We are happy to announce the starting of a new contest. The aim of this competition will be to create the most realistic melody on both Sarod and Bansuri using only SwarShala.
Grab a copy of the software (a demo will work just fine), familiarize yourself with its features and then let your creativity and musicality flow.
We are offering prize money, as well as the opportunity to join Swar Systems for content creation. Take up the challenge!
The SwarShala Melodies contest aims at rewarding the person making the most realistic melodies out of the SwarShala Indian music software.
To participate, you need to create 2 beautiful melodies - one for Bansuri and one for Sarod - using SwarShala in the Sequence view panel.
Only submissions properly uploaded through the Submit your files tab will be considered! Do not email us your files!
Melodies can be of any kind, not necessarily loops. Duration of each can be between 10 seconds to 1 minute. Quality is the most important aspect, not length.
If you don't own SwarShala, you can still participate using the SwarShala Demo. It will work just as well. Contact us if your copy has expired and we'll extend it some more days.
The deadline for submitting your creations is the 25th of July at midnight IST.
We will then evaluate all submissions and decide who wins the contest.
The prize for this contest is $200 cash. We'll also be offering the best applicants the opportunity to create content for our products against proper retribution.
Here is some advice on how to create your melodies and achieve the best sound.
First of all, you need SwarShala up and running. If you don't have the software yet, you can download a demo from our Demos page (email us if it has expired). If you already have SwarShala, make sure you are running the latest version - v 4.1.1 - mentioned in the Help > About dialog. If not, download the update from our Updates page.
Now you can run SwarShala and go to the COMPOSE section. There you will be able to select your instrument and the raga you want to use.
Before you start, you should check out the First Steps section in the SwarShala user guide. That will give you a full explanation on how to create sequences in SwarShala and how to customize them. You should then have a good idea on how to express your creativity in the software.
Now here are some additional tips:
The key in making realistic Bansuri melodies is a good combination of pitch modulations, expression and vibrato. For pitch modulation, combine short meends between notes/cells (Add Meend option) and more intricate curves using the Set Meend function (save them as Templates so you can reuse them on other cells). Similarly, use Volume envelope to progressively increase the breath flow. And LFO (vibrato) on notes that are kept for a long time.
Sarod melodies will also benefit from harmonious pitch modulations and light vibrato. The expression is managed instead by emphasis of the starting note; no modulation after that.
But a key factor in realistic Sarod melodies is the proper use of Chikari. Chikaris are the 3 strings the player hits to mark rhythm and echo the base note. In Sarod base, this stroke is named "X" and you can type it as is inside a cell.
You need to specify here the path to the audio file (.wav or .mp3) of the melody you created. You can use the File > Export as Audio function in SwarShala.
You need to specify here the path to the Bansuri or Sarod base in which you created the melody. These base files are located in C:\ProgramData\SwarShala\Bases on Windows and in /Library/Application Support/SwarShala/Bases on Mac. Bansuri base is the name of the raga used (like Durga.ssb), Sarod base is Strings + the raga used (like Strings-Malkauns.ssb).