[GEN] ToeJam & Earl - "Alien Break Down" by Nine Lives

[Zeta]

Submission Information:
Series: Other
Game: ToeJam & Earl
Console: Sega Genesis
Title: Alien Break Down
Instrumentation Solo Piano
Arranger: Nine Lives

[NineLives]

[Bloop]

For the key signature: m1-8 and 17-24 should be in G#m (scale is the G# minor pentatonic/blues scale, notice how the G# sounds like the "home" key), and m9-16 and 25-32 in Bm (scale is mostly B minor pentatonic, with some blues-y D#'s thrown in as well: the G#'s are more of a dorian sound, which is raising the 6th note in a minor scale)
-m11: Maybe you could write the staccato 8th A on beat 2.25 in the L.H. as a staccato 16th instead?
-m11 and 14: It's best to break the beam of the triplet + two 16ths in the R.H. on beat 4, similar to your Sonic sheet a little while back using the Beam Break Tool.
-m13: I don't hear the R.H. F# on beat 2.75

[NineLives]

I should have everything above addressed. I had the notes change chromatically when I changed the keys, so let me know if the accidentals need fixing.

[Bloop]

Here's some notes for the accidentals (including an explanation, which could help for when you encounter the same thing in the future ^^)
-A lot of 'blue' notes (the b5/#4 in the blues scale) can be enharmonically written as either of those two. In G#m, that means that any blue notes going down to C# can be written as Dn (so any Cx's in the bass in m1-8 and m17-24). In the Bm section, any E#'s going down to En's's should be Fn's, and any D#'s going down to Dn's should be Eb's
-m10: Though it actually adds an accidental rather than removing it, the E# in R.H. beat 3.25 is probably easier read as Fn, so it's easier to see the Dn-Fn to D#-F# minor thirds.
-m14: The A# in the R.H. (in the triplet) should be a Bb
-m16: Make sure to add a key signature change back to G#m at the end of this bar, as it acts both for the repeat and for m17. It would be best to add a courtesy key signature change at the end of m32 as well, though that one is a bit finnicky (I personally add a bar with zero length for the key signature, but keep the D.C. at m32 so it repeats properly)

[NineLives]

I think I've covered everything. Let me know if I missed something.

[Bloop]

I just noticed, this one applied to m27 as well:

-m11: Maybe you could write the staccato 8th A on beat 2.25 in the L.H. as a staccato 16th instead?

Everything else looks good though! I'll approve pending that ^^

[NineLives]

I just noticed, this one applied to m27 as well.

Taken care of!

[Latios212]

Looking good! For notes, the only thing I have to mention is that the first 16th note of m. 14 (in both hands) should be B instead of A.

Aside from that, the left hand articulations don't seem to always match the original too well. In particular, what I'm getting:
- The beat 1 bass notes don't sound particularly sustained in m. 2/4/6/8. More of a stylistic choice?
- Similar for m. 18/20/22/24, although I notice m. 20 is the only one that has a staccato on beat 1 already. Unintentional?
- It doesn't sound like any of the 16th notes in m. 16/32 need staccatos at all.
- Similar in m. 14/30, except I think the ones on beat 1.75 are good.

Mind taking a pass to make sure they're to your liking?

[NineLives]

All should be addressed in the sheet.

- The beat 1 bass notes don't sound particularly sustained in m. 2/4/6/8. More of a stylistic choice?
- Similar for m. 18/20/22/24, although I notice m. 20 is the only one that has a staccato on beat 1 already. Unintentional?

I wrote those notes as sustained because how I perceived the length of the notes in the source. They sounded a little longer than the staccato'd ones and, while they're not really held that long, I thought that, with the abundance of staccatos littering that particular section, making them tenuto would help them stand out more as opposed to reading them without any articulation.
And yes, measure 20's was a mistake.

- It doesn't sound like any of the 16th notes in m. 16/32 need staccatos at all.
- Similar in m. 14/30, except I think the ones on beat 1.75 are good.

You are correct, though I think this includes counts 1.75 on measures 14 & 30 as well.

[Latios212]

You are correct, though I think this includes counts 1.75 on measures 14 & 30 as well.

Just to be sure, did you mean that beat 1.75 should or shouldn't have staccatos? Measures 14 and 30 are now inconsistent with no staccatos in 14 and several staccatos in 30. (Also sorry, I forgot to mention the first note being B in m. 14 applies to m. 30 as well)

[NineLives]

I meant for no staccatos. Apologies for the inconsistencies. Hopefully, I didn't overlook anything this time.

[Latios212]

Gotcha, no worries! No further comments, everything looks good!

[Zeta]

This submission has been accepted by Latios212.

~Zeta, your friendly NSM-Bot