CMC 22: The Magic Instrument

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 25, was "Hunted" and the winner, John, submitted a piece that knocked the socks off of everyone, so he won. John then gets to decide the theme for CMC 26.

This competition is open to registered members of the forums of
OverClocked ReMix, VGMix, VGMusic, Gaming World, Young Composers, and GameDev.

CMC 22: The Magic Instrument
"Is it a magical flute? Perhaps a magical set of bongos? It could be anything, even a magic or super high-tech synthesizer (like in Close Encounters of the Third Kind). It could even be a voice or a set of instruments. Whatever it is, it's special, an that's what your theme should expose."
-Ubernym

Results!
Text results and critiques
Audio results

There are 6 entries for this round...

HoboKa - "Revenant PercVoxx"

"What do you get when you add low key percs, voxes and HoboKatmosphere? Loathe are we to find out, the result is rather interesting. Enjoy."

Robert Anderson - "The Pied Piper's Call"

"When one thinks of a magical instrument, one can't go past the Pied Piper's Flute. The menace that comes along with the Pied Piper, and his control over our action, is what this song is meant to reflect. I tried to bring the fairy tale of the Pied Piper into the present by using the urban drumkit and enveloping the story in the filmic noises, where modern fairy tales are shown rather than told. The howls at the end of the first minute reflect both the howls of the rats, and stand as a forewarning to anyone who ignores the Pied Piper's Call..."

Diego Cohen - "Sonata No. 2 in D Minor: The Acolyte Violin"

"It isn't everyone who is born with the gift of magic. Some must acquire it, through training, discipline, and sacrifice. This is the one who wielded, struggled, accomplished and became."

Blue.Nocturne - "Synthadise"

"It's a 'Synthadise,' (synth + paradise = synthadise) which is some magical land of music with crazy shiny colors all of the place. This piece blends the vision of both sound and color together to make a nice semi-ambient kind of feel. I was thinking of making a song about HoboKa getting on a really crazy acid trip, but I feel this wasn't quite it, perhaps next time. The magical instrument of choice is of course the various synths, specifically the pad that does all the chords. Hope you all like it."

Abadoss - "The Gold Door Opens"

"Beyond these doors of inlayed gold
Await rewards from treasures of old
To one whose lyre is beauty untold
A music so rich, a heart so bold"

Ubernym - "The Golden Zither"

"'Su Tan played his golden zither for the wicked emperor, and made his flowers blossom in the imperial gardens. How those blossoms grew and shone with heaven's brilliance, but the emperor's heart was black. All the flowers in the world could never satisfy him.'

-Trials of the Dynasty, by Han Wa"

Voting Rules!:
Voters will be allowed to pick a 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 e-mail or 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 message. Thanks.

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 27, 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 their voting score.

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 Leonard Ipson submits a piece called "Kill the Paperboy" to CMC 29, then his filename would be: Leonard_Ipson_-_Kill_the_Paperboy_CMC29.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 20, 2008 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=18067
VGMix: http://www.vgmix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1253
VGMusic: http://www.vgmusic.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11174
Gaming World: http://www.gamingw.net/forums/index.php?topic=74616.0
Young Composers: http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/cmc-22-magic-instrument-16310.html
GameDev: http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=506723

Good luck and have fun!

Previous CMCs: http://www.abadoss.net/CMC.htm
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