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We've enjoyed listening to all of the songs submitted for our Xtra Styles Song contest - thank you to everyone who entered!

The winners are:

Americana:
Captain Arnold's Liquer Listen to the song here
Artist/Forum User: Rob4580
Xtra Style used: _SECLUDE.STY 
Original Forum Post

Country:
The Music of Life Listen to the song here
Artist/Forum User: Jon Thomas
Xtra Style used: _HARPING.STY
Original Forum Post

Jazz:
In a Latin Mood Listen to the song here
Artist/Forum User: MusicStudent
Xtra Style used: _BOSSOUL.STY
Original Forum Post

Rock-Pop
Great White Listen to the song here
Artist/Forum User: Buford
Xtra Style used: _BIGWAVE.STY
Original Forum Post

Congratulations!
Congratulations everyone!
Who said an instrumental could not win? Oh, I guess that was me... which is why I added the "verbal count in" at the beginning.

Thank you so very much. I am pleased to be a winner. Congratulations to winners and all who participated.
Wow!!! smile
Thank you so much guys!!
This is a nice, nice surprise!!
I guess in the eclipse day, many strange things may happen, including an Italian winning a country competition! smile smile
Congratulations to all, not just the winners but all participants as well. A lot of very nice songs!
Most of all, thank you PG Music !!!
Congratulations to all the entrants and winners.

Bob grin
Dear "Rob4580", Jon Thomas, "MusicStudent" and Buford...

Now you that you talented gents have been handed the sweet, juicy apple of success (crunch, slurp, mmm-mmm!) why don't you tell us what was the inspiration for each of your songs! laugh

Congratulations, "Xtra Styles Contest Winners"!

Most sincerely and respectfully,

"bluage" a.k.a. LOREN
Congratulations to all of the winners, but moreover, thanks to everyone who contributed. There has been some remarkable material put forward.
Originally Posted By: bluage
Dear "Rob4580", Jon Thomas, "MusicStudent" and Buford...
why don't you tell us what was the inspiration for each of your songs! laugh

"bluage" a.k.a. LOREN


Hi Loren,

I think each of my entries has info about the motivation/inspiration for each song at the top of the post. Check out the original post on each song.

Thanks for listening,
Bob
Originally Posted By: VideoTrack
Congratulations to all of the winners, but moreover, thanks to everyone who contributed. There has been some remarkable material put forward.


Hey VT,

Thanks so much. There were a lot of good entries in this competition. A great, inspirational STYLE PAK didn't hurt either.

Thanks for listening,
Bob
Well done to the winners and thanks to PG Music for the opportunity.
Hi Loren
In my case the inspiration for the lyrics came from my profound love for animals and nature. And the idea that we all are basically the same - us, animals, plants, everything. We are one giant choir, and with slightly different voices we sing the same, beautiful song. It also came from my passion for science. In physics, string theory basically argues something quite similar: the fundamental components of reality are tiny strings, and everything - energy, matter etc - is the result of their viibrations. The universe is music, in a sense. We are music. How beautiful is that? String theory is not proven yet, but I thought it would make a nice starting point for a song anyway smile
Jon
Dear Jon Thomas...

Thank you SO much for responding to my request of all the winners!

I am in totally agreement with you about the "string" that ties everything together in this inexpressibly beautiful world -- that is, as Our Creator originally designed it.

Your song clearly and jubilantly expressed your feelings about the glorious, harmonious inter-relatedness of everything.

Here are the powerful words of Ludwig Van Beethoven on the nature of music:

"The vibrations on the air are the breath of God speaking to man's soul. Music is the language of God. We musicians are as close to God as man can be. We hear his voice, we read his lips, we give birth to the children of God, who sing his praise. That's what musicians are."

Gratefully,

LOREN
Dear Buford...

I'll do just that very thing!

Thanks for responding.

Sincerely,

LOREN
Congratulations to all the contest winners.
It was fun for me to participate in the competition and listen to my competitors' songs.

Best regards.

From Japan
Shigeki Adachi
Congratulations to the winners and thank you all for your kind words.
Ive been using Band in a Box since the early 90's.
When I first purchased BB it arrived in floppy disk form.

Ive been using BB for so long that it has become second nature to me.
Sometimes I am guilty of taking BB for granted because it has become such a part of my life.

When I hear a great style, I hear an unwritten song. Just gotta keep chopping bits off till I find it.
The inspiration for my song was the drum beat in SECLUDE.STY and to me that was the star of the whole effort.
Thank you guys for the great support and thank you PG music.
Rob
A well deserved congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all who participated. Tom
Congratulations to all of the winners!

And, as has been noted, congratulations to ALL of the enormously talented songwriters who turned in submissions.

I only saw winners on this one, seems like everybody won. There was a staggering outpouring of high level songwriting and artistry. And one guy in one category sounded EXACTLY like Jeff Beck. Must have been some tough choices.

smile

Congrats to everyone again and thanks to Band-in-a-Box for such cool tools to work with.
Congratulations to all...winners and those who contributed alike. Your efforts have been an inspiration. Your insights and use of the new styles have given all of us new creative possibilities.

Jeff
For those who asked, "Great White" is now downloadable from Soundcloud.
Enjoy, BB
Well done everybody! Especially the category winners. And also well done to PG music for putting this competition on. I love the new styles and use them all the time. I can highly recommend them to people who already have the everything Pak.
Is a contest like this held every year? Will there be one for 2018?
Historically, PG Music never predicts the future or tells their marketing plans. Having said that, in the past PG Music has used song contests as a method to increase use of new or interesting features.

In this instance, Xtra Styles differ enough from traditional Realstyles that PG Music sponsored a contest. Contest songs provided audio content for users to hear Xtra styles in use beyond the demo songs.

Did I hear you ask how do Xtra styles differ from Realstyles? In one way they don't; Xtra styles are Realstyles because they use RealTracks. However some Xtra styles also use loops. Each Xtra style uses a non traditional group of instrument RealTracks and have a more modern approach to the mix.

Well expressed Jim.

I use the Xtra Styles religiously for production. I have all 4 sets and would not live without them. When they go on sale for $29 bucks I think they are a steal. There are like 150 premixed, amazing "productions in the can" per Xtra styles set just waiting for a chord chart. You can't order lunch in a recording studio for $29 bucks. At the normal price they are still a bargain and more.

I keep a link to the Xtra styles on my bookmarks folder, and when I am looking for a sound to a new song idea I have, I just flip through the Xtra style demo samples on the web, usually find something in 10 minutes, have a song sketched out in 20.

The sounds and productions are so good with the audiophile version I do precious little with them after that except for very judicious EQ and minimal effects.

I LOVE the Xtra styles. A producer's dream.
Congratulations to all the winners and contest participates. All the songs were interesting and enjoyable to listen to. It sure seems to me that most of the songs qualified as having that "radio quality" sound. Excellent work by everyone!

Congratulations to PG Music also. I think this has to be one of the most successful contests that PG Music has sponsored.
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