Would it be possible to get an upload link? I clicked submit before the deadline but the upload took so long it didn't seem to go through .

I'm enjoying the idea of gradual change like slow to fast / fast to slow, major to minor (or relative major/minor). Heck a gradual change from genre A to genre B would be pretty interesting to try out, too.

It's still Sunday for 8 hours here so I thought I still had time to upload (song has been done for over 4 hours, finished well before the deadline), would I be able to get an upload link please? On a related note, would you guys ever consider a grace period to account for timezones? I understand you want everyone to have the exact same amount of time but it seems kinda weird that some have to upload their song by the afternoon while others can wait until midnight.

Interesting to see all of the different opinions in here! Obviously everyone's going to have a different take on it, but for me I've noticed that I can articulate my feelings far more instrumentally than with lyrics. After all, music is the universal language . The beauty of it is everyone that listens to your music will have a slightly different reaction, while you may intend on expressing one thing, your music may express something completely different to someone else (death of the author).

As far as inspiration goes, I like to play. If you aren't having fun then you are doing it wrong. Often I will hear a short musical phrase that I like, stop the music, and then dissect what I just heard in as many ways as possible: chop it up, add or remove notes, play it slower or faster, in a different key, distort it until it's unrecognizable and stands on its own.

Everything is stolen, thoughts aren't original, they are just reinterpreted reflections of each other, so don't be afraid to draw ideas from other artists you like. Study music theory until you can listen to a song you like and articulate precisely what you enjoy about it. A lot of people want to sound like "this band" or "that artist," I think it's more beneficial to sound like "that one part of that one song that sounds amazing." If you like a certain song, try to listen to until it hits the point that speaks to you the most. Try to figure out exactly what it is you like about that one part and try to recreate it (for study purposes). I learned a lot about what appeals to me as a composer by writing out guitar tabs for my favorite bands.

Draw inspiration for everything, as in literally everything. I've written two songs inspired by specific farts I produced this month. Are the songs good? It doesn't matter, I had fun and I learned from it. Play and write music in your head everyday until you can't stop it from happening. Hear music in everything. This will drive you insane but will make you a better artist in the end. Be prolific, instead of spending a week or a month on a song, spend 2 hours or less, make song "sketches." Artists sketch and make gesture drawings / figure drawings, game designers participate in 2-3 day game jams, it is a universally known concept that doing something quick and often will build up your skill set faster than anything.

That's all I can think of from the top of my head, hope it helps! Obviously my advice doesn't apply to everyone, but it's worked for me so far .