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Dekkadeci's VGM Piano Transcriptions: Illusion (F-Zero: GP Legend)

Started by Dekkadeci, June 12, 2016, 04:06:44 PM

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Dekkadeci

June 12, 2016, 04:06:44 PM Last Edit: June 27, 2022, 08:04:09 AM by Dekkadeci
This is the home of anything I'm willing to submit to NinSheetMusic and their Musescore ancestors. The Musescore ancestors often contain versions of the same song from different games. Most of them end with semi-improvised endings based on the source material because I hate abruptly ending VGM loops. (As will eventually be seen with "The Schemer" from Shovel Knight, the Musescore ancestors may be nigh-impossible to play for solo piano.)

You can listen to my works on Musescore's website (the audio will not be mastered there). I will neither be publishing nor submitting my transcriptions in order of arrangement. If enough of you request downloadable files, I'll start stocking up my Google Drive.

Transcriptions on NinSheetMusic
http://www.ninsheetmusic.org/browse/arranger/4953

Transcriptions on Musescore
https://musescore.com/user/9996931/sets/2205296 (Also contains piano transcriptions of non-video game music and non-piano transcriptions of video game music)

Kirby
Dark Meta Knight
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 1-22 are from Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, Bars 23-40 are from Kirby: Triple Deluxe, and Bars 41-45 are the ending I semi-improvised. Beware--the treble clef notes in Bars 25-32 are an octave higher than in the original.

Galacta Knight
(a.k.a. "The Greatest Warrior in the Galaxy"...we may as well trust Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and the Kirby Super Star Ultra OST, right?)
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 1-37 are from Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Bars 38-70 are from Kirby Super Star Ultra, and Bars 71-81 are the ending I semi-improvised. Beware--octave voicing is off in some of the phrases--this will be corrected in cuts I submit to NinSheetMusic.
My goal for this transcription is 100% melodic accuracy. I'm amazed that none, yes, NONE of the remixes I've heard completely nail the tune. Everyone has screwed up the solo (Musescore: Bars 25-58, Bars 58-61) and omitted the melody at the end of the loop (Musescore: Bars 34-37, Bars 67-70). More details are in the post below.
I am aware that this, especially the solo against its accompaniment, is probably nearly impossible to play for solo piano. Jonny Atma's sure tried twice already...

Revenge of Meta Knight Ending
(a.k.a. "Friends and Sun", "Sundown and Friends", "My Friend and the Setting Sun", "Meta Knight Defeated"...and that's just the Kirby Super Star version!)
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 19-32 are the ending I semi-improvised.
The Musescore arrangement is purposefully thinner than the original so I can actually play it at full speed with (almost) no mistakes.

Prism Plains
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 34-45 are the ending I semi-improvised. This transcription may be a bit off.
This is deceptively difficult because its notes are so fast--if it weren't for the triplets against duplets in Dark Meta Knight's theme, I'd say this is the unambiguously harder piece.

True Arena
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 49-67 are the ending I semi-improvised. This transcription may be off rhythm-wise, and some accompaniment lines (and even arguably melody lines in Bars 2-9) have been omitted there.

Meta Knight
Note that the Kirby Super Star version and the Kirby Super Star Ultra version of this theme are not the same.
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 34-50 are the ending I semi-improvised. Again, this transcription may be off rhythm-wise, and some notes have been adjusted and/or omitted to make this transcription more playable.

Morpho Knight
In the Musescore ancestor of the Kirby Star Allies theme, Bars 53-65 are the ending I semi-improvised. This transcription may be off harmony-wise and even melody-wise, and the quietest notes have been omitted.
Similarly, in the Musescore ancestor of the Kirby and the Forgotten Land theme, Bars 75-78 are the ending I semi-improvised. This transcription may similarly be off accompaniment- and harmony-wise, the quietest notes have been omitted again, and some portions were even simplified from the original.

Dark Meta Knight Battle Intro
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 5-6 are the ending I semi-improvised. ...Yeah, guess what, the looped portion is only 4 bars long. It does get remixed in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, though.

Sullied Grace/Dirty&Beauty (Queen Sectonia Phase 1)
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 135-147 are the ending I semi-improvised.
Loads of drum beats get transcribed as piano notes, the accompaniment and even melody may have been shifted around octave voicing-wise, some of the notes may be inaccurate...

The Raging Lion Roars (Leongar)
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 115-125 are the ending I semi-improvised.
This is my first piano transcription of an orchestral piece, so several sacrifices were made, partly to make this more playable. Some of the notes may still be inaccurate, accompaniment was shifted around octave voicing-wise, some accompaniment was even approximated, some drum beats got transcribed as piano notes...

Shovel Knight
The Schemer (Tinker Knight Battle)
Yeah, my original cut from the .nsf was nigh-impossible to play by a solo pianist (even though I already omitted channels). Many notes were trimmed after this was pointed out. (It wasn't originally tested on the piano, as opposed to the first 2 Kirby tunes on the OP.) It's still a wicked fast song to play.

A Decisive Blow (StreetPass Arena)
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 20-29 are the ending I semi-improvised.
I made sure this transcription was easier to play by trimming some of the notes. I also had to move several harmony notes around octave-wise in order to make this playable in the first place.

Castle Crashers
Archetype (Arena Theme)
It's composed by Helix6. It's published by Newgrounds. It's found in Castle Crashers (as its Arena theme) and Thing-Thing Arena 2. This transcription is of the Newgrounds original.
This is meant to be sight-readable at full speed. It exhausts me, though.

Simple Sight (Necromancer Theme)
It's composed by Real Faction. It's published by Newgrounds. It's in the Piercing Lazer album. But, most prominently, it's found in Castle Crashers as the Necromancer's boss theme. This transcription is of the Newgrounds original, but The Behemoth loops the entire song in Castle Crashers (complete with empty space at the end), so how much does that matter?
This piece is in verse-chorus form. Each time the verse or chorus returns, this transcription changes that portion's accompaniment and texture. Perhaps this is some part arrangement and some part theme and variations...

F-Zero
Dream Chaser (Silence Theme)
Note that the F-Zero Climax version of the Silence racetrack theme has some different material from both the F-Zero X and F-Zero: GP Legend versions.
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 61-71 are the ending I semi-improvised.
Thanks to its problematic source material, this is likely my least faithful transcription that isn't one of my early ones (Galacta Knight's theme, Simple Sight (Castle Crashers Necromancer theme), the Kirby Super Star Ultra True Arena theme, etc.). The nastiest change from the original is my moving the relatively high arpeggiated accompaniment an octave or two down throughout to prevent it from interfering with the melody, but notes have also been purposefully added to mimic drum beats, and other notes have been moved octave voicing-wise and missed out entirely in order to make this more playable.

Illusion
Note that the F-Zero: GP Legend has some different material from the F-Zero Climax version.
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 87-104 are the ending I semi-improvised.
While less problematic to transcribe than F-Zero Climax's "Dream Chaser" theme, this still ended up with some high parts removed, some other parts simplified, some notes added to mimic drum beats, and some other notes moved around octave-wise.

Falsion
The First Space Flight
This is the Level 1 theme of an obscure 8-bit video game named Falsion. It's compatible with the Famicom 3D System peripheral, which tacks on one extra sound channel. If you're otherwise wondering how this transcription has 4 notes at once at points where normal 8-bit music should only have 3 maximum, this is it.
In the Musescore...er, ancestor (truth is, I wrote the "ancestor" and the upcoming Ninsheetmusic submission simultaneously)...the ending I semi-improvised is Bars 43-51.

Fire Emblem
Tearing Shadows
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 29-41 are the ending I semi-improvised.
This one reverts to my earlier arranging style of shifting more of the notes around octave voicing-wise. Plenty of drum beats get transcribed into piano notes, too.

Team Fortress
Square Dance
A reasonably popular taunt in Team Fortress 2, the Square Dance is split into 3 sections according to https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Square_Dance. This transcription covers all 3 sections.

The Incredible Machine
Classical/Tilting at Windmills
This is a stage theme in The Incredible Machine, a computer game where you build Rube Goldberg contraptions to achieve certain objectives. This theme reappears in later games in the series.
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 23-25 are the ending I semi-improvised.
This is based on both the MIDI and CD versions.

Bravely
Battle of Oblivion
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 113-138 are the ending I semi-improvised.
Loads of drum beats get transcribed as piano notes, the accompaniment may have been shifted around octave voicing-wise, some of the notes may be inaccurate...de rigueur for my piano transcriptions of rock and metal music, eh?

Under the Banner of the Duchy
(a.k.a. "Below the Duchy's Banner", "Under the Duchy's Banner", and "Beneath the Duchy's Banner")
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 56-64 are the ending I semi-improvised.
As another piano transcription of an orchestral piece, chord voicings and octave positions of lines may not match the original in places, and even half of the right hand of Bar 28 got outright modified.

Monolith
The Trial
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 25-35 are the ending I semi-improvised. Some of the rhythms and maybe even a note may be off, and many notes corresponding to drum beats have been added.

Ex Machina, Part 1
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 27-35 are the ending I semi-improvised. The right-hand chords of this transcription may be off.

Iji
Face to Face
In a rare occurrence, this transcription has no semi-improvised ending. Plenty of notes in this transcription may be off, and lots of notes corresponding to drum beats were inserted.

Smash Bros.
Multi-Man Melee 1
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 55-63 are the ending I semi-improvised. Several of the rhythms and dyad/chord lower contents may be off and/or simplified, and some notes corresponding to drum beats were added.

Beatmania
In the Blackest Den
In a rare occurrence, this transcription has no semi-improvised ending - because it doesn't need one! Plenty of notes in this transcription may be off, and the occasional notes corresponding to drum beats were inserted.

Bug Fables
MECHA BEE DESTROYER BLASTLORD
In the Musescore ancestor, Bars 65-81 are the ending I semi-improvised - and this time, even provided a solo for! Some notes corresponding to drum beats were added, accompaniment notes have been shifted around octave-wise, the quietest notes have been omitted, even lower accompaniment notes were missed this time to keep this playable while keeping as many melodies going as possible in places...

Sonic
Fight the Knight
In a rare occurrence, this transcription has no semi-improvised ending. In another rare occurrence, this transcription also has lyrics! All glissandos have been simplified, some notes corresponding to drum beats have been added, some accompaniment notes were skipped, and some other accompaniment notes may also have their octave positions changed.

I hope to transcribe songs I don't find good piano transcriptions of on the Internet. (There are loads of decent transcriptions of Super Mario themes and King Dedede's theme, there's already an excellent piano transcription of "That Person's Name Is" (from Bravely Default) by nnwt, the list goes on...)

Dekkadeci

#1
June 12, 2016, 04:32:21 PM Last Edit: June 12, 2016, 09:16:14 PM by Dekkadeci
This is where you can help me out!

As mentioned above, I'm considering making Kirby Super Star Ultra and Kirby's Return to Dream Land cuts of my transcription of Galacta Knight's theme, and there are a few sticking points I appreciate having addressed first.

First things first: Other than easily correctable octave voicing, are the melody notes in my transcription 100% accurate?

For reference:
My transcription of Galacta Knight's theme
https://musescore.com/user/9996931/scores/2271766
(Bars 1-37 are from Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Bars 38-70 are from Kirby Super Star Ultra)

Kirby's Return to Dream Land

Kirby Super Star Ultra
(I sort of don't like the sound balancing in Musescore Bars 46-51 or ~0:17-0:25 here, but I suspect that the one with the sound balancing I liked the best is now deleted.)

...I hate how debatable Bars 5-12 and Bars 38-45 are.

I'm the most concerned about the melody notes and rhythm in the solos (Bars 25-28, Bars 58-61) and the melody in the fractured measures section (Bars 29-33, Bars 62-66). Kirby: Planet Robobot's version of the fractured measures section sounds nice and regular, but both KSSU's and KRTDL's melodies there definitely jump around.

Second: Should I submit the Kirby's Return to Dream Land cut or the Kirby Super Star Ultra cut first? Galacta Knight's theme first appeared in KSSU, but I actually figured out the intro (Bars 1-4) for the KRTDL cut.

Third: For the KSSU version, what should I do for the intro (first 4 bars)? I suspect I'll use the same LH as the KRTDL version in Bar 4 to simulate the drums, but the first 3 bars are likely going to be pretty boring. Should I do a solid A-C-E chord for 4 bars, attempt to incorporate the guitar pulsing, or do something else?

Fourth: Do you like the arrangement in Bars 13-18 or Bars 46-51 better? ...Or do you evenly split between them and make me use a Bars 13-18-like version in KRTDL and Bars 46-51 in KSSU?

Fifth: Harmonic and accompaniment accuracy may have already gone out the window in my Musescore version, but do any places stick out and need adjustment, and if so, which bars?

I'm not 100% certain I'll ever edit the Musescore version, but all your comments will help me write the NinSheetMusic cuts! (I already foresee at least one LH adjustment in the NinSheetMusic cuts...)

Maelstrom

#2
June 19, 2016, 07:10:27 PM
Finally, a post on your PA thread:
1st: I'm sorry, and I'd love to help you, but listening to this song too closely gives me a legitimate headache.

2nd: It's completely up to you. Whichever you like best, or which ever you are most satisfied with your arrangement.

3rd. As a guitar player, the opening of KSSU is just a held chord, and nothing pulsing. If you do a chord, make it a piano equivalent of a power chord: 1st, 5th, 8th, as that's probably what's being played. Honestly, I can't hear any sort of intro notes besides the held notes there. You could use Ped. to hold the chord and pound a low octave for the cymbal beats. It's completely overkill, but it'd probably sound pretty good and give a desired effect.

4th. Imo, 13-18 sounds better, but that's just me.

5th. See first point. I'm really sorry about that.

Dekkadeci

#3
July 09, 2016, 04:00:36 PM
...Great, now I'm looking for input on two transcriptions, not just one.

I'm pretty sure my transcription of Archetype (the Castle Crashers Arena theme) is good enough to submit (after fixing the formatting, of course), but the part I'm the least certain about is the copyright. My transcription is of the original Newgrounds version.

For reference:
My transcription of Archetype
https://musescore.com/user/9996931/scores/2375901

Newgrounds
http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/21749

Castle Crashers
I'm pretty certain the Castle Crashers loop doesn't fade out at the end, and I've heard evidence that The Behemoth extended it. I've only found one gameplay video with the suspected extension, though, so I haven't transcribed it.

Thing-Thing Arena 2
I'm not certain that the original Thing-Thing Arena uses this song, despite the number of Youtube videos claiming that it does--if it does, please tell me!

Especially since Castle Crashers contains only one song that is actually composed by The Behemoth's employees (its Barracks theme is composed by The Behemoth's longtime artist, Dan Paladin), and Archetype is found in Thing-Thing Arena 2, I'm having doubts that the copyright of Archetype belongs to The Behemoth. There's also Newgrounds's IP policy here to consider.

(I've privately talked to Maelstrom before about the copyright, but I'd like to see a consensus here before I put the copyright on the submission.)

Dekkadeci

#4
August 07, 2016, 02:57:23 PM
Finally, a transcription I don't need help with!

I whipped up this transcription of the first level's theme of an obscure 8-bit game called Falsion not too long ago, and I believe I've learned a fair amount about piano transcription from making this.

For reference:
My transcription of Falsion's The First Space Flight
https://musescore.com/user/9996931/scores/2477036

Falsion's The First Space Flight
Spoiler
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Watch NSFPlay play this song:
Spoiler
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The complete Falsion soundtrack source code is here: http://www.zophar.net/music/nsf/falsion.html, www.zophar.net/download_file/25630

Falsion is notably compatible with the Famicom 3D System peripheral, which tacks on one extra sound channel. If you're otherwise wondering how this transcription has 4 notes at once at points where normal 8-bit music should only have 3 maximum, this is it.

I found a few things that got in the way of transcribing this song:
  • The echo effect in the .nsf's Bars 9-23 sounds cool in-game but is horrific to transcribe. ...So I skipped it.
  • The triangle wave is notated an octave higher than it plays in Famitracker and NSFImport.
  • Nonetheless, attempting to faithfully transcribe the triangle wave either causes me to skip transcribing all inner voices or makes the transcription impossible to play. So, with much reluctance, I transposed the bulk of it, if not all of it, an octave up.
  • Several accompaniment notes in Bars 33-40 are supposed to be higher than the melody. That gets in the way of a good listening experience, IMO, so with much reluctance again, I transposed them an octave down.
  • Sometimes, Bar 16 sounds like it's an octave higher in the .nsf than notated in the transcription. Sometimes, it doesn't.
  • I don't have big enough hands for the major 10th span in Bars 3 and 7. Perhaps you do. I recommend using an arpeggio if your hands are similarly too small.

Dekkadeci

#5
August 28, 2016, 03:47:18 PM
After receiving no replies for weeks, I've decided to submit Archetype to NinSheetMusic, so I no longer need help with that piece in this arrangement thread.

Dekkadeci

#6
September 04, 2016, 03:04:09 PM Last Edit: September 04, 2016, 03:05:40 PM by Dekkadeci
Back to looking for input on two transcriptions again.

The second transcription this time is for the Revenge of Meta Knight ending theme!

My transcription of the Revenge of Meta Knight Ending Theme
https://musescore.com/user/9996931/scores/2583031

Kirby Super Star
Spoiler
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Kirby Super Star Ultra
Spoiler
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I mainly need input on two things:
  • Is this arrangement too thin to submit? It's purposefully thinner than the original so I can actually play it at full speed with relatively few tries (Archetype is sight-readable at full speed but exhausting, and it only gets harder from there--Galacta Knight's theme is near-impossible to play).
  • What should I name this when I submit it? The leading candidate is "My Friend and the Setting Sun", as shown in http://vgmdb.net/album/10970, and this would make sense, as there's a purported interview that says this song was based on the folk song "House of the Rising Sun" (the only evidence I can find of that interview is in Youtube comments). The ending cutscene and credits has the name as "Friends and Sun" according to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUOubU_DOwM. I think I've seen the Japanese title once, and it translates the most closely to "Friends and Sun" (I can read Chinese and, therefore, I can translate every kanji character I understand the meaning of).

Tobbeh99

#7
September 04, 2016, 04:49:37 PM
the songs sounds more like it goes in 6/8 than 12/8 for some reason. Maybe because of the bass or something, idk.
Quote from: Dudeman on August 16, 2016, 06:11:42 AM
tfw you get schooled in English grammar by a guy whose first language is not English

10/10 tobbeh

Zeila

#8
September 21, 2016, 01:11:29 AM
Nice job with the Ending Theme! Based off of what you said/provided, I think "My Friend and the Setting Sun..." (complete with the ellipsis) is the way to go. People usually reference names from vgmdb, and here's the Japanese Soundtrack w/ Japanese titles for Kirby Super Star Ultra for clarification

As for the music itself, I think leaving it thinner is fine. Maybe you could try putting the bass part (or combine that with what you have, or even another part) in a section to add variety. Also, I think you should add more staccatos (like in m9) to signify that there's a slight pause or break. I'm no expert on time signatures and the difference between 2/4 and 4/4, but 12/8 seems like a good fit

Instead of putting dotted eighth or sixteenth notes, you could also put a "triplet" sign where you play 2 eighth notes for every 3. Here's an example:

Insig also did that in his arrangement of Revelation Mountain from PSMD. I think it's a matter of preference though, so if you don't want to (or can't), then that is fine

Keep up the good work :3

Dekkadeci

#9
September 21, 2016, 01:51:08 PM
Quote from: Zeila on September 21, 2016, 01:11:29 AMInstead of putting dotted eighth or sixteenth notes, you could also put a "triplet" sign where you play 2 eighth notes for every 3. Here's an example:

Insig also did that in his arrangement of Revelation Mountain from PSMD. I think it's a matter of preference though, so if you don't want to (or can't), then that is fine
That's a great idea! I'd prefer quadruplets over duplets, though. Notation in Bar 2 is going to blow, though, as it blends a smaller duplet with regular compound (quadruple) notation.

Dekkadeci

#10
October 09, 2016, 04:15:46 PM
Another transcription I (probably) don't need help with: the Prism Plains theme from Kirby: Squeak Squad!

For reference:
My transcription of the Prism Plains theme
https://musescore.com/user/9996931/scores/2736791

Kirby: Squeak Squad

Like all my Kirby transcriptions (including future ones), this was by ear, and I made some assumptions for the accompaniment. This is based on the speakers I have at home, which are probably fairly low-quality: when I heard the original theme at work, I found that several places I thought were filled with regular 16th notes were actually filled with 16th-note triplets. I can't figure out which places those are at home, though, and repeated 16th-note triplets are hell at that speed.

Latios212

#11
October 09, 2016, 04:25:33 PM Last Edit: October 09, 2016, 10:26:33 PM by Latios212
Hey, Prism Plains! Love this theme. Never bothered trying to arrange it because of its speed and... yeah. Lol

Not checking in detail right now, but looks and sounds pretty solid, I like :J Quick thing to point out: Bass in beats 1-2 of measure 2 and the like - don't really like the droning C. Sounds like it should be alternating octaves.
My arrangements and YouTube channel!

Quote from: Dudeman on February 22, 2016, 10:16:37 AM
who needs education when you can have WAIFUS!!!!!

Spoiler
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turtle

Dekkadeci

#12
October 09, 2016, 05:49:03 PM
Quote from: Latios212 on October 09, 2016, 04:25:33 PMHey, Prism Plains! Love this theme. Never bothered trying to arrange it because of it's speed and... yeah. Lol

Not checking in detail right now, but looks and sounds pretty solid, I like :J Quick thing to point out: Bass in beats 1-2 of measure 2 and the like - don't really like the droning C. Sounds like it should be alternating octaves.
I checked the LH accompaniment multiple times before publishing it, and I can confirm that the droning repeated low C is accurate.

Latios212

#13
October 09, 2016, 06:26:58 PM
Beg to differ. Getting this:

My arrangements and YouTube channel!

Quote from: Dudeman on February 22, 2016, 10:16:37 AM
who needs education when you can have WAIFUS!!!!!

Spoiler
[close]
turtle

Dekkadeci

#14
October 10, 2016, 04:26:43 PM
Quote from: Latios212 on October 09, 2016, 06:26:58 PMBeg to differ. Getting this:


On further analysis, I've never been that good at determining low octave voicings. Even the Dream Collection version agrees with you.

Prism Plains has been edited with a hopefully more accurate LH part.
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