*****The Ultimate Original Song Competition II*****

[onid41]

i just wanna say everyone did a pretty good job, but Rob's really stood out. That was amazing man and those strings were right on. And the electric part was bad ass too man.

and Pat, that's a great tune, it did sound pretty rushed, but it's stuck in my head

good job again guys

[crandog74]

hey guys, thanks for the positive responses. i have to say, i'm thoroughly impressed by everyone's tunes. they all sound unbelievable! do you guys all play in bands?

Rob - Rooooob dude, that was awesome. Congrats, you have a nice song there. It is so complete. The strings are fantastic. Did you play them? The guitar was spot on, as well as the electric additions. I really liked it. Great stuff, not sure what else to say.

thanks pat! i appreciate the support. unfortunately i am not responsible for the string playing. that's my buddy lennan. in fact, i'm not even the vocalist either. i wish i could say i sing like that, but it's my friend dano. we actually wrote the song together a couple months ago.

your instrumental kicked ass pat. do you have a website with other recordings?

[Tranman66]

I'll do mine in sections because I'm lazy and there's several songs. (I'll go backwards)

Tran - This song needs some structure man. It was also over the place. Overally, it was extremely muddy. You seem more interested in the alternate tuning/technique than what's actually being played. I mean, the Trace Bundy stuff was cool, but you just...did it. Like, it was just placed in there. You want to make it flow with the rest of the song. It was as if you played part of the song, stopped, and played a little technique-oriented stuff unrelated to the rest of the song. The stuff you played aside from that were kinda hard to listen to, it sounded really messy. (oh - metronome! use it!)

Sorry man, I don't know how else to put it.

hey pat,

I already know what you're talking about. Though this is not an easy problem, and i am awared of it. But i keep on trying to composing, trying as much not to get frustrated over it. As you can see, even though it is not very structured, it is a lot better than the last song, it still fits, but lack structure. I want to make songs interesting with the least repetitiveness as possible. Though i am not doing it right, i'll have to keep on doing and get better as i go. Thanks for the comment.

[dmbguitar718]

Thanks for not taking my comments the wrong way. :thumbsup

It's not like you don't have potential - you do. It's just a matter of experimenting/gaining knowledge and seeing what works and what doesn't. Learn from every recording you do, and try to avoid past problems. :thumbsup

[Tranman66]

Thanks for not taking my comments the wrong way. :thumbsup

It's not like you don't have potential - you do. It's just a matter of experimenting/gaining knowledge and seeing what works and what doesn't. Learn from every recording you do, and try to avoid past problems. :thumbsup

exactly, thanks man, just to note. i have only played for a year and 3 months. and had no lesson. thanks.

i know rob is gonna win this competition lol.

[jellyfish]

I listened to them all and thought all were good, some better.

I'll base my opinion on what my ears liked, what song I kept singing in my head after I was done listening to them all. And that was Miracle by Appfro.

For some reason that was the most listenable.

Rob, you have a great voice and production skills.

[NoNotThat]

I sense a little too much effects on your voice. Nice tune tho.

hmm. I didn't use any effects on my voice. thanks though

[freshead16]

good job everyone. They all sound great. For the last competition i didnt take the time to critique mostly cause i was lazy and second cause i think im bad at it. But ill give it my best shot. here it goes......

kenny clark-Propalby the most exciting and upbeat song in the competition. Doulbe layering of vocals? if it was, it worked well with the song. You remind me of this band here in good ole south dakota. Hit me up if your interested in their link. But great job again.


Mitch- I really liked the guitar progression you had going. In my opinion, having fast chord changing can be hard to put words to. but you did it great. Good little catchy tune and i liked the amount of effect you had on your vocals. Great job.

Nick-Nice relaxing song here. Sounds like a song ive heard before. I liked how i could distinctly tell the verse apart form the melody. i can see this song being amazing with more instruments and kind of a builiding effect to it. Like for example, the first verse solo acoustic, then second verse adding some bass and drums. You get the idea. Great tune.


Rob-Great tune here like people are saying. Not much to critique really. I like the added instruments of course and the voice. Sounds like a song that would be in a show or movie. Especially the chorus. Like having the chorus play and then the people are looking out into the ocean and thinking about whatever it is their thinking about. Try and picture it. ahahah it works though ( my opinion) i doubt that made sense ahaha. but great job none the less.

Sarah-Nice little pretty tune. Loved the fingerpicking and the harmonies. Always so soothing to hear a females voice. ahah. Not much to critique once again. Great job.

khiem-interesting. Way different then i expected anyone to do. It was pretty good though. It seemed off at times but i can see that as being very hard to do. Propably just causse im not familier with this type of playing. So therefore i cant really critique it. I liked how everything was so different. Not much repetitivness to it. once again great job.


pat-very good. I havnt heard many instrumentals in my time. i really liked this one. Especially the main riff. Very catchy. Its amazing how layering can work its wonders. If you can pull it off right whcih you did. Great job

Sorry if my critiques sucked or if they didnt make much sense. I did my best. ahaha. Good luck to you all in the future with your music.

~micah

[Appfro]

Sarah - I remember this song now. I already have it on my ipod. I freaking love the dissonance. It’s amazing. Your song is awesome as always. I can’t wait to go to Asheville and play w/ you. I don’t usually like double vocal tracks doing the same part, but I think you mix it so well w/ that harmony part in the chorus. It gives me shivers. It reminds me of Elliot Smith so much. Freaking amazing my only criticism is that it’s really short. It works but it reminds me of that Coldplay song that I just always want to play twice cause I don’t feel like I got enough of it the first time.

Nick - I like the intro a lot. You have an awesome voice. Kind of soul but you definitely don’t overuse the vibrato in your voice. Man you have an amazing voice. It’s like R&B meets good acoustic music. Reminds me a lot of Babyface or even some of Ben Harper’s stuff. Dude this song is definitely a keeper. I really like the pause between the chorus and the next verse. Nice yells too. Dammit man. all the way.

Pat - Awesome instrumental there. You got some really cool Tim-like licks in your lead. Sounds good. Really nice use of the delay too. Very relaxing, very cool, I can’t say anything bad about it.

Khiem - Cool intro, I really like the harmonics. Your song when it was on sounded really good. But there were many places that you lost the rhythm. Especially on the little single note licks. I could definitely see where you were going w/ it, I just think if you played it w/ a bit more rhythm it would be better. Definitely a great attempt though.

Micah - I like the progression. Not that original but you use some cool chords. The songs sounds a bit like it came from the 80’s. Actually it sounds just like a Lionel Richie song. Not that that is a bad thing, it just reminds me of it so much. Your vocals are really good on this, but you use a bit too much reverb. But your voice definitely sounds good behind the effects. I really like the fast lead part hidden in there in the second verse. That sounds freaking great.

Rob - Great song man. The strings are badass and the lead is cool. I was a little disappointed to hear that you weren’t the vocalist, but you can tell that dude he has a great voice. The lyrics in this one stuck out a bit more than the others. I like the “How can you be so young but be so old” line. In the end it sounds a bit like a Default song w/ better lyrics, strings and no distortion, but it’s definitely something that could get on the radio. My only critique is the solo. I liked it but I think it cuts off to abruptly. And I can hear that you’re trying to keep the distortion going, but I think a slower fade would have worked better.

Kenny - And the award for the most original original…you buddy. I really like this one. I really like everything about it, the cool snappy progression, awesome lyrics, very very cool song. My only critique is that I can’t stand double vocals. It’s a pet peeve, but it works for the song. I don’t know why cause it sounds NOTHING like it, but your song reminded me of We didn’t start the fire. Haha. Great though.

I hope I didn’t miss anyone, I’ll go back and double check. Great songs everyone. Another very successful contest. I give you all a hand. Sorry elliot and Miguel couldn’t get in on this one, next time guys awesome everyone. also, thanks to everyone who took the time to critique everyone. you guys are why i come to these boards and post my music.

[Swede]

Well done Smedley, im proud of you.

[smedley]

Well done Smedley, im proud of you.

thanks swede, maybe someday i'll be as great as you


edit: and i need more people to vote

[longleggedfrog]

Thanks for all the great comments. While I am getting better on the production side, I hate it. All I want to do is write songs. I don't want to record them or woryy about geting a good vocal. I don't want to layer guitars or add drum beats....well maybe I'd like to add drum beats...if I had a kit. The other problem I have is my vocal. I know it is pitchy and I know that it isn't the best, but I just don't have time to do take after take, and then at the same time I don't think it ever really sounds that great......so I double it....sometimes too much!!!! Anyway, I am trying to get away from that. I haven't gotten a chance to listen yet, but will soon. Glad to see it is lasting until oct 1.

Kenny

[carter29]

Sarah's song was a great little diddy, my favorite

[smedley]

top, need more voters please

[freshead16]

you get my votes? Ive never sent an email through outlook before.