As someone who is a big fan of the monthly SOTM/BOTM, it never entered my mind to post an original song. Next time I will, but it's likely to turn up less participants. The richness of those monthly collections is that there are by definition several, sometimes hundreds of existing versions of the song. It's usually, but not always, a song most have heard. My first choice was El Choclo which I first heard done by Earl Bostic. It appeared to be a good exercise in tango style. Nature Boy was a great choice with the haunting melody and multiple great versions to inspire creativity.
I finally listened to 15 or so random contributions from wikiloops in several genres. Ward has done a good job of playing over these tunes, but it's hard for me to imagine asking everyone to play with them, and perhaps that adds some strength to his arguments, although as we know, few players here are formally educated in the context Ward talks about. The thing about wikiloops music is that unless you pick a genre like ambience, they sound like the genre they're judged to be. If we want an R&B challenge, doesn't it make sense to use a track by Donald "Duck" Dunn, rather than one that emulates (not copies) his playing, often on a computer? I think wikiloops is a great idea and the music is agreeable and well done. But it's logical that fewer would rise to the challenge of tracks like those. I did ask about doing a Rubato of the Month and an Original of the Month. I'd be happy to kick either one off. In December or January.
I finally listened to 15 or so random contributions from wikiloops in several genres. Ward has done a good job of playing over these tunes, but it's hard for me to imagine asking everyone to play with them, and perhaps that adds some strength to his arguments, although as we know, few players here are formally educated in the context Ward talks about. The thing about wikiloops music is that unless you pick a genre like ambience, they sound like the genre they're judged to be. If we want an R&B challenge, doesn't it make sense to use a track by Donald "Duck" Dunn, rather than one that emulates (not copies) his playing, often on a computer? I think wikiloops is a great idea and the music is agreeable and well done. But it's logical that fewer would rise to the challenge of tracks like those. I did ask about doing a Rubato of the Month and an Original of the Month. I'd be happy to kick either one off. In December or January.