UESP Forums

These monthly competitions are a chance for you to demonstrate your creativity and talents while getting a chance to know your fellow members and have a little fun. Each month is going to have a different theme and a different talent – and maybe a surprise or two! But only one member can wear the purple coins and fancy title of CotM Winner! Do you have what it takes?

The basic rules are as follows:


This month, we're doing ES karaoke.
Choose a bard song from Skyrim or Online, sing it (or just a verse or the refrain, whatever you want), upload it to Vocaroo, and link it here. You don't necessarily have to have musical talent or a great voice either! It can be serious, comical, whatever sort of spin you want to put on it. Whatever you think will win it for you.

Our schedule for the November event is as follows:
November 5: Competition begins! Start planning and send in those submissions!
November 25-29: Voting period – vote for your favorites!
November 30: Our winner is announced!
Please note that all times are determined by me, Alarra, and therefore will run according to GMT -6/Central Standard Time. (Click here if you’re unsure when, exactly, that is!)

Remember that the CotM is not possible without you, so please participate, contribute, discuss, and vote!

(This fun event is hosted by yours truly. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them within this thread or by sending me a PM or email by selecting the appropriate button below my signature. Have some suggestions on what you'd like to see? Head over to the ideas thread and join in on the discussion!)

Can the voice be altered - as in change pitch, tone etc? Or does it have to be 'pure'?

(Already asked this in Chatroom, but posting for the sake of others.)

Can a musical overlay be used? Either the music played by the bards in-game or else played by those entering into the comp.?

Musical accompaniment can be used. We have decided no on altering voice, as it's supposed to be in the spirit of a bard song, and they don't have autotune in Tamriel.

Does that include natural voice manipulation? Like if somebody wants to sound like a specific race or change their accent or something. I don't plan on entering myself (I can't sing; I can only croak), but I thought I'd ask.

And here I was thinking you'd try an Orc voice. Such disappoint.

I'm very sure that's in the rules and the spirit of the contest. Do it in a dragon voice!

"Your own spin" to me would include autotuning as well, in my honest opinion.

A little boy Orc, maybe. My microphone is [&@%!] for this sort of thing ("Oh, you're a young woman? I'm going to make you sound like a little boy."). But, believe me, I thought about it. This just isn't my thing.

Plus, if I did an Orc, I'd probably wind up as another Lurbuk. The most hated bard ever.

Yeah, that would be fine. As long as you're not using anything digital to manipulate it.

Is Aldos Othran's cliff racer song acceptable for an entry?

La bump.

Yes. Any song that originates from a TES game is acceptable.

Yep, so that also includes stuff like the "Worst Bard in Skyrim's" song of fear and death, and that random little line you can hear Skyrim bandits sing that mentions Stros M'Kai.

Sweet Lady of Wayrest...

No entries yet? Well, then maybe I'll win by default!

Here's me singing "Over the Seas and Far Away" from ESO. (You may have to turn the volume up; it's quiet.)

I shall not let her win by default, I enter with The Song of Fear and Death by the great Lurbuk. It's really not that bad when you aren't improvising it like he was...

Nice entries! Finally some life in this competition!

Now a question. I know auto-tune is not allowed, but what about using more than one track to represent several singers? Are we allowed to layer?

Oh, what the hell... I did Lurbuk's song too last night, because I thought I'd be the only one since it wasn't a song exactly, and I didn't want Alarra to win by default either...

Next time I want to do a COTM, I'll read the entries first to make sure mine is unique... In any case, here's my rendition of the song.

Yes, I know, I should be fronting the next headlining band. No, I'm not interested in signing on with any of you guys who play instruments and need a vocalist.

In response to this, we've basically decided no: it would put too much focus on how the layers sound together, and still relies too much on technology.

Oh what the hell..

Oh there once was a hero named Ragnar the Red. This is about as fast as I can enunciate stuff without deteriorating into some kind of unintelligible Swedish Chef slur.

And here's a not-part-of-my-entry-bonus-because-why-the-hell-not-I'm-bored: The Dragonborn Comes, as performed by that orc with with the gross melted face in Return of the King.

I apologize in advance for the phonic pollution .

So here it is, me trying to sing The Plane Meld from ESO.

Well, change of plans. I didn't do 'Hyme to Kyne' as I first intened. Too many high notes. I don't do high. So I did 'Ithguleoir' instead. Thank the Nine that some schmooz did me the courtesy of uploading that particular ESO song to Youtube, otherwise I'd've had no idea how to pronounce "Ithguleoir".

Any way, after a dozen takes, this is the best I've got. I felt myself getting better after each recording, but I was noticing that I was making the same general errors; voice cracking, poor breathe sustain, etc. Y'know, signs of musical ineptitude. So I called it good enough and ran with it. I am happy with it. I'll be singing this in the truck to work for the next week for sure!

Enough babbling! To the song:

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1Yl2ffH10jW

Also, Alarra, beautiful voice! If I were you, I'd work on exercising it more. Assuming you don't already, of course.
+1 to MissKokane for musical accompaniment! We all talked about it, but she did it. I really wish I had access to the 'Ithguleoir' sound file, just the song mind you, no lyrics, as it sounds fantastic. But oh well. I am glad some one added instrumental accompaniment.

The poll is up! Vote for the winner!

I would to join the competition but the problem is I do not know how to record my brilliant voice. Perhaps I will serve as one of the judge instead of submitting a recorded voice.