I would say something not too general would help get more creative and not get lost in the vast possibilities, which seems to be the purpose of such composing exercises. I checked the 1st "contest" and orchestrating a melody feels a bit too open a suggestion to get things rolling when you lack experience. Just my 2 cents. Recording a live instrument is not easy for me so I'll probably pass this 1st round. The following themes come to mind, but only reflect what I want to learn : motivic development, structure/form, development through harmonic variations.
Personally, the ones I've found most fun and useful have been the "theme" ones. They're specific enough that there's a definite sound to be aimed for but general enough that you can take it from many different approaches. I found it also helped with the collaborative aspect of learning since everyone has a different approach and you can learn from how other people went about it.
Unfortunately these links don’t workIt was getting to be a bit cumbersome to have all of the projects listed in each new project thread so I thought this thread could be where we list the all of the past projects, as well as the current one.
This will also be the thread to list any ideas for future projects. I would like us to focus more on specific areas for each project as that will make the projects a much better learning experience.
Also, please feel free to complete any of the past projects that seem interesting to you. Post your results in that thread and I will update each project with your submission.
Current Project
Project 11: Flying Theme
https://www.vi-control.net/community/threads/vi-controls-collaborative-learning-project-11.49335/
Past Projects
Project 10: Adventure Theme
https://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3762921
Project 9: Love Theme
https://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3752987
Project 8: Percussion
https://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3733065
Project 7: Ostinati
https://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33544
Project 6: Synth Based Piece
https://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33138
Project 5a and 5b
https://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32586
Project 4: Writing to an image
https://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3714484
Project 3: Wind Ensemble/Expanding a motif
https://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3704358
Project 2: Scoring a Trailer
https://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31328
Project 1: Expanding a motif
https://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30766