Do Something Challenge Discussion Thread

[Bruce]

is this happening? It would definitely at least keep me in front of my desk.

 

[duzie]

What would be the primary way to submit tracks ?
SoundCloud
YouTube
Etc.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Cakewalk is free, and Reaper is "free" - perpetual fully functional "trial".

I started a thread about DAWs.

 

[duzie]

Just throwing crap at the wall here .
I’m wondering if at first, just providing a minimalistic backing track to add your input/ instrument of choice would allow people to get their feet wet

 

[jaxadam]

Man, I really need something like this in my life as a prompt.

This. I’d be down to give it a shot.

 

[DrewJD82]

As Drew mentioned, I've definitely spent a lot of time doing this. We started it a few years back (2017? 18?) and the guy who originated it has kept it going all this time. Can't overstate how much fun I've had doing it.

Things I'd say to those who are new to this:

* When we started, my recording skills were absolute, total trash. And, my songwriting wasn't much better. But, every week in it was practice, learning something new, finding better ways to make it happen. Now, I get complimented regularly on my results. It's absolutely made me a better player, songwriter, sound engineer and overall musician. Quite possible more so than my years of touring and recording in my younger days (likely since I don't spend most of the time doing this swirling around the bottom of a vodka bottle like I did back then... lol)

* Everyone who participates brings something different/new/valuable to the table that we all learn from. The more folks who contribute, the better it is for everyone involved. I can't overstate this part.

* The competition piece of it brings some semblance of "skin in the game" that motivates most people to get something done. However, it's not like fantasy sports or something where you really lose anything if life gets in the way one week.

* For those who aren't in a band, it makes a great surrogate for band practice. Sitting around chugging or running scales or learning covers/leads by yourself is good practice, but it doesn't replace jamming with others in a band. This doesn't either, but it's a nice alternative if you aren't able to participate in a band for whatever reason.

* It's a LOT of fun to sit and listen to all the other entries. I had no idea how talented some of the folks on the other forum were til we started doing this. Some of those guys are mind-blowingly great songwriters, some are incredible lead players, some generate awesome riff after awesome riff, some create mood/atmosphere with their songs that is totally next level. You probably fall into one of those categories, but the rest of us have no idea cause you aren't sharing it with us... Honestly, if I was trying to assemble a touring/recording band, I'd cherry pick from that pool of players first.

* No one who has participated sucks - even though a lot of them think they do. You don't suck either - stop telling yourself that.

* I've always believed there are two types of musicians: the creative ones and the ones who bring creations to life. If you're in the former group, then write a song and/or lead every week. If you're in the latter, then cover a song and/or lead. It's a win/win.

And, if anyone has any questions on how to do this hit me up - I'm all about sharing what I've learned over the years. If I can help you, it helps me. I'm selfish like that...

This is perfect, thank you for writing this, brother!

 

[DrewJD82]

Sounds like fun! Two problems, though… 1. Playing leads is not my strong suit and 2. I don‘t think I have enough creativity in me and/or time to flesh out a whole new song every week.

No worries, you can do a cover and it counts just the same!

 

[DrewJD82]

is this happening? It would definitely at least keep me in front of my desk.

Looks like there's some interest, just want to get some thoughts first to see how it can work for the forum as best it can.

What would be the primary way to submit tracks ?
SoundCloud
YouTube
Etc.

Anything that'll get the track in our ears! A video is fine as well!

Just throwing crap at the wall here .
I’m wondering if at first, just providing a minimalistic backing track to add your input/ instrument of choice would allow people to get their feet wet

Not a bad idea to get things started!

 

[DrewJD82]

For those who are concerned about not contributing weekly, that's perfectly fine. Remember, the award is just the knowledge you applied yourself to playing/writing music along with the benefits that come along with actually playing regularly.

Something I noticed when I was taking part in this is that I started making time for it to happen. One less hour of TV a day, maybe skipping the after-work nap, etc. I think I had a good 3-4 week run where I didn't want to lose the momentum, I remember mixing a song in my truck while on 95 headed from Florida to Mass while my ex drove because I didn't want to miss a week! The healthy competition really comes into play when you don't wanna be the first one to fall off the contributions!

I'm thinking to start things off, since we have some people who don't do leads, what if I put together a drum track and posted either the MIDI or the Wav? This would allow people to play rhythm/lead/both, or an entirely different instrument. This is basically what Ola does with his SWOLA intro songs; he posts the drum track and viewers can submit their own tracks using those drums. I dig this route because it's really cool seeing the different ways people can take something.

I can bounce out a couple different sounding drum tracks using the same MIDI, not all of us play the same genre so shotgun blast snare drums might not work for everyone. I could also supply the MIDI itself and people with a drum VST can tweak it however they want.

Here's Ola listening to submissions, all the same drum track but entirely different songs (albeit, all metal, but it's Ola's channel)


And since the rules are quite flexible, just because I post a drum track doesn't mean we all have to use it; if you just pulled a riff out of yer ass, go ahead and do something with that! The only important thing is submitting something you worked on that week.

 

[Iron1]

I dig this route because it's really cool seeing the different ways people can take something.

Same. Everyone brings their own personal brand of creativity, which is really cool.

 

[Bruce]

Should there be a minimum/maximum file length? Say 1 min-4min?

 

[Bruce]

Will we be constructively critiquing one another work???

 

[Bruce]

If this gets big enough can we have themed weeks like modelers only, real amps only etc etc?

 

[Fireproof]

I might be able to participate starting in Feb. My January is crazy and I’m out of the country for 10 days in the middle of it.

Going forward, weekly would be hard for me. What if there was 2 per month? One starts on the 1st, and the other on the 15th? (If monthly isn’t frequent enough?). Giving everyone 2 weeks to come up with something and get it recorded? Just a thought. I just know for me, going up against you seasoned folks, I would likely need more than 1 week to mess around with some riffs or whatever, LOL. But don’t let me hold anyone back.

Just watching/listening would be fun too…

 

[TSJMajesty]

Maybe start a poll to flesh out the popularity of various ideas?

 

[TSJMajesty]

the creative ones and the ones who bring creations to life.

I love this statement! Well-put.

 

[DrewJD82]

Should there be a minimum/maximum file length? Say 1 min-4min?

A minimum might be good just to prevent someone from playing a riff one time and calling it a day. I don't want to be too restrictive because we have all ranges of experience here and I want to ensure everyone gets a fair shot to participate without feeling overwhelmed, but if someone came in and played the "Smoke On The Water" riff one time....I'd hope to see more effort than that.

Will we be constructively critiquing one another work???

I think as long as the submitter asks for a critique, that's fine. The internet has different definitions of "constructive" and I know we're going to have some people here who are going to feel a bit vulnerable at first. It'd be a bummer for people to not contribute because someone is "constructively" telling people they should burn their guitars because it'd be better for the rest of the world. This is 100% about getting people to play more and lifting each other up instead of stepping on someone's head because they're just figuring out a DAW or started playing 6 months ago.

If this gets big enough can we have themed weeks like modelers only, real amps only etc etc?

That'd be pretty cool!

I might be able to participate starting in Feb. My January is crazy and I’m out of the country for 10 days in the middle of it.

Going forward, weekly would be hard for me. What if there was 2 per month? One starts on the 1st, and the other on the 15th? (If monthly isn’t frequent enough?). Giving everyone 2 weeks to come up with something and get it recorded? Just a thought. I just know for me, going up against you seasoned folks, I would likely need more than 1 week to mess around with some riffs or whatever, LOL. But don’t let me hold anyone back.

Just watching/listening would be fun too…

There's definitely a few ways we can go about it. We could even split it into two different challenges; one weekly and one bi-weekly, that way no one is getting overwhelmed and we read "Well guys, my wife left me after my kid broke his arm. I just wanted to get this week's submission in then I was going to take him to the hospital!"

Maybe start a poll to flesh out the popularity of various ideas?

Yeah, I'm going to let this stew for a bit and people can keep putting some ideas forth, then I'll condense them down and make a poll.

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Also, someone mentioned voting earlier; I'd rather stay away from that and keep it submission based; IE- 1 submission is 1 point (TBD). It's simply a method to keep track of who has kept up with it, it's in no way a reflection of the quality of the submission. I just don't think it'd be fair for such a wide range of playing experiences/recording capabilities to make it vote-based. I think it's fair enough to assume that the more polished/professional sounding a submission is, the more votes it'll get and this isn't about that. Though if this took off, there's no reason why we couldn't have dedicated challenges; a mix challenge, a songwriting challenge, etc, that were vote-based.

 

[Fireproof]

Yeah if it’s about getting votes for the “best job” - some of us might as well not play along.

 

[DrewJD82]

Yeah if it’s about getting votes for the “best job” - some of us might as well not play along.

No one should ever think that. I mean, I know it happens and will happen, but if this goes as well as it has at the other forum, hopefully we see some people coming out of the woodwork and putting themselves out there when they see that it's purely based on healthy competition and lifting each other up. And also why it's a challenge and not a contest!

 

[TSJMajesty]

A minimum might be good just to prevent someone from playing a riff one time and calling it a day. I don't want to be too restrictive because we have all ranges of experience here and I want to ensure everyone gets a fair shot to participate without feeling overwhelmed, but if someone came in and played the "Smoke On The Water" riff one time

True, but it'll flesh out as it happens. You'll find what works and what doesn't as it progresses.

I think as long as the submitter asks for a critique, that's fine.

That's a good idea. I'm just the kind of person who wants feedback, so I can improve. Not realizing it, I used to open my mouth real wide whenever I played a solo, and my bandmates didn't point it out to me for the longest time, thinking it would offend me. I was like, "DUDE! Fucking TELL me if I'm doing something that looks stupid. If I think you're wrong, I'll tell you to FO." Nicely, of course!

There's definitely a few ways we can go about it. We could even split it into two different challenges; one weekly and one bi-weekly, that way no one is getting overwhelmed

Well just keep in mind, at some point it'll be what it is. You can't make it everything for everyone. You start splitting it up, and it'll dilute the amount of participants. This forum is still a small group of people.

Also, someone mentioned voting earlier; I'd rather stay away from that and keep it submission based;

That was me. I misunderstood; I thought points were amassed by votes.