The Singing Challenge Rules and Guidelines

[Gsoul82]

UPDATE: Please check the current month's challenge topics for the most current information and dates pertaining to challenge start and end dates. The dates in this topic that pertain to selection of the next month's genres and songs still do stand.

For example, we will begin voting for the next months challenges on the 25th.

Then song suggestion starts on the 29th.

Then challenge song voting will start on the 2nd.

However, for the date that the next month's challenges will start, please check the current challenge topics.

 

Hey all,

This thread will contain all the rules and guidelines that make up the structure of the monthly challenges that we will be doing. There will be a new topic every month for each actual challenge, so it's important to have a topic where everything regarding how it will work is posted. This way, anybody interested in taking part in this can simply come in here and read how things will work, then go into the latest monthly challenge topic to discuss everything about that particular challenge.

What is the monthly challenge? What is the point of it all? What will I get out of it?

A few weeks ago, I proposed a monthly challenge. Each month, we will vote on a different genre to approach, then select a song from the genre. For the duration of the challenge, everybody involved in the challenge will attempt to sing that song. It's important to note that this is NOT a contest where someone will lose. The point of this challenge is for everyone to gain something from approaching things they would not normally attempt. For example, I identify as more of an R&B guy. The current challenge for May is Highway Star by Deep Purple. I have an appreciation for Rock, but I rarely sing it. This month, I'm going to sing that song and I'm going to post it. And this next part is also noteworthy. You do NOT have to sing it the way the original artist does and use the same vocal effects (rasp, twang, etc.). You can also choose to take the song and arrange it so you're at home with the way you're singing it. For example, I could attempt to take Highway Star and sing it with an R&B vibe as well. At the moment, I actually don't know how I would do that, lol, but that's exactly why it's a challenge. So, I have to decide whether I'm going to approach it and try to attain that Rock sound or re-arrange it R&B style.

The whole point of this is that, if you can approach a song that you wouldn't normally sing, and then sing it in that style or re-arrange it so that you can sing it in a way that's natural for you, you can truly sing anything. And, once you are left to your own devices and you are faced with a challenge that's completely out of your element, that's when your inner artist is really going to come out.

Even if you're at home with the current genre that's being chosen, and the song that's chosen happens to be relatively easy for you, it is greatly encouraged that you participate so that you can help others with the stylistic aspect of the challenge.

In addition to approaching new things musically, many of us will be undertaking the task of learning our way around audio production software. Some of the programs that people are learning while undertaking the challenge are Cubase, Reaper and Logic Pro X. Production is an extremely valuable skill to learn, especially if you are considering pursuing music as a career. This skill will allow you to create your own demos to send out and get singing gigs and you may even end up producing your own album.

Summary

So, to sum up. We vote for a genre, select a song, and everybody spends about a month attempting to sing that song while either maintaining the style of the genre or trying or re-arranging it so that you can sing it in a way that is natural for you. You may post as many versions of you singing the song as you desire, as long as you make it clear when your final version is posted. Rough drafts are greatly encouraged. All versions should be posted in the current monthly challenge topic. We will all discuss our difficulties and accomplishments regarding style and production for the current monthly challenge inside of the current monthly challenge topic. At the end,  there may be some anonymous voting to decide which version is liked the best, but it's important to note this is not a challenge between us. This is a challenge against yourself. Everybody has something to gain from getting involved here.

Genres:

R&B

 

Country

 

Blues

 

Rock

 

Pop

 

Folk

 

Jazz
 

Gospel

 

Important Dates

Let's open voting on the 25th of the month from now on. This will be for genre selection. We'll be doing two genres again. Voting will be open for 4 days. 

Voting will open for song selection on the 29th. It will be open for 3 days. This won't be a poll. Everybody can suggest two songs for each genre, just like before.

 

Voting for the challenge songs will open on the 2nd, and it will run for 4 days.

 

The challenge will begin on the 6th.

By the end of the 6th of the following month, all final recordings should be in. I'm going by Pacific Standard Time, so if you live somewhere else where time is somewhat behind, just send me a message so I know. Anonymous voting will then go on for about 3 days (69 hours).

By the end of the 5th of the following month, whoever received the most votes will be clear.

This month's contest will officially end on the 6th of the following month, meaning everything to do with it will be done by that time. 

 

 

Where do I get the necessary bed tracks to sing over?

When dealing with producing your own track, you need an instrumental version of the song so that you can sing over it. Also, we want to remain on the right side of copyright protection. Please no sharing of bed track / karaoke files. To purchase your own file, is only $1-$2, so please honor the original creator's (the bed track / karaoke company), property rights. 

In order to make things easier for participants, here's one place where many tracks can be found

Karaoke Version

CLICK HERE >>>

If anybody has any suggestions about any of this, go ahead and speak your mind. I may be managing this topic, but this is about the way everyone wants to do this. I'm just putting things into motion.