It's never too late to make a change. You have a whole month. :D

You should participate in the TIGSource Musical Challenge we have going on roughly once a month.  Good learning experience and it's fun.

Yes... very nice stuff so far.  If you guys(and gals if any enter) keep this up I'm going to be in a world of trouble determining who the finalists are... 

Great submissions guys!

Zack, I have a quick question:

In all, does there need to be 10 instruments used, or 9 (with the option of adding a drum set)?

Also, I read that you included the option of switching (for example voice) for those who may not have the necessary equipment.

Should those capable avoid switching instruments then? Or is it okay? I switched two out, not because I didn't like the instruments originally chosen, but because I wanted to try and use two other ones I thought were cool, or really liked.

At the minimum you must use 7 instruments and they must be 7 of the "Random" list.  The other two instruments left over in the random list may be used, OR switched out, but you do not have to use them at all.  The drumset is a 10th instrument and is also optional, and you do not have to trade out anything for the drumset.  It is additive to the selections.

You also may not use any instruments outside of the 10 allowed.  7 of those must come from random list, 2 from the master list, and 1 must be a drumset(if used at all).

Outside of the limitations on the instruments you must use, there aren't any restrictions. And what's the point of a "Musical Challenge" if there isn't anything to actually create a "challenge".  That would negate the point of the "challenge".

Time to shelve the 80s synth and try your hand at something new. 

Do you want them as a VST or just actual samples?

http://www.spicyguitar.com/

That guitar set has a banjo in it... not the greatest sounding banjo in the world, but it's free!

I can send you WAV samples of a banjo too if you'd prefer that.

Yes, DSPs are allowed.

Guess I didn't really put much clarification on the drumset part... Here's a map to make things a little more concrete...


Instruments 1 - 7 = Must come from Random List
Instruments 8 - 9 = May be any instrument from the Master List(optional)
Instrument 10 = Drumset(Optional)

The track must contain the 7 required instruments, but you do not have to use instruments 8, 9 and 10.  

That make more sense?  I added in the trade in rule to help alleviate any complications one might face trying to use an instrument from the list.  For example "Your Own Voice" could be tricky for someone that has no recording setup to do such a thing. :p  I had to improvise on the rules because of those kinds of submissions...

[Edit -]

Nice one! Will definitely give it a go.
Can't wait to see what people come up with.

EDIT: ...so meanwhile... I did this... not sure if it's my final piece for this, but it's fun!
https://soundcloud.com/simplykept/random-mumbling

Link is dead... this a private track?  Need to use the private URL if it is. :p

Edit - There it is! :]

["RANDOM" ...Encounter!]

"RANDOM" ...Encounter!

Why... do I keep putting random in quotes?  Because this challenge is all about RANDOM! Basically, I have compiled the instruments everybody has submitted as ideas and randomly generated numbers between 1 to 45... 3000 times(wanted to make sure it was pretty friggin' random).  The most common results are what you'll be using to craft your next masterpiece.

The Rules

Your random instruments are......
  Sine Wave  
  Synth bass
  Xylophone
  Slap Bass
  Banjo
  Pan Flute
  Double Bass
  Your Own Voice
  Steel Drum
  
  Instruments 1 - 7 (required)
You MUST use 7 of those instruments in your track.

  Instruments 8 - 9 (optional)
2 of the instruments may be traded out with any instrument you would like to use from the master list(at bottom of this post).

  Instrument 10 (optional)
You may use any drum "set" you like, or none at all. Just don't use this as a crutch.

You must not talk about fight club.

You may not use anymore instruments than the 10 mentioned above.

You may write in any style you'd like.

If for some... "random" reason you have already written a track with these "random" instruments already... then please write something new and do NOT send me some track you made 4 months ago.  I will disqualify you from being a finalist.

Deadline

September 30, 2013

Judgement
Creativity will go a long way with this one, considering what you have to work with.  Obviously adhering to the rules is the most important thing as I won't hesitate to stomp you out of the finalists for breaking them.  So please make sure you read them about 10 times and ask questions if you need to... though I think they are pretty clear.

Final Thoughts
I've always loved doing random instrument challenges because they force you to really think about how you will do things, and to really focus on the strengths and weaknesses of each instrument in respect to one another.  It's a great learning experience and I hope that everybody has fun with it.  Although I'm not an actual participant this time, I will likely try my hand at writing something for this as well, just for the sake of having fun...

So, have at it!  Looking forward to hearing some awesome music!

MASTER LIST
Alphabetical Order

  Banjo
  Acoustic Guitar (Steel)
  Alto Saxophone
  Baritone Sax
  Bassoon
  Celesta
  Circlebells
  Circuit-Bending Toy
  Clarinet
  Cowbell
  Didgeridoo
  Double Bass
  Dulcimer
  Erhu
  Flute
  Foot Stomps
  French Horn
  Guitar harmonics
  Gunshots
  Hand clap
  Hang Drum
  Harmonica
  Harp
  Kalimba
  Large String Ensemble
  Marimba
  Melodica
  Oboe
  Pan Flute
  Piano
  Piccolo Flute
  Sine Wave  
  Sitar
  Slap Bass
  Sleigh Bells
  Slide Electric Guitar
  Solo Cello
  Soprano Ukelele
  Square Wave
  Steel Drum
  Synth bass
  Tambourine
  Vibraphone
  Xylophone
  Your Own Voice

Alright alright... Was just giving it the night in case anybody else wanted to toss some things into the hat.

Working on the thread now...

Man... wasn't expecting so much originality in the submissions... This is going to end up being a lot more entertaining than I anticipated...

I guess I'll have to go with the Pan Flute, then.

K. 

- Ambient recordings (this counts as an instrument, right? ... right?!)

Try again.

Going to give it a bit more time, possibly until the morning of Saturday for people to submit 3 picks but... depends on how many trickle in here within the next 24 hours. :p

You did an amazing job here with this soundtrack! Congratulation! 

Thanks!  Heard it through the grape vine that the game is getting released REALLY soon... but my sources aren't always that ya know... accurate. :p

So far 24 instruments on the list, I'll keep this thread open until I feel like there is a substantial amount to "pick" from and then I'll write up the official challenge thread.

Ideally I'd like to have around 50 instruments at the minimum on the master list... but we'll see how it goes the next 24-48 hours.

2. Erhu

Interesting choice... that never would've crossed my mind...

I say

banjo
harmonica
soprano ukelele

because I have all those things in real life.

Pick something other than Banjo, already picked that one.

Whoops, that's what I get for skimming through the directions.

In that case, is a square wave a valid choice?

Yeah, I almost picked that one myself but changed it to Alto Sax. :p

I say

banjo
harmonica
soprano ukelele

because I have all those things in real life.

Pick something other than Banjo, already picked that one.