Well, it’s time to get your songwriting chops lubed and prepare for the 5th Annual 6-Pack Songwriting Competition.
As I mentioned, this is the fifth year of the 6-Pack. Liz Miller won the first two and Margaret McClure won the past two. I’m sure many of the veterans will be returning as I have been receiving steady inquiries about the starting date, challenges, etc. The first four categories are the annual primer (any song you have), a love song, an instrumental and a spiritual song. The last two will be announced later and I’m sure you’re going to love them!
I can’t wait to see what the veteran 6-Packers come up with and personally invite the newcomers to bring their “A” game. There’s not a songwriting competition out their quite like the Broadjam 6-Pack and you will be stretched way beyond your current capacity.
You will see lots of new technical changes coming to the 6-Pack as well. Many of these were a result of direct feedback and we threw in a few of our own. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions regarding the 6-Pack or anything else we do for that matter. You can use this blog or send me a note directly. For some reason, I suspect you will have much to talk about.
As always, our sponsors have provided the contest with great prizes – take a look. They Include Sony, IK Multimedia, Line 6, Casio, Yamaha, ASCAP, and more!
So Get Lubed (Anything), Brew Some Luv (Love Songs), Shut Yer Yap (Instrumental) and get on that Rarified High (Spiritual) as we’re getting started.
The 2009 6-Pack is rockin’ and we’re off and running. Best of luck to everyone.
Sincerely,
Roy Elkins, Broadjam Founder and CEO
Posted by Broadjam on Jun 1, 2009 in The 7th Can
Hey Jim,
I’m trying to understand your post about the DAW’s. I use Logic Platinum (yep, it’s the antiquated version 3.5 from 1998) and I have no problems using different time signatures at all. As a matter of fact, I can have every bar in a different time signature. The tempo however cannot be changed within the song. So yeah, if I wanted to change the tempo (other than half-time/double-time) I would have to get a masters degree in math first to calculate all that stuff.
Love to all,
Nils
Nov 1, 2009/11:01 amHey Nils, thanks for the rain but glad your boys got to have a nice Halloween:) I’m stuck with all this candy so I have to get the temptation out of the house. I think I will bring it over to our local Senior Center, play some music for the folks and give out the treats tomorrow. Don’t forget to turn your clocks back everyone. Goodnight all.
Nov 1, 2009/12:42 amHappy Halloween, fellow bjammers!
It was a great day after the rain left us last night and moved east (sorry Felice). The boys experienced their first Mardi Gras in Pinckneyville, IL and they didn’t know what was going on. They were very well behaved and sat through the two hour parade without whining or crying. Jonah clapped for every float/band or vehicle that came down the road and Micah’s head would turn with the drum section of every band until they were out of sight. It was a long but beautiful day and I bid you all goodnight.
Nils
Oct 31, 2009/11:48 pmGive Char double coos for me and a little “treat”. She is the best producer!!!
Oct 31, 2009/9:30 pmHappy Halloween Felice! Glad you enjoyed the mini horror flick. Char produced it.
Oct 31, 2009/9:14 pmPT, hope you are feeling a little better and glad that you are able to hit the keys with your other hand. Just be careful. You gave us all a scare but I am sure you will be on the mend real soon. I miss your delicious vocals. And Frank, Penny and Jesse thanks for that wonderful Halloween treat. You guys are the best. Sending you all lots of yummy thoughts on this Eve of All Saints. To Mags,Liz,Penny, Stacey and Char we should conjure up some tricks and treats for our male counterparts here in the Seventh Can…..!
Oct 31, 2009/8:22 pmDear Peter, what a beautiful piece of prose you graced us with hear in the land of the Blogosphere on a rainy Halloween Night in my town of New Jersey. Your’s was the sweetest treat and I am sure we will all cherish your words. We have come to know you well oh “enfant terrible” for your impetuous good nature and abundence of wonderful music and verse. May I take this time to wish you all the luck in the world and thank you for your loyal friendship. Hope we all do meet some day…..
Oct 31, 2009/8:16 pmthank you Penny, for all your good thoughts
as I jump from the frying pan
and back into the fire, please
allow me to share with you
something I re-learned
just this very day
the description of happiness
only requires a sentence, or two
living it requires a lifetime of faith
goodnight. here’s wishing you
and all our clan, such grand dreams
as always, pgo. . .
Oct 31, 2009/8:04 pmVery happy to be knowing you Peter, you are a precious person and an inspiration..xoxoxox
Oct 31, 2009/6:44 pmand, as Joshua and Jenny so lovingly proclaimed. . .
“what a quarrelsome bunch” and all the more richer in our lives for those unfettered exchanges. hey, at least we pay attention to each other.
Oct 31, 2009/6:09 pmDamn and with you having broken fingers and all and you still managed to survive through a piece of music playing in a key signature and all in time too and with a melody and lyrics without words like F**k in them every 3 seconds. Must have been a real shock to the system to hear lyrics about real life and must have been upsetting to the ears! Welcome to the real world of music where your average musician knows where the quantise function is and uses words folk can understand!
Oct 31, 2009/6:01 pmOh well. ( note to self) must try harder.
Next time next time you’ll see. lol
TRICK or TREAT. . .
I have known both in my life and wish to acknowledge to the clan that I have been a most fortunate man throughout. In fact, many would proclaim I am one lucky SOB. You see, I have a tendency to jump out of airplanes without a parachute and yet somehow I manage land without seeming damage and always escaping death.
Lots of scratches, though. . . many bumps, bruises and some well-earned scars. Truth be told, some of those scars have not yet healed. Or, maybe I’m the one that keeps opening them.
As some of you already know, my life this year has been the hardest for me to understand, let alone accept. Way too many failures for such a (self) proclaimed genius of creation and LUCK! Yeah, luck of the Irish (and, the name Olach isn’t even Irish.)
Shame on Me – for the first time in my life, I truly began to believe I was alone, unreachable and beyond repair, beyond forgiveness, and well beyond redemption.
Then I met you guys and gals. Thru a world others might consider disconnected and surreal, I was adopted by a digital family of creators, administrators, musicians, founders, listeners, artists and now some of my dearest friends.
To the good Mayor, Roy and Musical Company: Broadjam shall always have my loving support and participation as I spread the story to the unenlightened. Thank You!
To my fellow Seventh Can Mates – David Davis, John Visconti, Johnny UK. To those most lovely and talented ladies – Felice, Penny and Margaret. To my troubled and brilliant brother from another palnet, Nathaniel and all your late night calls. So Many Heartfelt Thanks!
And, to our British Star (and winemaker) who would not take no for an answer by reminding me that failure is never acceptable.
Mr. Ian Kenney. Thank You! Let’s both win the lottery so we may build your 7th Can Hotel.
To each and everyone of you, I hope and believe, one day we will meet in the flesh so I can personally deliver onehelluva hug.
Oct 31, 2009/6:00 pmMeanwhile, as always, your friend in music – PGO
Can 6; ok, time signatures like 2/4 and 4/4 I suppose are easy enough to lay down – they’re both multiples of 4 beats to the bar and 2/4 can be considered as 4/4 double-timed so on your DAW snap-to-grid is easy. Likewise with funky 5/4 and 4/4 mixes. But what about 3/4 and 4/4? Even with drum samples, they won’t just drag-and-drop into the right place, even if you cut them just right. Most DAW’s don’t allow for multiple time signature settings within one song. I use Logic, Garageband and Ableton Live 8 and none of them do. I thought I’d share something with you I found out by trial and error that may encourage more entries into the 6th can. If you’re doing verse chorus 3/4 to 4/4 or 6/8 to 4/4 or 7/8 to 12/8 (God forbid!) set yourself up for the verse timing, be it 4/4 or 3/4 or whatever. This will get you off to a steady, snap-to-grid start. If your 3/4 time is “swung” then this will help a lot. The chorus, being say 4/4, will have a more familiar beat to play along to and the chorus will therefore be more easily recorded due to familiarity with a steady rhythm. Keep your 3/4 and 4/4, say, recordings on separate tracks. This is essential. The 4/4 section will have to be pulled-in manually to join with the rest of the song. However, you then may not have a snap-to-grid starting point for the next verse, but if you choose your bpm’s carefully, then you might mitigate the amount of manual adjusting of tracks you have to do on your DAW. 80bpm in 3/4 time roughly equates to 120bpm in 4/4 in terms of your DAW grid. A wise choice of the bpm for each ‘non-linear’ time signature will help greatly. If you’re going to do more than two time signatures, do the math and sketch out your whole song in bars before recording it – and good luck! If you’re really ambitious, check out Apocalyse Cow’s zappa-esque “…summer job” (can’t remember the full title). God alone knows how they managed to pull that one off! Hope this helps.
Oct 31, 2009/5:32 pmPenny:
you’re cracking me up.
Johnny:
Awesome LOOPS!!!!! Rarrrrharhar!!!
Although… apparently hell may have frozen over… Cause there I was in Rarified. Minding my own business… and out come Ean McGreggor or some crap singing about god being in various members of his family and stuff.
I wasnt huge on the hook… But those timbres sounded great and the performance was tolerable (even if it made me want to gag someplace deep inside.)
Easy 3… You even beat out two other artist i’m more fond of with that Disney infected showtune. Exceptional work… keep it up.
… but dont think this means i like u or anything.
Oct 31, 2009/5:20 pmHeres a song that made the semi finals of the UK songwriting contest recently which is perfect for halloween.
Johnny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhh3hb7hXgA
Oct 31, 2009/4:00 pm