Music Production Tips: Challenge yourself

I wanted to share this fun concept with all you music makers and others who might be interested. There's probably many events similar to this out there, but this one in particular was introduced to me by my friend @kimik. It educates you. It connects you with other producers. It can also help you overcome writer's block.

I'm talking about KVR's One Synth Challenge. The idea is simple: you have one month to make as good sounding track as you can by using just one freeware synth. Everybody has to use the same one, chosen by OSC. No samples are allowed. The composition has to be original. You can freely choose your DAW, but all the effects have to be native or freeware. After finishing the track, you start voting. It is mandatory to vote, if you want to participate. There are some very nice prizes for the winners.

Today there are so many different cool toys, methods, samples etc. available for us, that it can become a problem. This event challenges you to squeeze the most out of a single synth with limited amount of other tools. This is a very good way to learn about sound synthesis and sound in general. It also encourages you to focus on all the crucial elements of composition and arrangement. Also, you might get some great new ideas that you can use in your other productions.

Obviously OSC is just one of the many ways to challenge yourself, but it's a well organized event and has a nice community. If this sounds interesting, go and try it out.

Links:

Main site: https://sites.google.com/site/kvrosc/
Rules: https://sites.google.com/site/kvrosc/rules
Forum: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4305672