CMC: Conceptual Music Competition
This competition is based on the rules of the classic
TOMC (Thematic Original Music Competition).
The CMC (Conceptual Music Competition) is designed so that each participant enters a piece of music based on a set theme. The participants take the theme and interpret it as they will to come up with something that fits. Any style can work, as long as it portrays a sense of what the theme is.
Feel free to be imaginative!
Each successive theme will be chosen by the winner of the previous competition. For example, say the theme of the last competition, CMC 32, was "Zombie Horde" and the winner, Karen, submitted a piece that knocked the socks off of everyone, so she won. Karen then gets to decide the theme for CMC 33.
This competition is open to registered members of the forums of
OverClocked ReMix,
VGMix,
VGMusic,
Gaming World,
Young Composers, and
GameDev.
CMC 30: The Blighted
"The town of Matissimo, set in serene and lucious woodlands, once housed a thriving society of noble and intelligent creatures called the Chai. At the peak of their civilization, a deadly plague swept into the lands, sparing nobody as it rapidly spread throughout the population, threatening obliteration of an entire culture. Your job is to score the downfall of Matissimo, reflecting its descent into crisis and despair, and its transformation from thriving population to ghost town." -Nicholas Singer
Results!:
Text results and critiques
Audio results
There are 4 entries for this round...
"This is the outcry of a people in their hour of twilight. Mourn for them, for soon they will have no voice to mourn themselves."
"The main reason I set this theme was because of my love for rpgs and the opportunities they give composers. Traditionally, characters or locations are assigned clear distinct themes and these themes often change throughout the game to reflect things that take place or have taken place at such locations or to such characters, in an almost operatic way.
So I used a simple generic melody and rhythmic theme to establish the town in its heyday- this burbles along for 45 secs or so until things start to get uneasy. The 'fall' of the town is then a bit heavy and avant-garde and takes us to about 1:20 when we hear the sombre version of the theme, a last stand of some sort, before it winds down to a sombre finish."
"There are essentially 3 parts to my song. The first is the celebration of the glorious Chai people. The second is the Chai dealing with what is to come, their downfall. Only if they can fight it off and vanquish the ravenous plague from their lands. The third, and final, part is the downfall of the once glorious Chai people."
"The stranger reached the highest peak of the cliff and gazed upon the mighty city of Matissimo. The mighty civilization stood still as mere stones. He stalked down to the valley where the city lay. Walking through the empty streets, he began to realize a terrible catastrophe has happened here. Drawing near to the center, he saw the mighty obelisk with bodies strawn and a trail bodies leading to the huge forest..."
Voting Rules!:
Voters will be allowed to pick one first place (3 points) and any number of honorary mentions (1 point). Only one set of votes from any one voter will be accepted and a person cannot vote for any one piece more than once. Corrections to votes, from the original voter only, will be accepted, but corrections will void the previous votes. Basically, a voter can vote and correct the vote, but only the final form of that vote will be counted. Send all votes to Abadoss by PM. Please include any and all constructive critiques (not to be confused with bashing) about them with your votes as well, so that there's always a sense of growth in the artform. If you wish to remain anonymous, just state so in your PM. Thanks.
To be eligible to vote, you must be a registered member of at least one of the participating forums, prior to the beginning of the voting period. In your PM or e-mail, please indicate which forum you are a member of and your username.
The voting period will last from the moment the entries are posted in the thread to the Saturday of that week. The voting period for this round ends September 19, so be sure to spend some time really listening to the pieces.
Any participant in the competition can vote, but not for their own pieces. However, in an effort to encourage voting among participants, any participant who votes will have 2 points added to his/her voting score (unless the participant chooses to be anonymous).
Official Rules!:
[1] Each piece must be originally composed for this competition. Arrangements and remixes will not be accepted. (Pieces composed by the participant prior to the competition will not be accepted.)
[2] Each piece must be 2:00 or longer and match the competition theme.
[3] Only one entry per person. Collaborations will be allowed, but each collaborator may not submit any other pieces. (This also means that a person cannot collaborate on two or more different pieces at the same time.)
[4] A link to the entry piece must be e-mailed or PMed to Abadoss prior to the deadline set for each competition. DO NOT POST THE LINK IN THE THREAD!
[5] Important: Each file must be labeled accordingly: Composer_Name_-_Composition_Title_CMC#.mp3
(For example, if Polly Rothschild submits a piece called "Game Over the Rainbow" to CMC 37, then her filename would be: Polly_Rothschild_-_Game_Over_the_Rainbow_CMC37.mp3)
[6] MP3 file format is required. Know that even OGG will need to be converted into MP3. (If someone is unable to do so themselves, Abadoss would be willing and able to do it for them.)
[7] Entries should be accompanied by a description and/or story to help listeners understand what the piece is about. (Not required, though.)
[8] All entries must be submitted by Saturday, September 5, 2009 at 11:59 PM - PST, GMT-8.
You can find the competition threads for each forum listed below:
OverClocked ReMix: http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=24978
VGMix: http://www.vgmix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2120
VGMusic: http://www.vgmusic.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=12386
Gaming World: http://www.gamingw.net/forums/index.php?topic=79772.0
Young Composers: http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/conceptual-music-competition-30-blighted-21507.html
GameDev: http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=544652
Good luck and have fun! :D
Previous CMCs: http://www.abadoss.net/CMC.htm
[Edited by - Abadoss on September 20, 2009 8:53:38 AM]
