Categories
Contests

Greg Scheer: a win-win situation

In a previous post, I complained (okay, whined) about being a runner-up and/or outright loser. But it seems my luck has changed.

This week I received word that I won the Top Golf theme song contest with my irritatingly catchy “Bring It On!” Even as I was still gloating about that big win, contemplating how many games $100 will buy at the Top Golf entertainment center in Chicago, and eating free pizza from my Google Me winnings, I found out that I came in fifth place in the Celldweller remix contest. Normally I would consider fifth place a beyond-consolation prize, but in this case I was pretty pleased. There were 80 entries and I was pretty far out of my stylistic comfort zone, so fifth place is, er, the best it’s gonna get. Thanks to everyone who took the time to go to the FiXT Remix website to vote for my song. I’ll share the prize in the form of a little extra distortion in my next recording, using the Ohmicide:Melohman distortion plugin I won as a prize.

Categories
Demos Psalms

Rest in the Lord (Psalm 127)

My friend Dave Stuntz of Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church in Durham, NC is planning to use my Psalm 127 song “Rest in the Lord” this Sunday and asked if I had a demo he could play his musicians. Indeed, I did not. I have a video of me yacking about the song in a Calvin new song chapel, and though I do play the song at the end of the video, it’s not something I would put my own musicians through, never mind Dave’s musicians.

So I decided to take the opportunity to record a quick demo of the song. It was going to be strictly a one-take affair, but you know how it goes:  a cord crackles, it feels empty without the bass, boy it could really use a shaker and some background vocals…

This is also a good opportunity to update the music. I’ve made a few small changes recently, so if you have an older version of the song destroy it without delay and download the new new PDFs of the leadsheet or vocal/piano score.

Then we’ll wait for a report from Dave about how it went, and maybe he’ll even be willing to share a recording from their service.

Categories
Church

Shout to the North – fugue intro thingy

I’m helping with worship at the WCRC event in G.R.usalem this week. On Wednesday morning there’s a band and a string quintet leading the worship service. I thought it would be nice to put them together at some point in the service. After all, the theme of the conference is “unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace.” Shouldn’t that include praise bands and string quintets joining together in sweet harmony?

So I wrote an intro for the Delirious song “Shout to the North” that bats the main theme back and forth between the strings in fugal fashion. Once they finish the intro, the band comes in. The strings come back with a more traditional pop string line when the refrain comes around.

I normally don’t post arrangements of copyrighted material, but this bears such little resemblance to the original that I thought Martin Smith would be okay with it. Martin, take a listen to the MP3 or look at the PDF score and let me know if you want me to take it down, okay?

Categories
Contests

Get out the vote!

Hey everyone,

Usually this blog is strictly reserved for tasty musical morsels in MP3 or PDF-size bites. But I’m breaking my own rule tonight to tell you about an opportunity for you to help push a recent post from also-ran obscurity into the limelight of contest success.

You’ll remember that I recently entered a remix contest, in which I turned a Celldweller (hard-hitting, angst-filled techno rock) song into a laid-back lounge version. Well, it seems that users of the FiXT Remix community found my rendition interesting enough to place it in the top 20 of 82 entries. But now the hard work begins. We have to get out the vote! If enough people vote for my song I will be included in a compilation, gain respect in the techno community, and most importantly I’ll win stuff.

So you need to put down what you’re doing. Right. Now. And go to http://www.fixtremix.com/news/v/vote-for-celldweller-quot-the-best-its-gonna-get-quot-winners/170/  to vote for the “Lounge Mix by Greg Scheer.” There will be extra goodwill for anyone who tweets this, tells a friend, or places an announcement in their church bulletin.

While you’re heading over to FiXT Remix to vote for my song, you can take a listen to the newly mastered version of the song.

Categories
Contests Production music

TopGolf Theme Song Contest

Faithful followers of this music blog know that I love nothing more than a good song contest. I’m not sure if it’s the thrill of the chase, the fun of donning a completely different musical guise for each contest, or the quirky satisfaction of adding “winner of the Robot Dance Song Contest” to my resume–but I can’t say no to a contest.

My latest entry into the ring is the TopGolf Online Game Theme Song Contest. Listen to my rousing entry: Bring It On! My goal was to create a 30 second spot that would sound good as a radio spot on a classic rock station. If it’s successful, I’ll move into writing music for beer commercials–where the real money is.

By the way, if you’re wondering about the brawny man who does the voiceover in the middle of the song–it’s me.

Categories
Uncategorized

If You’re Weary

Here is a simple little song based on Matthew 11:28 that I started in Uganda, finished when I got back to the US, and premiered in Singapore. Now I’ve finally recorded it.

The trick about recording is that it’s never good enough. This was going to be a quick and dirty demo, but I kept fussing with it as I’ve been learning more about mixing and mastering. Finally, I had to say “enough’s enough.” So here’s the gussied up demo of “If You’re Weary.”

Categories
Colin

All Over the Map with Colin

My across-the-pond collaborator, Colin Gordon-Farleigh, has just signed two new singers. One is a young woman named Jennifer Douglas who did such a nice job with If I Had Wings, and the other is a male country singer whom I haven’t yet heard. Naturally, they need new songs, so I just finished up two new settings of Colin’s lyrics.

The first one is a straight up country song called “I’m Just a Country Boy at Heart.” This is me channeling my inner pick-up-drivin’-cowboy. (He’s in there; he just doesn’t come out very often.) Check out the MP3 or PDF.

The second is a smooth pop/jazz number named “Where Did You Go?” I hear it as sort of a Sade or Norah Jones number, and give it my sultry best on vocals. On the demo you’ll also hear my attempt to mimic Wes Montgomery on guitar. It’s easy to take performers for granted until you try to do what they do. Listen to the MP3 or try out your own version with the PDF lead sheet.

Categories
Contests electronic

Your Perfect World

Now for something–as Monty Python would say–completely different. Usually I post my own compositions on this blog, but this time I’ll be posting an arrangement of sorts. A remix, to be exact.

You’ve probably heard pop songs that have been released, and then various remixes are issued at later dates–dance remixes, extended club versions, etc. In the world of electronica some artists make their “stems” (raw tracks from the recording) available so that fans and DJs can freely create remixes. One such case is Celldweller, who not only made their stems available online, but are hosting a remix contest.

How could I resist?

You can get a feel for the original song from this YouTube video. Then take a listen to how most people remixed the song–they usually lean a bit heavier toward the dance/techno side of things, but it’s still similar to the original. Me? I couldn’t leave well enough alone. I decided to recast the song as if it were a performance by a band of lounge lizards from the 1950s. Go to the FiXT Remix website where my rendition resides. While you’re there, why don’t you go ahead and vote a bunch of times to bump up my ranking.

Categories
Art Music

Dinosaur

dinosaur logo

Long before I became the composer of music my mother generally enjoys, I was the composer of music my mother generally responded to with non-committal accolades like “Did it sound like you wanted it to?” (I.e. “Please tell me they played it wrong.”) Some call my early compositions “scary monster music.” I like to think of it as street cred.

But let’s not dally on questions of whether I’ve sold out or seen the light; let’s get right to the music. One of my compositions from my grad school days was called “Dinosaur,” so named because it was thin on one end, much much thicker in the middle, and thin again on the other end.  It’s an aleatoric composition, which means that instead of reading from a score that tells exactly which pitches to play and when, the musicians are given small chunks of music and freedom to improvise within certain parameters. For example, “repeat this phrase for the next 20 seconds” or “improvise on this scale in duet with the Violin 2.” Perhaps the most famous example of aleatory is Terry Riley’s In C.

Take a listen to the Carnegie Mellon University New Music Ensemble taking on a scary monster, in this case a Dinosaur.

Categories
Colin

If Only I Had Wings

A song that I wrote with Colin Gordon-Farleigh in 2008, If Only I Had Wings, has now been recorded by Jennifer Douglas. She has a beautiful voice and does a great job with the song. But wait, there’s more! There’s also a video of the song. Check it out: