The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Can you handle the Round Two challenge?!

Submit an original song by May 24th at 11:59 PM (EDT) that fits the following criteria

Title: Chupacabra
Challenge: Use exactly two instruments (plus vocals) to create your song. In the case of synths / keyboards / FX pedals, one patch = one instrument.

Examples:
Queen "We Will Rock You (original album version)" (percussion/guitar)
White Stripes "Fell in Love With a Girl" (guitar/drums)
Dresden Dolls "Girl Anachronism" (piano/drums)
Brown Word and the Big Whine "Expert Opinion" (guitar/tuba)

Send your MP3 to nurein.sidefight@gmail.com

Good luck!

Well, I guess I'll be "that guy" this time...

Where do the judges land on the idea of overdubbing our two instruments? If I play three or four separate parts looped on the same physical guitar, is that kosher? And what about layered vocals? Four part harmony, etc?

Also, do handclaps, finger snaps, and non-melodic mouth noises (like beatboxing) count as an instrument?

Also what about making one or both of the instruments sound or function like something else via effects ... ?

Lunkhead wrote: ↑

Sun May 17, 2020 9:40 pm

Also what about making one or both of the instruments sound or function like something else via effects ... ?

I think that falls under FX pedals?

>In the case of synths / keyboards / FX pedals, one patch = one instrument.

But what about FX on our vocals??

Ah, I was more thinking software effects, like, DAW plugins. But also I guess beating on a guitar to provide percussion, etc.

Generic wrote: ↑

Sun May 17, 2020 9:34 pm

Well, I guess I'll be "that guy" this time...

Where do the judges land on the idea of overdubbing our two instruments? If I play three or four separate parts looped on the same physical guitar, is that kosher? And what about layered vocals? Four part harmony, etc?

Also, do handclaps, finger snaps, and non-melodic mouth noises (like beatboxing) count as an instrument?

Lunkhead wrote: ↑

Sun May 17, 2020 9:40 pm

Also what about making one or both of the instruments sound or function like something else via effects ... ?

My take on this: Use your best judgment.

The more you bend the stated rules, the more you run the risk of being docked in the rankings.

A risk may pay off handsomely, and it may land you near the bottom. Bend the rules at your own peril.

A goat counts as an instrument right?

Caravan Ray wrote: ↑

Sun May 17, 2020 10:05 pm

A goat counts as an instrument right?

Probably depends on how you play it.

GlennCase wrote: ↑

Sun May 17, 2020 10:09 pm

Caravan Ray wrote: ↑

Sun May 17, 2020 10:05 pm

A goat counts as an instrument right?

Probably depends on how you play it.

And how much you suck

What the judges really mean is to ignore everything and perform a good a capella, as Nur Ein tradition stipulates.

owl wrote: ↑

Sun May 17, 2020 10:15 pm

GlennCase wrote: ↑

Sun May 17, 2020 10:09 pm

Caravan Ray wrote: ↑

Sun May 17, 2020 10:05 pm

A goat counts as an instrument right?

Probably depends on how you play it.

And how much you suck

Ha! Yes! There is that?

On that note: Mo - Who brought a goat here for the Chupacabra to suck between the acts?

I mean, obviously Damian brought the goat for his pet chupacabra

mo wrote: ↑

Sun May 17, 2020 10:38 pm

I mean, obviously Damian brought the goat for his pet chupacabra

Yeah, that's fair. It is his service animal, I think.

You have no idea how many carabiners he had to go through to get a doctor who would sign off on that. So many wheels of cheese too

Edit: wrong thread!

Regarding layered vocals and the like, I had a listen to the four examples provided by the judges. "Fell in Love with a Girl" and Brown Word's "Expert Opinion" indeed have only three tracks, one for the vocals plus two instruments. "Girl Anachronism" though has two vocal lines at times (such as in the chorus), possibly more than two overlapping at the end. "We Will Rock You" has gang vocals in the chorus. Also, if you cut the solo at the end so there's no guitar at all, you still technically have two "instruments", stomping and clapping. You could say both are percussion, but then again, so would be shaker plus cajon or whatever. A standard drum kit consists of multiple drums and cymbals, so that's not a single instrument either. Technically.

I guess some added harmony vocals are fine, as long as the vocals don't simulate a full band as some of the entries for "The New Ugly" did. Percussion, no idea. In the most conservative interpretation it would be one drum, one shaker or one tambourine, and if you use two, you can't have any other instruments in your song. But if that is the case, then none of the examples except for Brown Word and the Big Whine's would meet the challenge.

Hopefully the examples get across that we're considering a drum kit or equivalent percussion track to be "one instrument".

Other than that, I'm basically taking what Glenn said earlier in the thread as my judging guidelines. We're not aiming to be super conservative on this challenge, but if you bend the rules too far then don't be surprised if one / some / all of the judges dock you points for it.

My reading of this is that this is instrument focussed, not the number of tracks. So I could say, play my guitar five different ways physically to get different sounds. But if I played my guitar in a standard way on five tracks then loaded five different amps and effects onto each of those tracks, that would be questionable. For me, it's about thinking of ways to use the instrument differently.

On the topic of percussion and the like, I'm of the opinion that if it's a traditional "instrument" that you'd learn as a whole, then that's a single instrument. I feel sorry if there's any kids in high school band learning only kick drum. Same with handclaps or stomps: I consider that "body", not "hands" or "feet".

Also, I'm not a judge...

Maybe it is because Mo... This Nur Ein keeps bringing me back:

I'm pretty sure Geffen Music in Palo Alto has a Harp Guitar. Looks like I need to buy one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN3439l4HR0

I was in McCabe's in Santa Monica a few months back and thought about getting a harp guitar they had there, but I had just started working again and couldn't afford it. Do it!