Hi!

This is a music composing jam where the goal is to compose an original piece of music that imitates the style of a specific game's soundtrack! The selected theme is Pokemon

Why imitate a style?

Imitating a musical style helps you understand elements of other styles you like and dislike, and it helps you practice skills you might be less comfortable with. Practicing imitation will also help you become better at learning new genres, and it will help you understand genres you might be less familiar with.  You also practice your creativity (as strange as that may sound for something like imitating), because you will learn to understand more options/approaches on how you can be creative by deriving from what you have learned. It is also a fun challenge to try and imitate certain styles, maybe you'll even get the opportunity to create an original work for a franchise you really like!

Goal:

Compose an original piece of music that imitates the style of the theme (Remixes of music from the franchise are not allowed!)

Theme (What to Imitate):

Pokemon (any generation)

Art by AlecXhairex

Art is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND

Pokemon is a franchise famous for being a monster catching rpg where the monsters can be your friends, but also, it is famous for it's music! Even if you are unfamiliar with the franchise, I recommend you try creating a track in the style of it! Be sure to check the "Resources and References" thread in the community tab if you need some help researching!

This jam is ranked to encourage participation and feedback, but there is no competition. You are a winner if you complete a piece of music!

There will be an option of "accepting constructive criticism" before you submit, it is highly advised that you click "yes". The point of this is to try and break the barrier that leads to people not leaving constructive criticism.

Voting Criteria:

Imitation of Style:

• Does the piece effectively imitate the style of the game(s) presented?

Composition:

• Is the composition effective at communicating what the musician wants to (Pacing, Structure, Tension and Release, etc.)  

**This is not where you should judge simplicity/complexity/difficulty (judge that in enjoyment instead); Composition should mainly be judged on how effective a musical piece communicates its message.

Mixing Quality:

•  How well is the music mixed? Is the mix consistent with what it is trying to imitate? Is there good balance (overall volume of how everything fits), Frequency balance (Of the sounds that are present, do they clash with each other in the frequency spectrum, or are they too dominant/lacking in certain frequency regions), dynamics (Does the mix feel flat? Do the changes [or lack of changes] in volume variation for either individual notes or entire segments feel detrimental to the track?), and depth/stereo image (reverb/delay, ambience, panning, etc.)?
• Basically, is the balance, frequency balance, dynamics, and depth good or tasteful for the music?

Enjoyment: 

• Did you enjoy it? Are there elements in the music you really liked or found interesting? 

Judge Voting Criteria:

Quality of Feedback on Others Submissions:

 This is a criteria only I will be judging towards the end of the jam (results will be delayed slightly).

**My criteria for how I will be judging this: 

• Are you highlighting parts of an Artist's submission you feel they "got right"?
• Are you giving constructive criticism that could help an Artist improve? (if the option "accepting constructive criticism"  is selected)
  
• How many people's submissions did you comment on?
• Is the feedback understandable and easily put into practice?

This criteria is made to encourage leaving feedback on each other's submissions. An important part of Music Jams is improving your ability to make music, and feedback is one of the best things for pointing you in the right direction. 

Etiquette and Rules:

Jam Etiquette:

• You are expected to participate in listening to other's submissions.
• You are expected to listen to the full track an artist submits (no skipping, no fast forwarding), even if you do not like it at some parts.
• Please do not use AI to generate text or images (or music), most people are not comfortable with this. You will likely negatively impact your submission's rating if you do this too.

Rules:

• Be respectful to others (and try to give benefit of the doubt if something seems mean/fake/argumentative, it is most often not.) 
• One submission per person
• Your submission must be at least 30 seconds long, but no longer than 8 minutes. Make 1 or 2 tracks
• The majority of your work must be worked on during the duration of the jam.
• Upload your music file in ONE or more common audio format (FLAC, MP3, WAV, OGG, or M4A/AAC)
• A screenshot or recording of your DAW/workstation is required (To prove the music is made by you).
• Do not make your submission as an advertisement to promote an affiliated commercial product (But a non-affiliated promotion is fine if you want to test out a new VST you got or something similar).  Ask me permission if you would like an exception, this is a nuanced topic
• The use of Generative AI or other Generative tools is forbidden (Also, please do not use generated images for album art). 

It is highly recommended that you link a streaming platform (Youtube, Bandcamp, etc.). If you are running low on time, you can update the link post-submission period (but your audio files must be uploaded prior to the deadline)