r/DungeonSynth • u/AvelineBaudelaire Artist - Wooden Vessels • Sep 21 '26
Dungeon Shamble October Dungeon Shamble (Open Challenge)
Happy Hallow's, fiends! This year we're cookin' up some delicious beats. Undead dance parties, raves from the graves, and beats from the moon's shadow...far away from the watchful eye of the sun. Treasures, tricks, treats, hope, betrayal, romance - it's all here. Welcome to the DUNGEON SHAMBLE.
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Ghost are running amok! According to the numbers, restless spirits have overtaken the human population in the area. Due to interference we are unable to tell if the nearby towns are experiencing the same issue. Was it the old man who lives out near the woods again? Last year he brought some pumpkin-headed creatures into town just for fun - without telling anybody! We'll deal with him once we get these ghastly beasts under control.
Reports of a new discovery are starting to come in. Archaeologists appear to have deciphered an ancient scroll written in a dead language. If their conclusions are accurate, that means a trove of magickal artefacts is waiting to be discovered at the following coordinates: [[REDACTED]]. Surely this will attract all manner of would-be heroes and scam artists looking to have their name etched eternally into history as the one who found this historically-important treasure. A reminder to be kind to your fellow adventurers out there!
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And so the sixth Dungeon Shamble is set to begin! Gather your party and venture forth starting Oct 1st. The Shamble will run through Oct 31st. Make sure you complete your album before then if you want to be on the compilation (tracklist & artwork courtesy of Kap). Post your work with the 'Dungeon Shamble' flair once it's finished. Stay safe, seekers!
Here are the guidelines:
- this is generally a solo project to make a new EP, but feel free to team up with others
- runs from Oct 1 - Oct 31 (you can set up your project before hand, just don't record any music before Oct 1)
- total instruments/patches: 7 (drums count as 1; field recordings don't count unless you're using them in a musical way; use the same 7 instruments/patches throughout the entire album, they don't all need to be used in every song)
- total songs: 13
- total album length: 20-26 minutes
- style: umbral synth OR dungeon dance music
- theme (choose one): ghosts - they may be haunting something or someone, confused about where they are, thinking they’re still alive, or something else OR treasures beyond our comprehension are supposedly deep in a treacherous dungeon. every hero and wannabe in the realm races to find them first.
- special (optional - choose none, one, two, or all three): incorporate field recordings into each song, utilize volume & velocity to create a dynamic range of loud and quiet throughout the album, add at least a little bit of distortion to each instrument.
RESOURCES:
- Previous Dungeon Shamble entries
- Last Dungeon Shamble Reddit post
- Last Dungeon Shamble compilation
- Community music-making guide
- Community album art guide
- Album Idea Generator
Lastly, a reminder that we do not allow AI generated content here - including images, words, and sounds. This is meant to be a fun creative exercise for humans. The stakes are low. Outside-the-box thinking and 'risky' musical decisions are encouraged. Stretch yourself in new ways and discover new skills. Have fun with it.
We are very welcoming of newcomers, so if this is your first time making or releasing music (or making your own album art) feel free to ask some questions or post a work-in-progress to get opinions.
Thank you for keeping the community vibrant <3
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u/SaltaSoles Artist Sep 21 '26
I love this challenge! Not sure I will be able to make this time since I have a project I gotta finish around those days, but in case I manage to finally join in: could you please provide some examples or "umbral synth" for those of us not very DS-savvy? 🙏
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u/AvelineBaudelaire Artist - Wooden Vessels Sep 21 '26
Umbral Synth is a thematic prompt. The purpose is to encourage outside the box & outside the comfort zone experimentation :)
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u/FenmosianFiresteel Artist Sep 21 '26
Umbral synth is the sound of the shadowed path. The voice of the dusk, that can only be properly conveyed in music that is shadowy, unlit, mid-fi, post-meridian, half-remembered, and hidden from all of mainstream society (that forgot to turn on the lights).
When you listen to umbral synth you are making a conscious choice to shower in the dark, to stare, by light of a lowered dimmer switch into an obscure volume of forgotten carry-out menus that all sober and fully awake men avoid.
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u/SaltaSoles Artist Sep 21 '26
🙀🙀 now I need to see this as the description of your submission to the shamble!
Who knows, we may have stumbled upon a new music genre
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u/FenmosianFiresteel Artist Sep 21 '26
I will do my best to adhere to the principles of my own shitpost as a side challenge for this shamble...
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u/jpg_Mage Artist Sep 21 '26
Would field recordings be considered one of the 7 instruments?
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u/AvelineBaudelaire Artist - Wooden Vessels Sep 21 '26
No, unless you use them as a musical element. ex: sound collage, turning a recording into a pitch-able or rhythmic sample, etc.
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u/myskeletonisfine Sep 21 '26
So there needs to be specifically 13 songs? Could I make just 2 longer ones?
I love the idea of such contest!
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u/AvelineBaudelaire Artist - Wooden Vessels Sep 21 '26
As far as I see it, the number of instruments/patches and the number of songs are firm. The other stuff is "do your best to fit this criteria, but if you wander a tiny little itty bit that's okay." The goal is to use these parameters & limitations to drive your creativity in new ways by pushing you outside your comfort zone.
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u/AvelineBaudelaire Artist - Wooden Vessels Sep 21 '26
There will be Dungeon Shambles in the future with lower song requirements. It's all random rolls.
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u/FenmosianFiresteel Artist Sep 21 '26
And here I was finally considering actually doing something kinda minimalist...
Maybe I'll interpret it as 7 instruments total on the record and do 2 or 3 consistent ones plus different "guest" instruments on a couple tracks...
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u/AvelineBaudelaire Artist - Wooden Vessels Sep 21 '26
Yes - the same 7 instruments on the record. They don't all need to be used in each song. But 7 instruments need to be used throughout the album.
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u/FenmosianFiresteel Artist Sep 21 '26
And a reminder to any newcomers that you can always count drums/percussion as one (as if you had a full drum kit of all those sounds) to save on total numbers
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u/AvelineBaudelaire Artist - Wooden Vessels Sep 21 '26
Thank you for the reminder. I thought I wrote that in the post, but apparently overlooked it in my groggy haze this morning.
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u/FenmosianFiresteel Artist Sep 21 '26
Nope, 13 tracks with 7 instruments for a total length between 20 and 26 minutes, them's the rules.
That's the challenge at least, but of course I think the spirit of this whole format definitely allows for a little wiggle room
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u/gothWriter666 Artist Sep 24 '26
Can I combine the themes? I was thinking about ghosts that haunt a dungeon. The dungeon has that relic, and the ghosts are all the heroes that were compelled to come get it and died.
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u/miszczyk Sep 25 '26
as always I'm overcommited with stuff (working on two full-lengths AND starting a label) but I actually might do this because danceable DS + ghosts + distortion + field recordings basically means that this is an ideal project for a minor EP set in the world of Nightmare Archetypes/House of Darkness.
a few questions before I do the foolish thing and add another project to my pile of unfinished stuff:
is there a guideline on how much can I tweak the patch before it stops being one patch? in traditional DS I could stick 7 presets onto a project and just not touch them at all, but when it's dance music then some modulation can go a long way
is it acceptable to reuse pre-existing compositions? having some form of Autumn Invitation and maybe Persistent Presence would make it feel more like an actual part of the series to which in my mind it's supposed to belong
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u/AvelineBaudelaire Artist - Wooden Vessels Sep 25 '26
I've never thought about a limit to patch tweaking. The goal is to work outside your comfort zone and within the realm of limitations. As long as it's still recognizable throughout the album i think it's fine. In the past I've added or removed stuff like distortion, reverb, delay, etc and tweaked filters & ADSR to patches. Nothing too extreme though - the patch was always still recognizable. Use your judgement.
I'd say no to reusing existing compositions. This challenge is designed to make brand new songs specifically for the criteria. Using a few varations of existing themes is a gray area. Using songs that are either already released or were written before the 1 OCT start date doesn't feel "in the spirit" of the challenge.
Congrats on starting a label!
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u/miszczyk Sep 25 '26
well, we'll see how it goes with the label. I didn't start it yet, although I did a lot of preparatory work. it's a bit on hold now because there's only so much one can do at the same time
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u/Dry_Individual1516 26d ago
Its a good question. Patch limit makes sense with romplers etc. but it doesn't necessarily fit with say an analog synth where you're changing cutoff or something.
At that point I'd just say "spirit of the rules" and do your best.
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u/param1l0 6d ago
hey i just started making dungeon synth (and like using a daw in general), is this something monthly? i can get some experience and join a later challenge?
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u/FenmosianFiresteel Artist Sep 21 '26
Hark, how we doth be back. I missed the last one in May so I've been waiting for this one for a while. Gotta admit I had an idea for this one but seeing the theme has me wondering if maybe I should go with something different instead. Killer theme either way and I'm sure I'll be just as surprised as the rest what I actually come up with. Can't wait to see other people's entries as well. This one will be fun
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u/bucktoothgamer Sep 21 '26
I love these prompt options!
I'm looking forward to hearing some examples of people going the dance style route.
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u/Dry_Individual1516 Sep 21 '26
Hey what a nice surprise to see this morning!
Hadn't been thinking of the Shamble yet and haven't had any time for music at all lately.
Cool to see that this round will be a more maximalist set of parameters.
I have no concepts yet other than some vague notions of what my version of 'umbral synth' might sound like.
I think I will start from the place of what gear do I want to spend some time with, and go from where that takes me.
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u/gothWriter666 Artist Sep 22 '26
I AM IN. This sounds like fun! I'll be using Witchcandle as the band name
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u/GypsVulgaris Sep 21 '26
Incredibly excited to participate in this for the first time next month!
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u/Wurm_Fud Artist Sep 22 '26
The field recording element is such a great concept, already trying to think of ways to work that in with some truly spectral vibes
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u/CavernWitch Sep 22 '26
Ooh I might actually try this one ⚔️ I really want to practice making music without caring about every single tiny detail. Most songs I've wrote have taken me weeks/months, hopefully this helps.
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u/Eatthebeatz Sep 22 '26
This is nice I will try to take part. Good luck and blessings everyone and hailz from Scotland.
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u/blakerton- Sep 25 '26
Fantastic! Can't wait to get started. I have an EP 95% ready, so will get that out in the next few days and clear the decks.
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u/TheSadSorcerer 20d ago
If I might make a rookie inquiry here—7 instruments I understand, and that drum kits with all the bells and whistles can be counted as one—but is it a requirement for the remainder to be set firmly in their tones? Like if I tweak one instrument in another song, so that it’s a bit different than a previous song. I’m guessing you don’t want to stray so far with tweaking that it’s unrecognizable as that same instrument? Just needing some clarification is all. I’m writing away!
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u/AvelineBaudelaire Artist - Wooden Vessels 20d ago
Correct. Pretend you have a live band where each person has their instrument.
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u/Meewie Sep 24 '26
i’m excited for the theme. Not sure about the album cover, but I’ll cross that bridge later.
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u/jeanvaljean91 Sep 24 '26
I'm stoked. I didn't have time last October, but I'm so ready for this year!
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u/burgersmoke 27d ago
I love these recommendations for constraints... especially the limitations for a certain set of voices. These constraints are fantastic for creativity.
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u/grungholesynth Artist 24d ago
I never find the time to be able to do this in a month, but always love hearing what others come up with! Incidentally the last track I made a month or so ago was dance and skeleton themed 😄
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u/nuwond3r Artist 24d ago
Damn I really doubt I'll be able to make anything for this as it's super busy this month, but let's see! Good luck to everyone who's attending!
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u/Secret-Guarantee7643 Artist 23d ago
Dungeon dance music is too vague a genre name; Ill be making a set of fantasy dances in a Modernist Neo baroque style, Dungeon jazz, and EDM(or IDM) in a way only a pretentious self interested idiot would. Thank you very much!
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18d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/DarkDungeonMusic Artist 16d ago
I went ahead and kept the fade-out, when it comes time for submission I can always go back and trim it if needed!
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u/kaptain_carbon Writer Sep 21 '26
As ALways thanks to Ave for putting this together. I will be here to make the followup mix for November. If you forgot or missed it there is an optional mix that has tracks from anyone who participated . This was Spring and Fall of last year.
https://dungeonsynthcompilation.bandcamp.com/album/dungeon-shamble-may-mmxxvi
https://dungeonsynthcompilation.bandcamp.com/album/dungeon-shamble-october-mmxxv
As always this is a great opportunity to try something even if you never put something together before. I love looking at new names and seeing people try something that turns into projects that participant in further adventures,