Question about listing U170118PI (SINGER/SONGWRITER-Style, PIANO-BASED INSTRUMENTAL CUES)

[johncolumbo]

Does anyone know if listing U170118PI is looking for the track to be similar to only the accompaniment part of the references or should there be a melody line?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I hope everyone is doing great.

New Listing SINGER/SONGWRITER-Style, PIANO-BASED INSTRUMENTAL CUES are needed for a $250, Direct Placement in a TV Show. They’re looking for Down-To-Mid Tempo Instrumental Cues that are and in the stylistic range of the references below:

“When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekzHIouo8Q4

“Hello” by Adele:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQHsXMglC9A

“All of Me ” by John Legend:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=450p7goxZqg

Although the references have vocals, this request is for Instrumentals only.
Please submit well-crafted, emotionally moving Piano-based Instrumental Cues that sound like they’d work well in a scene about the down side of love; losing someone, heartbreak, etc. Simple is better for this pitch. They’re not looking for Composer of the Year so much as music that nails the mood and emotion. If you’re playing like Liberace, you’re probably overdoing it Your performance should have solid musicianship from start to finish, so please avoid anything that sounds MIDI-driven or obviously quantized. If you’re using a virtual piano, please make sure your piano sounds natural and real. Piano should be your primary instrument, however, you can also add other light accompaniment like a cello, strings or acoustic guitar as well.

All submissions should be approximately 90 seconds in length (give or take), and have a Non-faded ending. Please do NOT copy or rip off the referenced music in any way, shape, or form. Use it only as a general guide for the tone, texture, and vibe. Broadcast Quality is needed (great sounding home recordings are fine).

All submissions must be received no later than 11:59PM (PST) on Wednesday, January 18, 2017. TAXI #U170118PI

[Paulie]

I wonder the same. The A La's are generally piano and voice, so instrumental would just be piano. I'm submitting to this one, will be doing a slight piano melody, basically using the top voice of my chords in some sort of motivic way. 90 seconds is enough time to get a verse, chorus, bridge chorus in.

[johncolumbo]

Thanks for your thoughts Paulie!

[Len911]

A song that works well for film and TV is one that, like an instrumental cue, uses melody, chords, pace, and rhythm to evoke a single mood or energy level.

Your song’s instrumental track, minus the vocal, is a stand-alone piece of music that can be in scenes, commercials, promo spots, and trailers.

Once you have your song bed, you can create instrumental cues of different lengths, add or mute instruments to vary the texture and dynamics, or replace the lead vocal with an instrument.

http://robinfrederick.com/songwriting-for-film-tv/

I suppose technically, a chord is a number of melodies. However if those melodies are all in accordance,lol, or same rhythm, very boring, though good (backing track) for supporting a melody that has it's own unique rhythm. The only thing more boring is probably a drone? I suppose the second quote doesn't support my theory of needing a "melody", however, it probably isn't specific to a "singer-songwriter style piano instrumental cue". When would a singer not sing a melody that had a unique rhythm?
Maybe chant or choral, but that isn't singer-songwriter style. Just my 2 cents.

[admin]

Go with melody lite. In other words, don't replace every note a vocal would do, and don't do just block chords. Find a middle ground that gives it some melody without sounding like elevator music. Give it some interest and movement without sounding cheesy.

HTH,
Michael

[johncolumbo]

Thank you for the clarification Michael.