Despite the fact that I’ve left the contest open for five years, not a single person ventured a guess as to what inspired “Garst’s Song.” I’ve even put a couple of hints on the site to help you identify what inspired the song.

One of the hints was the deliberate inclusion of what synthesized instrument was used in one of the downloads, while purposely omitting which instrument I used for the version I played myself. I used an extended range Ocarina of Time Replica ocarina that I purchased from Songbird many years ago when i was still in college earning my bachelor’s degree. While technically you can no longer get the particular ocarina I bought, it appears that the sweet potato ocarina was upgraded to include the bottom two finger holes to get it the same range as the one I bought.

The other hint I gave was the banner at the top of the site. It is the first eight notes of “Garst’s Song.” I only used the first eight notes of “Garst’s Song” to give a much less subtle hint to its origins: “Scarecrow’s Song” from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. For those who have never play Ocarina of Time, “Scarecrow’s Song” was an eight note song you would create that would summon a scarecrow to certain places throughout Hyrule to reach additional chests that would contain items that weren’t imperative to complete the game. What I did was extend the scarecrow’s song I created to make it sound like an actual song.

I am a little disappointed that no one tried to guess the solution to the contest. It would have been fun seeing all the different things people thought inspired “Garst’s Song.” For those of you who would like to record your own copy of “Garst’s Song,” I’ve included the sheet music for you.

Full Contest Solution: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time “Scarecrow’s Song”
Acceptable Contest Solution: The Legend of Zelda