VIDEO: Celebrate Software Freedom Day Song

The Celebrate Software Freedom Day Song is a collaborative effort of the authors who are members of SFD.PH . The team has celebrated and initiated events since 2008 in the Philippines and this year this song is dedicated to all F/OSS lovers and advocates of the world. Feel free to share and dance with the beat as we celebrate the benefits, beauty and goodness of this technology.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE SOFTWARE FREEDOM DAY CELEBRATION (sfd.ph)

As we approach the date for the celebration of the Software Freedom Day, there are a few things we would like to share and announce.

1. Due to the fact that 8layer Team has already enjoined other pious and staunch advocates, the event entry will now be registered as SFD.PH Team at http://www.softwarefreedomday.org. This is a result and manifestation of our steady goal on awareness and proliferation of the F/OSS principles and philosophy in the Country. YES, the SFD Movement in the Philippines is getting bigger and formidable.

2. This year’s SFD.PH with the theme, “Smarter Communities Choose to be FREE” will be hosted and held at St. Paul University Philippines, Tuguegarao, Cagayan and is projected to draw 2000 students, IT practitioners, representative of government offices and companies in the Region.

3. SFD.PH Team has composed and recently released the Celebrate Software Freedom Day Song. Share the beat, http://labs.cre8tivetech.com/software-freedom-day-song/music-and-lyrics/

4. And finally, the winners of last year’s SFD Best Event are….. drum roll please…. PROTEGE QV, Cameroon, Africa, Software Freedom Day Melbourne and SPCF CITE Team Philippines.

Details of the announcement are found at this link.
http://www.softwarefreedomday.org/en/component/content/article/38-sfistories/145-sfd-2010-best-event-winners

Though our sfdph2010 event is not among the Top 3 Best Events, we are very proud that our last year’s celebration at University of Baguio, Baguio City, Philippines is still among the Highly Commended Entries together with other teams. Special congratulations to CPU for a job well done too.
For those of you who wish to view our sfdph2010 report, read on. http://sfd.ph/report/

Our HUGE and warm congratulations goes to our SFDPH2009 host school, SPCF for bagging SFD Best Event for 2010. http://pdfcast.org/pdf/software-freedom-day-post-event-report-spcf-cite-team-philippines. You nailed it guys!

To recall, the 8layer-initiated SFD2009 Celebration was introduced to SPCF for the school and the community in Angeles, Pampanga which won the TOP 3 Best Events in 2009. Last year, they managed to successfully hold a festive, cheerful and meaningful event on their own and we are so proud of this achievement. Our gypsy style, paid-off. “Like gypsies, our team moves from one venue to another, adopting a new community to be aware of the beauty and utility of Free Software, and after the solidarity F/OSS is then adapted. ” http://sfd.ph/about/

Hence, the reason and rationale for bringing the SFD Celebration (to foster F/OSS Culture and Collaboration) to other schools/communities that either has little or no knowledge of F/OSS is to enjoin the community (students, faculty, organizations and companies) to take advantage of the free software and its benefits and in return share what they have learned and experienced during the event (bring forth).

We hope that the University of Baguio and their community and so on will also continue what we have ignited so that the SFD and F/OSS spirit will be kept ablazed.

Our sincere and heartfelt thanks to the magnanimous men and women of the F/OSS Advocacy for getting out of their comfort zone and sharing what they know and do best for free. You know who you are. Generally, we would like to impart how grateful we are that international counterparts and f/oss communities appreciate and recognize our efforts. Also, we wish to boldly express our profound happiness on how F/OSS and its advocacy all over the Philippines has grown and benefitted communities through sheer passion and dedication, openness, determination and belief that this technology and the value that comes with it can make students and individuals smarter, schools and organizations more productive and efficient and incur more savings.

Imagine, if our government officials, government institutions and other influential institutions like media, telco and enteprises capitalize on F/OSS benefits? Our thoughts only: unimaginable developments and savings of billions of pesos from proprietary licenses!

See you all on September 17, 2011 at St. Paul University Philippines, Tugegarao, Cagayan with SFD.PH Team for sfdph2011.

Check us out and join us on Facebook: sfdph2011 and Follow us on twitter #sfdph2011. For more info, visit us at http://www.sfd.ph

Celebrate Software Freedom Day Song

Composed by:Erwin Galang,Meric Mara and Deng Silorio
Arranged by: Erwin Galang

Let’s go out and celebrate
It’s the Software Freedom Day
(Chill out/ Cheer out)Yell out and participate
It’s the Software Freedom Day

Let everyone know there’s a software for(that’s) free
Free to use for you and me
Free to run and study
Modify, make copies
Save more money
It’s the Software Freedom Day

Let’s go out and celebrate
It’s the Software Freedom Day
(Chill out/ Cheer out) Yell out and participate
It’s the Software Freedom Day

Throughout the whole world
Sharing is a plenty
Hackers are smiling, knowledge a’flowing
Dance to the beat and feel the heat
Free and Open Software is Here to Stay.

Software Freedom Day
aha (2x)
Software Freedom Day.

Download/Play the song:
(mp3 format) Celebrate Software Freedom Day Song
(ogg format) Celebrate Software Freedom Day Song

Composing the Celebrate Software Freedom Day Song

June 16, 2011

The Celebrate Software Freedom Day Song, a collaborative and creative result, was totally unexpected.

It was actually a whole rehearsal day for Dekada and Rizal Uno (for an event in August) at the Galang's residence in Antipolo City. Meric and Deng came late at around 10pm when some of the band members were already having their dinner and then after t'was time to jam with the band.

Right before the jamming started, Erwin played an already laid out tune and made us listen to his fast ska arrangement, it was his new project. Then Deng said, "Can we just have that for SFD?" He in turn said "why not?, if it fits".

Deng asked Erwin to play the whole tune (originally in Key of F) one more time but in a slower tempo. Then bit by bit a single melodic pattern was being hummed in deng's mind to fit the already arranged harmony. Deng asked for Meric's help to form and mold the concept of the song. It should not be too wordy, simple, yet it should embody/capture the theme and thought of F/OSS and essence of celebrating Software Freedom Day.

And over bottles of beer, the scribbling and mumbling lasted for about two hours. Deng asked Erwin to mum the brass section while fitting in the lyrics and melody to the tune. Alas, we think we have a song.

While rehearsing before the recording takes place, we transposed the tune to key of G to fit the singer's vocal range.

Take 1. Take 2. Take 3. And the vocal recording was done.

More beers and it was 3am but the group was still enthusiastically up and about to finish the song recording. So the final touch of percussion, bass and brass was to be laid out plus of course we had to think of how to end the song, a little more grand than the verses. Recording/ Mixing... and as we waited for Master Erwin to accomplish his final arrangement, it was already 6 in the morning.

We felt free. We felt elated. We felt good. And we hope this is something worth sharing and singing along for this year's Celebration of Software Freedom Day.