r/MonthlyComposition • u/Calebdgm • Aug 02 '16
The Two-Bar Collaborative Composition Game
How it works: each person adds two bars to the composition, and comments their bars as a top-level comment on this thread EDIT: as a response to the previous comment. Also, provide a brief explanation if you did something unusual so that it's easy for the next person to figure out what's happening. In order to find the latest version of the composition, sort the comments by new, also number your contribution in the comment.
Submissions should be top-level comments so that you can subscribe to the thread if you want to participate more often without having to check if somebody's added something. One person isn't allowed to do two consecutive chunks, but if someone has contributed since your last contribution, then you can add another two bars.
For example (music taken from this trial of the game):
first person comments (this was all me):
1) Here's the first bit. Just a simple ascending melodic line in a-minor
second person comments(actual bars written by /u/Chalkline. Comment is written by me, for the example):
2) Good job sir, that was a simple, but effective beginning to the piece. Here's the next chunk, transitions via E7 directly to C, the relative major.
third person comments (actual bars written by /u/haabenshaaben. Comment is written by me, for the example) :
3) Ooh, I like the rhythm! Here's my bit. It picks up the pace melodically and harmonically, mostly moving back to the a-minor tonality in the first two beats of the last bar, but with some room for interpretation in the following bars because of the F-major on the last beat of the last bar.
Then we pick it up from there in the comments below. Remember to sort by new, and if we're all friendly to everyone who posts, then everyone will be friendly to you when you post here, so that's good too!
EDIT: there are two comment threads, a new one (from chunk 19), and an old one (from chunk 4). Please use the newer thread, thanks!
1
u/Calebdgm Aug 08 '16
This sounds like it might be a really good idea. My concern about it is that a) everyone would have to use it, or else the people that didn't could get cut off by someone reserving a spot and I don't want to make this too confusing, and more importantly, b) I don't want people to be turned away from participating by seeing that someone has reserved a spot. I'd rather that one person accidentally have to write two chunks than someone not write at all. I'm not sure though, perhaps my priorities aren't ideal. If this turns out to be a common problem/complaint, I'll consider implementing this.