Current Festivals

[Hilary]

I promise I'll shut up soon 

What about adaptations? - I want to do House of the Rising Sun in French - Le Penitencier - it says it's an adaptation by Johnny Hallyday in 1964 (the lyrics obviously). I much prefer the French version - c'est plus dramatique!

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_P%C3%A9nitencier

[cuthbert]

I'll let 64G have the final word, but as long as it's the same tune, I don't see why singing a different language on a traditional song wouldn't be acceptable for the fest. But if the French adaptation has a significantly different arrangement so that the tune is no longer recognizable as 'House of the Rising Sun', then I'd say it probably doesn't qualify.

[Hilary]

I'll let 64G have the final word, but as long as it's the same tune, I don't see why singing a different language on a traditional song wouldn't be acceptable for the fest. But if the French adaptation has a significantly different arrangement so that the tune is no longer recognizable as 'House of the Rising Sun', then I'd say it probably doesn't qualify.

It's the same tune but the lyrics aren't a direct translation of the English version - they are much better!

Thanks

[danieldesete]

Go for it anyway hilary  I'd love to hear you sing le pénitentier !
daniel

[Hilary]

Go for it anyway hilary  I'd love to hear you sing le pénitentier !
daniel

It's seriously difficult - not the singing, not the chords, not even the words - it's the phrasing . . . I must have sung it 60 times last night (although the E is tricky on the uke for a beginner!)

[steelguitar]

Go for it anyway hilary  I'd love to hear you sing le pénitentier !
daniel

It's seriously difficult - not the singing, not the chords, not even the words - it's the phrasing . . . I must have sung it 60 times last night (although the E is tricky on the uke for a beginner!)

You wanted me to sing this song,
But I think your version will be better anyway
I want to hear it soon!!!

Jean-Sébastien

[Hilary]

Go for it anyway hilary  I'd love to hear you sing le pénitentier !
daniel

It's seriously difficult - not the singing, not the chords, not even the words - it's the phrasing . . . I must have sung it 60 times last night (although the E is tricky on the uke for a beginner!)

You wanted me to sing this song,
But I think your version will be better anyway
I want to hear it soon!!!

Jean-Sébastien

I would indeed! - if I can gather some strength, I'll give it another go tonight . . .

[steelguitar]

Go for it anyway hilary  I'd love to hear you sing le pénitentier !
daniel

It's seriously difficult - not the singing, not the chords, not even the words - it's the phrasing . . . I must have sung it 60 times last night (although the E is tricky on the uke for a beginner!)

You wanted me to sing this song,
But I think your version will be better anyway
I want to hear it soon!!!

Jean-Sébastien

I would indeed! - if I can gather some strength, I'll give it another go tonight . . .

The time is not important, your strength yes
I am sure you will sing it perfectly when it wiil be the right moment 

Jean-Sébastien

[64Guitars]

The March / April 2014 festivals are:

Covers of songs by Howard Jones, Nik Kershaw, Depeche Mode, Icycle Works, Tears For Fears, and The Human League that were released in the 1980s.

Watch an episode of one of your favourite TV shows, then write a song about it. Or, if you prefer, you can write about a movie or mini-series.

The emphasis is on original songs but, as usual, covers are allowed as well. However, this doesn't include covers of TV Themes. Hopefully, we'll do those in a future festival. For this festival, any covers submitted should be songs that are specifically about a TV show, movie, or mini-series (see example below). You can, however, include a brief snippet of a TV theme in your original song if you like.

A great example of a song about a TV show is "The Twilight Zone" by Rush. It is based on two episodes of The Twilight Zone: "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" (first verse) and "Stopover in a Quiet Town" (second verse).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7Gz8_xshlQ

     

           

For his lyrics, Neil Peart chose to make the giant girl a boy (artistic license).

Note that lyrics which merely mention a TV show are not sufficient to qualify. The lyrics should actually be about the TV show, as in the Twilight Zone example above.

[64Guitars]

The May/June 2014 festivals are:

Covers of songs by Led Zeppelin. This does not include solo works by the members of Led Zeppelin, other bands they were in (Yardbirds, for example), nor recordings they might have played on as a guest (such as the many recordings that Jimmy Page played on as a studio musician). This festival is strictly covers of the recordings made by Led Zeppelin as a band.

Original songs or covers that feature a drone as the foundation of the song. A drone is a single note or chord played throughout the song (or most of it). It can vary in timbre but the note cannot change except in octave.

It's important that the drone is the foundation of the song rather than a mere embellishment. The challenge is to find a melody and chords that work with the drone, as opposed to recording a bunch of tracks and then adding a drone over top of them. Therefore, it's probably best to start with your drone track, then add other tracks to it, rather than leaving the drone track till later.

Usually, the drone will last through the entire song. However, that's not a requirement as long as the drone is prominent and provides the foundation of the song. For example, you might choose to exclude the drone from the chorus of your song but make it a prominent part of the verses, bridge, intro, and outro.

The drone should be prominent and easily recognizable in your song. If it's buried in the mix or only included for a few bars in the middle eight, then it really shouldn't be submitted for DroneFest.