Arrangement contests - brainstorming topic

[Cobraroll]

Topic hijacked - it's relevant enough already and multi-page threads attract more attention. And I don't want to flood the entire sub-forum.

Basically, discuss arrangement contests here.





Some of the more nit-picky of you would probably insist that this be called remixing contests, but anyway:

This idea has been stuck in my head for some time, yet it's taken a while to come up with some details and build up the courage to publicly propose it:

Now that we've got a more open attitude towards orchestral submissions here, would it be an idea that we ran some informal arrangement competitions to make people more familiar with other instruments than piano? Or simply give people an opportunity to play around with their favourite musical styles? Or just tweak the beloved songs a little?

I'm thinking something along the lines of a set of competitions, running for a period of time (a month or two. We're not known to be in a hurry on this site). Unlike The Musical Showdown, the rounds would be fully independent of each other, and a single task would be given for each competition. After a winner is declared, it's back to blank sheets, and a new round could be started. The way I've thought about it, is that we could have one "theme" for each contest, with very loose specifications.
Examples:
 - "Calmify" a theme (essentially what's been done with Pokémon's "SS Anne" to "Oceanic Museum", or SM64's "Inside the Castle" to SMG2's "Special One"
 - Arrange a VG theme for (insert various (and sometimes obscure) instruments, i.e. fiddle, organ or bagpipe).
 - Make a VG theme ROCK! (Two words: Gourmet Race)
 - We Want a Waltz: "Ballroomify" a theme.
 - Given a theme, who can make the best arrangement?
 - Lyrics? (hey, not all of us are good with Finale, are we?).

There would obviously have to be a set of judges, basing themselves on a set of criteria, and perhaps an additional popular vote. And it would require some organization, of course. Perhaps even prizes as well? Even though I'm on a student budget, I could probably cough up some kr for prizes for a couple of rounds. It wouldn't be any expensive stuff, but it would anyway be a token of your effort and perseverance... or if you were the only attendant of the competition, your ability to overcome procrastination. And I feel that concept and execution should have as much to say as technical skill. "Something for everyone" is a great goal to strive for.


But for the time being, I'm just wondering what people think about the idea. Is it feasible? Could we motivate enough people? Do we need to focus our effort elsewhere first? What are really those weird creatures in the background of Shiverburn Galaxy? What limitations do we have to work with here (I'm thinking what the various versions of Finale are capable of, for example instrument selections and such)?
Do you feel that you have an answer to any of these questions, please press that "Reply" button and type in your opinion. Thanks in advance!



(tl;dr version: You'll get a virtual cake if you reply "Yes, good idea!" to this post)

[MaestroUGC]

I say go for it. But before you do that, we need to figure out how large we are going to make the remixes, or is it whatever the remixer wants? If that's the case, then the judges will need to come up with a system to judge the varying styles of arranging.

[Brassman388]

Interesting, yes.

[SlowPokemon]

I'm tentatively agreeing to this idea (even though I may not have time to take part).

[Jub3r7]

Waltz seem to be my specialty now. 
This is going to be fun.

[Bespinben]

I support this idea. I particularly like the ideas of arranging for obscure instruments and making a song rock (Kanto Gym Battle maybe?)

[Clanker37]

Sounds like fun!  Oh, god three competions at once

[fabbemannen]

Noooooooow I'll give my opinion:
First. I've never competed in any of these due to my suckiness in making sheets
Second. I've never had anything against making normal remix's with normal instruments and not just the midi

So, are the arrangements supposed to be in mus-format only (created directly from a sheet music program) or can we make normal remix's?
I'm pretty sure it's like the words 2-10 said in the sentence above this, but just asking here
Maybe we can make some non-arranging contests later too (playing piano and recording, making a song using a snes-cartridge as a drum etc.)

Aside from my bad arrangements skills (I probably can if I try, but I only spend time on Finale when I'm making original songs), this sounds like a really nice idea and I will follow it

[Cobraroll]

I say go for it. But before you do that, we need to figure out how large we are going to make the remixes, or is it whatever the remixer wants? If that's the case, then the judges will need to come up with a system to judge the varying styles of arranging.

Yes, the initial part of each round would usually be hidden for the contestants, where the scoring systems are worked out, judges selected, tasks selected, prizes chosen, etc. Then when the panelists are ready, the task is released to the public.

Also, the judges could compete in the voters' category. Not sure which of those would yield prizes if won, though.

[fingerz]

Sounds good! Count me in!

[Jub3r7]

So I turned all of the warp songs from Zelda into waltzes just for practice.
They actually sound pretty good.

...I should probably practice the notation part of it, though. :/

[Olimar12345]

This sounds fun! I'd love to participate!

[SlowPokemon]

So I turned all of the warp songs from Zelda into waltzes just for practice.

I loooove waltzes, they're so much fun. Bouncy and nice to play around with.

[Cobraroll]

Okay, looks like we're in for it, then!

First, we need some volunteers for judges for the first round. As you might have noticed by my number of arrangements on site and their quality/difficulty, I'm hardly one to judge how well other people do music.

It would also be great if people had any ideas for this project. I could provide prizes for a couple of rounds in the beginning, but it's not something I'd shell out for in the long run. I know we have a couple of gifted artists on this site, could they perhaps donate an original piece once in a while?

Claiming your eventual prize would also involve you giving away your home address. I'd have to have a place to send it after all. Anybody having any troubles with that?

[Bespinben]

Less personal information would be required if the prizes were, say, gifts on the Wii Shop Channel.