel

Location: Liège (Belgium)

Joined: Mar 04 2008

Don't give up, your next joke will be fun ^^

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I do VGM covers and stuff at https://www.youtube.com/c/hashel

Submitted on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 07:19

I had a fun.

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

I had a fun.

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Auriplane!!

Submitted on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 08:18

I had a fun the 5th time I

Joined: Dec 31 1969

I had a fun the 5th time I read it but eh, not a bad joke.

Submitted on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 09:17

i request that this be

Jacob31593

Location: Tampa, FL

Joined: Jan 04 2009

i request that this be listened to while wearing headphones! i only have laptop speakers, so im not sure how it sounds on you know, real speakers
Glorified Slaughter

Submitted on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 14:12

Guess I'll be the first to

Geist

Joined: Jan 04 2011

Guess I'll be the first to enter...again.

Medieval Song

Submitted on Sun, 02/27/2011 - 19:24

oops..

Geist

Joined: Jan 04 2011

I didn't even read the comment above...

Submitted on Sun, 02/27/2011 - 19:29

Here is mine :) It's called :

hashel

Location: Liège (Belgium)

Joined: Mar 04 2008

Medieval Song

Here is mine :) It's called : "The knight returns home".
It's a sweet medieval melody as you can hear by bards near the fire during a smooth night :p

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I do VGM covers and stuff at https://www.youtube.com/c/hashel

Submitted on Mon, 02/28/2011 - 10:28

Come on people ! don't be shy

hashel

Location: Liège (Belgium)

Joined: Mar 04 2008

Come on people ! don't be shy ^^

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I do VGM covers and stuff at https://www.youtube.com/c/hashel

Submitted on Wed, 03/02/2011 - 09:07

Its ok to if people want to

jit

Joined: Mar 04 2009

Its ok to if people want to use the time and post it the day of the deadline but im afraid that people might need more time. Is everyone ok with the deadline or does anyone want me to push back the deadline?

Submitted on Wed, 03/02/2011 - 10:09

Hmm. Time is just short for

zen03y

CATFOOD

Location: Lynn, MA

Joined: Jun 20 2009

Hmm. Time is just short for me. I don't think I'll enter this one even though I've still an unfinished piece.

Submitted on Wed, 03/02/2011 - 15:37

Would be nice if the deadline

vuser86

Joined: May 21 2010

Would be nice if the deadline could be moved to sunday so we could use a part of the week end to try it :)

Submitted on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 20:11

zen, just make a piece! you

jit

Joined: Mar 04 2009

zen, just make a piece! you already have something.

and vuser, I have a 12 hour shift Monday so it would be silly for me to make it on that day...so I'll extend the deadline to MARCH 8th Midnight of Tuesday Morning.

Submitted on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 21:24

This might not sound too

hslesperance

Location: Walpole, MA

Joined: Aug 10 2008

This might not sound too good. I tried to make a song in the style of tracento music, 14th century italian music mostly written for two or three voices, although there were some instrumental pieces. I chose the ballata, one of the three main forms of tracento, which has an AbbaA pattern so there are a couple repeated phrases, 3 total.

I listened to some tracento music, Francesco Landini in particular, and came up with this:
Non Ascoltare Questo

There is an easter egg because that game is medieval.

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My Original Songs - https://soundcloud.com/hslesperance

Submitted on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 00:29

i just tried to make mine

Jacob31593

Location: Tampa, FL

Joined: Jan 04 2009

i just tried to make mine sound like it would fit into medieval 2 total war, i didnt do any extensive research for it.
in case anyone was wondering

Submitted on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 08:31

here's mine. Medieval

Max_depa

Location: Italy

Joined: Feb 11 2010

here's mine.
Medieval Theme

this is the first time I participate in a contest **

Submitted on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 13:13

I couldn't help myself, I

GrimacingGrimoire

Joined: Nov 27 2010

I couldn't help myself, I just had to try and make an entry!

Relentless Desperation

Submitted on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 05:57

once i finish my olremix

xuwawa

god of empty NES

Location: san antonio -ish

Joined: Apr 22 2009

once i finish my olremix contest entry, i'll have time to listen to these and write my own, hopefully! good thing for the til tuesday extension!

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Submitted on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 07:48

so did I win?

Frogma

Joined: Jun 25 2008

so did I win?

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"Frogma is not a communist! He may be a liar, a pig, an idiot, a communist, but he is not a porn star!"

Submitted on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 07:53

We're the Planeteers You can

jit

Joined: Mar 04 2009

We're the Planeteers
You can be one too
'Cause saving our planet is the thing to do!

Looting and polluting is not the way
Hear what Captain Planet has to say!

Submitted on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 14:29

Captain Planet says you have

jit

Joined: Mar 04 2009

Captain Planet says you have about 3.5 hours left if you are considering to make an entry!

Submitted on Mon, 03/07/2011 - 19:26

No many entries this time

hashel

Location: Liège (Belgium)

Joined: Mar 04 2008

No many entries this time =/
However i thought many people will enter with a medieval theme :o
that sounded so fun to me

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I do VGM covers and stuff at https://www.youtube.com/c/hashel

Submitted on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 05:51

turds. i read tuesday

xuwawa

god of empty NES

Location: san antonio -ish

Joined: Apr 22 2009

turds. i read tuesday midnight and thought it'd be tuesday night. even though it's abundantly clear.
oh noes, my organum!!

take it, or don't. it's late so i'm fine if you've already gone over the others, but if not then here it is!

~~don't~~ worry, it sucks. me trying to do a heterophonic chant on fifths.

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Submitted on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 06:18

Nice :) how did you recored

hashel

Location: Liège (Belgium)

Joined: Mar 04 2008

Nice :) how did you recored it ?

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I do VGM covers and stuff at https://www.youtube.com/c/hashel

Submitted on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 07:08

Sorry guys, I still haven't

jit

Joined: Mar 04 2009

Sorry guys, I still haven't gotten to listen to it. It is not a good idea to procrastinate all your papers right before spring break. I been writing up paper after paper and I had to do an entrepreneurial interview with some random guy and I have a presentation for it tonight. As soon as I get home, I'll listen to everything and get your results. Thanks alot of participating everyone.

Submitted on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 13:00

That's why you normally don't

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

That's why you normally don't set deadlines at midnight--you say 11:59PM, or so forth. Saves the ambiguity :-)

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Auriplane!!

Submitted on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 13:25

Re: Nice :) how did you recored

xuwawa

god of empty NES

Location: san antonio -ish

Joined: Apr 22 2009

hashel said

Nice :) how did you recored it ?

just a couple soundfonts running through xmplay on a tuxguitar'd midi.
my cheap way of not having to go through fruityloops :)

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Submitted on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 17:26

Ok thanks for participating

jit

Joined: Mar 04 2009

Ok thanks for participating guys and the results are in. As I thought would happen, this is a really tough decision and just because you weren't chosen doesn't mean you did a bad job. Really, everyone did a great job and it was close. Hopefully, we can expand the amount of people who can join the event. My only suggestion is to make it bi-weekly so it can be more bi-winning like Charlie Sheen.

Anyways...I listened to each piece 2+ times.

1ST PLACE
hashel- The Knight Who Returns Home- This is exactly what I was looking for. I feel like I am set in that time period and the name of the song depicts exactly what I pictured. I basically enjoyed your whole piece as this piece could easily be put in a Zelda or FF game. It might not have been the most instruments or the most complex song, but sometimes keeping it simple is better.

2ND PLACE
Jacob31593 - Glorified Slughter - Captures the mood of violence and battle! I like the stereo panning effect you put in the beginning. I love the breakdown at :59 and how it goes back on the main theme where that vocal sound comes in. I can see playing a game with knights in the heat of battle. Well done! This was sooo hard to choose between you and hashel. I really liked your piece alot. I also liked how the first and second place songs are completely different in every aspect which is what I was expecting and gotten from all the pieces...variety.

3RD PLACE
hslesperance - Non Ascoltare Questo - I like how you put time to structure this piece and you did it well. This felt like the path to knighthood, and the king granting it. I can picture a knight walking up to the king and kneeling before him as the king taps each shoulder with the tip of the sword. Good job!

Geist - Medieval Song - I picture myself in the town that resides next to the castle.. I don't know if you structured it on purpose or not but it seems like 3 seperate movements. The beginning would be the crowded marketplace, the second part feels like a town festival, and the third part is more mellow and ressembles a gentle night or something. I think you did good as well.

Max_depa - Medieval Song - I like how it goes to all happy sounding to evil and sinister. And it definitely works in any medieval theme to have those vocal pads add in there. It reminds me of a mood of a happy group of people, before an evil doer comes in to start trouble, and then from :37 to the end is the heroic knight's valiant words before he attempts to slay the evil person. Nice to see you enter the competition for the first time.

GrimacingGrimoire- Relentless Desperation - The mood evoked from this piece is kinda like the title. A king who has lost his land and everything by people who have taken over. He overlooks to townside from atop those hills and realizes he can not just give up. I like how you transition back to the first part of the song.

xuwawa- organum- Gotta love them Pads. As I said before, it always makes a song sound medieval. The intro kinda reminds me of Castlevania: SOTN intro before the menu. This time I feel like I'm at a church. I'm happy you made a piece. It was good. Better late than never.

hashel, I crown you king to rule over the next competition. Make a good choice for a competition. CONGRATULATION!

Submitted on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 21:33

Thanks you jit! And

hslesperance

Location: Walpole, MA

Joined: Aug 10 2008

Thank you jit! And congragulations to hashel and everyone else who entered. Let's all party at archard's castle!

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My Original Songs - https://soundcloud.com/hslesperance

Submitted on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 23:26

so i just now had a chance to

xuwawa

god of empty NES

Location: san antonio -ish

Joined: Apr 22 2009

so i just now had a chance to listen to all the mixes. hashel, that is truly a great piece and clear winner.
max depa's was a beautiful song, i would have placed it 2nd, followed by jacob's which was literally awesome.
all the entries were good, can't wait to see what y'all do next time!

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Submitted on Wed, 03/09/2011 - 05:07

congratulations to everyone!

Max_depa

Location: Italy

Joined: Feb 11 2010

congratulations to everyone! especially to hashel, that has made a very beautiful piece :)

PS. i'm glad you like my song, xuwawa =D

Submitted on Wed, 03/09/2011 - 09:55

Yheaaaa =D ~victory

hashel

Location: Liège (Belgium)

Joined: Mar 04 2008

Yheaaaa =D

~victory fanfar~

My 1st win :p
Thanks guys, to tell me my work is good :)
There were really nice entries this time again, even if Auri and Kabuki didn't enter.
I'll post the new contest soon :)

We should do an OST together i think :p Just need a game to put music on xD

Ps: Max & Xuwawa, i really like yours ^^

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I do VGM covers and stuff at https://www.youtube.com/c/hashel

Submitted on Wed, 03/09/2011 - 12:33