Ya dude, for as long as I have been a part of this site...people have been begging for another Cadence Comp. I was here for the first...and yeah it was a mess haha. Mostly due to people handing in their own forms of writing (myself included). Im sure my cadence I sent in was a mess cause I asked for a copy of it not too long ago...and even I had trouble making sense of the confusion.

Remember...THEY are hosting this...IT is a priviledge to enter...not a right. This is for fun and the rules set fourth arent too hard to follow. I say...better cadences will come out of this comp...than the last simply because now we have such rules. Keep up the good work guys ;D.

Ok, let me use books currently on the market as examples: The BD Book of Drumming has a different key than the tapspace books. The tapspace books have a different key than the rowloff books. The Rowloff books have a different key than the Drop6 Media books. I could go on, but you get the point. Honestly, one more "arbitrary set of notation" will not mess up an already "cloudy" situation. I promise you we have a reason for a "DLO standard." I am sorry if it is out of your comfort zone, but I guarantee you that you are not alone. For example: I wrote the standard and it is not the way I normally notate things. Why? Because I asked for imput from other DLO moderators (some with much more experience than me) and the resulting format was the consensus.

AsianTenorGuy is right about the last competition. The files we received were a mess. I know, I still have them and I was one of the people that converted all the files into something readable and usable. The main point this time was for the moderators to be able to run the competition without having to do a ton of work. We have real lives too, and personally mine is pretty busy. That is why we want everything in a standard format. We won't have to make pdf files, mp3s, or do anything else except sort the files, give them to the judges and let them do their thing. Also, as Nex mentioned, the judges will not have to spend time figuring out what each particular symbol means. They can have the sample in front of them, and be good for every cadence.

Now, to the VDL standard. I don't have VDL, so I have never seen their standard. I am sure it works well, but not everyone has VDL, and VDL can be adapted to match the standard we have chosen.

I am sorry that you (TuoPohc) are frustrated by the notation issue. We are definitely not trying to make this difficult on anyone. That was one reason we gave everyone 2 1/2 months to submit a cadence or two. That is plenty of time to write or adapt an already written cadence into the standard format.

Ok, time to change the subject. Today is October 1st. You can officially start submitting your cadences. Please remember to READ ALL OF THE RULES before you submit your cadences. Your submission must be in pdf format and must include an mp3. Also, don't forget to check and make sure your submission fits the standard notation. Finally, make sure you have all stickings that are not RLRL written into your music. If you have not met the criteria for submission, your cadence will be disqualified. Details are a must.

I understand the issue presented and agree that there are many different notations. In an ideal situation people would gradually accept one standard (as I really do think is possible). I also think that groups such as DLO have a stronger impact than they might think. As far as the VDL template... it is adaptable, but their templates are available even to those that don't use the VDL sound library. Many apologize if anything was taken as rude. Peace...

Ok, so I downloaded the VDL template just to see. They cover everything, and I do mean everything (including vocal duts). There are many things that are used that we do not need for this contest. Dreadlocks and cymbal hits for examples. There is absolutely nothing wrong with their format, but for this contest we are trying to keep it simple.

I agree that there should be one standard, but I disagree about it being possible. It seems that every DCI or WGI group has their own notation system. Then you throw in the writers who never marched DCI or WGI, and you have at least 3 distinct groups. Then you get into the fact that from those 3 groups there quite possibly could be a different notation standard for every single writer in those groups. The possibilities are mind boggling. DCI has been around as an organization since 1972 (unofficially before that0 and we still in 2007 (35 years later) do not have a standardized notation format.

Of course the VDL template covers everything....I created the damn things.

Ok, we are adding one more thing to your email submission. Along with your pdf and mp3, please include a copy of the original finale, sibelius, etc file. The original announcement has been edited to reflect this change. Thank you.

Also, will the four people that marked on the poll that they do not have a notation program or soundfont, please PM me and tell me your situation. I want to know if there is anything that can be done to help you out.

if i played teners, i would love to enter this competition. but i dont, so that would only lead to a disastrous attempt to a tener part of the cadence.

You can't even spell "tenors" correctly

Does anyone have a link to the Yamaha soundfonts? Every link I've found is dead and I would really like to have them for my mp3 portion of the entry. Thanks