Ragtime Composition Contest
By Mark Fontana
While surfing the web today, I came across a ragtime composition contest in which the grand prize is an upright Yamaha Disklavier. It appears that the rag must be composed using a special software package called "Crazy for Ragtime". I do not know what the capabilities of this software are; I have a feeling that it might be a simple program that lets the user cut and paste prerecorded musical phrases together (ugh!). But if it actually permits some creativity, this might be an opportunity for the talented arrangers among our readers to blow the competition away and win a Disklavier.
( Jody, you make the call as to whether or not this is appropriate
for the list. )
The flowery text below is excerpted from the contest web page:
http://www.calliope.com/about/press/yahama.html
[ Editor's Note:
[
[ I considered just listing the URL, but at least one of
[ our more talented Rag experts does not have a functional
[ Web browser. I must admit I'm skeptical of contests like
[ this, but I'll let the readers decide whether its interesting.
[
[ Jody
##### BEGIN QUOTED TEXT #####
> Subject: Ragtime composition contest
>
> Renowned Multimedia Author Robert Winter is looking for the Next Scott
> Joplin...It Could Be You!
>
> LOS ANGELES, CA - Compose the best piano rag. Win a Yamaha piano.
> Dazzle your family and friends with musical talents unbeknownst even to
> you. [ ?! ] You just can't lose with the official "Make Your Own Rag"
> contest announced simultaneously with the release of Calliope's newest
> CD-ROM title, Robert Winter's Crazy for Ragtime.
>
> Crazy for Ragtime is all about America's love affair with ragtime music
> and American life during the early twentieth century. Cheerful and
> upbeat, the title will incite users to tap their feet, wriggle in their
> seats, and finally to get up and dance. "The rag composition contest is
> just the icing on the cake to the fun that people of all ages will have
> with Crazy for Ragtime," says Calliope CEO Jay Heifetz.
>
> Anyone who purchases Robert Winter's Crazy for Ragtime in the U.S.
> from May 15 to October 31, 1996 will be eligible to win a Yamaha
> Disklavier piano by submitting his or her originally composed rag from
> the Make Your Own Rag section of Crazy for Ragtime.
>
> The Yamaha Disklavier is a computerized digital/acoustic instrument
> that offers the best of both worlds - a fine acoustic piano and the
> ability to record and replay performances note-for-note - with its keys
> and pedals moving up and down, as if by magic! Winter himself used a
> Disklavier to record the digital audio and/or MIDI versions of the 62
> classic rags featured in Crazy for Ragtime.
>
> "Crazy for Ragtime truly showcases the remarkable recording and
> performance capabilities of the Disklavier piano," says Carter Schuld,
> digital/acoustic piano marketing manager, Keyboard Division, Yamaha
> Corporation of America. "We're happy to provide music lovers and owners
> of Crazy for Ragtime with an opportunity to win their own Disklavier."
>
> The revolutionary and beautiful upright piano (retail value of $15,000)
> will be delivered in December 1996 to the person with the best rag
> composition. In addition to the Grand Prize winner, three First Prize
> winners will be awarded a cashier's check for $100 and 25 Second Prize
> winners will win a limited-edition "Robert Winter's Crazy for Ragtime"
> T-shirt.
>
> Rag submissions will be reviewed and winners will be selected by
> Calliope President Robert Winter; world-renowned violinist Itzhak
> Perlman; leading authority on ragtime music, Max Morath; and Carter
> Schuld from Yamaha Corporation of America.
>
> Details on how to enter, an entry form, a floppy disc for the rag
> submission, a return envelope, as well as judging criteria, contest
> rules and regulations are all included inside Robert Winter's Crazy for
> Ragtime product boxes identified with a "Make Your Own Rag" contest
> sticker.
>
> Crazy for Ragtime is available now in retail stores such as Borders
> Book & Music and Egghead Software, to name a few. Consumers can order
> the CD-ROM directly by calling Maxis at (800) 336-2947, Monday -
> Friday, 8 am - 6 pm (PST). The CD-ROM is available for Windows and
> Macintosh. Suggested retail is $49.95.
>
> Contestants under 18 years of age must have their entries co-signed by
> a parent or guardian. The "Make Your Own Rag" contest is open to U.S.
> Residents, except employees of Calliope Media, LP, Yamaha Corporation
> of America and Maxis, and any members of their immediate families. The
> "Make Your Own Rag" contest is void where prohibited by law. Any tax
> obligations are the sole responsibility of winners.
##### END QUOTED TEXT #####
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(Message sent Tue 23 Jul 1996, 18:59:54 GMT, from time zone GMT-0400.) |
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