Hello everyone and welcome back! It’s officially time to kick off the 2019 Monthly Contests! I hope that you’re all ready!
As it’s the start of the new year, the theme is to compose a sequence a new genre for you! Just pick any genre you’ve never composed in before and compose a sequence in it!
The entry period is from 1/1 ~ 1/21 (11:59 PM EST). Winners will be announced on 1/31!
While we will post general notes on every contest, please refer to the Monthly Contest announcement thread for more details on Monthly Contests themselves.
Entry limit of 2 sequences per person.
Committee members are allowed to enter the contests, but will not enter their example sequence nor will they vote for their own entry.
Sequences made prior to the current Monthly Contest are allowed, although we don’t recommend entering the same sequence in different Monthly Contests.
Making a remix of an existing song is allowed. Please make it as creative as possible while applying the contest’s theme.
The standard Online Sequencer Rules will apply and any entries violating a rule will automatically be disqualified.
Committee Notes
Hopefully you haven’t composed in all the genres there are! You probably haven’t though….. Anyway, this is relatively self-explanatory, but there was good feedback about the example sequences on the survey, so let’s keep going why not?
I haven’t ever composed in ragtime before, so that’s what I decided to do as an example sequence. Ragtime is relatively simple, using only 2 hands, the left being for alternating between a bassline and chords and the right being for the melody itself. Rag usually has a jumpy melody with notes being both on and off beat.
I decided to try my hand at composing atonal music.
I have never intentionally made something sound so… Interesting... before.
The idea of atonality is to make it not fit into standard harmony. Which I think I managed… It does kind of sound like just a bad sequence, but it’s intentional so it’s art.
It tells a little bit of a story. The GP represents mountains that a character (EP) must overcome. In some spots you can see that he goes over some and simply goes around others.
At the end, the mountains give way to flat ground and the man can rest.
Hello Online Sequencer! We’ve observed how the 2018 Beta Monthly Contests went and, as we’re about to launch the 2019 Monthly Contests, it’s time to add in some extra clarifications on the rules.
Anyone with prior knowledge of the contest themes are not allowed to create and sequences that they plan to enter before the contest is announced. Sharing of any themes is not allowed either.
While past sequences that have been made before (that still follow the previous rule) are allowed, sequences that have been entered into previous Monthly Contests aren’t.
When you enter a sequence into the monthly contests and it is not completed, make sure that the sequence ID of that entry is the same as the sequence ID of the final. Otherwise (due to how the voting is set up) the voting will be performed on the incomplete piece.
Do not delete a sequence after you have entered it. If this happens, let one of us know and (if you have the completed version of the entry) give us the sequence ID of that entry. Any entry that got deleted without the user notifying us before the entry period is over will be automatically disqualified.
Once it is past the entry period for a monthly contest, do not edit any of your entries. This is blatant cheating and will result in immediate disqualification from that monthly contest.
Thanks for reading and I hope that you’re prepared for the 2019 Monthly Contests!
Hello everyone! Now with the 2018 monthly contests coming to a close and the winner to be announced shortly, we’d like to be able to revise the contests and the events in general for the users of Online Sequencer.
A quick survey has been created. It only takes a few minutes to do. While it does require a google account sign in, this is only to ensure that there is one response per person. It is a completely anonymous survey and does not collect any information about you.
Please respond to the questions to help make the events on Online Sequencer even better. We thank you for reading this and answering the survey (if you do).
It’s that time of year to spread some of that Christmas spirit!
Got someone on OS that you want to send presents to? Want another opportunity to win points? Need to spread your love and appreciation for George Burdell? Don’t care but you’re reading anyway? Great! I’ll go ahead and knock out the event details.
Event Information
The entry period is from 12/1 ~ 12/24 (11:59 PM EST). Submissions and winners will be announced on 12/25!
This is an event where you can compile a gift to send another person on OS.
The gift can be anything— a sequence, a thank you letter, a drawing, something you made IRL, dead memes, just anything as long it’s something you’re okay with it being viewed in public.
There's no limit to how many gifts you send, though keep in mind that the quality of gifts WILL matter when it comes to judging how many points a person will receive.
Once you’re finished with your gifts, you’ll need to send it to me in private so I can keep it hidden under the Google Docs tree until Christmas.
You can submit your entries through my Discord (Lucent#4630) or use the OS Private Messaging system if for some reason you’re really insecure about using Discord.
In the time before Christmas, your entry will be reviewed by committee members for these reasons:
1.) To make sure you aren’t posting any discriminating, family-unfriendly, or online dating material.
2.) To look for the best submissions on the list.
Good submissions made with a lot of effort are eligible for extra OS points! If you’re not that crafty, you will still get 1 point for sending a gift per person (as long as I feel like you aren’t BSing the system).
On December 25 (around 8:00 AM EST) I will post everyone’s Christmas gift on this thread. Save the date until then!
Here’s a small visual flowchart for those who still don’t get it.
Hello Online Sequencer! It’s time to start the final Monthly Contest of the Beta Monthly Contests!
General Information
The entry period is from 12/1 ~ 12/21 (11:59 PM EST). Winners will be announced on 12/31!
While we will post general notes on every contest, please refer to the Monthly Contest announcement thread for more details on Monthly Contests themselves.
Entry limit of 3 sequences per person. We’ve updated the rules which we’ll explain later.
Committee members are allowed to enter the contests, but will not enter their example sequence nor will they vote for their own entry.
Sequences made prior to the current Monthly Contest are allowed, although we don’t recommend entering the same sequence in different Monthly Contests.
Making a remix of an existing song is allowed. Please make it as creative as possible while applying the contest’s theme.
The standard Online Sequencer Rules will apply and any entries violating a rule will automatically be disqualified.
We have something very special for you all this month. We have 3 themes!
Of course, with there being multiple themes in a month, a few extra rules need to be in place to keep everything fair for everyone and just to clarify a few things.
For starters, you can earn leaderboard points in multiple different themes. It also means you can be the winner of the Beta Monthly Contests even if you haven’t placed on the leaderboard yet.
Instead of being able to enter 2 sequences, you can only enter 1 sequence into each theme, so enter your sequences wisely! You are allowed to change that entry before the end of the entry period, just make sure you reply to the forum page so we get notified of it.
We will have to be forced to not give anybody points on one of the themes if too few sequences are entered in it, but this hopefully won’t have to be a problem.
As always, if you have any questions about anything, please ask!
Now, let’s reveal the themes!
Committee Notes
Hello everyone, I've been asked to work on Winter theme sample.
##981997
Winter always seemed to give off the vibe of being locked indoors as you peek through the glass absentmindedly.
For this sample, I slowed down the BPM more than usual, as well as using some softer instruments to compliment the piano. Vibraphone can pull off a traditional winter sound, but using smooth synths and concert harp can also help smooth the overall feel of the sequence.
As for the general chord scheme, using blurry, melancholic chords can really bring out that lonely feel. You want to somehow let the chords "slow you down", if that makes sense. On top of all of that, doing this will make it easier to accentuate brighter chord resolutions.
Of course, this is just one interpretation of winter. If you guys have something else winter-related, I'll be always happy to give it a listen.
The second theme (as is obvious with it being December) is Christmas Songs! This one’s purely remix only. Pick your favorite Christmas song and remix it!
Not gonna lie, I really like Christmas music. I’m that one person that occasionally finds themselves listening to Christmas music out of season.
For this example sequence, I originally planned to do a giant medley of all the Christmas songs I could find. I’ll do that eventually, but it was just too big of a project to do on time. So instead I decided a different sequence that may or may not have actually been less work to do....
To give an example that proves that maybe you could do a bit more than just a cover of a song, I decided to do a sequence that might not necessarily sound “Christmas-y” as it doesn’t have to.
I decided to do the song sleigh ride but instead I styled it like Slider from Super Mario 64. I may have gone a little overboard.... I made 2 versions. One where it’s a single playthrough and a second where it loops. If you think your computer can handle the larger version, go right ahead, but don’t blame me for excessive lag and tabs freezing up or crashing.
The third theme is Finale Music. Finales are either a tearful goodbye, a grant finale conflict, or a recap of all the events so far. Either way, they evoke emotion, memory, and are heavily mood and experienced based.
This sequence relates by summarizing the year; it goes through all the little moments, happy and sad, while at the same time keeping a thoughtful, memorable tone; a sort of: "Remember that time when...?"
Hello everyone, I hope you guys had some good food last Thursday.
If not, well, I don’t know, go to Walmart and buy some salt and vinegar chips already. Get me an Arizona green tea while you’re at it.
Anywho, the month is coming to a close, therefore now is a good time to release another blog update that I totally didn’t write last minute!
First off, I’d like to apologize for being unproductive this month. You guys might not realize what’s happening behind the scenes, so this is mostly towards the people who work in this volunteer effort to get the events out there.
By people, I mean Kirby, because literally we’re the only two ever working on the events.
He’s been responsible for writing the Monthly Contest, updating the voting spreadsheet, and trying to kick my behind out of bed just to get work done. So if anyone reads these at all, be sure to say thanks to him because he probably deserves all the credit this time around.
On the topic of Monthly Contests, there’s just a slight decline in forum activity. November was kind of a boring month though, so we’re starting off December with a new and improved Monthly Contest system.
What does this system improve, you ask? Well, there should be more opportunities for everyone to earn OS points from a Monthly Contest. Just wait until tomorrow since I’m too lazy to explain in full detail.
Moving onto Battle of the Bands, there’s really not much to say about it.
(10-31-2018, 09:38 AM)LucentTear Wrote: If no bands are made this month, I have to close down the event in December and come up with something else. This leaves with Monthly Contests being the only recurring competitive event, and competition is what drives the Event Point System.
I’m just gonna close it like I promised, but I’m really not sure about adding another event to take its’ place aside from more Limited Events. I feel the Monthly Contests do justice for now, we’re struggling enough to just write all of this info down anyways.
Maybe we should just work on all of the drafts for next year’s contests in advance so we don’t have to worry about it so much. We do have some of the themes decided, but that I cannot release just yet.
There will be a new Limited Event that will be released at the beginning of next month. I’m still writing the document at the moment, but I promise it’ll be something fun, interesting, and a slice of awkward to do.
Just bear with me because I really want to play around with these events a little. And if it’s something that people enjoy, I might bring it back for next year and what not.
Lately I've been talking to Jacob about adding the Achievement system on your forum profile for reaching some random feats on this site as well as awarding badges for the OS Beta Events. It'll take him a while to implement but I made sure if he can get it in sometime during the month.
There are some technical limitations for automatically updating a profile to earn an achievement, and this includes the same limitation that doesn't update the Members page as it should. Though it is possible to have the database update every night, it'll probably cause a bunch of server errors and no one wants to go 10 minutes without being able to save a sequence throughout the day.
Anyway, that was today’s update for events. I’m getting a little tired writing these haha.
It completely slipped our minds that we should have posted a leaderboard thread for the OS points.
Now that people are actually winning some, I will list the current contenders below.
1st
JHXC - 8 pts (Won the tiebreaker)
2nd
Firebolt391d - 8 pts
3rd
Julesvpraag - 7 pts
---
4th
XStep - 6 pts
Lumien - 6 pts
6th
Moopler Surprise - 5 pts
blobertthebob - 5 pts
UTComposer - 5 pts
9th
DarastrixCrowl - 4 pts
dcsm - 4 pts
11th
mysticswe - 3 pts
12th
korwynkim - 2 points
"But Lucent, we don't even know these people in the top 3!!11!1 This leaderboard is unfair!"
Calm yourselves. Even I feel the leaderboard isn't balanced. We're going to see how to balance the points per contest after the first three months of the OS Events.
Meanwhile, we are also trying to make more events that we can add to the point counter so that can also provide opportunities to balance the scores.
For now, pat yourself on the back if you make it on here. Thank you for participating in the OS Events!
And now, with all of the points given out, it’s time to tally up all the points to see who wins the 2018 Beta Monthly Contests!
*insert drumroll*
The winner of the 2018 Beta Monthly Contests is JHXC! Congratulations! You’ll be contacted shortly about your prizes.
The second place winner of the 2018 Beta Monthly Contests is Firebolt391d! You’ll be receiving your prizes shortly.
The third place winner of the 2018 Beta Monthly Contests is Julesvpraag! You’ll be receiving your prizes shortly.
I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who participated in the 2018 Beta Monthly Contests this year! I hope you all look forward to the 2019 Monthly Contests that will soon come out.
Lastly, in case anyone wants to listen, here were the winning sequences for each monthly contest!
October: [url=]Unknown Ambitions by Moopler Surprise[/url]
November: [url=]Autumn by blobertthebob[/url]
December (Winter): [url=]Midnight Solstice by JHXC[/url]
December (Christmas): [url=]Frosty Visits Cool, Cool Mountain by UTComposer[/url]
December (Finale): [url=]Concealed the Conclusion by XStep[/url]
Hello Online Sequencer and welcome back to the OS monthly contests!
Let me just start by saying thanks to everyone that participated in the previous contest! I am so thrilled by how popular it was! Anyway, this month’s theme will be Autumn. Good luck!
General Information
The entry period is from 11/1 ~ 11/21 (11:59 PM EST). Winners will be announced on 11/30!
While we will post general notes on every contest, please refer to the Monthly Contest announcement thread for more details on Monthly Contests themselves.
Entry limit of 2 sequences per person.
Committee members are allowed to enter the contests, but will not enter their example sequence nor will they vote for their own entry.
Sequences made prior to the current Monthly Contest are allowed, although we don’t recommend entering the same sequence in different Monthly Contests.
Making a remix of an existing song is allowed. Please make it as creative as possible while applying the contest’s theme.
The standard Online Sequencer Rules will apply and any entries violating a rule will automatically be disqualified.
CommitteeNotes
Autumn is definitely a trickier feel to get, as it’s not often attributed to music. On top of that, depending on where in the world you live, your autumn may be different from others’.
For example, I’m lucky enough to live in a temperate deciduous forest, which is a fancy way of saying that I get to see nature’s one last brilliant show before the cold onset of winter.
Where the leaves on the trees all turn hues of yellow, orange, and red and fall to the ground, lighting wherever the go ablaze with their fiery hues. This is my autumn.
Based on this, I would describe autumn music as follows: slow and calm with a touch of somberness and a pinch of awe.
Autumn is something I have tried many times to capture in music, as it's my favorite part of the year and I have a lot of familiarity with it, due to living in a deciduous area.
As Kirbyderp said, it's certainly quite tricky, but here's my best description.
I envision something melancholy, adventurous and tranquil, with a bit of brilliance and an epic vibe as the song progresses, as more and more leaves turn and light the skies on fire with their brilliant colors. Towards the end you could have a slightly ominous, cold and almost foreboding undertone, as winter approaches.
Vibraphones, flutes, acoustic/jazz guitars and synths are instruments I attribute with autumnal music. But it's up to you what to do; this is just my personal preference.
##887444
This is a song I made previously with the intention of capturing the vibe of autumn. I think it's my best attempt at it and works well as an example sequence. The beginning is reminiscent of the end of summer, but quickly transitions to an autumnal somberness.
![[Image: jan2019.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/484479777508687892/536681947280179200/jan2019.png)
![[Image: avatar_2740.png?dateline=1534443788]](https://onlinesequencer.net/forum/uploads/avatars/avatar_2740.png?dateline=1534443788){kind=avatar}
Hello everyone and welcome back! It’s officially time to kick off the 2019 Monthly Contests! I hope that you’re all ready!![[Image: avatar_7666.png?dateline=1505485634]](https://onlinesequencer.net/forum/uploads/avatars/avatar_7666.png?dateline=1505485634){kind=avatar}
I decided to try my hand at composing atonal music.![[Image: present.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/484479777508687892/518234366128816158/present.png)
![[Image: avatar_1632.png?dateline=1537691382]](https://onlinesequencer.net/forum/uploads/avatars/avatar_1632.png?dateline=1537691382){kind=avatar}
It’s that time of year to spread some of that Christmas spirit!![[Image: present2.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/484479777508687892/518501668007051287/present2.png)
![[Image: dec2018.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/484092584193556534/515289585488625686/dec2018.png)
![[Image: avatar_14333.jpg?dateline=1543410744]](https://onlinesequencer.net/forum/uploads/avatars/avatar_14333.jpg?dateline=1543410744){kind=avatar}
The third theme is 
![[Image: nov2018.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/484092584193556534/504446548252557342/nov2018.png)
![[Image: avatar_19360.png?dateline=1539748353]](https://onlinesequencer.net/forum/uploads/avatars/avatar_19360.png?dateline=1539748353){kind=avatar}
Autumn is something I have tried many times to capture in music, as it's my favorite part of the year and I have a lot of familiarity with it, due to living in a deciduous area.