Creativity COMPETITION - what can YOU do with just a sine wave and white noise?
Music is all about creativity. But do you need unlimited resources to be creative? Or can you work wonders with just a sine wave and white noise?
This Creativity Competition is now closed. If you are a subscriber to the Record-Producer.com Newsletter, you will have received the results on April 17, 2006.
Take a listen to this track...
Like it? OK, it's a bit 1980's but we can live with that. The entire track was made using just a 1 kHz sine wave and white noise as the source material. No instruments or synthesizers were involved.
Now although this track is quite good, considering the source material, I don't think it is as good as could be achieved by ever-resourceful Record-Producer.com readers.
So here is a competition. The prize is fame and glory, and a photo of you and your studio published prominently on this site. It could be the start of your path to fame and fortune!
The task is this - create a soundscape or piece of music lasting around 30 - 60 seconds using only a 1 kHz sine wave and white noise as your source material.
You may not use any other sound source. You may use any processing technique you like.
In the spirit of true competition, please DO NOT CHEAT!! You won't be able to sleep at night if you do.
When complete, please e-mail your track to david.mellor@record-producer.com
The deadline for submissions is Friday March 31, 2006. All tracks will be published on this site in the following week's newsletter, so you need to get started right now. It shouldn't take you more than an hour or so to show off what you can do.
Summary of rules and guidelines...
- Use only a 1 kHz sine wave and white noise as your source material.
- Use any kind of processing.
- Your track should last between 30 - 60 seconds.
- Your track can be a soundscape or piece of music.
- Encode into standard MP3 format and e-mail to david.mellor@record-producer.com
- You are advised to include your name and the title of the track in the metadata of the MP3 file, but this is not compulsory.
- You may also send a photo of youself in your studio, together with a description of how the track was made. You don't have to do this yet - I'll ask you for these items if you are placed highly in the results.
You will be wanting some source material, and here it is, in .WAV format (right-click, save target as)...
For a little further inspiration, and to set a benchmark of sorts, here is my attempt. It took me about an hour. Anyone care to guess what processing techniques I used? (By the way, I only used the 1 kHz tone - I didn't bother with the white noise).
Good luck!
By the way, the copyright in your work remains yours.
“It isn't about equipment and software -it's all about knowing how to use it”
Does your recording need analog magnetism?
A RecordProducer.com reader wants to take advantage of the wonderful warm sound of analog tape. But he doesn't know what it sounds like. Read more...
A RecordProducer.com reader wants to take advantage of the wonderful warm sound of analog tape. But he doesn't know what it sounds like. Read more... How to start your recordings in a clean and professional way
Your recordings need to sound professional right from the first millisecond. Four audio examples demonstrate this VERY clearly. Read more...
Your recordings need to sound professional right from the first millisecond. Four audio examples demonstrate this VERY clearly. Read more... Mixing: Where to start? - Set all of your tracks to the same level?
If you don't know where to start mixing a multitrack recording, then often having some plan, even a crazy one, is better than having no plan at all. Read more...
If you don't know where to start mixing a multitrack recording, then often having some plan, even a crazy one, is better than having no plan at all. Read more... Can you print a vinyl record on a 3D printer?
Amazingly, the answer to this question is - almost - yes! Read more...
Amazingly, the answer to this question is - almost - yes! Read more... Does your work carry your fingerprints?
Could anyone check out your work without being told who it is by and know within seconds that it is yours? Read more...
Could anyone check out your work without being told who it is by and know within seconds that it is yours? Read more... Avid and Abbey Road fall victim to surprisingly bad web audio
Avid's recent webinar about Abbey Road's upgrade to Pro Tools HDX featured the worst audio I have heard for a long time. Who is to blame? Read more...
Avid's recent webinar about Abbey Road's upgrade to Pro Tools HDX featured the worst audio I have heard for a long time. Who is to blame? Read more... "The Teaser!" by Laids Cretins des Alpes
The Album 'MORTEL!' (KILLER!) was written and composed essentially by the Dr Droopi since the end of the recordings sessions for the last album 'keskonvafair?'.... Read more...
The Album 'MORTEL!' (KILLER!) was written and composed essentially by the Dr Droopi since the end of the recordings sessions for the last album 'keskonvafair?'.... Read more... YouTube Review: What happens when you don't press the pad button
This YouTube video has a slight problem with the sound - the gain is set far too high and the sound is horribly clipped. Read more...
This YouTube video has a slight problem with the sound - the gain is set far too high and the sound is horribly clipped. Read more... The importance of a neat and tidy fade
Do you use fades in your work? If you work in radio or TV sound, you'll use them all the time. They had better be neat! Read more...
Do you use fades in your work? If you work in radio or TV sound, you'll use them all the time. They had better be neat! Read more... How to earn royalties from your live gigs
If you write your own songs, you might be able to get royalties for your live performances. Why settle for just one income stream? Read more...
If you write your own songs, you might be able to get royalties for your live performances. Why settle for just one income stream? Read more... Q: Why does my mixer have a 48 volt switch?
A RecordProducer.com reader wonders what the phantom power switch is for, and how it might improve the signal from the microphones. Read more...
A RecordProducer.com reader wonders what the phantom power switch is for, and how it might improve the signal from the microphones. Read more... "Treasin Compilation Mixtape Vol.1" by 2G-GottiCapon
I started in 2004 just writing songs for myself and other people. When hearing from others what I wrote the lyrics really inspired me to perform myself that's when I started recording my own music 2007.... Read more...
I started in 2004 just writing songs for myself and other people. When hearing from others what I wrote the lyrics really inspired me to perform myself that's when I started recording my own music 2007.... Read more... Mixing: Where to start? - The vocal?
Since the vocal is usually the most important part of a recording, it makes a lot of sense to start mixing with that. What? How can you mix just one track? Read more...
Since the vocal is usually the most important part of a recording, it makes a lot of sense to start mixing with that. What? How can you mix just one track? Read more... Comment of the week: Just how hard is it to 'get into the groove'?
A RecordProducer.com reader, like so many of us, finds it difficult to get into the groove. Is groove a lost art? Read more...
A RecordProducer.com reader, like so many of us, finds it difficult to get into the groove. Is groove a lost art? Read more... What is the nastiest equipment you have ever had?
The range of great home recording equipment available these days is truly superb. But occasionally we all buy something that just wasn't worth the money. What's your experience? Read more...
The range of great home recording equipment available these days is truly superb. But occasionally we all buy something that just wasn't worth the money. What's your experience? Read more... The ultimate portable vocal booth?
In the quest for ever-drier vocals, how can you achieve the ultimate dead zone in your studio? Read more...
In the quest for ever-drier vocals, how can you achieve the ultimate dead zone in your studio? Read more... Buy Dusty Springfield's microphone - vintage tube AKG C12!
The microphone used by Dusty Springfield on many of her hit records is up for sale. Vintage tube AKG C12 microphones don't come up for sale very often. This could be your big chance! Read more...
The microphone used by Dusty Springfield on many of her hit records is up for sale. Vintage tube AKG C12 microphones don't come up for sale very often. This could be your big chance! Read more... "Sysmobomb" by The Engines Of Love
Hi everybody, this song is part of an album which will be out soon.... Read more...
Hi everybody, this song is part of an album which will be out soon.... Read more... Record in a professional studio for £135 ($200) a day?
A pro recording studio for £135 a day (around $200 USD), with access to just about any exotic gear you could possibly want - could this possibly be true? Read more...
A pro recording studio for £135 a day (around $200 USD), with access to just about any exotic gear you could possibly want - could this possibly be true? Read more... If your microphone had no diaphragm, how much better could it sound?
Every microphone used in pro audio has a diaphragm. Suppose that a new technology could detect sound in a non-invasive way. Surely that would be much more accurate than the mics we now have? Read more...
Every microphone used in pro audio has a diaphragm. Suppose that a new technology could detect sound in a non-invasive way. Surely that would be much more accurate than the mics we now have? Read more... - What information do you need on your CD (to make money)?
Getting the music done is one thing, getting the artwork finished is another. But what about all the other information a CD needs? - Is it possible to *produce* classical music?
Classical music just needs to be recorded, doesn't it? Well in some cases it really can be produced. - M-Audio Studiophile AV 30 monitors - Could they be Auratones for the digital age?
Can an $89 pair of monitors really be an effective tool in the recording studio? Or are they only good for 'media creation? - Can a pianist's wrong note played in 1962 be fixed in 2013?
A wrong note that has resonated for more than half a century is fixed - without the aid of a time machine. - Are certain mic/preamp combinations special?
An RP reader finds that a certain combination of microphone and preamp works much better than he expected... - Why haven't you had a Hot 100 hit yet?
Anyone with a home recording studio now has the means to create a hit. So why haven't you yet? - Can guitarists be trusted with their own equipment?
What sounds good to the electric guitar player doesn't necessarily sound good to the audience. A live sound engineer explains... - What is your main concern if your interest is voice over?
So you're setting yourself up in the voice over business. What should you think about before anything else? - Can you print a vinyl record on a 3D printer?
Amazingly, the answer to this question is - almost - yes! - An interesting microphone setup for violinist Nigel Kennedy
If you're miking one of the finest violinists in the world, should you point the mic at the double bass instead? - To mic or not to mic the backline? That is an interesting question raising fascinating further possibilities
An RP reader fears losing cabinet resonances if the backline of his band is miked up through the PA. But perhaps it is innovation in live sound that has been lost over the years. - When working in a new theatre, always find out where the tielines go
Any theatre would have tielines from the stage to the sound control booth. But from one side of the booth's window to the other? - Top producer 'steals' song as part of massive publicity stunt
A major producer has 'stolen' a song from a pair of unknowns. A crime, or normal everyday life in the music business? - If AKG makes a USB microphone, does it mean that the time has come for USB mics?
AKG makes some of the best mics in the world. AKG also makes a USB mic. A great USB mic? - Would you record vocals like this?
Two singers, one microphone. Could it cause an Internet sensation? - Hum - Can you hear it, even if you can't hear it?
If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound (if no-one is around to hear it?) If you can't hear hum, then is there no hum? - Preparation for mastering: Don't do any mastering yourself
Are you planning on getting your tracks mastered? Then the first rule of preparation is not to master the tracks yourself. - A hum generator plug-in? We want one!
You can get a plug-in to emulate virtually any analog audio process these days. But what about hum? Where's the plug-in for that? - An inside view of the weirdest recording session ever, at the BBC!
Take a 300-year old bass line, a cello player with just seven days' experience, and some highly uncool-looking musicians... and make a recording that is really top of the pops for weird! - Would you put your head inside a piano? No? Then why place a microphone there? [with video]
![Would you put your head inside a piano? No? Then why place a microphone there? [with video]](http://www.record-producer.com/i2/julia-lezhneva.jpeg "Would you put your head inside a piano? No? Then why place a microphone there? [with video]")
Sometimes unusual microphone placements can capture an interesting sound. In this instance, the sound is completely wrong.
Earlier discussion on this topic...
Eugène McLaren, Springs, South-Africa
Hey this is a great Idea! Good luck to all the participants! Are we allowed to use echo's Pitch Shifting to make any tune? :o)
Wednesday March 22, 2006
michaeL, Calgary
ps: will we get to hear each others, that'd be cool too...
Wednesday March 22, 2006
michaeL
This should be a regular thing... every month or two.. wow... s'fun!!!!!!!
Wednesday March 22, 2006
David Mellor, Thame, UK
I'd just like to say that the entries that are coming in so far are incredible - much better than mine! Keep them coming!
Tuesday March 21, 2006
David Mellor, Thame, UK
The deadline is Friday March 31, 2006.
To explain the prize for Sean, if you win, you get your work featured prominently on Record-Producer.com. There are a lot of industry pros reading this site. If they hear your work and like what you can do....
Tuesday March 21, 2006
Sean, UK
Afternoon David,
Theres no mention of what the prize is – and I’m afraid ‘Fame and Glory’ doesn’t quite cut the mustard!! In what capacity does one get fame and glory?
(keeping my eyes on the prize...)
Thanks
Tuesday March 21, 2006
Anonymous, Calgary, canada
is there a deadline :?
Tuesday March 21, 2006
Alex
I reckon that David's attempt was mostly done on a delay unit.
Monday March 20, 2006
David Mellor, Thame, UK
Yes, please re-pitch and combine. Anything other than using a different original sound source.
You could repitch and combine as in additive synthesis. That would be a challenge.
Monday March 20, 2006
Lee-Aaron Lorenz, Abingdon/Oxfordshire, UK
Im also just wondering if we are aloud to pitch shift the sine wave?
(Need to know my limitations :-) )
Monday March 20, 2006
iacovos, Athens, Greece
Great idea, a couple of questions though, can we use the 2 sounds in a sampler like halion? Also what if i make a new synth sound by pitch shifting the sine wave in different ways and adding them together,is that allowed?
cheers.
Monday March 20, 2006
louis reeves, lereeves@niacc.edu, United States
I think it is a good way to get people involved with more than just reading the articles, want to hear the winner
Monday March 20, 2006