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[they will be ending support for their notation software.]

I don't know the Finale news! What happened?

MakeMusic, the developer behind Finale, announced recently that they will be ending support for their notation software. That means no more updates, and little reason for professionals (and many hobbyists) to keep using it. They are using this announcement to promote Dorico, another paid notation software, as an alternative. Understandably, this has shaken up our community, given that many of us use Finale and have been doing so for close to two decades. The Finale files hosted by the site aren't going anywhere, but the staff are working on a solution in response to this development, one that would potentially allow arrangers not versed in Finale to submit sheets made using their software of choice (ones like MuseScore, for example).

This sort of shift will take a lot of time and work from our staff. It's difficult enough for NinSheetMusic to maintain a consistent update schedule with a smaller updating team than normal, but to ask them all to transition suddenly to accommodate the recent Finale announcement would only exasperate the struggle. To my knowledge, the submission process is being re-formatted to better handle our new process, though nothing is set in stone. To make a long story short, they cannot promise any sheets being accepted at the usual pace. I have lots of my own sheets that I wanted to submit too, this is frustrating for a good number of users across the board. That's why your patience during this difficult time is invaluable; I have confidence that our clever staff will formulate a plan that will be good for NSM in the long run. And personally, I'd rather it be this way than have arrangements rushed out before they're in a satisfactory condition.

The correct font should be MaestroTimes 16pt for the notes and Times New Roman 12pt for the text. You can find the notes in Text -> Insert Symbol

Xiao found the correct symbol, by copying + pasting ‰ into an expression it produces an eighth note that is in-line with the other notes. The file is updated again, thank you both.

-Great work on this one! Surprisingly playable lol.
-m5-10 RH beat 4: I understand the removal of the thirds here to make it easier, but I actually find the parallel thirds here pretty idiomatic (and fun) to play. Up to you though.
-m1-4 LH beat 1: I agree with simplifying the LH for the rest of the sheet, but I think you could get away with adding the second 16th here on beat 1.25.
-m13/14 LH beat 4.75/1: It feels a bit misleading to me to have a tied note here; since the RH isn't occupied you could put the A in the RH and then restrike the D on beat 1 in the LH.
-Tempo could be moved down a smidge.

- thank you! And yeah, as long as they've got fast enough fingers
- I suppose I'd need a second opinion. I'm glad to hear you can play them, though I'd like to make sure they're feasible in general, y'know?
- are you sure? Performers would have to nail that repetition consistently, is that manageable at ♩ = 150?
- this leads back to the point above. Side note, I'm having trouble trying to figure out how to format this lol

- personally, I like where it is

Thanks for the feedback, let me know what you think and I'll update the files where needed.

-Appreciate the Matsumae credit on this one haha. I vaguely remembered hearing she worked on this song but didn't know the full story until looking it up now, very cute and funny anecdote (for those curious, here's the context).
-I'm not entirely sure what your intent is with the X notes, were you meaning to imply that they're optional or that they should be percussion? I get that they're toms made with the triangle channel, but I don't think the phrase "triangle tom" adds much useful information to a pianist, and could be a bit confusing. Maybe just "X notes optional" if that's what you were going for?
-m20 RH beat 1: The grace note here sounds more like a 16th on the downbeat to me, but it's pretty subjective.
-Even though it reduces the number of accidentals, the sharp in m20 threw me for a loop when I was sightreading it; I think it could potentially be more intuitive to spell this part with flats and naturals instead. Admittedly this is not my area of expertise, so I'm curious what others' opinions on this would be.
-The exact same tom fills from m29 & m33 happen in m27 and m31, I'd include them there too for consistency's sake.
-Tempo could be moved down a bit.

- thanks, I knew I had to include her because not only is that a cute little fun fact, the solo part is a substantial part of the song and in no way a small contribution
- I've used the footnote "triangle tom" in my chiptune Mega Man sheets for some time now. These are written in a way that they can be played with "substitute" pitches, or left out if the performer would rather represent them by stomping their feet or something. Leaving them out entirely would make the bass line feel empty, so that's why I do it this way
- at this tempo it hardly makes a difference, so I'm okay with writing it as a 16th instead of a grace note
- I know a majority of the accidentals in this piece are flats, double flats and naturals, but writing that part without the sharp leaves a lot of clutter that I feel the performer could do without. Just my opinion, of course
- I don't remember my thought process when leaving those out but I'll restore them
- personally, I like where it is

Thanks for the feedback, Radiak! Files are updated.

- That works yeah, though now that I think about it, maybe you could also add an 8th = 8th marking (like a metric modulation) to make sure the player knows the tempo pretty much stays the same.
- The accents could also more of an articulation thing: seeing them all accented makes sure the player tries to play them accented too.
- It's definitely a bit more playable, but something like the R.H. in m21 is still on the hard side, and for example in m29 I personally can't really hold the low B for the whole measure, unless you want the player to use a pedal throughout some of these measures? If you do expect the player to be able to hold a tenth, I'd again suggest moving some B's to the L.H. instead, where the player can just use the thumb and pinky, instead of the R.H. which needs the other fingers for the melody too.

- I can add the 8th = 8th, but I'll need the appropriate maestro font for that note to adapt to the new format
- ok, I'll add accents to those that don't have any already
- did some more adjusting, is that good?

Files are updated again.

[Crash Man Stage (Replacement)]

We're almost finished with the remaining sheets from Mega Man 2!


[NES] Mega Man 2

524th

Crash Man Stage (Replacement) [ZIP]

525th

All Stages Clear [ZIP]

I haven't figured out how to tackle the last sheet, because it's already been completed... at least, partially. You see, composer Takashi Tateishi had to come up with some clever ways to tackle memory constraints, which is why the second Dr. Wily stage theme plays three times (and is essentially the same four-bar pattern transposed eleven times). It's also why the A theme of the iconic first Dr. Wily stage theme repeats throughout, while new countermelodies layer on top of it; pretty clever, if you ask me. But for the credits, the title theme plays, and just when you think it's done, it continues on with previously unheard material, then finally repeats back and wraps everything up. So how do I handle this when the title theme already has an arrangement on-site? Well, the way I see it, there's two routes I could go:

1.) Arrange a sheet that has the second half with material unheard from the title theme and call it "Credits, Part 2" or something. I don't like this option as much, because the more clueless people will go, "where's credits part 1??!?". Not ideal, is it?

OR...

2.) Collaborate with Zeila, the arranger behind the title theme's sheet, and submit a replacement for it that adds in all the material from the second half of the credits. I like this idea more, but ultimately I will have to go with whatever the staff decides.

Expect to get an answer to this when I post my next PA update. For now, let's celebrate, because as of today's post, I've arranged a total of 150 sheets for the Mega Man franchise! There's plenty more where that came, so enjoy, and I'll see you all next time!

[bump]

I'd like to give this thread a bump.

[bump]

I'd like to give this thread a bump.

-The half note = 100 bpm is a bit weird when the piece starts in 6/8. In 6/8 we usually use dotted quarter note tempos, but maybe because of the time signature switch you could put in an 8th note bpm too? Or put a new quarter note tempo at m9
-m9, 13 and 15: The 8th rests on beat 3 can be written as a quarter rest, like in m11
-m10, 11, 14 and 16: You left out some accents in the R.H. chords on 8th notes, was that for playability? They sound similarly accentuated in the original
-m12: I don't hear the bass playing the G# on beat 4, I only hear drums there
-m15: I don't specifically hear the top C# and D in the R.H. on beat 2.5 and 4
-m17: You can tie this top B in the L.H. over into m18 too
-m21: I hear the ornament in beat 1 as C#-B-A-B, but I don't think there's an articulation that corresponds to that, so you might have to write it out as grace notes or a 16th triplet.
-Although, the above thing does make the middle voice a bit harder to play, but in general the middle voice has some pretty awkward spots. It's impossible to hold the R.H. low B in m25, and I personally can't stretch from A to C# in m26 L.H. Maybe you could make this middle voice an optional one? In which case I'd suggest moving some of the R.H. B's to the L.H., as it usually plays a G or a B there, which is a bit easier to get to or to hold than it is for the R.H. I'd also put the D in m31 into the L.H. then.
-I hear a D above the R.H. in m37, and an E above in m40

- I can have it set as Dotted Quarter = 132 at the beginning and Half = 100 at m. 9, does that work?
- thank you for pointing those out, fixed
- not for playability, I just felt those specific beats needed more emphasis and that if all the notes were accented, wouldn't that essentially mean none of them were? I'd like to hear your thoughts
- by isolating the bass I can hear it playing on beat 4. I can provide the recording by updater request
- you're right, I'll remove them
- consider it done
- grace notes sound fine with me, how's that?
- I moved some of the whole notes around. That should be playable, right?
- I wasn't sure about these, so I listened to each channel on its own and re-transcribed each one. Turns out there were only three voices, and some of the instruments had some octave overtones or whatever to their sample that made the chords sound fuller than they really were

That should cover everything! Let me know what you think, Bloop.

Bumping now.

You didn't think I forgot about this game, did you?


523rd

[ARCADE] Haunted Castle - "A Lullaby Sent to the Devils"

[ZIP]

Recently, Konami unveiled at Nintendo's recent Partner Showcase direct a new collection for Switch, Castlevania Dominus Collection, which has the three Nintendo DS games plus a good amount of bonus material. That's all well and good for Metroidvania fans, but what they also included is Haunted Castle Revisited, a remake of the dreaded Haunted Castle that released to arcades in 1987. The original is a very sloppy, unreasonably difficult game that doesn't hold a candle to the original Castlevania, but Revisited is a miraculous improvement that turns it from a bad time to a pleasant one. It's on a similar level of quality to Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, but unlike that game it doesn't outright abandon its source material; it's faithful everywhere that matters, including the soundtrack. Listening to the new arrangements made me remember I only have a few sheets left from the original, so in an hour and a half I whipped up one for "A Lullaby Sent to the Devils". There's probably some room for improvement, so I'll be submitting it next round, alongside a replacement for "Crash Man Stage". Enjoy!

A decent number of missions from Super Mario Sunshine were extremely frustrating, I can't imagine how agonizing they would be with Joy-Con drift.

[Hop Hop Springs]

I moved again! But that story's not why you're here, so let's move on to the sheets, shall we?


[GB] The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls

521st

Hop Hop Springs [ZIP]

522nd

Eclair Palace [ZIP]

I recently played through The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls, known in Japan as Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, and I gotta say, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It's this weird mixture of platforming and action RPG elements, with a really entertaining story that kept me thoroughly engaged, and I would definitely recommend it. The composer behind the game is Kazumi Totaka, the same guy behind Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Yoshi's Story, Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion, and many more. In some of his works, the aggressive repetition of each primary motif rubs me the wrong way, but overall I think it was done fairly well in this game. I might even consider making some arrangements for my channel, but for now, I'll stick with a couple of sheets of the tracks that stuck with me. Enjoy!

P.S. I did some reorganizing in the OP: the broken glow effect surrounding the dedicated/conquered games has been removed, and the two Game Boy-exclusive sheets from The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle have been given their own section, bringing the total number of games with sheets to 175. Let's hear it for more games~

My suggestion would be to name the submission "Princess Appears / Princess Love Scene" or just "Princess Appears / Love Scene"

What I meant is that these two tracks, which are separated in the game's music files for some reason, are one song, there is no gap. A multi-track orientation wouldn't be necessary for the submission because there is already a pick-up in m. 4 of "Princess Appears" that leads straight into the main portion of the piece, "Princess Love Scene".

Cutscene from the NES version for context:

TL;DR - These are not two different pieces, they are one and there is no reason to arrange them separately.

I think this can (and should) be merged with your other submission, "Princess Love Scene" and be simplified to "Rescued Princess" or "Princess Celia" or something like that. These may be separate tracks but they are essentially one song and ought to be arranged as such, in my opinion.