Sick of competitions that reward speed and chops? This one is all about playing in the pocket, and there’s $10,000 worth of prizes up for grabs
[Editor’s note: The Pocket Challenge is sponsored by Heritage Guitars, Harmony and MONO, all part of Vista Musical Instruments. VMI, like Guitar.com, is part of the Caldecott Music Group.]
Do you pride yourself on your ability to play in the pocket? It’s a different discipline entirely than just being able to shred hundreds of notes per minute, and if this sounds like you, here’s a competition which could land you some seriously cool prizes…
All too often, online guitar competitions revolve around entrants’ ability to dazzle listeners with lightning-fast chops and rapid technical precision. But as many prominent guitarists have noted in recent years, it’s often more important to prioritise feel, groove and timing if you want to really captivate your audience.
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And this new competition devised by Yurt Rock and Wheelhouse Beats – The Pocket Challenge – is designed to reward those with a knack for playing in the pocket.
Here’s how you enter: first you need to download the Wheelhouse Beats app to gain access to a selection of real drummer recordings and groove tracks, then you simply play along with your instrument of choice, and film yourself playing. “Keep it authentic – no tricks needed,” organisers insist. Finally, you need to post it on Instagram or TikTok with the hashtag #pocketchallenge, and upload your video to contest.yurtrock.com.
The public will then vote for their favourite submissions, and the top 10 most-voted-for submissions will become finalists, ready to be assessed by a stellar panel of judges, including guitarist and Frank Ocean collaborator Charlie Hunter, Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk, Grammy-nominated composer Larry Goldings, and bassist and David Bowie collaborator Tim Lefebvre.
Not a guitarist? Not a problem. The competition welcomes entries from any instrument, be it bass, guitar, drums, keys, vocals, horns and anything else.
‘What’s in this for me?’ we hear you ask. Well, how does $10,000 worth of musical prizes sound?
The winner of the competition will receive a Heritage Standard II Collection H-150 electric guitar with a case, a MONO Classic FlyBy Ultra backpack, the Yurt Rock Ultimate Bundle – with over 250 GB of content to use, XLN Audio Suite – featuring Addictive Drums, RC-20, XO and more – and even a private lesson with Charlie Hunter.
Second place will receive a Harmony Standard Series Juno electric guitar, a MONO Classic FlyBy backpack, Yurt Rock Artist Series Bundle and XLN Audio Addictive Drums 2.
Third place will get a Heritage Ascent+ Collection H-150 electric guitar – which we rated a 9/10 in our review last year – a MONO Stealth Alias backpack, the Yurt Rock Producer Pack, and XLN Audio RC-20 Retro Color.
“The pocket is what makes music feel good,” competition organisers reason. “It’s timing, groove, and feel – not speed or complexity.”]
Learn more and enter now at contest.yurtrock.com.
The post Sick of competitions that reward speed and chops? This one is all about playing in the pocket, and there’s $10,000 worth of prizes up for grabs appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
