PHILOSOPHY

The South Carolina Music Teachers Association sponsors a songwriting competition to encourage and celebrate creativity among the many young students throughout the state, and to give support to the excellent music teachers of South Carolina. Songwriting invites students to explore and develop their musical skill set and consider what is possible in music. The purpose of the competition is to challenge and inspire students to find out just how creative they can be.

ELIGIBILITY

  • The teacher must be a member in good standing by December 31 of the current membership year to enter students at the member teacher rate. A $75.00 non-member teacher fee will be assessed if the membership is not paid for the current membership year.
  • A student must have studied a minimum of 6 months with the same member teacher prior to auditions, with the exception of incapacitation, relocation, or Sabbatical leave of the regular teacher, in which case both the previous and current teachers will be listed.
  • The teacher, the student, or the place of instruction must be located in South Carolina.

COMPOSITION SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

  • Any student 26 years old and younger working with a SCMTA member teacher is eligible to enter the competition.
  • There are 2 Songwriting Categories:
    • Solo (1 songwriter)
    • Co-Written (2-4 songwriters)
  • Students may enter one song in the Solo category.
  • Students may enter two songs in the Co-Written category provided the two songs do not have the exact same co-writers. A co-writer cannot be on more than two co-written songs.
  • For entries in the Co-Written category, the Division placement will be based on the age of the oldest co-writer. Co-writers must be in adjacent Divisions (Elementary + Junior, Junior + Senior, Senior + Young Artist). Only one co-writer must be a student of the teacher. This student should be listed first when listing all co-writers.
  • A song may be in any style.
  • A song’s performance time must be a minimum of 1 minute and not exceed 10 minutes.
  • Songs using extended piano techniques (i.e. introducing foreign objects into the workings of the piano to change the sound quality, strumming or plucking of strings) are not permitted at the request of competition hosts and piano companies providing instruments.
  • Arrangements of existing songs by other songwriters are not allowed.
  • Any song fitting within the scope of these guidelines that was completed after April 1 of the previou year may be submitted. A song does not have to have been written exclusively for this competition to >be submitted.

SCORE SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

  • A PDF Lyrics/Chords Sheet and Mp3 Audio File are required for submission.
  • Lyrics/Chords Sheets may be computer-generated or neatly handwritten and scanned as a pdf.
  • Lyrics should be written in “karaoke style” with all repetition written out. Chords should be written above the lyrics. Alternatively, chords may be written to the side provided all sections (verse, chorus, bridge, are clearly labeled for both the lyrics and chords.
  • The Lyrics/Chords Sheet should be printable on 8.5” x 11” letter-sized paper.
  • Cover art should not be included.
  • All materials must be labeled with the name of the song, the name of the writer/s, and the level of the writer/s (Elementary, Junior, Senior, Young Artist).
  • Materials must not include teacher name or any reference to school/institution, biography, or picture of student.
  • Each Lyrics/Chords Sheet must be submitted as a single PDF file with the file name as follows: Lastname_Division_Category_Title.pdf
  • A Mp3 Audio File is required for each entry.
  • PDF Lyrics/Chords Sheets and Mp3 Audio Files should be emailed to the SCMTA Creativity in Music Chair after completing the online registration.
  • The body of the email should list each Student’s Name, Song Title, Division, and Songwriting Category.
  • The deadline for registration and submission of all materials is April 1.
  • No change may be made to the materials once they have been submitted.

REGISTRATION

  • All registrations must be submitted on-line at the SCMTA website.
  • Fees by Division (determined by Student’s Age on January 1)
    • Elementary Division (10 years old & under) — $20
    • Junior (11-14 years old) — $25
    • Senior (15-18 years old) — $30
    • Young Artist (19-26 years old) — $35
  • Each individual composition will be charged the applicable Division entry fee.
  • It is the responsibility of the teacher to meet the Chairperson’s deadline, to complete application forms, and to write one check or submit one PayPal payment to cover fees for all his/her students. Failure to complete the application as required will result in the automatic withdrawal of those students in SCMTA Composition Competition. Make checks payable to SCMTA.
  • All entry fees are nonrefundable.

ADJUDICATION

  • There will be a single song writing judge.
  • The judge may select a single Winner within each Song Writing Category within each Division.
  • The judge may also select additional compositions for Runner-Up and/or Honorable Mention.
  • The decisions of the judge are final. Teachers and parents are not allowed to contact judges before or after the competition. Any questions should be addressed to the competition chair.
    Comments sheets will be sent to the teachers after the completion of the competition.

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

  • Winners of each composition category within each division will be invited to have their composition performed at the SCMTA Song Writing Recital.
  • If the Winner of any composition category is unable to coordinate a performance of their composition at the SCMTA Song Writing Recital, a Honorable Mention selection may be invited to have their song performed.
  • Winners are responsible for coordinating their own musicians for this recital. Only live performances are permitted.

Contact SCMTA